The Duke Identity: Game of Dukes, Book 1

by Grace Callaway

  “But first, I will rid myself of your present companions. They are annoyances,” Ruthven said.

  Terror struck Tessa’s heart. Ruthven was raising his gun at Harry.

  She had to act—now.

  As Alfred tensed in readiness beside her, she gripped her dagger. In the next heartbeat, she leapt into the room, took aim, and let her blade fly.

  Ruthven cried out in pain as the steel sunk into the shoulder of his weapon arm. He dropped the gun, and Harry dove for it, grabbing it, then spinning around. The earl snarled, trying to reach the knife embedded in him, but Alfred grabbed the hilt, tearing it loose. He held the bloody blade while Ruthven howled with rage.

  Swift Nick darted from her pocket to her shoulder, hissing at the villain.

  Harry aimed the gun at Ruthven. “Doolittle, tie him up.”

  “You’re dead,” the earl shouted as Alfred tucked away the dagger and withdrew a rope. “All of you. My men have yours surrounded—”

  “Be’er stuff that gob o’ yours, too,” Alfred muttered and gagged the villain.

  Tessa ran to Harry. “Are you all right?”

  “You’re supposed to be on the boat.” He looked at Swift Nick. “You, too.”

  The ferret grinned.

  “Never mind that. Let’s get everyone free,” she said. “Where are the keys?”

  “O’er ’ere.” Alfred retrieved the keys from Ruthven, tossed them over.

  Harry caught them. Tucking away his pistol, he went to open the cell.

  Grandpapa came out first, and Tessa threw herself into his arms. “Oh, Grandpapa!”

  “Later, my brave Tessie,” he murmured. “We ain’t got time now.”

  “Yes,” she said tremulously, “they may have Mama—”

  Harry’s curse startled her.

  As did her father’s calm words. “Move away from him, Tessa.”

  She whirled around, shock slamming into her. Her father now held the pistol, she saw numbly…must have filched it from Harry as he left the cell. Now he aimed it at Grandpapa.

  “Anyone moves and Black dies instantly,” Father said.

  “What the bloody ’ell are you doing, Todd?” Grandpapa growled.

  “I’m sick and tired o’ your blustering, you old fool. Almost died on account o’ you. Well, now the tables are turned,” Father gloated, “and I got the power now.”

  “Father,” Tessa pleaded.

  On her shoulder, Swift Nick bared his fangs.

  “Shut your mouth,” he snapped. “Now all o’ you, drop your weapons and kick ’em o’er ’ere if you don’t want Black to die.”

  With clear reluctance, Harry and Alfred did as her father demanded.

  “You too, girl,” Father said.

  Her hand trembling, Tessa tossed over her remaining dagger.

  Her father waved Harry toward the cell. “Now get in. You too, Doolittle.”

  When neither moved, he cocked the pistol. “Do it, or he dies.”

  Tessa saw the conflict on her lover’s face, and her desperation mounted.

  “Please, Harry, just do as he says,” she said.

  Slowly, Harry moved to the cell. Alfred followed.

  Swift Nick hissed—and, in a lightning-fast move, Father yanked the ferret from her shoulder. She cried out as he slung Swift Nick into the cage with such force that the creature’s long body slammed into the back bars. With a moan, Swift Nick slumped to the ground.

  Harry rushed to tend to the animal as Father locked them in.

  “I’m doing this for us, Tessa. Once I get rid o’ this bastard, I’ll be king.” His face shone with terrifying greed, an expression that made him a stranger to her. “When I’m in power, you’ll ’ave riches beyond your wildest dreams.”

  “I don’t dream of riches.” Her voice hitched. “Don’t do this.”

  Her father slowly circled Grandpapa, the gun steady in his hands. “This is what we’ll do. I’ll put a bullet in ’im. Then we’ll say O’Toole did it, and I killed O’Toole in revenge. Aye, that’ll make me a ’ero,” he said, chortling, “and Black’s natural successor.”

  “No, Father. You know this is wrong,” she pleaded.

  “Once I’m king, I can grant you anything you want. Even that bastard Bennett.” His eyes glittered. “I’ll let you ’ave ’im, Tessa: all you ’ave to do is back up my story.”

  “She won’t lie for you, you bastard,” Harry growled, shaking the cell bars. “Neither will I.”

  Her love: so strong, noble, and good.

  “I love you.” The words flew from her lips.

  The love in Harry’s eyes would have warmed her for a lifetime. “I love you.”

  “You’ve made your decision, Bennett. Dead men tell no tales.” Malcolm Todd’s evil smile snuffed out her last flicker of hope.

  While this man may have sired her, he was not her kin.

  “What will it be, girl?” He addressed her brusquely. “If you’re with me, you leave the room while I take care o’ business.”

  “I will not leave. Nor will I lie.” She stepped in front of her grandfather.

  “Go, Tessie,” Grandpapa said heavily. “Ain’t e’er asked you for nothing, but I’m asking you now. Go.”

  “I will not go.” She remained facing her father, her head held high. “I am a Black. If you’re going to murder Grandpapa, then you’ll have to kill me first.”

  In the background, she heard Harry’s shout of denial.

  Malcolm Todd’s brows drew together. Then his expression wiped clean. “As you wish.”

  He took aim. She forced herself not to look away as the blast shot through the room.

  Death was not as bad as she thought it would be. Her ears buzzed, she felt numb, but there was no pain. Only a strange, floating sort of sensation.

  She heard a gasp. Odd, it didn’t come from her…but Todd? Then she saw the red blossom on the man’s chest.

  An instant later, he crumpled to the ground.

  She remained paralyzed, even as her grandfather scrambled to pick up the fallen gun.

  “Is he dead?” A quiet voice…Mama’s?

  Tessa’s head swung to the doorway. Mama stood there, a pistol in her outstretched hands.

  “Not yet,” Grandpapa said. “Stand back, my jewel, I’ll finish ’im.”

  “No.” Mama walked over to the fallen figure of her husband. “I want him to see me.”

  “You?” Todd gasped up at her. “You…shot me…”

  “No one harms my family,” she said.

  His eyes wide, Todd let out a gurgling sound, and his head fell to the side.

  Tessa remained frozen, her eyes on the man whose blood ran in her veins, who’d been willing to shed the blood of his own kin. Who now lay dead because of his greed.

  And she felt nothing.

  She heard the clang of the cell door opening, and, an instant later, Harry’s warmth and strength surrounded her, flowed into her, bringing her back to life. She drew in a shuddering breath as he murmured to her. She felt the familiar scrabble of claws up her arm, and heat pressed against her eyes as Swift Nick’s furry head nuzzled her neck.

  “It ain’t o’er,” Grandpapa said urgently. “We got to get—”

  At that instant, thundering footsteps sounded outside.

  Harry shoved her behind him as the first figure burst into the room.

  “Bloody hell.” Ambrose Kent’s gaze surveyed the scene, taking in the fallen bodies and the bound and gagged Ruthven. “What happened in here?”

  * * *

  An hour later, Tessa stood on the prow of the boat. Dawn hadn’t yet broken, water and sky forming a seamless dark canvas. She was watching Harry talk with his supervisor. A stern-faced Peeler, Inspector Davies hadn’t been exactly friendly to her, yet she owed him nonetheless for the role he’d played in defeating the enemy. At this moment, his men, along with others of her team, were rounding up the villains to bring them into custody.

  She couldn’t hear what Davies was saying to Harry, but the
inspector clapped a hand on Harry’s shoulder before exiting on a lighter.

  Harry approached her, and her heart ached at his strength and virile beauty. He was everything she’d ever wanted. And, because she loved him, she had to let him go.

  “How did it go with Davies?” she managed to say.

  “He offered me a promotion and a raise.” Harry looked bemused. “He even forgave me for suspecting his involvement.”

  Do it now. It’ll only get harder if you wait. Set him free.

  “You don’t have to marry me,” she blurted.

  He blinked. “Pardon?”

  “I know you want to do the right thing. But we’re too different, you and me.” Her heart breaking, she forced herself to go on. “We come from different worlds. You need to lead an honorable life, and you will, when the truth of De Witt comes out and the world discovers all you’ve done to defeat evil. In society’s eyes, you’ll be a hero. But you can’t be that if you’re married to me.” Taking a breath, she said, “So I release you from any obligation.”

  Holding his beautiful, bespectacled gaze was the hardest thing she’d ever done. She waited, praying she had the strength to see this through.

  His brows drew together. “Do you love me?”

  Blooming hell. Why is he making this so hard?

  She couldn’t lie. “I do, and I know you love me. But what if love isn’t enough? Look what happened with my grandparents. Grandmama lost her family, and Grandpapa was nearly destroyed. I won’t let you make such a sacrifice for me. And the truth is…my own happiness would be tainted if I had to leave my world and my family behind.”

  “I turned down the promotion. Gave Davies my resignation.”

  Dumbfounded, she stared at him. “Oh, Harry, you can’t do that for me—”

  “I didn’t do it for you. I did it for me.” He cupped her face, and she shivered with longing at the familiar rasp of those big, strong hands. “You’re what I want, Tessa, the meaning I’ve been searching for even though I didn’t know it. There will be other jobs, and, to be honest, I’m better suited to being a scientist than a policeman anyway. But there will be no other you. You’re my light, my anchor, my love.”

  Tears slipped free, and she didn’t try to stop them.

  “I love you so much,” she said brokenly. “I’ll be the wife of your dreams, I swear. I’ll do everything in my power to be worthy—”

  He kissed her. A kiss of love, passion, and tender persuasion that vanquished her doubts. That convinced her, once again, that love could conquer all.

  When their lips parted, her eyelashes lifted, and awe flooded her. Behind him, dawn had broken, dazzling colors filling the sky. The light glinted in his thick hair, in his smiling, loving eyes.

  Her heart overflowing, she smiled back.

  40

  Three Days Later

  * * *

  “If you pace any more, you’ll wear a trench into the Aubusson,” Mama chided.

  “What’s taking so long?” Tessa muttered. “Harry and Grandpapa have been closeted in the study for nearly an hour.”

  “I expect there are terms to decide. Marriage isn’t just between two people, you know.”

  Hearing the hitch in Mama’s voice, Tessa stopped pacing and joined the other on the settee.

  “Are you all right?” she said quietly.

  “Since you asked me a quarter hour ago? I’m fine, dear.” Mama gave her a tight-lipped smile.

  “But you’ve, um,”—Tessa struggled to find the gentlest way to phrase it—“…lost a husband.”

  “And you a father.” Mama smoothed out her black silk skirts, her gaze not quite meeting Tessa’s. “A father that I took from you.”

  Tessa blinked. The other couldn’t be serious?

  “He may have sired me, but he was no father. I only have one parent, and that is the one who saved my life. You protected me when Malcolm Todd would have killed me and Grandpapa too. You are my true kin, Mama,” she said, her voice throbbing with emotion.

  “I love you, Tessa.” A tear slid down Mama’s pale cheek. “I was so worried that once the shock had passed, you’d be angry…”

  “Never at you.” She touched her forehead to her mother’s. “Neither of us will easily forget what happened, but we have each other. And we will get through it.”

  Their hands met and held. Their fitful breaths were the only sound in the drawing room.

  Until Grandpapa’s voice boomed from the doorway. “What did I say ’bout a Black not shedding tears?”

  Tessa hastily wiped her eyes. Her grandfather hobbled over, and she rose, giving him a quick peck on the cheek before relinquishing the place next to Mama. She crossed over to Harry, who tipped up her chin, his gaze concerned.

  “Everything’s fine here,” she whispered. “How’d things go in there?”

  He smiled, putting an arm around her waist.

  Relieved, she snuggled against him.

  Grandpapa gave Mama his handkerchief.

  “I’m sorry to put you through this, my jewel,” he said gruffly.

  “You didn’t put me through anything.” Mama blew her nose and straightened her shoulders. “We Blacks stick together. I haven’t done anything for you that you haven’t for me.”

  Before Tessa could puzzle out her mother’s words, Grandpapa cleared his throat. “Speaking o’ family, you’ll want to congratulate the newest member.”

  Felicitations and a toast with champagne followed.

  “Now that the danger’s o’er, got work to do. The underworld’s in shambles,” Grandpapa said matter-of-factly, “and I’ll need all ’ands on board. I expect you to ’elp with the rebuilding.”

  Thrilled at Grandpapa’s acceptance of her beloved, Tessa looked expectantly at Harry.

  “It would be my honor, sir,” her fiancé said gravely.

  She beamed.

  “Well, missy, ain’t you going to offer a ’and as well? God knows you’ve been pestering me ’bout it long enough. Now that I need you, all you do is stand there, smiling like a fool.”

  She stared at her grandparent’s stern countenance, the loving acceptance in his dark eyes, and she blurted, “The House of Black can count on me, Grandpapa.”

  “It always ’as, Tessie.”

  He kissed her on the forehead and then declared it was time to give the betrothed couple some privacy. On his way out, Mavis at his side, he paused briefly at Grandmama’s portrait. He said nothing, only smiled—a heartbreaking smile of love that had known joy and suffering and had never failed.

  Tessa felt tears press against her eyelids once more.

  “Am I marrying a watering pot?”

  At Harry’s gentle teasing, she sniffled. “Of course not. We Blacks don’t cry. What took you and Grandpapa so long in the study? Did he give you any trouble? Because if he did—”

  “He accepted my proposal straightaway.” Harry looked bemused. “Told me he’d always wanted an alliance with my family.”

  “Then why was he pushing me to marry Ransom?”

  “Can’t you guess?”

  “Grandpapa was campaigning for the duke…so that I wouldn’t choose him?” She planted her hands on her hips. “Why, the devious old codger!”

  “Don’t you like the way things turned out?”

  She did, but she couldn’t very well admit that she liked being duped. “If Grandpapa wanted you to be his grandson-in-law so much, what took you so long in the study?”

  “We had other things to discuss.”

  “Such as?”

  “Black wanted me to arrange a meeting with Inspector Davies.” Harry gave her an amused look. “In order to express his gratitude.”

  “I can’t believe we owe a debt to Peelers,” she muttered.

  “They fought on our side, sprite. And they’re disposing of the hellfire,” Harry reminded her.

  “With your help. You’re the one doing all the work.”

  Harry had been working tirelessly to develop safe ways to handle the hellfir
e. He’d set up a laboratory and conducted experiments. Tessa hid a grin; she rather enjoyed seeing her professor at work.

  She fiddled with a button on his waistcoat. “Is that all you and Grandpapa talked about?”

  “We also discussed what to do about Ransom.”

  Seeing his taut jaw, she said quietly, “Leave it be. There was no harm done, and, besides, the duke has had to flee Town because of his debts. Let the moneylenders take care of him.”

  “When I think of him abducting you, trying to force you to marry him—”

  “It wasn’t quite like that.” At her fiancé’s glower, she said hastily, “I mean, nothing happened. It was child’s play to escape—”

  “The memory of you swinging twenty-five feet above the ground is not one to remind me of if you’re trying to plead that bastard’s case.”

  She didn’t want Harry to suffer any consequences for trouncing the duke. Besides, she didn’t think Ransom was evil, merely expedient. A prank seemed a more fitting punishment for his crime.

  “Why don’t you let me take care of Ransom?” she suggested. “I’ll add him to my List of Retribution.”

  Harry’s arms crossed over his wide chest, his brows lifted. “Having experienced your brand of punishment, I can assure you that no man is going on that list but me.”

  Her knees quivered at his possessive tone, the steamy memories he evoked.

  And, apparently, he had another memory to give her.

  He got down on one knee. Her heart drummed as he took her left hand.

  “On that note, I’d best make this official.” He cleared his throat. “Tessa Black-Todd, daughter of the House of Black, mother of ferrets, and love of my life—will you do me the honor of marrying me?”

  She laughed. “Yes, yes.”

  He slid a ring onto her finger. Set in a simple frame of gold, the opal glowed with a rare fire.

  “Oh, Harry, it’s beautiful.” She turned her hand this way and that.

  “It was my mother’s.” Rising, he brushed his knuckles along her cheek. “She would have loved to welcome you into the family, and my siblings are eager to do so in her stead.”

  Tessa looked into his handsome, steadfast face, and knew that she’d found her place of belonging. With this man by her side, she could face anything. For they had the kind of love that would endure suffering and celebrate joy and never fail.