Simone squared her shoulders and the strength returned to her eyes. “I need to find a way to stop Juliette and her brother before they reveal our secrets.”
“No,weneed to find a way to stop them,” Caleb corrected. “We will go to Mr. Frickle’s office as planned this evening. Perhaps he will have something in his files that will help us discover if Lord Hungerton is involved with Juliette and her brother.”
“I hope so because I am out of ideas. I don’t like the idea of Juliette and her brother having the upper hand,” Simone said.
“Neither do I, but that won’t be for long,” Caleb stated.
Fredrick’s eyes perused Simone and asked, “Dare I ask where you got those clothes?”
“I had my dressmaker make them for me,” Simone replied. “She didn’t even bat an eye at my request.”
“Those clothes are rather fine and could trick the casual bystander, but not anyone that truly takes a moment to look at you,” Fredrick said.
In a deep voice, Simone said, “That is why I alter my voice.”
Fredrick chuckled. “That was awful,” he responded. “That is not what any respectable gentleman sounds like.”
“It is good enough,” Simone remarked. “But I am nothere for critiques on my disguise. I need to know how to navigate living with French spies.”
Caleb had an idea. “I will join you for dinner.”
Simone smiled, brightening the whole room with that simple gesture. “That is a grand idea,” she said.
“You are smiling too big,” Caleb whispered.
Her smile dimmed. “How is that possible?”
“Just trust me on this,” Caleb replied.
The server returned and placed the cup of tea in front of Simone. “Will there be anything else?” he asked.
Simone lowered her gaze to the cup as Caleb responded, “Not at this time.”
Once the server walked off, Simone reached for the teacup and took a small sip. “This is awful,” she said, lowering the cup. “How can anyone drink this tea?”
Fredrick held his teacup up. “You get used to it.”
“Gentlemen don’t usually request tea, unless you are Fredrick,” Roswell explained. “He gets terrible headaches when he drinks alcohol.”
Simone pushed the cup of tea away from her. “I would rather not drink another sip of that tea. It is an abomination.”
“A true gentleman wouldn’t care, or notice, the taste of the tea,” Caleb remarked. “They would just drink it without complaint.”
“It would have been best if you had ordered me a glass of brandy,” Simone said.
Caleb huffed. “I think not.”
Simone rose from her seat. “I should be going before my absence is noticed.” She shifted her gaze towards Caleb. “I shall see you tonight for supper.”
“I will be there,” Caleb assured her.
Simone reached up and smoothed down her mustache. “If you will excuse me, gentlemen,” she said in the same deep voice that she had first started with.
As she walked off, Caleb sighed. “I shouldn’t be surprisedby Simone’s antics by now, but I never thought I would see her in White’s, dressed as a man.”
Fredrick grinned. “I find her utterly fascinating, but only because she has managed not to get herself caught.”
“She is good. I will give her that,” Roswell said. “Perhaps a little too brazen, though.”
