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"I’ed his brows at her, "it’s for a bit of pue aside, he actually ood company, as he didn’t try to fill the silence or look at her with pity

A warm breeze brushed over them when he finally spoke "We should be partners"

Miranda stirred "Partners?" Having cried on and off for two days, her throat was now tight, and the words cahed "Smooth your ruffles, it ain’t like that with you" His face twisted hat Miranda could only gather was extrea like brass tacks an all, but I don’t get a stiffy when I’m next to you"

She snorted then, but sobered at his ht I don’t find you attractive in that way either"

He nodded thoughtfully "It’s like you’re "

"You have a sister?" Would she worry over hione?

"Had" He tossed a flake of plaster off the side, and they watched it bounce over a rubbish bin "Died six years back"

Gently, she touched his elbow "I’ht" They were silent for a moment "Way I see it, you need a distraction and blunt" He shrugged, then winced, before easing himself into a more comfortable position "I need blunt and a partner who’s fearless like lance "Besides, your lil’ secret packs ether And every sensible body fears his hit"

She stiffened "I won’t do that again Ever"

"You will," he said with utter conviction "A cat cornered will use her claws And why shouldn’t she, eh? You’ll find yourself thankful for that fire again one day, " She would not becoive Martin the satisfaction

Billy made a noise of indifference "Don’t knohy you’re so fearful of a bloody useful talent"

"I’m not afraid," she said with more conviction than she felt "It’s si up fanning then?" His expression was skeptical to say the least, and her insides writhed, the urge to avoid his gazeher face heat

"No," she said

"Didn’t think so"

He shifted to face her "Found a better way do defend yourself, have you?"

She si to go out, let a in the wind"

"I don’t know" Absently, she stuck her hand into her pocket to feel the coin hiding there His coin She didn’t bring it out, lest it catch Billy’s eye She still didn’t trust the crook farther than she could throw hio where?" Billy’s appalled tone implied that the entirety of the world was contained within the arms of the Tha the surface of the coin’s centerwith frogs?" His nostrils flared "You’re off your nut if you’d rather live with a bunch of fancy frog legs then sport with me"

Miranda bit off a smile "Perhaps I a we could pull"

He waggled those brows again, and she nearly laughed, which he saw, and pressed his advantage accordingly "I suspect you like the thrill of danger Just a bit, eh? Tell us the truth, now" He risked his dae

Did she? Miranda stared out at the s in London’s dark corridors Or a person could be found Sht

On a whio"

Before she could second-guess herself, she tossed it high The coin reached its zenith and seeht and glinted for just a moment, then shot down to meet her outstretched hand

They bent over her palm in unison

"A moon?" Billy’s thin lips twisted "What’s that then? Heads? Or tails?"

A laugh slowly took her as her fingers closed over the coin "Heads Definitely heads"

She took a deep breath, and despite the rush of coal dust and grihter, clearer Hope blooiven air "Partners then"

Chapter 8

New York City, May 1881

Isaac Mayer had worked for Archibald Wallace for precisely eight years An eternity when it came to Wallace Steel Mr Wallace did not keep employees He replaced them, either when they quit–rew tired of their curiosity Only his majordomo, Gilroy, stayed Not that host in the vastcare of Mr Wallace’s needs and keeping the world out

As for Mr Wallace, he was not a bad employer Not in the least Half of the ti on business--or at least that hat he claimed No, not a bad employer at all But one was compelled to overlook his appearance Mayer had perfected the practice

Look him in the eyes, that was the trick Avoid the rest

Only the eyes Those eyes were shrewd, true, but never cruel, at least not toward him Mr Wallace’s competitors were another matter

And what did Mayer care for looks or oddities such as Mr Wallace and his infa to hire a Jew Not in New York Not where these lish aristocracy while hiding the fact that utter It did notas easily as his body understood the need for air It did not matter that he could look at a company’s financial statements and know precisely where the weak points were and precisely how to fix thereedy Jew

Every door in New York had been shut in his face Until Mr Wallace had found him and made Mayer his personal secretary and jack-of-all -trades Because his talents mattered very o hang

Mayer had eventually been forced to adular when it came to business and finance So Mayer learned what he could And together they all but conquered New York Which was really quite a to Mayer, for they had done it all behind closed doors The outside world rarely set eyes on Archibald Wallace, or Archer, as he had once heard Gilroy call hientleman who had arrived in New York City as if born from the sea and created an empire out of thin air