Regency Spymasters 01 - Spy Fall (12 page)

Surprise marked his features, as if he couldn’t fathom such a sentiment. “Of course you do. You must. Everyone wants to learn to ride. Isn’t that so, Rosie?”

“Why yes…of course.” Rosie spoke haltingly, seeming as stunned as Mari by the extravagance of Cosmo’s gift. “A horse. He bought her a horse,” she murmured mostly to herself.

Feeling lightheaded, Mari shook her head. “I do not wish to learn.”

Bending over to pluck a blade of grass, Marcel murmured to Maxim. “
Il n’est pas trop intelligent.
”

“And why am I not so smart?” Cosmo narrowed his eyes in the brothers’ direction. “What exactly am I missing here?”

Marcel chewed on the green sliver. “She fears the animal.”

“
Idiot,
” she snapped at her brother, heat flooding her chest. “
Ferme-la.”

“Really, Mari,” Maxim said, unimpressed by her quiet fury as only a brother could be. “If Marcel were to shut his mouth, who would inform Monsieur Dunsmore of the true reason you do not ride?”

“That is ridiculous,” Cosmo scoffed. “She not only pilots hot air balloons, she also parachutes from them. Someone who manages those feats cannot be afraid of a bit of horseflesh.”

Maxim threw up his hands in a what-can-you-do motion. “But she is. It has always been this way.”

“Why else wouldn’t she ride?” Marcel added rhetorically. “You will have noted that Maxim and I do.”

“Now that you make mention of it…” Cosmo’s incredulous gaze flew to Mari. “You intimated you couldn’t afford to learn. Do you truly fear horses?”

Mon Dieu.
Embarrassed humiliation swamped her. “It is not that I fear them,” she lied. “I just don’t care for them.”

Maxim and Marcel exchanged a skeptical look.

Cosmo turned to the groom. “Why don’t you unsaddle Icarus? For now.”

Coins began to change hands between the brothers. “I told you she wouldn’t do it,” Maxim said with a grin.

“
Allez au diable,
” Mari retorted, cursing them to hell as she spun on her heels and stormed away.

“You were unkind.” She heard Rosie admonish her laughing brothers as she strode away. “Your behavior was most ungentlemanly.”

“We are not gentlemen.” Marcel’s voice carried from behind her.

“That is very apparent,” came Rosie’s sharp retort.

“Miss Lamarre, wait,” Cosmo called.

She didn’t break her stride, but that didn’t hinder him from catching up.

“I apologize,” he said, falling in step beside her. “I had no idea how you felt about horses.”

“You are no doubt amused by my cowardice.”

“Angel, you fall from the clouds. You’re hardly a coward.” He shook his head. “I now understand why the
M
brothers were so anxious to witness your reaction to my surprise.”

She came to a sudden halt. “Did you really purchase that animal for me?”

“I did.”

Guilt assailed her. “But why? You have a stable full of those beasts.”

“I needed to find a mount with the correct temperament for you. An animal that is both spirited and gentle.”

Her heart contracted. “You truly have too much coin if you can purchase an animal of such a high caliber on a whim.”

“I cannot disagree with you.” His face softened. “Won’t you at least consider learning to ride?”

Her heart skipped a beat. “I cannot. I comprehend my fear of the beasts is irrational, but any time I am near one, I panic. You would not understand.”

“Of course I can. Why do you suppose I refused to go up in the balloon with you?”

She halted, shocked. “Do not tell me that you were afraid.”

“Indeed I was. I have a terrible fear of heights.”

Her eyes widened. “
Vraiment
?”

“Truly. If a dissolute rakehell such as I can conquer my fears, surely a high-flying, sky-jumping angel-spy can do the same.”

Suppressing a smile, she did not react to his characterization of her as a spy. “Are you certain that hairy beast is gentle?”

“Yes, and I shall be with you every gallop of the way.”

“Gallop?” Alarm lit her insides.

Humor gleamed in his dark gaze. “Very well, I shall be with you every sedate step of the way.”

The following morning, Mari found herself standing before Icarus, her heart pounding like a trapped rabbit desperate for escape. The combined odors of hay, manure, dust, and sweat filled her nose. “You are certain he is gentle?”

“Not to worry. He’s a true ladies’ horse.” Snorting through his enormous nostrils, Icarus danced in place while Cosmo kept a firm hold of his head. They were alone; Mari had insisted he tell no one else about the lesson.

“A true ladies’ horse.” She put a tentative hand to the horse’s firm, fuzz-covered snout. To her surprised delight, the beast seemed to appreciate the gesture, given the way he nuzzled into her hand. “What does that mean?”

He kept Icarus’s head still to allow her tentative exploration. “Just that he’ll offer a smooth ride, which is important for a lady riding sidesaddle.”

“That is another thing.” To make matters worse, Cosmo’s other surprise, the package he’d had delivered to her room, was a cumbersome ladies’ riding habit. Made of thick, royal-blue cotton, it was cut in the military style with braided trim, a snug coat, and a white cravat. She tugged at the jacket. “I don’t comprehend why I cannot ride astride. It is not as though I don’t wear breeches.”

“I should think it obvious.” Cosmo stroked a firm hand down the beast’s neck. “I imagine your
other
work sometimes requires that you move with the upper orders of society. In that milieu, ladies ride sidesaddle.”

She had to concede the point. Although she always managed to find ways around it, being unable to ride did make her tasks more difficult at times. “I think I like you better foxed.”

“No doubt. It is true that one moves faster while riding astride. However, it can be easier to learn to ride sidesaddle.”

“I cannot imagine how that is possible.” She eyed the saddle’s two pommels on the mount’s left side. “It seems terribly unbalanced.”

Cosmo took hold of the top, upward-facing pommel. “You hook your right leg around this horn; the left goes up under the downward-facing horn.”

Mari frowned. “Once I learn this ludicrous way of riding, you will show me how to ride astride?”

“Of course. Given your line of work, you might need to make a quick escape.” Wrapping his sizable hands around her waist, Cosmo lifted her into the saddle with an effortless strength that never failed to make her insides flutter. “How does that feel?”

Her heart thumped as she wiggled a bit on the flat, padded seat. Although she was far nearer to the ground than when she parachuted, being atop the animal seemed a great deal more precarious than floating in the clouds. “Hmmm. I suppose it is not
too
terrible.”

He wrapped his hand around her right leg, just above her knee, and set her leg over the top horn. “There. Now you take the ribbons.”

Alarm stiffened her limbs, which caused Icarus to prance in place. “Whoa, there, settle down,” Cosmo crooned to the animal. Looking up at her, he said, “Try to relax. An animal can sense if his rider is nervous. You have to let Icarus know who’s in charge.”

“He is in charge and we both know it,” she snapped, her body tight with fear and tension. “The only person present who believes I can command this beast is you, and it’s entirely possible you are foxed after all.”

Laughter rumbled in his chest. “I’ll surely be in need of a drink once we’re done here. Now, concentrate. You take the ribbons.” He handed them to her. “And I will hold his head and guide him.”

She cast a dubious look at the whip he handed her, taking in the sharp, curved point on one end and the thin leather string at the other. “I refuse to use a cruel device on him.”

“He shan’t be hurt. It’s very light.” He showed her how to give the horse a gentle tap on the side opposite of where her legs hung. “The curved end is for opening gates and the like. You won’t actually use it on him.”

He guided Icarus around the paddock a couple of times, and she began to feel more comfortable with the gentle rocking motions.

“Very good.” He peppered his words of encouragement with a series of instructions she struggled to remember—keep your back straight, shoulders and hips even, tilt a bit more weight on the right hip to even out the balance.

Eventually, she worked up the courage to let Cosmo release the horse’s head. Walking at a sedate pace, she used the whip and ribbons to guide Icarus in a large circle. “Perhaps we should attempt going a bit faster.”

Cosmo’s eyes gleamed with approval. He showed her how to post when the horse went into a trot. It hurt her bottom, and the motion wasn’t nearly as pleasant as walking, but she eventually caught the rhythm and began to enjoy herself.

“This isn’t so intolerable,” she breathed, exhilaration coursing through her blood at the realization she was actually riding.

“Just wait until we get you into a canter,” Cosmo said. “You’ll feel like you are flying.”

Her chest tightened. “Not so fast, Monsieur Dunsmore. Remember what happened to Icarus when he tried to fly.” Pulling the animal to a stop, she placed her hands on Cosmo’s solid shoulders as he helped her dismount.

Laughing, he let her body do a slow slide along the solid expanse of his rugged frame. Once her feet touched the ground, he startled her by pressing his pliant lips against hers. It wasn’t the sexually charged, demanding kiss she’d come to crave. This was infinitely sweeter and more tender, as though he truly cared. “We wouldn’t want you to fall,” he murmured against her lips.

Her stomach fluttered and warmth slid through her. She wanted to remain in his arms forever. Immediately alarmed by the thought, she recoiled. She might have bedded Cosmo, but she couldn’t allow her emotions to become involved as well as her body. Her family’s safety, their very lives, depended upon her. She drew back so that they were no longer touching. “Do not worry about me falling,” she said coolly, not meeting his gaze. “I always look out for my own interests. You would do well to remember that.”

Cosmo strode into the Lonesome Unicorn and dropped a shilling on the polished oak bar. “Where is she?”

Davey Watkin, the tavern owner, scooped the money up. “Easiest coin I ever earned. Hard to forget a lass with eyes like that.”

“Indeed.” Cosmo sent up a prayer of thanks for Mari’s rainbow eyes. Even the cleverest chameleon couldn’t change those colors. After discovering her searching the house, he’d let it be known that he’d pay handsomely for any news of the Lamarres’ comings and goings in the village. The publican had summoned him today with news that Mari taken a room.

“Only, at first, I didn’t think it were her.” Watkin wiped down the bar, even though it already sparkled. “I thought you said she’s one of them frogs.”

“She is.”

Watkin shrugged. “Can’t tell it from the way she talks.”

“I know you’ve never left Dorset, Davey, but surely you can discern a French accent.”

Watkin shot him a quizzical look. “Are you cup-shot, Dunsmore? If that gel is a frog, I’m the king of England. Her accent is more English than mine.”

Chills feathered down Cosmo’s back at the idea the accent could be fake. When she cried out during their lovemaking, it was with that husky French lilt. Anger kindled in his belly. Apparently, everything about the parachutist was a lie. Chameleon, indeed. “Where is she?”

Watkin gestured toward the rough-hewn stone stairs. “Third door on the left.”

Cosmo started in that direction. “My thanks.”

“Only you won’t find her alone.”

He jerked to a stop. Davey’s tavern wenches sometimes entertained customers in the upstairs chambers. “Surely you don’t mean…” Queasiness stirred in his gut. “Who is she with?”

“No one I’ve seen before. A stranger. Some ginger-top with glass eyes.”

The air left his lungs. Not many strangers with red hair and spectacles came through this way. His heart pumping, he bounded up the dark, narrow stairwell, taking the steps two at a time. When he reached the landing, he trod as quietly as possible across the creaking floorboards. He found the third door and pushed it open, grateful that none of Watkin’s doors locked from the inside.

As he’d expected, it was Will with Mari. They sat at a little round table by the window. A quilt-topped, neatly made bed, which could accommodate two people quite cozily dominated the small chamber.

His stomach cramped and loosened. He’d never been so sorry to be right, but at least they still had their clothes on.

“Well,” he drawled, announcing his entrance. “Isn’t this a charming scene?”

“Cosmo.” The way Mari’s face slackened with shock seemed genuine. But then he knew firsthand what a consummate actress she could be.

“Come in and close the door, Cosmo.” Will spoke with a quiet steeliness Cosmo had not heard in his friend before. The tone of someone used to giving orders, and having them followed.

Cosmo didn’t move. “Thank God you’re not abed,” he said blandly. “I might have killed you both in a jealous frenzy.”

“How did you find me?” Mari’s words were laced with that familiar French accent. She turned to Will. “I made certain I was not followed.”

Cosmo gritted his teeth. “You ask a lot of questions for someone who never cares to answer them.”

Will stood up. “Come in and close the door if you want answers.”

“Well, now, that is a tempting offer, and I’m not one to resist temptation.” Stepping in and closing the door behind him, Cosmo fell back against it. “Just ask Miss Lamarre here. She’s such a tempting morsel, I’ve fucked her six ways from Sunday.”

Mari slid an inscrutable glance toward Will, who appeared unmoved. “Do hold your tongue, Cosmo,” Will said equably, “before you say something you’ll regret.”

A tap at the door interrupted them.

“That will be the courier I’m expecting. I’ll be just a minute and then we can continue this.” Will left the room, the floorboards groaning under each step.

“Bravo on a game well played.” The inside of Cosmo’s head was on fire. Clearly she was prepared to fuck Will, just like she’d serviced him. Anything to pursue whatever it was she was after. “First, you had me eating out of your hand, and now Will.”

“You knew there was a game at play.” She spoke with that calm self-assuredness which never failed to test his temper. She wore some drab brown thing, as though she’d hoped to go unnoticed, as if that were possible.

“Tell me, Angel, when you came undone while I was deep inside of you, was that part of the game, too?”

She kept her serious gaze level with his. “What do you think?”

A dry smile curled his lips. “I think I’m very sorry our little screwing party has come to an end. Not all women are as talented between the bedclothes as you are. I’m curious, though, is being a good fuck one of your professional skills?”

“What difference does it make?” Her manner communicated indifference, yet the flattening of her right hand on the table told him otherwise. “You are a rakehell who has lain with many women.”

“That may be.” He fought the emotion rising in his chest. “But at least women I screw know what they’re getting.”

The door scraped open and Will reappeared. “Sorry about that. Where were we?” He spoke as though they were having an ordinary conversation over tea.

“Where were we?” Cosmo bit out. “We were talking about you betraying your country for a bit of tail. You knew she might be a spy, Will. And furthermore, I’m surprised you’re the sort to go for a buttered bun.”

Will sighed his impatience. “Lamarre and I are not copulating. Surely you know me well enough to deduce I don’t share bed partners.”

Actually, Cosmo suspected he might not know his friend at all. “How do you explain this cozy tavern meeting?”

Will adjusted his spectacles. “We are discussing mutual concerns.”

“What concerns could you share with Miss Lamarre?”

“Come now, Cosmo, you are well aware she is an agent.”

He’d deduced as much, and she’d never denied it, yet the confirmation of his suspicion shook him. “I see.”

Will continued talking. “For England.”

Cosmo’s body struggled to reopen its choked air passages. “Beg pardon?”

“Miss Lamarre works for the crown.”

“How do you know that she is on our side?” He threw an angry look in her direction, which she met without any visible emotion. “She could be lying even now.”

“She isn’t.”

“How do you know?”

“Because I recruited her myself.”

Cosmo’s head snapped back in Will’s direction. “
You
?” He infused the word with supreme skepticism.

“Lamarre’s worked for the crown since the age of ten-and-six. She’s reported to me for almost ten years.”

Cosmo barked a laugh. “You’re just a bureaucrat.”

“Not exactly.” Will spoke with his usual implacability. “I manage the crown’s agent network.”

“You.” Cosmo stared at him. “A spymaster.”

“Yes.”

He tried to form the jumbled, implausible bits of information into something comprehensible. “Do you really even work for the Home Office?”

“I’m superintendent of a subsection of the Home Office known as the Alien Office.”

Disbelief pounded through him. “The Alien Office? The office that registers foreign visitors, is it not?” He shot a hostile glance at Mari. “Especially frogs.”

“You are correct. We do monitor the comings and goings of our guests from abroad, particularly the French émigrés. However, we also have a small, secret-service subsection that undertakes a number of clandestine activities.”

“Such as engaging young French girls to be your factors.”

“Along with merchants, customs officials, smugglers, post-office workers, justices of the peace, tavern owners.” Will rattled off the list in a business-like manner. “We engage the services of a number of individuals for our vast informational structure, which provides us with detailed and reliable reports.”

Unassuming Will Naismith leading a coterie of secret agents. Incomprehensible. He stared at Mari. “Are you really even French?”

“
Oui
,” she said. “My father was.”

“The publican said you spoke like a native Englishwoman.”

“I am adept at mastering accents.”

So she was French, but he still couldn’t see her as a traitor to her own country. “Why would you work for the crown?”

“I do not work for anyone but myself,” she said with a resolute tilt of her chin.

“Lamarre’s travels across Europe bring her into contact with influential people,” Will said. “When she comes across intelligence that might be of interest to England, she is kind enough to share it with us.”

“For a price, no doubt,” he said with contempt.

“Of course,” Will said. “After all, the information she provides is of value.”

Cosmo stared at her. “Why help England?”

“Her mother is English.”

She rose and went to stand by the window. “Robespierre took my father away.” Her body went rigid, as though she fought to control the emotion within. “He had him guillotined.”

His anger splintered. He hadn’t even known her father was dead. He resisted the impulse to take her into his arms, to comfort her and ease the grief in any small way he could. “I am sorry, Angel.”

She turned from the window to face him with a pale, pinched face. “My father was ordinary, a good man, not an aristocrat. And Robespierre killed him.” Her voice trembled. “I would not stand by while he slaughtered innocents, not only my father, but chemists, poets, and philosophers. Where would it end?”

“Robespierre is dead,” Cosmo said. “Does your contempt extend to Napoleon?”

She swallowed, the fine cords of her throat moving under delicate skin. “That is where your father comes in.”

He went on alert. “What does Aldridge have to do with any of this?”

“We have intelligence,” Will said in the circumspect way of his, “that the marquess is preparing to pass highly sensitive information to the French.”

“That’s a bloody lie,” Cosmo burst out. “Either those French buggers are lying or this is the handiwork of my father’s political enemies.”

“Our informants are not only French, Cosmo. We have a highly placed government source who saw Aldridge obtain the information,” Will said. “The man is a longtime admirer of your father. He was quite shaken.”

“Why? It makes no sense.” His head buzzed with disbelief. “What possible motive could Aldridge have to betray his country?”

“That is what we are trying to discover,” Will said. “For the past four or five years, there has been a leak at the highest levels of government. We have been unable to locate the culprit. This is our first significant lead.”

Furious disbelief swelled in Cosmo’s chest once he grasped Will’s meaning. “You dare to suggest that my father is not only colluding with the frogs, but that he’s been doing it for years?”

Will held his gaze. “It is my job, Cosmo, to protect this country, and I will do it to the best of my ability, no matter how uncomfortable the truth might be.”

“The truth, you miserable maggot, is that while I trusted you as a friend”—his fists clenched at his sides—“you sent a spy into my home to destroy my father.”

“I understand you are upset.”

“Upset?” Cosmo barked a contemptuous laugh. “I suppose that’s what you could call my overwhelming desire to tear you limb from limb with my bare hands.”

“You cannot expect us to ignore the fact that Aldridge took a document containing highly sensitive material.”

“So says this supposed longtime admirer of my father.” Cosmo exhaled through his nostrils, trying to settle his temper. “Who is this admirer and what kind of information is it?”

Will removed his spectacles and polished the lenses with his shirt. “It is a complicated story.”

Cosmo crossed his arms over his chest. “I am most anxious to hear it.”

“It begins with Robespierre’s brother, Augustin,” Mari said.

“He was guillotined along with his brother, was he not?”

She nodded. “But while he lived, Augustin was Napoleon’s patron. There were others who worked for England during the Terror, as I did. We hoped to end it,” she said in a hard voice. “The people of France deserve true liberty. The revolution was stolen by bloodthirsty murderers.”

Will replaced his spectacles in a slow, careful movement. “There are those close to Napoleon who have made it their mission to ferret out informants like Lamarre, whom they regard as traitors.”

“Robespierre and his ilk were the real traitors to France.” Mari spat the words. “Not I or those who did similar work.”

Cosmo frowned. “I fail to see what any of this has anything to do with Aldridge.”

Will’s fingers drummed the table. “We believe your father is in possession of a list containing the names of French men and women who worked for England during the Terror.”

Cosmo went still as the implications sliced through him. “Your name is on that list,” he said to Mari.

“
C’est possible
.”

His legs went soft at the knees. He slid down to sit on the edge of the bed. “Your life is at risk if Napoleon’s people get their hands on this document.”

“Not only my life. My mother and sisters remain in France. My uncle and cousins. Their association with me places them in grave danger should the information leave England’s shores.”

Anxiety coiled in his chest. Powerful motivation had brought Mari to Langtry; she wasn’t just out to save her own skin, but also the lives of her entire extended family. If any of this outlandish tale proved true, it would lead to his father’s destruction. “I know nothing of this list, but I do know Aldridge is not capable of treachery, and he certainly has not been working with the French for years. It isn’t possible.”

Will gestured for Cosmo to take a seat at the table. “Let us prove it, shall we?”

Rising from the bed, Cosmo moved to join them, his generous frame dwarfing the narrow wooden chair. “This is what your visit to Langtry was all about. I thought you were there to help, but in reality you wanted to learn for yourself how much I knew about Mari’s reasons for being here.”

Will didn’t deny it, which further infuriated Cosmo. “Now that you know the truth, you can work with Lamarre.”

Cosmo shot a look at Mari, who stood by the window observing them, her face once again absent of expression. “She wants to prove him guilty.”

“Wrong,” she countered. “I want the list.”

“To save your family.”

“Yes.”

“Which has the power to destroy what little is left of mine.”

A shadow flicked over the smooth angles of her face. “I did not seek this assignment. I make no apologies for what I do here.”

“Lamarre bears no grudge against Aldridge and neither does the crown,” Will said to Cosmo. “You know where all the secret chambers and cupboards are at Langtry. Show them to Lamarre. Allow her to search. It is entirely possible she will come up empty-handed.”

“Because there is nothing to find.” Cosmo’s jaw braced. “Aldridge is not part of this.”

“Perhaps you are correct,” Will said. “I certainly hope so.”

“Very well.” Cosmo pushed to his feet in a sudden movement; his chair scraped the floor and tipped over, clattering backward onto the floor. “I will allow her to search because I am certain there is nothing to find. Do let’s get this over with.”

“You and Lamarre go on ahead,” Will said. “I will depart after you’ve gone.”

They descended the narrow stone stairs in silence, past Davey Watkin, the barman, who shot them an inquiring glance, which Cosmo ignored. He pushed the door open for her to pass, and continued out behind her. They walked without speaking for a few minutes until Cosmo broke the silence.

“What kind of spy cannot mount a horse?”

“I am not that sort of agent.”

“One would think riding an essential skill for a secret agent.”

“My inability to ride, although a nuisance, does not impinge upon the work I do. My aerial excursions gain me entry into the drawing rooms of Europe’s most powerful persons. That is how and where I conduct my work.”

“I cannot argue with your methods. The parachute scheme certainly got you into Langtry.” And into his bed. And under his skin.

She halted, looking at him with a serious gaze. “I am truly sorry about this business with your father.”

“It isn’t true.” He swallowed the bitter bile that rose in his throat. “None of it.”

Her face softened. “Perhaps. Lord Aldridge appears to be an honorable man and, as of yet, we have no real proof against him.”

He searched her face. “You are willing to admit you might be wrong?”

“Anything is possible. Usually traitors are motivated by greed or politics. So far, Will can find no motivation for Aldridge to work with the French.”

“Are you a double agent?” He peered at her, still trying to understand the new revelations. “Do the French think you work for them?”