“Personally,” the earl drawled, “if I find myself waking with an attractive woman beside me, I consider it a fine morning indeed.”
Simon laughed and settled into a chair without a plate of food. The aromatic smells of eggs and kippers made his stomach revolt. He gestured for tea instead. “Why are you here?”
“May I eat first? The food on the ship left much to be desired.”
Contemplating why the earl would come here of all places, Simon’s gaze moved along the cloth-covered length of the table, then around the room. He frowned as he noted the minuscule floral pattern in the golden damask that covered the walls. He had never noted the flowers before and wasn’t certain he liked them. “Can you not eat and speak at the same time?”
“Not while maintaining my dignity,” the earl retorted.
Simon’s examining perusal returned to his guest. The earl was a figure of some notoriety in England, lauded for his dark handsomeness and exquisite garments. Women flocked to him and he cultivated his libidinous reputation with relish. The nearly foppish façade was brilliantly affected to deflect suspicion. It was difficult to believe that a man so concerned with his appearance would have any time remaining to head an elite organization of English spies.
“I may return to bed, then,” Simon said with more than a trace of irritation in his tone. He had no need to await anyone’s regard.
“Very well.” Eddington sighed and set his utensils down. “Privacy is in order.”
Simon nodded to the servant who had poured his tea, then waved the man away. The two footmen by the entrance also retreated, closing the door behind them.
“Since you left Jacques and Cartland in my care,” the earl began, “we’ve had the opportunity to question them at length. Both men have been extremely forthcoming, and Jacques, in particular, has a great deal of valuable information to share.”
“How fortunate for you,” Simon said dryly.
“Yes, but it also raises a great deal of questions. Mademoiselle Rousseau was traded for a dozen men. In addition to that expense, Jacques and Cartland were forfeited. We need to know why she is so important to the Illuminés.”
Lysette.
Simon arched a brow. The woman would forever be in trouble of some sort or another. “You need to know,” he corrected. “I do not care.”
“You will care,” the earl said, “once you understand the stakes involved.”
“I highly doubt that. Regardless, it would be wiser for you to stay with someone else. Someone who has no known history of aiding the British Crown.”
“But you may require my assistance.” Eddington reclined insolently into the high-backed chair.
“With what?” Simon’s hands wrapped tightly around the curved arms of his seat. “The only activity I am presently engaged in is carnal pursuit. I assure you, I can manage that task well enough on my own.”
Eddington ignored the jibe. “You spent some time with Mademoiselle Rousseau, did you not?”
“Too much time.”
“You tired of her?”
“We were never lovers, if that is your hope.”
“By all accounts, she is quite lovely.”
“Beautiful,” Simon agreed, “and a bit touched. I like my bedsport wild, but sane.”
“Interesting.” Blue eyes narrowed. “Perhaps you could overlook her brain in favor of her body?”
“Perhaps you can fuck her yourself,” Simon bit out. “Do not forget, my lord. I no longer work for you.”
The earl smiled. “I have not forgotten.”
“Good.” With his mood souring by the moment, Simon pushed back from the table and stood. Putting distance between him and Eddington was suddenly of primary importance. There were very few things as dangerous as a politically minded, ambitious man. “Enjoy the house. I believe I will quit France in favor of Spain.”
“You would be paid handsomely,” Eddington offered.
“You do not understand.” Simon set both hands palms-down atop the table. “Lysette is no fool. She knows I disdain her. If I approach her for sex, she would see straightaway that I had ulterior motives. There is no chance she would trust me.”
“She might, if you tell her that you have been betrayed by those you once worked for. Tell her that your accounts have been seized, and you thirst for revenge and restitution.”
Simon snorted. “Why in hell would she believe such a tale?”
“Because it’s true?”
Shock held Simon frozen for the length of several heartbeats, then he growled, “Surely you would not be so imprudent.”
“Desperate times lead to desperate measures.” The earl maintained his leisurely pose, but Simon felt the tension in him. He knew he’d provoked a dangerous enmity. “England is beset on all sides. I would do anything to protect her.”
“Spare me. This has nothing to do with the good of England and everything to do with your own lofty aspirations.”
“If my aspirations are achieved by assisting my country, what harm is there in that?”
Simon’s fist slammed into the table, rattling everything that rested upon it. Eddington flinched.
“What harm is there?” Simon barked. “You force me to risk my life when your own would do as well? You are comely enough. Why not manage the deed yourself?”
“I am at a disadvantage from the start. Since I lack even an introduction to Mademoiselle Rousseau, I have months of acclimation ahead of me. The same difficulty faces every other alternate I considered. I am left with no choice but you.”
“Just as I have no choice?” Simon snapped. “You drag me into your mire with a smile.”
Eddington attempted a more serious mien, but it was too late. Simon was infuriated as he had never been before. The whole of his life he had made every move by necessity, never having an option if he wanted to survive. The thought of finally achieving independence had been dear to him. Never looking over his shoulder, never fearing he would be discovered with something to hide.
. . . to be thrust back into that life against his will . . .
He realized he’d never had any power at all.
He should have followed Mitchell’s example—gathered his coin, changed his name, and traveled to a distant land.
Although he collected his error too late, Simon was a man who lived by his wits. He never made the same mistake twice. Eddington had him on a leash now, but he would not always. When all was said and done, Simon intended to ensure that he was never under anyone’s thumb again.
And Eddington would rue the day he set this plan in motion.
Pulling out his chair again, Simon sat. “Tell me everything you know.”
Lynette turned back and forth before the mirror with wide eyes.
“I am not certain I possess the aplomb to carry this garment,” she said, her gaze meeting Solange’s reflected perusal.
“Absurde. You are a vision.” Solange stood at her back, fluffing out the many layers of lace and shimmering blue-green silk. “You remind me of your mother when we first met.”
It seemed not long ago that Lynette had enjoyed nothing so much as shopping (except, perhaps, flirting). Her modiste expenditures had been exorbitant, a fact her father often scolded her about. It could not be avoided, she used to say, po
inting out how the richer colors and fabrics she favored were costlier than the pastels Lysette preferred.
The gown she presently wore would once have been a delight. The glorious color, accented with layers of gold lace and satin, was alluringly cut to accent her slender waist and full bosom. As she moved from side to side, the veriest hint of rosy areola peeked above the dangerously low bodice. It was the garb of a seductress, a role she had once prided herself on aspiring to.
Now she felt her cheeks flushing and her hands tugged at the material trying to pull it into a less revealing position. She could not help but hear Lysette’s admonishment that the brain was as much a sexual organ as the breasts and hips.
“You are more than beauty, Lynette,” her sister would say.
“You are the brilliant one,” Lynette would retort without heat. She loved her sister too much to compete with her. It was simply the way things were. Lysette was a creature of calculated reason; Lynette was more tactile and emotional.
At least she had been. She was not that girl any longer.
Since Lysette’s passing, Lynette had taken to reading the many books her sister had left behind, finding comfort in the feeling of closeness the activity engendered. She also found comfort in the changes wrought by her new awareness of mortality. There had been so much remaining for Lysette to accomplish. Lynette—too long aimless and frivolous—realized that life was finite and she wished hers to be filled with more than mere flirtations and parties.
“You met Maman while visiting a modiste, did you not?” Lynette asked, gesturing for her mother’s maid, Celie, to approach and undress her.
“Twirling before a mirror, just as you are doing now,” Solange agreed, moving to her open armoire in search of another gown. “Of course, the attire she was fitted for that afternoon was not suitable for more than a lover’s eyes.”
For a moment, Lynette considered asking more questions, then she shuddered and thought better of it. She did not want to think of her mother and father in carnal congress.
“How about this?” Solange asked, shaking out a pure white gown. It was lovely, if demure, with elbow-length sleeves and cream satin bows. “I commissioned this gown as a jest.”