Caleb didn’t want to have this conversation, but he didowe his friend an explanation. “It just didn’t sit right with me that she was searching a man’s bedchamber.”
Fredrick chuckled. “She is a spy.”
“I know,” Caleb said. “I never said that it made sense. I just said I didn’t like it.”
They continued down the pavement as they retreated to their thoughts. Tomorrow would no doubt be a difficult day for Simone. But he would be there for her. If she let him, he would never leave her side again.
Chapter Seventeen
Simone stepped into the dining room and saw her father and Juliette speaking cordially to one another as they ate their breakfast.
She came to an abrupt halt since she had no desire to eat with Juliette. Perhaps they wouldn’t notice her if she left now. With light steps, she slowly started to back out of the room.
Just as she thought she might have succeeded, Juliette looked over and said, “Simone, you must join us for breakfast.”
Drats. She had not been able to escape without notice. “I do not wish to be a bother,” she attempted.
“Nonsense,” Juliette said. “This is your home, after all.”
“I would rather take a tray in my room?—”
Her father cut her off. “Sit, Simone,” he ordered. His tone brokered no argument.
Knowing she had little choice in the matter, Simone approached the table and waited as the footman pulled a chair out for her. She murmured her thanks as she sat down. Why had she thought coming down for breakfast was a good idea?
Juliette picked up a piece of toast from her plate and tooka bite. Once she finished chewing, she wiped her hands together to brush away the crumbs.
Simone watched Juliette, an uneasy feeling coming over her. How could she dine with a French spy so easily? She was tired of playing by Juliette’s rules. It was time that she took back the power. But it was proving to be much more difficult than she had first anticipated.
“Is something amiss?” Juliette asked.
Realizing she had been caught staring, Simone replied, “No, I was just woolgathering.”
“A terrible habit for a young woman to engage in,” her father remarked.
Simone reached for the cup of chocolate the moment the footman placed it onto the table. As she took a sip, she wondered how she was going to search Victor’s bedchamber. He hardly left it, and when he did, he locked it, giving strict orders to the servants that no one was to enter the room. Why all the secrecy unless he had something to hide?
Her father’s voice broke through her musings. “How do you intend to occupy your time today?” he asked her.
“Caleb is coming to call upon me so we can take a carriage ride through Hyde Park,” Simone lied, not wishing to reveal they were going to travel to Bedlam.
He nodded in approval. “The Society page mentioned your engagement,” he informed her.
“How wonderful,” Juliette acknowledged. “Although, I do not think Mr. Bolingbroke likes me very much.”
Her father shook his head. “That is preposterous. What possible reason could he give as to not like you?”
“I am just your mistress,” Juliette pointed out.
“Regardless, soon Simone will be his responsibility,” her father declared.
Simone stiffened. “Is that what I am to you- a responsibility?” she asked as she tried to keep the hurt out of her voice.
“What do you want me to say, Simone?” her father asked. “You have proven time and time again to be a disappointment to me.”
His words had just left his lips when Juliette reached over and placed her hand on his sleeve. “That was not very nice,” she said. “You shouldn’t say such cruel things to your daughter.”
Now Juliette was defending her? Could this conversation get any worse, she thought. One thing was for certain, she wished that she had never come downstairs for breakfast.
