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“You can’t be considering this ridiculous suggestion. Perdita is a lady and an earl’s daughter. This work is below her station as well as dangerous.” Spinning with too many emotions, his fear for Perdita clashed with his admiration and respect. She had taken the initiative to be useful in the war with France. She had blossomed into an incredible woman. Not to be one of the ladies who complained how the inconvenience of the war prevented them from acquiring the silks they needed for their ball gowns. How could he not be proud of her? She was smart, strong, and resourceful, and a loose cannon about to detonate. And he never loved her more as he wanted to lock her in his house never to leave again.
“I am considering the idea. Right now, in England, there are ladies of rank who are serving our country with their extraordinary talents.” The way Rathbourne’s voice warmed made Dash glance up to catch the small smile that crossed his usually severe face. Rathbourne, realizing that he was being observed, returned to his brisk recital.
“Women played a significant role during the French revolution and its aftermath. I have firsthand experience working with female agents. It would be very short-sighted on my part not to use every resource available. And you’d be short-sighted not to consider Lady Perdita’s wishes. Her skills and commitment to helping are genuine.”
“Over my dead body. I won’t tolerate her involvement.”
Rathbourne laughed aloud. Dash had never heard the earl laugh. He was always intense and serious. Running an intelligence unit based on deception and lies didn’t lend itself humorous moments. “You must decide how you will go forward. But I can say with certainty that you will not be successful by insisting your lady succumb to your demands. The lady will not be swayed. She wants to have a higher purpose than being an earl’s daughter. Ignore her wishes at your own peril.” Rathbourne chuckled again. Nice to see the man had a sense of humor. If only it weren’t at Dash’s expense.
Rathbourne raised his hands in defeat at Dash’s barely suppressed growl. “I have warned you, but you will have to make your own mistakes.”
Dash wanted his superior to promise he wouldn’t involve Perdita. He couldn’t demand anything from the head or demand anything from Perdita without being her husband. He really couldn’t command anything. But her brother could.
“Right now, I have to find Clifton.” Dash had to prioritize his challenges, and Roddy took precedence. But he and Perdita would have their reckoning. “Does Clifton’s disappearance have to do with his diplomatic work with Hawkesbury? Is there a chance that he couldn’t share his mission with his sister?” Dash already knew that more was in play. But he still clung to the futile hope that it was all a misunderstanding and Roddy would appear.
“I’m not aware of any clandestine operations involving Clifton. Ramsey was in charge of the security for the delegation in France. Hawkesbury and Clifton were there only as diplomats. We would never risk interfering in the peace-making process.”
Dash wasn’t privy to all aspects of the undercover work in France, but he did not doubt Ramsey had many people gathering intelligence during the deliberations and were interfering as much as they could. Rathbourne was supervising the agents to find any and all information about Napoleon, his top advisors Talleyrand and Fouche, and their plans for invading England.
“Then the only conclusion for Roddy’s disappearance is his association with me and my work at the club.” Dash refused to use the word kidnapping, and his brain shut down the idea that Roddy had been murdered. “Haversham plans to use him for leverage.”
“You believe your cover has been discovered?”
“I have no reason to believe it. But several days after Roddy came to see me at Haversham’s, he disappeared. He received a note supposedly coming from me, asking him to come immediately to the club. That I was in dire need of his assistance. And Tessa overheard Yardley tell him when he arrived that I was upstairs with Haversham. Did Petersen report anything about Roddy’s presence?”
“He didn’t, but he wouldn’t have any reason. Many gentlemen come to the club.” Rathbourne leaned back in his chair and rubbed his chin. “Why kidnap Clifton now? If they wanted information about the treaty, why wait? We’re missing something.”
“It is hard to accept that Haversham was willing to risk his entire network to kidnap a titled earl and well-respected diplomat.”
“He discovered your cover and wants revenge?” Rathbourne asked.
Dash shook his head. “I would expect Haversham to kill me in an alley with no way to tie him to the murder. He hasn’t survived playing the middleman between the French and peers by taking chances.”
“If the money from the French was big enough… what if one of his backers wants a bigger payout?” Rathbourne stood and walked to the window to gaze outside.
“We haven’t proven that Weber, the biggest benefactor of the club, is part of the blackmailing ring. He is a slippery bastard. We know he had ties to criminal gangs throughout London.”
Frustration poured through him. Dash shifted in the chair, needing to pace, to move.
Rathbourne had decided not to break up the network but, instead, to use Dash to spread disinformation to peers who were being blackmailed. The goal was to destroy any other French networks in London and their leader. This was the beginning of Dash and his team’s work of discovering the next peer and inserting false documents.
“If it isn’t my connection to Haversham, then it is Clifton’s work with Hawkesbury. Vinson shared that Clifton and Pitt have been often seen at their club,” Dash added.
“I’ll go to Hawkesbury. He will confide in me. You must find Pitt and emphasize the importance of any information that can shed light on Clifton’s disappearance. If you must, you can reveal our association but not your undercover work.”
Dash’s plan to return to Perdita’s bedside vanished. But finding Roddy took priority, and Pitt had many connections and associations that could be helpful. Dash would have to wait to propose to Perdita. Her business of helping spies was a stumbling block to his plan. Perdita wouldn’t be easily convinced. She was a stubborn woman. He would have to keep her too busy in his bed and in his life for her to want to be involved in the war. Though, who was he kidding? Perdita wouldn’t be deterred from taking action. She was a fighter and wouldn’t give up what she believed. And that was one of the many reasons he loved her. He’d have to spend a very enjoyable lifetime negotiating with her. Heat spread through his body at the way he would convince Perdita to his way of thinking. And all the ways in which she would convince him.
