Like a jackal coming face-to-face with a full-grown lion.
“Now then, gentlemen.” Manning clasped his hands on his blotter and looked from Gabriel to Rafe. “What can I do for you?”
“It’s more a matter,” Rafe informed him, “of what we can, or will, or might deign to, do for you.” In an even tone, he related what he’d learned in Mainz, all the Prussian had told him, and described the sworn document, now in the keeping of a magistrate, that named Manning as the Prussian’s employer in the attempted abduction and murder of Lady Congreve.
Manning rushed to open his eyes wide and spread his hands. “I had no notion of any of this. Clearly the Prussian was misinformed—it was not I who hired him.”
Gabriel smiled, all teeth. “We thought you might say that. However, we’ve confirmed that you have acquired a position in Argyle Investments, a company with charitable aims, and are seeking to alter the company’s direction against the wishes of the other, original shareholders. Of particular note, you borrowed heavily to purchase the shares, no doubt counting on a windfall should Argyle accept the offer made by Curtis Foundries.”
“It’s plain,” Rafe said, reclaiming Manning’s attention, “that were you to be pressed to repay the interest on those loans, let alone the loans themselves, prior to any windfall, you would be run aground—which leaves you with a very real motive to seek to remove Lady Congreve.”
“Further to that,” Gabriel continued, “we’ve confirmed that certain parties in the city”—he listed the names; as each was spoken, Manning’s face paled a touch more—“now hold notes of hand from you. Each and every one is growing anxious for repayment. However, what you failed to mention when you borrowed from each was that you were simultaneously borrowing from the others.” Gabriel shook his head. “Your creditors are not at all happy with you, Manning.”
“Indeed,” Rafe said, “you might say they’re baying for your blood.” He tilted his head, his gaze on Manning’s now wide and fearful eyes. “Or they would be, except . . .”
To say that Manning was close to panic would be an understatement. He gripped the edge of his desk, in a strangled voice asked, “Except for what?”
“Except for me.” The words, in Roscoe’s deep voice, floated past Rafe’s shoulder.
Manning focused on Roscoe. Frowned. “I don’t believe I know you.”
From the corner of his eye, Rafe watched Roscoe uncross his long legs and gracefully stand. Roscoe was over six feet tall and, like Wolverstone, exuded a pronounced predatory aura.
“No. You don’t.” Roscoe walked forward to stand between Gabriel’s and Rafe’s chairs. “All you need to know is that I now hold all your loans, all your notes of hand.”
Manning’s eyes grew round. His jaw went slack. “All?”
From beneath hooded lids, Roscoe watched him. “You, Manning, are a minnow swimming in a pool of sharks. You’ve been splashing in the pool, stirring up mud—the sort of mud that brings me looking, and the sharks don’t like that. They’d much rather I stayed focused on my own concerns and didn’t look too closely at theirs.
“So.” Reaching into his coat pocket, Roscoe drew out a sheaf of papers. He fanned them out, showing Manning, who looked, and lost the last of his color. “I now hold these, but I haven’t yet paid for them. If I hand them back to their present owners and tell them what I know of your finances, they’ll tear you to shreds. As you know, given the nature of these gentlemen, I am not speaking figuratively.”
Manning wasn’t stupid. Terrified to his toes, but not stupid. He raised his eyes to Roscoe’s. “What do I have to do?”
Roscoe smiled, a chilling sight. “To make this nightmare go away you need to do two things. One—make all your shares in Argyle Investments over to me. And two—retire from the city and never let me hear of you dabbling in investments again.”
Manning paused. “If I make over the shares, you’ll redeem the notes of hand, the loans?”
Roscoe nodded. “I will.” He tipped his head at Gabriel and Rafe. “These two gentlemen can bear witness to my word.”
Both nodded.
Manning noted their certainty, then looked up at Roscoe. “As for the second stipulation, I—”
“Let me be frank.” Roscoe spoke over him. “I don’t like having shady characters like you operating in the same market I do. You may be well born, but you give us all a bad name. Removing you permanently would be no great difficulty—many in the city expect me to effect your disappearance, one way or another, now that I know you’ve been muddying our waters. I can’t be seen to be weak, after all—so one way or another, you will go.” Roscoe’s thin-lipped smile was the epitome of deadly. “I’m merely being kind enough to allow you to choose the manner in which you disappear.”
The trick in uttering threats, Rafe knew, was to believe in them yourself. In Roscoe’s case, there was absolutely no doubt that he meant every word.
Manning was outgunned, outclassed. Never taking his eyes from Roscoe’s hooded ones, he nodded. “I’ll have my secretary draw up the necessary papers.”
Roscoe smiled approvingly. “Excellent.” He looked at Rafe, then Gabriel. “I believe I can handle matters from this point, gentlemen.” He glanced at Manning as Rafe and Gabriel rose. “And I believe you may inform Lady Congreve that Manning here has lost all interest in her continuing health, in light of concerns over his own. Is that correct, Manning?”
“Yes. I mean . . .” Manning dragged in a breath. “I never had any interest in her ladyship’s health, and I certainly have none now.”
Rafe smiled. “Excellent. I’m sure she’ll be delighted to hear that.” With a nod to Roscoe, he headed for the door.
Gabriel followed him out of the room, down the stairs, and out of the front door. He halted on the pavement and held out his hand to Rafe. “An excellent outcome all around. I’d heard whispers that Roscoe dabbled in some non-profit-making enterprises, but for all his obvious presence, the man prizes his privacy. Still, you can tell Lady Congreve that Argyle Investments have a new shareholder and a very able protector.”
Shaking his hand, Rafe nodded. “Thank you for your help.”
Gabriel smiled. “That’s what old friends are for.”
They grinned, exchanged salutes, then Rafe headed for the carriage while Gabriel strode off in the opposite direction.
Loretta leaned forward as Rafe opened the carriage door and climbed in. “Well? How did it go? What happened?”
Still grinning, Rafe closed the door, dropped onto the seat beside her, pulled her to him and kissed her soundly.
Then he told her all that had happened, ending with the need to send an express letter to Esme in Bingen informing her that it was safe to come home.
“Thank goodness.” Loretta leaned against his shoulder, comfortable within the circle of his arms. “She’ll be home in a month or so, in good time for our wedding.” She met Rafe’s eyes. “I wouldn’t have wanted to get married without her.”
Rafe laughed. “I wouldn’t dare.”
The carriage turned into Mayfair. He glanced down, and saw a pensive expression on Loretta’s face. “What is it?”
She looked up, then smiled. “I was just imagining—trying to imagine—the next meeting of the board of Argyle Investments. What do you think will happen when Esme and Roscoe meet?”
Rafe thought, then said, “I think they’ll get on famously.”
Loretta nodded. “Esme has little respect for rules. I rather think Roscoe’s the same.”
Rafe thought of Roscoe, of Esme, and of them both together. He grinned. “I suspect it’s the other investors in Argyle who are in for a disconcerting time.”
Watch for the next sweeping
historical romance
from #1 New York Times
bestselling author
Stephanie Laurens
AND THEN SHE FELL
Coming April 2013 from Avon Books
About the Author
#1 New York Times bestselling a
uthor STEPHANIE LAURENS began writing as an escape from the dry world of professional science, a hobby that quickly became a career. Her novels set in Regency England have captivated readers around the globe, making her one of the romance world’s most beloved and popular authors. The Lady Risks All is her forty-eighth work. All of her previous works remain in print and readily available.
Readers can contact Stephanie via e-mail at
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By Stephanie Laurens
The Lady Risks All
The Black Cobra Quartet
The Untamed Bride • The Elusive Bride
The Brazen Bride • The Reckless Bride
The Bastion Club Novels
The Lady Chosen • A Gentleman’s Honor
A Lady of His Own • A Fine Passion
To Distraction • Beyond Seduction
The Edge of Desire • Mastered By Love
Captain Jack’s Woman (prequel)
The Cynster Novels
Devil’s Bride
A Rake’s Vow • Scandal’s Bride
A Rogue’s Proposal • A Secret Love
All About Love • All About Passion
The Promise in a Kiss • On a Wild Night
On a Wicked Dawn • The Perfect Lover
The Ideal Bride • The Truth About Love
What Price Love? • The Taste of Innocence
Where the Heart Leads • Temptation and Surrender
The Cynster Sisters Trilogy
Viscount Breckenridge to the Rescue
In Pursuit of Eliza Cynster
The Capture of the Earl of Glencrae
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Excerpts from The Edge of Desire and The Reckless Bride copyright © 2008, 2010 by Savdek Management Proprietary Ltd.
THE LADY RISKS ALL. Copyright © 2012 by Savdek Management Proprietary Ltd. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
EPub Edition OCTOBER 2012 ISBN: 9780062066268
Print Edition ISBN: 9780062068637
FIRST EDITION
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Stephanie Laurens, The Lady Risks All
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