Seduced by Spy by Andrea Pickens

Author:Andrea Pickens [Pickens, Andrea]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

So many questions, so few answers.

Shannon drew a piece of chalk in random circles across the schoolroom slate, wondering how she had let herself be so distracted that she had neglected to ask Orlov about several pressing concerns. His kisses, however fake, had left her momentarily robbed of reason. The why of it was proving as elusive as all the other answers they sought, she thought glumly. But personal concerns, however nettling, could wait.

Lady Octavia was a far more important mystery. The dowager’s reaction to the visitors from London had so far been marked by an odd combination of feistiness and fear. The acquaintance was admittedly a very short one, but Shannon was willing to wager that the elderly lady did not shrink from confronting a difficulty head-on. And with her trusty stick held firmly in hand.

For the dowager to looked defeated by anything less than a fire-breathing dragon…

The sharp scratch caused Emma to look up from her lettering exercise. “B is devilishly difficult to get right,” she sighed. “It comes out all lumpy, no matter how carefully I try.”

“You must not say ‘devilish,’” corrected Shannon.

“Scottie does.” The little chin, now liberally smudged with ink, rose a fraction higher. “And so does Uncle Angus.”

“If Prescott does so within hearing of Mr. Oliver, he may feel a birch on his backside. As for your uncle…” She drummed her fingers on the desk. “Perhaps we will wash his mouth out with soap.”

As she had hoped, Emma giggled. But the sound was fleeting. All too soon, the little girl was looking wistful. And wary. “I miss him very much. Grandmama says he has been delayed in England, and that we must be patient.” The little girl brushed a knuckle to her cheek. “It is devilishly hard to be patient.”

“Yes, it is.” After squeezing the hunched little shoulders, Shannon leaned in for a look at the letters. “You are doing very well. Try holding the pen a bit closer to the nib. That way, I think you will find the stroke easier to control.” Turning to a fresh page in the copybook, she added, “Now write the passage one more time. Practice makes perfect.”

As Emma sighed and set to work again, she could not resist sneaking into the corridor for a quick peek at the adjoining schoolroom. Orlov and Prescott were engaged in the study of the globe. Its slow spinning beneath the tutor’s touch seemed an apt metaphor for her own unsettled emotions. The Russian had a knack for keeping her off balance.

War is the Tao of deception.

Recalling one of Sun-Tzu’s basic precepts, Shannon was once again reminded of how the smallest slip could spell disaster.

Between Orlov’s explosive kisses and the Frenchman’s smooth flirtations, she had better find a way to keep a firm footing.

“What a lovely little folly you have down the by the loch, Lady Octavia,” said Helen brightly as she wandered around the drawing room, waiting for the evening tea to be served. “We took a short stroll there this morning and spent a very pleasant hour enjoying the view.

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