Suzi Love Read Online Free PDF Page A

your reputation!”
    She chose to ignore him. “Michael laughed it off. Refused to join their so-called group of friends who dabbled in investing. So they raised the stakes. If he refuses to hand over m … his calculations for all the new railway share ventures opening, within the next two weeks, they vowed to destroy the members of his family. One by one, until he gives in.”
    “Ah, now I understand. That’s why they’re keeping you alive. They’re waiting to acquire the records. They assume as eldest, and involved in a charitable society, you hold the most knowledge of … ” When he mumbled, she stiffened. Did he guess? “Of Michael’s future stock predictions. Then, when they have all they require, they’ll kill all — ”
    “Yes, yes, I know. They’ll dispense with us regardless.” She lifted her chin a notch. “But I can resolve this situation. Given a little more time, plus a little assistance from you.”
    “Ah! Back to the crux of the matter. What you require from me.”
    He widened his stance, pushed back his coat tails and leaned on one hip, though the intensity in his eyes belied his casual pose. Eyes that shone as black and mysterious as an eastern sultan’s eyes pierced, probed, and penetrated to the depth of her soul.
    • • •
    She shivered. Against the backdrop of a richly embellished Mayfair house, Cayle appeared like a demon-god who could breach the defences of mere mortals, including her, with one dark look. Ridiculous fancy.
    “As the Duke of Sherwyn, you’ve entrée into the best houses and social events.”
    After a scowl towards the ceiling, he muttered, “Thanks to my stepmother, I’m forced into it. But what does my recent social popularity have to do with your current predicament?”
    “In daylight, with other ladies, I can stroll about the streets. Visit shops, sometimes slip unnoticed into the twice-weekly stock auctions at the Hall of Commerce in Threadneedle Street. And I’ve already searched the desks of many of the mere misters and lesser peers of the lower orders of the consortium, as their houses aren’t guarded like fortresses.”
    “Do you mean to say you entered these men’s homes and rifled their papers?”
    “Well yes, but — ”
    “Are you mad?”
    “I risked little because those sort of houses cannot afford a footman guarding every passageway. Especially not on occasions such as those I attended, where every footman is needed to fetch drinks for belligerent guests. Slipping into those libraries was child’s play.” She sighed. “What I cannot do is visit the homes of the highest ranking peers to scour their correspondence for any that bears the special seal of the consortium. Nor secure enough privacy to copy any incriminating letters I may find. Someone always hovers, and watches, at those type of houses.”
    He paced before her like a restless panther, an angry scowl pulling his face taut. His fine looks had always turned heads, but this brooding beast carried a lethal combination of strength and menacing masculinity. She shivered. His newly acquired arrogance of bearing enhanced, rather than detracted from, his magnetism, although this time, she knew to avoid his magnetic pull.
    “You intend searching the houses of every peer in the city who is making money from stock shares?”
    “No, no, not all of them. We’ve done a lot of research — ”
    “We?”
    “My family have become quite adept at research. We’ve narrowed our search to gentlemen known to invest in railway expansions in a large way. Our final list is of those we consider to be involved in the inner, and most secret, tier of the syndicate. It contains eighteen names, the majority of whom are high-ranking peers.
    “Bloody hell, Becca.” He ground the expletive out through clenched teeth. “You’re out of your depth. I’ve been involved in similar commercial groups. They’ll stop at nothing for the sake of money.”
    “Nevertheless, we need certain details you may overhear