Glancing at the window of Victor’s bedchamber, Simone asked, “Why don’t you ask your brother to have tea with you?”
“He is busy. No doubt he is tinkering with something,” Juliette replied. “He gets a little engrossed by his little projects.”
“What projects are those?”
Juliette waved her hand dismissively in front of her. “Nothing that would interest you,” she said, taking a step back. “I believe I have earned a rest.”
After Juliette headed down the path, Simone returned her gaze towards Victor’s bedchamber. She would need to discover what he was working on, especially since he spent nearly all his time in his room.
Simone found herself conflicted. She should focus on her assignment, but her mind kept straying towards what Caleb had revealed. Could her mother truly be alive? He believed so, making her have hope. And that was something she hadn’t had in quite some time.
But if her mother was alive, her father was more awful than she could have ever imagined. That did not sit well with her. Had she been living with a monster this whole time and not know it?
The moon was high in the sky as Caleb stood in the shadows of the alleyway. The lights had been extinguished long ago in Simone’s townhouse, but he couldn’t quite convince himself to leave. He needed to know she was all right. Not that staring at her townhouse would give him the answers that he sought.
He wanted to protect Simone, at all costs, but he also wanted her to know that he trusted her enough to protect herself. It was a balancing act, one that he wasn’t very good at. Which is why he was staring at her darkened townhouse at such a late hour.
Simone was inside with French spies and there was nothing he could do to help her. He understood Kendrick’s reluctance to arrest Lord Hungerton, but he hated waiting around, hoping the French spies would make a mistake andreveal something. Anything. Perhaps if he had learned to play nice with Juliette, but he couldn’t do it. She was the enemy and he would never trust a word out of her mouth. He would rather shoot her than carry on a polite conversation with her.
And that was the problem.
He had to admire Simone for the way she was handling Juliette, and her father. It couldn’t be easy to be in her shoes at the moment. Her father was not the man that she had thought he was. He had lied to her and tried to cheat her out of her inheritance. And now, he might have done the unthinkable by faking his wife’s death and placing her in Bedlam.
But that all was relative if he was a traitor to the Crown. Had he betrayed his countrymen and the King? Lord Hungerton had been born into privilege, and with that came certain responsibilities. Would he truly turn his back on what mattered the most?
A familiar voice came from behind him. “What, pray tell, do you think you are doing?” Fredrick asked.
Caleb turned around and saw Fredrick and Roswell, both with curious expressions on their faces. “Is it not obvious?” he asked. “I am ensuring Simone is protected.”
“By loitering outside her townhouse?” Roswell asked with mirth in his voice.
Caleb knew how ridiculous he sounded. “It is the only thing I can think of doing,” he said. “I thought about obtaining a special license and marrying her tomorrow. But I do not think Simone would be agreeable to that plan.”
“Not until she finishes her assignment, considering she is in the perfect position to spy on Juliette and Victor,” Fredrick remarked.
“Don’t forget her father,” Caleb muttered.
Roswell’s eyes held understanding. “Have you made any progress on the case?”
“Not really,” Caleb admitted. “Juliette will be attendingLord Pendley’s ball on Lord Hungerton’s arm, but not her brother.”
“That is odd, and entirely too suspicious,” Roswell said.
Caleb nodded. “They are up to something, and time is running out. Kendrick gave us two days to figure out their plan before he swoops in and arrests the lot of them, including Lord Hungerton.”
“Do you truly think he is involved?” Fredrick asked.
With a slight shrug, Caleb replied, “I don’t rightly know, but his association with them is suspect. How could he not know that Juliette is a French spy?”
“He may know, but he might not be involved,” Roswell pointed out.
“Is that any better?” Caleb asked.
Roswell frowned. “Good point,” he said. “What is your plan, exactly? Do you intend to remain out here until dawn?”
Caleb shook his head. “I haven’t thought that through yet. I suppose I just need to be close to Simone, even if she has no idea that I am here.”
Fredrick exchanged a glance with Roswell before asking, “Have you come to terms with your feelings for Simone?”
