The Duke Identity (Game of Dukes #1)(101)
Tessa now sat next to her mother on the couch, Alfred on her other side. She’d already thanked her friend profusely for all he’d done. Alfred, being Alfred, had waved aside her words of gratitude; currently, he was plowing his way through a plate of refreshments.
The rest of the group was sitting or standing around the coffee table. Although Tessa had slept little last night, the reason standing behind her, she felt invigorated. With all the heads in the room, they would come up with a plan to rescue her kin.
“Thank you all for coming,” she said, and the chitchat quieted in the drawing room. “On behalf of the House of Black, I want to express my gratitude for your assistance.”
“Any friend of Harry’s is a friend of the Kents,” Ambrose Kent said.
“Your grandfather once did me a great service, Miss Todd.” The sultry voice belonged to Marianne Kent, Ambrose’s wife, a glamorous silver blonde. “And I am not one to forget a debt.”
During the earlier introductions, Tessa had discovered that Mama and Marianne Kent were acquainted. Although the two had not kept in touch, Mrs. Kent had apparently planned Mama’s wedding, a fact that Tessa had been too young to remember.
Destiny meant to twine the paths of the Kents and Blacks, it seemed.
Feeling Harry’s hand on her shoulder, Tessa looked up at him, and the steadiness of his bespectacled gaze strengthened her.
She turned to the Garritys, who occupied a love seat. “We Blacks are in your debt for taking care of Mama. May I offer my sincere apologies for the, um, subterfuge at my last visit?”
“No apology necessary.” Gabby’s smile was as bright as her red curls, her blue gaze clear. “With your family in danger, of course you had to be careful. And we were ever so happy to host Mrs. Todd. There must be no talk of debt, isn’t that right, Mr. Garrity?”
Garrity’s black brows lifted infinitesimally. “As you say, Mrs. Garrity.”
Tessa had a feeling that the moneylender was not quite on the same page as his wife when it came to the debt he was owed. No matter. Once her grandfather was free, he would reward all those who’d been loyal to him.
“The House of Black does not forget a kindness—or a wrong. That scoundrel O’Toole will pay for what he has done.” Mama’s quiet voice rang with veracity. “Mr. Garrity, will you tell the group about the letter you received?”
Garrity removed a missive from the pocket of his dark frock coat. “It arrived this morning from O’Toole. He has declared himself the new king. He’s giving the dukes three days to swear fealty to him. If not, he will execute Black.”
A chill swept through Tessa, and Harry’s grip tightened on her shoulder.
“The blackguard wouldn’t dare,” she said in a choked voice.
“At this point, it is clear O’Toole would dare pretty much anything.” Garrity flicked a speck of lint from his trousers. “As far as I know, two dukes have crossed over to his side already. He has the men and means to take power. And if those loyal to Black resist, O’Toole will have an excuse to take Black’s life.”
Tessa’s heart kicked against her ribs. “What do we know about the flash house where O’Toole is keeping my kin?”
“Based on the information from my men’s surveillance, I’ve drawn a map.” This came from Ambrose Kent, who laid out a piece of parchment on the coffee table. Everyone crowded in for a closer look.
“It is situated in Blue Gate Fields, on the bank of the Thames. My men have scouted four entry points. There are the obvious ones at the front and back of the building.” Ambrose tapped his finger on the red X’s that marked each spot. “In addition, we believe there are two hidden entrances. My men spotted people entering the adjacent tavern and leaving through the flash house.”
“There is a tunnel below ground,” Harry said, “connecting the buildings?”
“Precisely.”
“What about this last entrance?” Tessa pointed to the remaining red X at the rear of the flash house. “It looks like it is in the river.”
“Good eye, Miss Todd. That last entry point does indeed lead into the Thames. My men have spotted lighters going into the banks beneath the flash house.”
“An underground water passage,” Violet breathed. “It reminds me of all those secret passageways we found when we solved that murder—remember, Carlisle?”
Viscount Carlisle, a rugged Scotsman, sighed. “Aye, lass. No matter how hard I try to forget.”
“That is four entry points,” Harry cut in. “Have we the men to cover them?”
Kent looked grim. “That brings us to the next question: our plan of attack. Garrity, what is your estimate of O’Toole’s forces?”
“O’Toole is the most powerful of all the dukes. With two others, Moran and Lavery, joining him, he will outnumber our combined forces at least two to one. And there is more.” Garrity’s dark eyes were forbidding in his pale face. “When Black and I met, we both agreed that O’Toole cannot be doing all this alone. He is a ruthless brute, yes, but there is a sophistication behind the hellfire, a subtlety and deliberation in how he has strategically been undermining Black’s power that is uncharacteristic of him.”
“O’Toole has a partner.” To Tessa, this made sense. “Do you think it was De Witt?”