Once they were in the center of the room, Simone turned back around to face him. “My father and Juliette are gone, but that isn’t the worst part.” She paused. “The guards that were assigned to guard the townhouse are dead. Someone slashed their throats. I found their bodies in the alleyway, hidden behind some debris.”
“They must know that we are on to them,” Caleb stated.
Simone’s face was expressionless, but her eyes gave away her inner turmoil. She was hurting; he was sure of that. “What is my father thinking?” she asked. “Surely he must know that this will not end well for him.”
“He must have some sort of plan,” Caleb said.
“No matter what he does, he can’t come back from this,” Simone remarked. “Once he is caught, Kendrick will show him no leniency.”
Caleb reached out and touched her arm. “I’m sorry that it had to end this way.”
Simone’s voice betrayed her emotion. “When we started this assignment, I never thought this is where we would end up. I never thought my own father was a traitor to the Crown.”
“You have handled this rather bravely.”
She let out a disbelieving huff. “I don’t feel brave,” she admitted. “I am just mad at myself that I didn’t see it sooner.”
Caleb took a step closer to her. “Don’t look in the past for the answers. You won’t find them there. Not anymore. You must look towards the future.”
Simone held his gaze, her eyes seeming to implore his. “How do you always know the right thing to say?”
“Years of practice,” Caleb said with a smile. “Once this is all over with, I want to sit down and have a frank conversation about us and our future.”
“I would like that, very much.”
“Good. We are in agreement, then, because you deserve to be happy. Not tired, not hurt, not deceived, just happy,” he responded.
Caleb had just uttered his words when Mrs. Fernsby stepped into the room, causing him to drop his arm and take a step back.
Mrs. Fernsby walked closer to them and squinted her eyes. “Mr. Bolingbroke?” she asked. “What are you doing here?”
“I came to see Miss Delacourt,” he replied.
Mrs. Fernsby adjusted the round spectacles on her nose. “Very well, I suppose that is best since Theodore asked for us not to attend the ball this evening,” she said.
“I am going to the ball, whether my father wants me there or not,” Simone asserted.
The aged companion looked displeased. “You will risk your father’s wrath if you go,” she said. “I think it would be prudent if we remained home and worked on our needlework.”
Simone kept her voice calm as she replied, “You may stay, but I am going to go.” She turned towards Caleb. “Will you escort me?”
With a scoff, Mrs. Fernsby declared, “That is highly inappropriate, even for you. If you are so insistent on going, I shall take you.”
Caleb bowed. “I shall take my leave and see you both at the ball,” he said.
Simone smiled, and Caleb realized that he couldn’t stop loving her even if he tried.
Chapter Twenty
Simone sat across from her companion as she waited for the coach to come to a stop in front of Lord Pendley’s townhouse. Mrs. Fernsby was proving to be a hindrance, which was something she didn’t have time for.
She had to find Victor and stop him before he killed anyone. But that was only the beginning. The next step was ensuring that her father and Juliette were arrested. It sounded simple enough, but she knew she needed all her wits about her to complete this assignment.
The coach came to a stop and it dipped to the side as a footman exited his perch. Once the door was opened, Simone accepted the footman’s hand and stepped onto the pavement. She took a moment to adjust her long white gloves and smooth down her gold ballgown.
Caleb approached her and bowed. “Miss Delacourt,” he greeted. “You look like a vision of perfection this evening.”
Knowing what was expected of her, she curtsied. “Thank you, Mr. Bolingbroke,” she said. “That is most kind of you.”
