Charming a Spy (7 page)

Jessica Grier! Who would want to court Jessica Grier? Of course, she was beautiful, and it was commonly known she had a large dowry, but how he could stand to be in her presence was beyond Kat. She was a gossip. And worse, a mean-spirited gossip. She would criticize a nun’s habit for not being in the latest style. Yet there Geoff was, out riding with Jessica in Hyde Park for the world to see. That was more of a public declaration than some stolen kisses in a dark library.

It stung to think his sincerity towards her was an act all along. He didn’t actually care about her search for Luke. Mr. High and Mighty just wanted to use her for some dalliance and then move on to finding a wife. He probably never had any intention of helping her. Geoff probably only intended to use her for his pleasure.

Maybe that was it
. Perhaps she could use his desire to her advantage. At first she thought she could blackmail Geoff into helping her. When that failed she had an instant, or a full night and half a morning to be exact, of thinking that he might help her due to his affection for her. But seeing Jessica parading around on his arm the morning after he’d embraced her proved that his attentions were otherwise directed. Apparently his affection and desires were not the same thing and that just might give her the edge she needed.

Kat could trade her favors for Geoff’s support and resources in finding Luke. Surely he would be willing to go to great lengths if she gave herself to him freely. She would be discreet, of course, so he could go on courting whomever it was he wanted (even if it ended up being the horrendous Jessica Grier). They could meet again in libraries or she could think of a way to sneak away at night so they wouldn’t be found out. She would be the secret dalliance he wanted.

Bollocks. It was scandalous of course, beyond the pale of what she’d ever imagined she would do, but she couldn’t think of any other options. If Kat wanted to see her brother again, she needed help and the only person she could turn to was the Duke of Bloody Stamwell.

How far would she be forced to take the affair? Stolen kisses might suffice for some information, but Geoff would not be easily put off. A man like him, born with a title, a body the size of a mountain, and looks which turned her stomach inside out, was used to getting his way. If she proposed a seduction, he would expect more than kisses. She might even have to give up
more
for his agreement. Was she willing to take it that far?

Kat knew the answer before she even asked herself the question. She would do anything. The loss of her innocence wasn’t significant in comparison to her brother’s life. If Geoff helped her, he could have anything. Any part of her, any act. Lord, it was making her blush thinking about it.

Kat sat in the drawing room, devising a plan to see the duke again, when one invented itself.

“Ms. Maribel Chaplin to see you, Ms. Dubois,” the butler announced.

“Maribel. What a wonderful surprise. I could use a good distraction right about now,” Kat said.

“Is everything all right?” Maribel asked, frowning with her concern over her friend’s state.

“I think it will be,” Kat said. “Now sit down and give me the latest.” Kat poured her friend a cup of tea.

“I have the most wonderful news. Duke Stamwell has decided to hold a party in his country house. Mother heard from Mrs. Musgrave that he’s having the reception to try and whittle down his marriage candidates.”

“How exciting,” Kat said, feigning delight. She’d been looking for an excuse to get the blasted duke alone, only to find out he was going out of town and she wasn’t invited.

“Let’s start planning what we are going to wear each day.”

“We? I wasn’t invited,” Kat swallowed. “In fact, I don’t think I will be.” Obviously, she wasn’t going to receive an invitation. She was good enough for kissing, but not for marriage.

Maribel paused for a second. Realizing the error of her words, she brightened. “Impossible. I’m certain you’re on the short list. Ask your butler if the post has arrived yet. Maybe you received an invitation. And if not, well, then I will beg mama to let me bring you as my guest.” Maribel was the perfect friend. She was selfless until the end. But Kat could not go to the duke’s house party uninvited. Even she was not
that
brazen.

Unless… perhaps he was going to deliver the invitation himself as he did for the ball. She still didn’t know why he’d come in person the first time, but maybe her house was on the way to one of his clubs and it was just as easy to drop it off. She caught herself straightening her skirts unconsciously, preparing for his arrival. Merely the thought of Geoff made her do ridiculous things.

“Royston,” Maribel summoned over the butler herself since Kat had not yet done so.

“At your service, milady,” he responded. Kat sometimes wondered if Royston might actually be a ghost. He had a way of materializing out of thin air when he had been nowhere in sight a few moments prior.

“Has the post arrived yet?” Kat asked.

“I’ll just check,” he said, disappearing again as easily.

“Who else has been invited to the ball, Maribel?” Kat asked.

“So far the only other family I have heard of are the Trannens,” Maribel said. Kat couldn’t help raising her eyebrows and smiling at Maribel.

No sign of the butler yet, but Kat pretended she wasn’t anxious.

“Don’t tease me so,” Maribel chastised Kat. “You know as well as I do that Trig is an old family friend who’s practically a brother to me.”

“I’ve seen the way he looks at you, Kat, and it has nothing to do with a sibling’s affection.”

“Maribel.”

“I think you should consider him.”

“The only thing I consider Trig Trannen is a pest. Besides, there will doubtless be other men worthy of consideration there.”

“Is there someone in particular you have hopes for?” Kat asked, for a second terrified at the possibility her best friend might actually want to marry the man she was planning to seduce.

Maribel twisted in her chair as if being interrogated.

“I’m not going after Stamwell if that’s what you’re implying,” she answered, reading Kat’s mind. Kat unconsciously sighed with relief.

“I won’t pretend I wasn’t thrilled when the duke asked me to dance at his ball the other night. He is so handsome… and the way he looks at a woman, well it could positively make you melt.” Kat swallowed. She definitely knew what Maribel meant about the melting part. “But I’m over him now,” she said.

“You are? Why?”

“Because I think he has an eye for my very best friend in the world, and I think she may think very highly of him as well.”

“Maribel. I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Kat said, but it didn’t sound convincing even to her.

“First, he hand delivered an invitation to your house. Then you left the room at the ball, not moments later he followed behind you like a hunting dog on a scent. You both disappeared for so long…”

Kat didn’t need to see her reflection in the mirror over the mantle to know her cheeks were flaming red.

“We were just talking,” Kat said, quickly defending herself. She hoped no one else was as observant as Maribel.

“Do you deny you fancy him?”

“Oh, Maribel. As my bosom friend, I can tell you I honestly don’t know how I feel. I admit, of course, he is handsome and furiously alluring. I also thought for a few moments he may fancy me, but then I saw him with Jessica Grier and now I don’t know what to think.”

“Ms. Dubois. The correspondence,” Royston said, handing her a stack of letters. Amongst the cards was a square-shaped envelope addressed to Mrs. Seymour and Ms. Dubois closed with the official seal of the Duke of Stamwell.

“It’s here,” Kat whispered in disbelief.

“I told you it would be,” Maribel said, clearly also relieved. “It’s official. The Duke fancies you. Now, about what we are going to wear…”

‡

K
at stared out
the coach window at the country house coming into view. It was magnificent. Enormous magnolia trees lined the pathway leading up to the house, raining down pink petals when the slightest wind shook the branches. It wasn’t clear whether Rosewood took its namesake from the magnolia flowers or the light pink brick from which the house was built. Either way, the rosy hues made it seem like the enormous home was blushing.

The grounds surrounding the house adorned the home’s fingers with geometric jewels. A long rectangular pond carpeted up to the house steps where it blossomed into a fountain. Topiary gardens flanked both sides of the front walls and a rose garden lay just beyond. Miles of green stretched far beyond the house, beckoning Kat to take long walks.

“Isn’t it divine?” Kat asked.

“Simply gorgeous. You know, some very lucky young lady will become the duchess of this home,” her Aunt said.

“Aunt Ellie…” Kat warned.

“I am not saying anything about your relationship with the duke my darling. Only if you should be so lucky to have the opportunity to dance with him this weekend, you should graciously accept.”

Kat lied, “I’m not attached to any man in particular.” She was interested in Geoff, but for an entirely different purpose than what her aunt hoped for. “But hypothetically let’s say I did have my eye one a certain person…”

“Yes?” Aunt Ellie asked, eyebrows raised in eager anticipation.

“How would one go about, well you know, about…”

“Seducing a man?” Aunt Ellie finished for her.

“Yes, I guess that’s what I mean.”

“Oh my dear, I thought you’d never ask,” Aunt Ellie said, clasping her hands in front of her, a look of sheer delight on her face.

“What?” Kat said, thinking she might die of embarrassment on the spot.

“Let me tell you… catching a man’s eye is not as hard as you think. Especially for a girl as beautiful and charming as you. You could do virtually nothing and still have men worshipping at your feet.”

“Just the same, I think I’d like to know what to do…” Kat felt her face turn the same shade of crimson as the coach interior.

“I suppose I do know a few tricks I could pass on. But do be aware, my dear, do not use these lightly. If you set off to ensnare a man, you must be ready to deal with the consequences.”

Kat wondered which consequences exactly Aunt Ellie was speaking of but decided better against asking for details.

“The first secret is you must always smell delicious. Smell as if you’ve been baking a treacle tart. Men love to eat and if you smell like food, they can’t resist you. I have a secret perfume I’ll lend you that smells precisely of syrup.”

“Smell like a dessert?” Kat was starting to wonder if she perhaps asked the wrong woman.

“I know you’re skeptical, but it works. Do you want to learn to seduce a man or not?” Aunt Ellie asked.

“I do.”

“Good. The second lesson is what to wear. Never underestimate the power of a red dress. Make it flatter your figure and show a little décolletage.”

“Aunt Ellie!” Kat said in disbelief. She couldn’t believe her guardian was actually telling her to dress provocatively. Kat looked at her current outfit. It was a modest, blue, day dress with a fichu demurely tucked in to cover her aforementioned décolletage. Maybe she could be a bit more daring. Especially if it worked to get the duke to do her bidding.

“Lastly, touch him every chance you get, but always make it seem accidental. Pretend to stumble and grab onto his arm to steady you. Or wipe away a piece of hair that has fallen onto his brow. Use your touch to ignite his desire.”

“Smell delicious, wear a scandalous dress, and accidentally touch him?” Kat asked.

“Exactly, my dear.” Her aunt smiled, looking quite pleased with her pupil.

Kat wondered if Geoff liked treacle tart. She couldn’t say for sure whether he liked her décolletage, but then she remembered the way he’d watched her in the ballroom when he first arrived. He’d stared at her like he was considering devouring her. And when they touched, well, she was sure the last piece of advice from her aunt would work.

Eventually, the coach bucked and swayed as it slowed down at the end of the drive. A cavalry of servants stood waiting to attend to arriving guests. The duke, not surprisingly, was absent. Kat felt a pang of disappointment, which she told herself was the result of not wanting to waste another moment before she could ask him about Luke. Certainly her anxiety wasn’t because she wanted to see him again.

The butler led the ladies into a foyer where the Prince Regent would have felt at home. Marble inlaid floors painted magnificent patterns underfoot. The stone continued on towering columns supporting a ceiling painted with winged cherubs hovering over lounging gods. Kat and Aunt Ellie stood with their heads tilted back and mouths agape for so long they almost lost the butler. He was jaded to the magnificence of the entrance and was already halfway up the grand staircase leading to the guest rooms.

Aunt Ellie was shown to her chambers first, and then the servant led Kat into her quarters. Kat stood aghast for a second, taking in the picturesque room. It looked exactly like the inside of a jewelry box. Sunlight streamed through yellow silk curtains onto pale yellow braided rugs. The bed, which was large enough for four of Kat, was covered in amber flowered linens and pillows spun from gold. Two gilded chairs faced each other, as if they were engaged in a private conversation, in front of a towering fireplace etched with scrolling gold leaves.