Simone stiffened. “You forget yourself, sir.”
“Simone—”
She cut him off. “I want to be defined by my actions, not by my appearance. That is such a small part of who I am.”
Caleb started leading her towards the carriage as he replied, “I meant no disrespect.”
“I know, but it is nearly impossible to be taken seriously as a woman,” Simone said. “I want you to see me as an agent first, a woman second.”
“I can respect that, but I will have you know that I already think of you as a proficient agent,” Caleb responded.
As he helped Simone into the carriage, she murmured her gratitude.
“I do hear you, but I am trying to be charming,” Caleb joked.
“‘Trying’ would be the key word,” she bantered back. “But I do thank you. I haven’t felt heard for a long time, at least since my mother was still alive.”
Once Simone was situated, Caleb went to sit across from her. “My mother hardly listens to me. She is determined that I marry.”
“She just wants you to be happy,” Simone attempted.
“I don’t need a wife to be happy,” Caleb responded.
Simone’s eyes held understanding. “I agree with you, and we both know how rarely that happens.”
Leaning back in his seat, Caleb asked, “Did you see that we made the Society page this morning?”
“I did, and I was not pleased by it,” Simone replied. “And neither was my father. I heard him grumbling about you this morning. He is not pleased that we are just friends.”
Caleb nodded. “I know. He made that rather clear last night when we adjourned to the study for a glass of port.” He hesitated, not sure how much he should reveal of his conversation with Simone’s father. “He did say a few unkind things about you.”
Simone grew quiet. “That does not surprise me. He, too, wants me to marry, and quickly,” she said. “If I want to continue to be a spy, I must maintain this ruse of being a wallflower. But with each passing day, it is becoming increasingly difficult.”
“And us being seen together is not helping,” Caleb remarked.
“No, it is not,” Simone agreed.
Caleb met her gaze. “What can we do about that?” he asked.
With a determined expression, Simone replied, “After today, we must work hard to avoid being seen with one another.”
“How do you propose we do that?”
Simone’s lips twitched. “We are spies,” she replied. “I am sure we can figure out how we can meet in secret. I have faith in us.”
“Us?” Caleb asked.
“Yes, ‘us’ because we are partners,” Simone replied. “And once we finish this assignment, we will both go our own way.”
Caleb found those words to be unsettling. Simone was soquick to get rid of him, but he enjoyed her company. He wasn’t ready to say goodbye so easily.
With a glance at the sky, he asked, “What is our plan when we arrive at the boarding house?”
“We will meet with Juliette and determine if she is one of the French spies that we are looking for,” Simone said. “As for after that, I am not quite sure.”
“Perhaps we should have notified Kendrick before we agreed to meet with Juliette,” Caleb said. “A few well-positioned agents outside of the boarding house might have come in handy in case we need to fight our way out.”
“You are assuming we cannot handle this assignment on our own,” Simone stated.
