Audrey arrived at Horatia’s chamber and knocked lightly. She had visited Horatia and the baby at least once a day, but she still worried about her and Evander.

“Come in!” Her sister’s voice was muffled by the door. Audrey turned the handle and entered.

Horatia stood by the tall sash window overlooking the gardens. She wore a loose blue day gown, and her hair was pulled back at the nape of her neck with a matching ribbon. She turned as Audrey closed the door behind her. Her face was glowing as she smiled at the tiny bundle swaddled in white blankets in her arms.

“Lucien said you were doing well?” Audrey came closer, holding out her arms.

Horatia carefully transferred the child into Audrey’s arms. “Yes, thank you.”

The baby stared up at Audrey with sleepy hazel eyes. His button nose wrinkled as he yawned and stretched, putting one fist above his head before he relaxed. Audrey gently stroked a finger down his cheek and then touched his tiny, delicate, perfect fingers, which he gripped with surprising strength.

The babe struggled to stay awake, but his eyes closed and he gave a toothless yawn, and a tiny peep of contentment escaped him. Then he tucked his hand, still clutching her finger, under his chin. A swell of love and adoration filled Audrey’s body and soul. The only way she could have loved him more, if that was even possible, was if he had been her own.

“Such a little dear,” Audrey said.

“He certainly is,” Horatia agreed. “I was so afraid for him at first.” Her eyes softened as she gazed down the baby. “But little Evander is a fighter. He’s going to be brave when he grows up.”

“And strong.” Audrey gently extracted her finger from the baby’s clutches and handed him back to Horatia.

She carried Evan back to his bassinet by the window and nestled him inside. The midday sun illuminated the crib like a place of worship. Audrey looked to her sister, seeing her differently for the first time since Evan’s birth. Horatia was still her sibling, but she was now a wife and a mother, privy to parts of life that Audrey might never know.

“The doctor said sunlight will help him. It does seem to work.” She pushed down on the edge of the bassinet, gently rocking it. Then Horatia sat down on the edge of the bed and patted the space beside her.

“Come. Sit. Tell me everything that’s happened since I’ve been resting.”

Audrey’s eyes filled with tears as she sat down next to her sister, remembering the time before marriage when they had been the two younger sisters of an overprotective brother - two allies in a man’s domain. It had been a year since they had been able to conspire late at night or indulge in early-morning gossip as maids prepped their hair. Audrey had not let herself realize how starved she was for this kind of intimacy with her sister. Her throat clogged with all the news of the past year - including what she’d been doing with Jonathan the past week, right under her sister’s roof.

“I’ve heard you’ve been up to something rather unconventional.” Horatia gestured to Audrey’s clothes.

“Well, since when have you ever known me to be conventional?”

“You mean apart from shopping for clothes and going to balls?”

“How dare you!” Audrey cried out in mock defense. “When it comes to clothes, I am not conventional. I am outstanding!”

Horatia looked down at Audrey’s attire, and she realized she hadn’t changed out of her waistcoat and breeches. “Yes, well, that is different.”

“I… Yes, perhaps a little,” she admitted, her face flushing. “I’ve been learning to fight.” She waited for her sensible sister to cry out, but Horatia merely nodded. “You’re…not angry?”

“Angry? Why would I be angry?”

Audrey toyed with the embroidered surface of the bedding with a fingertip. “It’s not very proper, is it? Not proper at all, in fact. I was worried you would be disappointed in me.”

Horatia giggled but then grew solemn. She embraced Audrey, bending her head so that their foreheads touched. “I believe we have all learned that propriety cannot save one’s life. When I was kidnapped and nearly killed last Christmas, do you know what I wished? That I knew how to fight.” Horatia said this with such ferocity that Audrey froze. Her sister was all sweetness, but even she had been tested by danger and found her skills to survive lacking. Relief filled Audrey. Horatia understood why her lessons mattered. Women had to stop becoming victims to the whims and desires of men.

“So you won’t tell me to stop?”

Horatia reached out and covered one of Audrey’s hands. “No. In fact, I insist you keep going. Learn everything you can. Lord knows you seek out trouble enough as it is, and no force on earth will ever stop you from doing so. The last thing I want is for you to go through what I did and have no chance of protecting yourself.”

Audrey shivered as she recalled the frantic worry she’d felt that day. The day she’d almost lost both her sister and her brother to the same vile hand - the only people keeping her from being so totally alone in the world.

Just then, Horatia’s face transformed into a mischievous and sly expression. “So you’ve been taking lessons from Jonathan, have you? How’s that coming along? Do you still want to marry him?”

Yes. “No.”

Horatia’s crestfallen look told Audrey that her ability to deceive had improved. In the past her sister had always been able to see through her, but not this time. Something about that weighed her heart down with sorrow.

“What happened? I thought you fancied him.”

“I do.” Audrey glanced away. “But I do not think he has any interest in marriage.”

“I forget,” Horatia said. “He is somewhat younger than the rest. The rest of his friends are over thirty years old, and they are just learning to enjoy settling down. Give it time.”

Audrey squared her shoulders and faced her sister.

“I’m nineteen. I have only a year or two more before I become a laughingstock to the rest of the ton. I had so many beaux that first season until Cedric became so boorish and scared them all off.”

“He shouldn’t have done that,” Horatia muttered. “He ruined your chances of finding a nice young man to settle down with.”

“Yes, he did.” Audrey wasn’t angry at Cedric for being overprotective, but she was frustrated.

“He meant well, however. Losing Mama and Papa was harder for him that it was for us.” Her sister settled back against the pillows and sighed.

Audrey curled up on the bed and leaned back against the pillows next to her sister. “How do you mean?”

“Men are not like us. They have trouble with emotions. They don’t handle grief and loss especially well. They also don’t understand how to express their love very well.”

“That much is true,” Audrey grumbled. “They express it never. All they seem to care about is lust.”

Her sister laughed again. “Oh, Audrey, it isn’t always about lust. We forget that men are entitled to their passions.”

“As are we.” She flushed at admitting this to her sister. “Yet I was chastened at every turn for my desires.” She remembered how furious Jonathan had been when he’d found her at the brothel attempting to learn carnal secrets. A quiet look of understanding passed between the sisters.

“A good man will want a wife with an open and passionate side.”

“Jonathan doesn’t,” she blurted out, then regretted it.

Her sister gave an impish smile. “Of course he does.”

Audrey tried to ignore the flicker of hope that rose in her chest. “What makes you think that?” Had Horatia heard something? Had Jonathan spoken to her, or perhaps to Lucien?

“Trust me on this, Audrey. I spent many years believing that Lucien despised me. It turned out what he felt was quite the opposite.”

“You thought he despised you? It was so obvious to the rest of us how he truly felt.”

“Yes, but he was closed off to me, sometimes even cruel in the way he ignored or dismissed me. But for him, it was about denying his feelings. He feared Cedric would be furious, and he also feared he wasn’t worthy of me.” She sighed, the sound so full of regret and hurt.

“Why would he think he wasn’t worthy? He is a marquess from a long and noble bloodline.”

“Not everything is about titles, land, or money.” Audrey didn’t miss her sister’s gentle admonishment. “He was worried about his past, of which Cedric was only too aware, that he was too much of a rogue, and that I would not trust him because of that. My point is that Jonathan may be hesitant because he doesn’t believe he’s enough for you. That may be why he is cold and distant.”

Audrey rubbed her temples with her fingers, feeling a slight headache pulse behind her eyes. “But he is enough.”

“Have you told him that?”

“No…” She hadn’t wanted to raise such a prickly issue, especially when she was convinced that he might not care about her the way she did him. Loving someone was frightening.

Audrey’s heart skipped a beat.

I love him.

The epiphany was frightening. She had known that she cared about him, that she liked him, but now she could feel love stirring inside her. It was new and vulnerable, like a fawn learning to stand, but given time, her love would grow strong.

“Audrey, what is it?” Horatia was staring at her, her lips pursed with worry.

Audrey almost moaned. “Something dreadful.”

“Audrey, you’re worrying me. What’s wrong?” Horatia demanded. At her sound of distress, Evan made a little sound from his cradle.

“I love him,” she whispered. “I love him. But what if he doesn’t love me?”

Horatia’s smile reminded her of their mother again. “How could he not? He would be mad not to adore you.”

“What if there is someone else—”

“There isn’t.”

Her sister’s confidence still didn’t give Audrey any peace. “How can you be sure?”

“Lucien and the others would know about it. Lady Society would too. Between the League and the Lady, no one can keep secrets in London for long.”

Audrey bit her lip. Her sister still didn’t know about her secret. Perhaps it was time to tell her.

“I can assure you, Horatia, when it comes to Jonathan, Lady Society is as blind as I am.”

Her sister raised a brow. “Oh?”

Audrey sighed heavily. “I should have told you long ago…I am Lady Society.”

Horatia gasped. “What? But those columns—they’ve been around for years.”

“I started writing them when I was fifteen. It was easy enough to gather gossip from Cedric and the League, and I knew plenty of older ladies who attended balls and dinners. They wrote to me, sharing gossip and news, and in time I learned whose word could be trusted more than others, or who to contact if I needed insight on a particular matter. One of those people is an editor at the Quizzing Glass Gazette. It was rather easy donning the disguise of Lady Society.”

Horatia laughed, though there was a hint of concern in it. “Oh heavens, Cedric must never know, nor any of the others. After calling them out on their romantic entanglements over the years? They’ll want your head, even if you did help half of them get married in the process.”

“Jonathan knows, but he hasn’t told anyone.” She was convinced he would take that secret to his grave if she asked him to. “And as for the others, they deserved my interference. All that’s left is Jonathan and Charles.”

“Just Charles,” Horatia corrected. “Because Jonathan is most certainly yours.”

Before either sister could speak again, there was a knock on the bedchamber door.

“Yes?” Horatia called out.

A footman peered inside. “Begging your pardon, my lady, but I was told to deliver a message to Miss Sheridan.” His gaze turned to Audrey.

She slid off the bed at once. “What is it?”

“A message came here from Lord Pembroke’s estate, bearing ill tidings. Miss Beaumont and Lord Pembroke just left.”

“Oh dear.” Audrey exchanged a glance with her sister. “What was the matter?”

“It’s his lordship’s mother. She’s fallen ill, and they fear the worst. He left to attend to her, and Miss Beaumont went with him. Miss Beaumont asked me to tell you not to worry and that she would write as soon as she had news.” Audrey was thrilled that James and Gillian were together but saddened by the circumstances. The footman held out a letter. “And this arrived for you as well.”

“Thank you,” Audrey said. The footman nodded and vanished from view, closing the door. Audrey turned the folded and sealed paper in her hands, recognizing the wax seal as belonging to Avery Russell, one of Lucien’s younger brothers—the spy. The one who had been teaching her and allowing her to follow him on local tasks of observation.

“Go. We’ll talk later.” Her sister gave her a nudge toward the door. Audrey rushed to her chambers to read the letter.

Dear Miss Sheridan,

I hope this letter finds you well. I would like to call upon you in London as soon as you return. The matter is most urgent. Write to me at the address listed below. I trust that the matter will be held in strictest confidence.

Avery

Audrey made sure she’d memorized the address before she carried the letter to the fire in her chambers and cast it upon the logs. Flames caught on the edges of the paper, and they crawled in, turning the paper black. Audrey crossed her arms over her chest, feeling oddly worried. Did Avery have a mission for her? She could think of no other reason he would write to her.

I hope I am ready.

She would return to London tonight and reply to him straightaway. She summoned the maid and instructed her to pack up at once and have a coach brought round. She no longer worried about her attendance at the party. Her main purpose had been to bring James and Gillian together, and in that it seemed she had succeeded. There was no need for her to remain.

Then her thoughts shifted to Jonathan. If Avery had a mission for her, then her lessons with Jonathan were effectively over. There would be no more delicious nights in each other’s arms and slow, building kisses and caresses during the day. No more passion. Whatever had been growing between them would have to wait until she returned.

She knew what some of the others thought about her. That this was all a chance at adventure. That it was a game. But her sister’s brush with death reminded her all too clearly that this was not a game. It also reminded her why what she wanted to do was so important. England needed her, and that would have to come first.

I’ll leave a note. If I tell Jonathan I’m leaving, I’m sure he will try to stop me. Because he is a gentleman, no matter what he thinks. But if I am to be a spy, then I must do this alone.

She sat down at the writing desk in her room and dipped a quill into a bottle of ink, setting a fresh page before her.

Jonathan,

This last week has been wonderful and I don’t wish to let go of any of it, but something important has come up and I must leave at once for London. Please know that if you still want me when I return, then I am yours.

Audrey

Love and marriage, if they were even possible, would have to wait.