be a master of her own fate.
She had been afraid to go at first, but she had no future, and in the end, natural curiosity and hope had driven her into this man’s arms and his bed. But she had not regretted it. The master was a wonderful lover, and he did indeed see her talents for what they were. He gave her power, a future with money and niceclothes, and a life beyond anything she’d ever imagined. All she had to do was obey him whenever he gave her a mission.
“Tell me more of this man.” The Lord of Shadows had risen from his chair by the fire and began to pace.
“He was tall, as tall as you, dark-haired, eyes the color of the sky before a winter storm.” Camille thought the man beautiful, perhaps even more beautiful than her master, but she would never admit that.
“You like his eyes?” the monsieur inquired curiously.
“Yes. They are intense, a mixture of violence and gentleness. They confuse me, monsieur.”
“Did you notice anything else about this man?”
“He wore fine clothes, and yet until he came between me and my target, I had not seen him at all at the ball. Someone of his appearance should have stood out to me.”
“What happened when you went after Lady Edwards?” Her master drew her back to her narration of the events.
“He reached the retiring room first. He attacked the woman who had accompanied Lady Edwards. I think perhaps he thought that second woman was me, but then he released her and spoke to them both in hushed tones. The two ladies seemed to be well acquainted. I believe Lady Edwards’s companion may also know the message. They were speaking to each other, and they were there when the man joined them, all of them whispering. I believe Lady Edwards shared the message with them. This other lady must be greatly important.”
“What makes you say that?” the master inquired.
“When I fired at them, the man sought to protect both ladies, but he covered this other woman more, shielding her completely from me. I wonder if she might be the one with the message and Lady Edwards is but a decoy.”
“Interesting. I hadn’t considered that. Avery Russell might be clever enough to try that. It’s entirely possible. I simply hadn’t thought to give Averyenough credit for it. Maybe he is surpassing his own master in talent. Waverly was distracted in his later days by his own personal vendettas. Russell won’t have that same problem. In time, he might become even more cunning than Waverly.”
Camille listened to her mastertalk as her thoughts drifted to the League of Rogues, the group Hugo Waverly had had a vendetta against. She had seen them many times in the last few months. They were handsome, reckless, and seductive, each of them—though none of them were spies. It puzzled her and her master that the previous English spymaster had spent so much of his time chasing them from the shadows. Worse threats faced England. Threats like her and her master.
“Did you recognize the woman? The one with Lady Edwards?”
“Yes. She is the sister of Lord Pembroke.”
“Oh, yes. I recall the fellow,” her master said and stopped pacing. “Let’s leave Lady Edwards for now. I can have someone else deal with her. This other woman, Pembroke’s sister, warrants closer scrutiny. I need to get her away from her brother and find out what she knows. Then we can arrange an accident.”
“Yes, monsieur,” Camille agreed. “What must I do?”
“Come closer, my dear,and I will tell you.” Her master beckoned her to join him in the shadows.
It was well after midnight when Adam returned to his townhouse on Half Moon Street. But as he expected, Caroline had waited up for him. She rushed down the steps toward him, wearing a robe over her nightgown.
“Oh, Adam, thank God,” she said, embracing him.
He held his sister in his arms for a moment before letting go. Like his trusted butler, Caroline knew of his secret work—he couldn’t keep that from her.
“What happened?” she asked.
It never ceased to amaze him that she could so easily read him, whereas so few others ever could. Perhaps it was because they had both grown up relying upon each other while looking after their mother when they were so young. Other men might have pushed their sisters off on governesses and eventually husbands, but he couldn’t do that to Caroline, not after all she had been through.
“Russell was waylaid, unable to make his rendezvous.”
“How