Page 59 of His Wicked Secret
Her sister’s confidence still didn’t give Audrey any peace. “How can you be sure?”
“Lucien and the others would know about it. Lady Society would too. Between the League and the Lady, no one can keep secrets in London for long.”
Audrey bit her lip. Her sister still didn’t know about her secret. Perhaps it was time to tell her.
“I can assure you, Horatia, when it comes to Jonathan, Lady Society is as blind as I am.”
Her sister raised a brow. “Oh?”
Audrey sighed heavily. “I should have told you long ago…Iam Lady Society.”
Horatia gasped. “What? But those columns—they’ve been around for years.”
“I started writing them when I was fifteen. It was easy enough to gather gossip from Cedric and the League, and I knew plenty of older ladies who attended balls and dinners. They wrote to me, sharing gossip and news, and in time I learned whose word could be trusted more than others, or who to contact if I needed insight on a particular matter. One of those people is an editor at theQuizzing Glass Gazette. It was rather easy donning the disguise of Lady Society.”
Horatia laughed, though there was a hint of concern in it. “Oh heavens, Cedric must never know, nor any of the others. After calling them out on their romantic entanglements over the years? They’ll want your head, even if you did help half of them get married in the process.”
“Jonathan knows, but he hasn’t told anyone.” She was convinced he would take that secret to his grave if she asked him to. “And as for the others, they deserved my interference. All that’s left is Jonathan and Charles.”
“Just Charles,” Horatia corrected. “Because Jonathan is most certainly yours.”
Before either sister could speak again, there was a knock on the bedchamber door.
“Yes?” Horatia called out.
A footman peered inside. “Begging your pardon, my lady, but I was told to deliver a message to Miss Sheridan.” His gaze turned to Audrey.
She slid off the bed at once. “What is it?”
“A message came here from Lord Pembroke’s estate, bearing ill tidings. Miss Beaumont and Lord Pembroke just left.”
“Oh dear.” Audrey exchanged a glance with her sister. “What was the matter?”
“It’s his lordship’s mother. She’s fallen ill, and they fear the worst. He left to attend to her, and Miss Beaumont went with him. Miss Beaumont asked me to tell you not to worry and that she would write as soon as she had news.” Audrey was thrilled that James and Gillian were together but saddened by the circumstances. The footman held out a letter. “And this arrived for you as well.”
“Thank you,” Audrey said. The footman nodded and vanished from view, closing the door. Audrey turned the folded and sealed paper in her hands, recognizing the wax seal as belonging to Avery Russell, one of Lucien’s younger brothers—the spy. The one who had been teaching her and allowing her to follow him on local tasks of observation.
“Go. We’ll talk later.” Her sister gave her a nudge toward the door. Audrey rushed to her chambers to read the letter.
Dear Miss Sheridan,
I hope this letter finds you well. I would like to call upon you in London as soon as you return. The matter is most urgent. Write to me at the address listed below. I trust that the matter will be held in strictest confidence.
Avery
Audrey madesure she’d memorized the address before she carried the letter to the fire in her chambers and cast it upon the logs. Flames caught on the edges of the paper, and they crawled in, turning the paper black. Audrey crossed her arms over her chest, feeling oddly worried. Did Avery have a mission for her? She could think of no other reason he would write to her.
I hope I am ready.
She would return to London tonight and reply to him straightaway. She summoned the maid and instructed her to pack up at once and have a coach brought round. She no longer worried about her attendance at the party. Her main purpose had been to bring James and Gillian together, and in that it seemed she had succeeded. There was no need for her to remain.
Then her thoughts shifted to Jonathan. If Avery had a mission for her, then her lessons with Jonathan were effectively over. There would be no more delicious nights in each other’s arms and slow, building kisses and caresses during the day. No more passion. Whatever had been growing between them would have to wait until she returned.
She knew what some of the others thought about her. That this was all a chance at adventure. That it was a game. But her sister’s brush with death reminded her all too clearly that this was not a game. It also reminded her why what she wanted to do was so important. England needed her, and that would have to come first.
I’ll leave a note. If I tell Jonathan I’m leaving, I’m sure he will try to stop me. Because he is a gentleman, no matter what he thinks. But if I am to be a spy, then I must do this alone.
She sat down at the writing desk in her room and dipped a quill into a bottle of ink, setting a fresh page before her.
