Free Daring the Duke by Anne Mallory Page A

was different. He was worth every move of the chessboard.

    She pushed the thought aside and focused on Travers. "Now what do you want? "

    "You, of course. But for tonight I will settle for some shipping documents. And a copy of the seal used."

    "Where?"

    "The documents are somewhere in the house of the merchant I've had you watching. He and his wife are out for the evening, the servants as well.
    You should have no trouble."

    Audrey nearly said, "No trouble, just like the last time," but she kept her mouth shut. She hadn’t told Travers that Chalmers had captured her.
    Something told her to keep that fact to herself.

    "Well?" he said.

    "Why do you want them?"

    "To create my empire, of course."

    His empire. Right. "The assistant to the Exchequer conquers all. Going to make Daddy proud, are you?"

    Travers grabbed her arm tightly. "For as much leeway as I give you, you are incredibly stupid in how you choose to use it."

    Audrey pressed one of her knives into his side. "And you are incredibly stupid to touch me. Release me. Now. "

    Travers did so. He laughed unpleasantly. "I will have to break you of that nasty habit, my sweet. I choose to let you carry those tiny blades around, but someday I’m going to find all your secret hiding places and enjoy removing each and every one of them."

    She rubbed her arm, mentally washing his filth away. She always felt the need to bathe after being in his presence. The way he looked at her. His ambitions, each scheme bigger than the previous. Not caring whom he hurt.

    It was her cardinal rule never to hurt innocent bystanders. Darkness lay at the end of that path. It also, more often than not, led to capture. Marks were well researched because they were the targets. You knew whom you were up against at all times, and who in their families might avenge the monetary loss. Bystanders were unknowns and most often innocent besides. Audrey always made sure to target only those who deserved it.
    Those who reminded her of Maddox.

    And Travers was no innocent. With him, no one was safe. She knew someone else was pulling his strings, but that didn’t lessen her dislike of Travers's actions. The danger was so incredibly high. The risks multiplied with each new assignment.

    She wanted to cry with the frustration of it. lnstead she said, "You still plan to go through with your shipping scheme?"

    "Maddox talks too much."

    "Then you shouldn’t have drawn him into this."

    Travers narrowed his eyes but answered her question. "Yes, we mean to go through with it. And you’d better support me. It is only a matter of time before things fall into place."

    "We? Who else are you working with?"

    She saw fear pass over his face before masking it. "That, my dear, is none of your concern."

    "What will the Exchequer say if he finds out that you’ve been tampering with the shipping schedules and the cargo manifests and profiting from the illegal merchandise you’ve been unloading? He would be highly embarrassed and angered, and you would be going to the scaffold faster than I."

    " And why would he find out? My plan is perfect. And if he finds out, well, accidents are so common nowadays, something you should remember."

    "One thing makes sense. If you want to get to the top, the only way you are going to accomplish it is by accident."

    Travers gripped his tankard. "I told you to hold your tongue."

    "This is a dumb plan, Travers. I know you have debts, and, due to your unfailingly stupid desire to unseat everyone that has wronged you, you have
    formed alliances with some vicious people, but you are in way over your head. All it takes is one mistake, one person to plant the seed of doubt, and everything will fall to pieces around you."

    "ln that case, perhaps I'll be forced to eliminate everyone who knows the plan."

    Audrey forced her muscles to relax, but her knife was in hand if Travers moved an inch.

    Travers snarled. "Why so tense, Audrey? Worried that your sharp tongue has finally gotten