“Did you not grow up with servants?”
Juliette nodded. “We had servants, but you seem to have servants to tend to servants. I can’t seem to find a moment alone in this household.”
“Your brother doesn’t seem to have that same issue since he spends plenty of time alone in his bedchamber,” Simone remarked.
“Yes, he is quite busy.”
“Doing what, exactly?” Simone pressed.
Juliette smiled, as if she were privy to a secret. “I cannot say, but you will find out soon enough.”
Simone held her gaze and asked, “What is my father’s involvement in all of this?”
Her smile grew smug, much too smug for Simone’s liking. “Do you truly expect me to answer that question?” Juliette inquired. “I have a feeling that is why I have not been arrested yet. Your father is an influential man and it is not as if he could just disappear. Now could he?”
“If my father is involved, he will pay for his crimes…” Simone started.
Juliette laughed. “I can’t quite tell if you are truly as naive as you appear,” she said. “How is it that someone like you became a spy?”
“Someone like me?” Simone asked. She wasn’t quite sure if she should be insulted or not. But since it came from Juliette, she doubted it was a compliment.
“You are sweet, but you are not clever enough to compete with me,” Juliette stated. “You, or your handsome Mr. Bolingbroke.”
Simone pursed her lips together. “Caleb is not mine.”
“Isn’t he, though?” Juliette asked. “You two appeared rather familiar with one another in the gardens yesterday.”
“Looks can be deceiving.”
“Yes, they can be,” Juliette agreed. “Which is why I propose we come to a truce.”
Simone’s brow shot up. “A truce?” she asked. “Surely you can’t be serious.”
Reaching for her teacup, Juliette took a sip and placed it back onto the table. “I see you out in the gardens, practicing with your dagger. You are quite good,” she said. “It is an unusual pastime for a woman of your position, no?”
“It is, but my mother taught me how.”
Juliette gave her a thoughtful look. “I met your mother once,” she informed her. “She was a lovely woman.”
Simone did not want to talk about her mother, especially to Juliette. “You mentioned a truce,” she said.
“I did,” Juliette responded. “I have spent too much time in England. It is time that I return home.”
“That is unlikely to happen.”
Juliette looked amused. “No one paid me any heed until I went home to retrieve my brother and smuggled a ride on Lord Drycott’s ship,” she said.
“If what you are saying is true, why did you risk returning to England with your brother?” Simone asked. “Why not just stay in France?”
“Why, indeed?” Juliette asked. “I suppose it was because I couldn’t leave well enough alone. I needed to finish my assignment. You understand that, do you not?”
Simone leaned forward in her seat. “If you are asking me to understand why you are working as a French spy, then no. I do not understand that.”
Juliette wore an expression of discontent. “I thought we could be civil about this, but you are being entirely too stubborn.”
“It is just a matter of time until you are in Newgate.”
Shoving back her chair, Juliette said, “You seem to forget that I hold all the power. I know about your secret, Mr. Bolingbroke’s secret and many others. Do you want them all to be rejected from thetonbecause of your mistake?”
