“Not anymore. Those days are behind you,” her father said. “I tire of this conversation. You are dismissed.”
Simone held her father’s gaze for a moment before she spun on her heel and departed from the study. As she walked down the corridor, she heard Juliette call out after her. What now, she thought.
She stopped and turned around to face her nemesis. “What do you want?”
Juliette smirked. “What? No thank you for helping you?”
Simone’s brow shot up. “Help me?” she asked. “You were the one who ratted me out to my father in the first place.”
“It had to be done,” Juliette said.
“Did it?”
Juliette took a step closer to her. “You may try to dabble in the spy world, but you are no match for me,” she replied. “I can take everything from you by just a few choice words to your father. You would be wise to remember that.”
Simone wasn’t about to be cowed by Juliette. “You don’t know me or what I am capable of.”
Juliette patted her arm. “You are sweet, and under different circumstances, we might have been friends. But there can only be one victor here, and it will be me.”
“I will not go away quietly. I can promise you that,” Simone assured her.
“I am counting on that,” Juliette said.
Simone knew that there was nothing else that needed to be said between them, and she was tired of looking upon Juliette’s smug expression.
Without saying a word, Simone turned and hurried up the stairs to her bedchamber on the second level. She stepped inside and saw Felicity fluffing her pillows.
She slammed the door closed and leaned back against it.
Felicity put the pillow down. “What is wrong?”
“It is Juliette,” Simone revealed. “She told my father that I dress up as a man to leave the house and he caught me coming back in through the servants’ entrance.”
Felicity gasped. “What did he say?”
“I am to marry a man of his choosing, or I can pack my trunks and leave, forever,” Simone replied. “He has given me three days to decide.”
Her lady’s maid came to stand next to her. “What are you going to do?”
“Well, I refuse to marry a stranger so the only option is for me to leave,” Simone said.
“Where will you go?”
Simone shrugged. “I could rent out a room at a boarding house until I decide what to do next,” she said. “I am not sure if I would be able to continue working as a spy. I might just have to retire to the countryside and live a quiet life.”
Felicity gave her a curious look. “You are just going to give up, then?”
“Give up?” Simone asked. “That is not what I am doing. I am just trying to be practical.”
With a laugh, Felicity inquired, “Since when have you been practical? Your entire life you have defied the rules of polite Society. Why start now?”
Simone bit her lower lip, not sure what to say. She agreed with Felicity, but she was at a loss for what she should do.
Felicity continued. “Furthermore, are you going to let Juliette win?” she asked.
“She outplayed me,” Simone admitted, dejectedly.
“This time,” Felicity said. “What about next time?”
