An Unwilling Spy by Janis Linford

Author:Janis Linford [Linford, Janis]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-06-30T16:00:00+00:00

Skylark

Blast. The code wasn’t one she’d been taught.

Footsteps sounded down the hall. She thrust in the drawer, stuffed the note down her bodice and flung herself on the settee — and only just in time.

Laroche entered the room and stopped abruptly, his eyes going wide. ‘Madame Michaud. What are you doing here?’

She put a hand to her brow and moaned. ‘Do forgive me, monsieur. I have the headache and thought to lie down in a quiet room.’

Laroche’s gaze flicked to his desk. Thank the saints she’d managed to get the drawer closed in time.

He crossed the room, circling the settee until he loomed above her. She raised herself a little and her embroidered shawl fell from her shoulder. Scrabbling, she fixed it around her shoulders again. ‘As you can see, I’m not myself,’ she murmured, which wasn’t entirely a lie.

‘I’m sorry to hear that,’ he said scrutinizing her.

She leaned back, watching him warily. A speculative gleam simmered in his eyes. Did he believe her? She suspected not. She’d need to make her headache more convincing. Moaning, she held her head. ‘Perhaps you would be so kind as to get my husband? He’ll be worried about me.’

‘I don’t think we need disturb him,’ Laroche said silkily. ‘I’ll escort you back to the ballroom for a refreshment. That should help, don’t you think?’

His eyes dared her to argue and she stood up with an orchestrated wince, her hand going to her brow. ‘Perhaps you’re right, monsieur. My throat is a little dry.’

He took her elbow, none too gently, and marched her out of the study. Luckily she didn’t meet anyone in the foyer who could remark upon her appearance with Laroche and once they’d entered the ballroom he left her with Finch, saying as he did so that Monsieur Michaud ought to take his wife home.

Finch’s eyebrows rose. Other guests near them looked on with interest and she lifted her chin. She would not feel embarrassed for doing her job.

‘Are you well?’ Finch asked, pulling her to one side, his voice low.

‘We need to leave,’ she murmured.

‘My dear, that’s not possible. We have a … duty here, do we not?’

She almost stomped her foot at this delay. ‘My headache,’ she said with quiet emphasis, ‘calls for me to depart this very minute.’

His eyes raked over her face and something subtly altered in his own. ‘You mean a situation has developed?’

‘Precisely,’ she said on a grateful breath. ‘We must return to our lodging.’

They excused themselves from the nearby guests. The women quite understood, with one adding, ‘The headache. It is such a burden.’

They slipped outside the ballroom and collected their cloaks from the footman. Within another minute they were threading their way through empty back streets to avoid the tavern. Not until they were well out of earshot did Finch mutter in her ear. ‘What the devil is going on?’

She hurriedly told him all about the letter, Skylark and the statue as they walked. ‘I don’t know why the statue’s important but Laroche wants it badly.

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