The Custom House Murders (Captain Lacey Mysteries #15) - Ashley Gardner Page 0,89

on the moment.” Creasey ceased smiling, the steel in him coming forth. “Gratify me on this one point, and you and your boy, at least, will live.”

I drew a long breath. The chessboard lay waiting, the pieces in their rows. He’d planned even this, no matter that he pretended the proposed game was a spontaneous whim. He knew he had to let Peter go or risk the wrath of every magistrate and the entire House of Lords and most of the judiciary. But he could humiliate me and take his revenge on Denis at the same time.

“Major Eden has nothing to do with this,” I said. “He should leave now.”

“He made his choice,” Creasey said. “Now you must make one. Decide.”

The game? Or take our chances battling our way back to the street? And then every moment after that until Creasey was dead.

I tapped my way to the game table, which remained alone in its corner. “I have the advantage of moving first?”

“If you like.” Creasey pried himself to his feet and made his way to the board, guarded at every step.

I glanced at my friends. Brewster tried to signal me with agitated eyes not to accept. Eden’s brow furrowed in concern. Only Denis remained implacable, his expression a careful blank.

I’d seen Denis face his enemies before, outwardly calm, but inwardly raging. This time, even his eyes showed nothing. He protected everything from Creasey, including his true thoughts.

I pulled out a chair and sat down. “Then let us begin.”

“I will make it easier for you,” Creasey said as he seated himself. “We will play not just one game, but three. Whoever wins two of them will be declared the victor. That way you may learn from your mistakes.”

I did not want to learn a thing from this man but how loud he screamed when Brewster broke his bones. I removed my ruined gloves and set them on my knee.

“Very well,” I answered.

I immediately lifted a light jade pawn and moved it two squares forward. Creasey drew a breath at my abruptness but countered by bringing out his king’s knight.

We shifted the pieces one by one. Creasey expected me to pause and study before making each decision, so when I simply fanned out my pieces with decided clicks, he blinked a little.

Soon I had my pawns in a guarding line and had castled to move my king to a safer position.

Creasey formed a pawn chain of his own, taking control of a long diagonal. I moved my rooks to one corner, readying them to swoop. Creasey placed his queen to block this setup, and I took it with a knight.

While another man might curse at this loss, Creasey simply took my queen with his bishop. He was setting up to check my king, and I sacrificed a pawn to prevent him.

Creasey took the pawn with delight. He obviously did not expect much from me, even with the resolute way I was playing tonight, and he sucked in a breath when I rained one rook down and took a pawn in his chain, threatening the entire line. He brought over his rook to defend, but I moved my second rook all the way to his king row, putting him in check.

Creasey blinked again, then his lip curled, and I knew that from now on I’d have to fight for my life.

Anger made him a tad careless, however. Creasey lost a rook to my bishop before he took my bishop with a pawn. After a series of flurried moves, we were left with only a few pieces on the board: He a rook, pawn, and king, me with a rook and king.

I noted the room had grown very quiet. I was fairly certain not all the men around us were familiar with the game, but they’d drawn close to watch this battle in miniature.

Creasey thought he had me. My rook was a few squares from his king, but his lone pawn protected it. If I took the pawn, he’d take my rook, and then I’d be dead in the water.

I moved the rook swiftly to his end of the board. Creasey tried to counter by checking me at my end with his rook, but in a few moves, I’d made him put his own pawn between my king and his threatening rook, and moved my rook to check his king.

Creasey gave me a look of fury. “It will be a draw,” he said.

“I agree. Stalemate.”

Creasey snatched up the pieces and proceeded to set