Page 38 of Master of Games
He kissed her one last time and then retrieved his shirt and boots. “John here is going to keep me safe.”
But as he tossed on his clothes and then disappeared into his own room, she couldn’t help but tremble with fear.
They’d only just found each other. And her heart…it was his to keep.
Caden strapped three pistols to his body. One on either hip and the third in the small of his back, tucked into his belt.
He already knew who made his way up the drive. Lord Whitehouse. He’d not told Tabbie because he didn’t wish for her to worry.
Fuck, he hoped he didn’t die. It wasn’t his own life he cared about but Tabbie’s. She needed him, even more so after what they’d done tonight.
Which was why he could not afford to lose.
He rolled his shoulders, turning to John. “If this is who I think it is, we’re in for a real fight.”
John gave a nod in return. “Understood.” They moved down the center stairs, fifteen men waiting in the entry by the front door.
John did not hesitate. “Hector and Alexander, station yourself outside her ladyship’s door. You five, out the back, disappear behind the trees that line the drive. Guns loaded and ready to fire. Make smoke even if you can’t make the shot.”
“Good thinking.”
Then he pointed at the rest. “Line up behind His Grace and myself and look formidable.”
Caden was impressed. “Where’d you learn strategy like that?”
“The army.” John began loading his own pistols.
Caden made a note. If he made it out of this, when he married Tabbie, John was joining his personal staff.
Drawing in a deep breath, they made their way out into the night. He caught sight of one footman slipping behind a tree before the clop of several horses interrupted the quiet of the night. Moving down the stairs, he stopped in the center of the drive.
“Halt.” His voice echoed through the night.
“Ironheart,” Whitehouse called back. “Who knew you had that kind of command in you? I’ve always considered you a clown.”
“And I considered you a fool, but never as much as I do tonight,” he returned as the footmen fanned out behind him, leveling their pistols. “You have to know this was a bad plan.”
Whitehouse stopped his horse, swinging down from the saddle. “My son is dead.”
“By your own hand.”
“My second in command is also gone.”
Ironheart didn’t comment. He’d been there when his friend Max had sent the imposter to the gallows.
“The queen hunts me, thanks to you.”
Caden gave a nod of acknowledgment.
“I want a death of honor. Not one at a public hanging.” Whithouse’s men swung off their horses as well.
“Meaning?” He knew it was a trap. Lord Whitehouse, despite his religious pulpit, rarely acted with honor.
“Duel. You and me.”
Caden’s jaw turned to granite. He ought to refuse. Whitehouse was a man headed for the grave and Caden ought not put himself at risk hastening the process. But he knew that Whitehouse would be devilishly difficult to apprehend, even with the sheer number of men here to help Caden.
And some of them would die in the attempt. “I accept.”
