In Total Surrender by Anne Mallory Page A

knew whose hand had been forced. It was better if she just went on her merry, flighty way though.
    “You came to warn us.” She looked at him through hair mussed and falling over her eyes.
    He took a step back. “I was in the neighborhood.”
    She took a step toward him. “Thank you.”
    He almost took another step back. He was here . . . because he had helped the situation degenerate. Yes. He had given her those debts back. Enabled her stupidity. A society girl with no claim on real-life matters.
    “Don’t thank me, just leave.”
    Her plump lower lip disappeared between her teeth. “I . . . yes. I will have my parents leave immediately. Of course. They can’t stay. I will get things settled in the meantime.”
    He wasn’t sure what that cold feeling was in his gut. “ All of you will leave.”
    “But I need—”
    “To what? Stay here and reap the consequences of whatever mob comes to make the arrest?”
    “I . . . no, you make sense. I will go elsewhere for tonight and tomorrow. But I need to—”
    “You need to leave permanently. ”
    “I can’t, I—”
    “If you don’t leave London in one hour and fifty-six minutes with your parents,” he said pleasantly, “I will burn down your house.”
    Silence. Then—“I think I’m misunderstanding you.”
    “You are understanding me perfectly well.”
    “You just threatened to burn down my house. I think that is uncommon enough a response for me to question.”
    “What do you know about me, Miss Pace?”
    It was actually a question that burned deeply and undesirably.
    “I know that you are a fair man. And a kind man, when you want to be.” Where the hell did she get these notions? “And true to your word . . . oh.”
    He gave her a thin smile.
    Wide eyes stared back. “But I, I mean, I need to coordinate with our man of business. He has all manners of tasks to . . .” She sighed, obviously reading his expressions without trouble. “ I need to be here for a few more weeks as my man of business.”
    “You can do your business from elsewhere. You have plenty of correspondence capabilities.” He motioned toward the doorway.
    She stared at him. “And if I say no?”
    “Do you really want to say no? To continue whatever idiotic game you are playing? What the hell are you wearing ?”
    She stared down at the eyebrow in her hand. “I’m in too far to be embarrassed at this point,” she muttered.
    “And why do those trousers fit you?”
    My God. He had not just asked that.
    She looked down at the article of clothing in question, and he swore for a moment that a smile curved her lips, but when she looked up, that perpetually innocent expression was back in place. A trick of the light . . . maybe. “Took a few goes to get them right. I can give you instructions, though you don’t require tailoring.” She critically examined his seams— where they met. “You look quite sleek in—”
    “If you haven’t moved in two hours, I will guarantee you will.” He swiftly walked toward the exit. He had thought to go through the documents on the desk, but frankly, he had to get out of here. The men on duty would take care of things in case the Watch—or anyone else—came early. He didn’t need to be here. In fact, he would double the retinue, just to make sure nothing happ—
    —to make sure she was gone.
    “Have a productive day, Mr. Merrick!”
    He hadn’t had a productive day since she’d walked through his door.

Chapter 8
     
    A ndreas entered the hell a week later. He had chased Cornelius around northern England for a week, always missing the slippery bastard by a few hours. He should have taken lackeys with him to coordinate a trap, but taking others with him meant relying on other people for long periods of time.
    He already had someone to rely on. That someone was just taking forever on his goddamn honeymoon.
    But at least there was no Phoebe Pace to worry about. He had received a doubly verified report that indeed the Pace family