Page 44 of Give Him a Chance

Hovell.

What the—how the hell did they know about Hovell? That was his handler’s name. No one but loyal Brits was supposed to know that name.

So how did a quartet of ruffian Frenchmen on the streets of Brighton?

When Bernard looked up to meet their eyes, satisfaction was burning in them. He had been ruffled, and they had taken pleasure in it. But he mustn’t lose concentration. That was how a man could lose an eye.

“I don’t know who you—”

“Do not lie,monsieur. The truth, she is written all over your face,” snapped the apparent leader of this little band. “Tell us where he is.”

Well, even if they had beaten him black and blue, tied him up, shipped him to France, and gotten creative with his fingernails, Bernard would not have been able to betray his country.

His shoulders sagged at the relief, as he spoke the truth. “I don’t know.”

The man’s scoff was so entirely French, Bernard could have spotted him from a mile off. “Ach, but you are lying! If you do not tell us where ’ovell is, I’ll be forced to—”

Precisely what he would have been forced to do, Bernard did not know. The man was not bluffing with a great many cards, though naturally, he technically had the advantage of numbers.

But the Frenchmen turned and scarpered along the road as a clear, strong, and above all female voice called down the alleyway, “Excuse me, what on earth are you doing?”

Bernard’s pulse skipped a beat.Oh, no.

Oh, no.

Oh—

Lady Lucy Chance came marching along the alleyway,alone, arms crossed and expression furious. “Just what do you think you’re doing, Dixon?”

Dixon. He had lost the right toBernard, then, he realized with a twist of pain. Though what he could have done to deserve…

Ah. Yes.

Bernard’s gaze took in the scene. There were two men crumpled at his feet. And he was holding an iron bar.

He dropped the bar with a clatter as he smiled weakly at Lucy. “Look, there is a perfectly reasonable explanation for this.”

“Why on earth did those four men attack you?” Lucy demanded, not bothering to keep her voice down as the two Frenchmen groaned at her feet. “What the hell is going on?”

Bernard swallowed.

He had never intended her to see—he had never intendedanyoneto see, but Lucy especially…

This was a part of his life he was proud of, yes, when one understood the full context. To fight for one’s country, to defend her and her honor, it was a duty that weighed upon him like a badge of honor. Bernard was proud of all he had done and would take none of it back.

But one had to know the context to understand it. Why, without the knowledge that he was a spy for Her Majesty’sgovernment and was doing all he could to protect and serve his country…

Well. He was just a ruffian with an iron bar.

Bernard glanced down at the iron bar, saw one of the Frenchmen was lying near it, and picked it up hastily. The last thing he needed was for them to procure the weapon.

When he looked up, it was to see Lucy glaring.

“Explain,” she said curtly. “Now.”

His mind whirled, flickering through all the undercover stories he had been given during his years of service. Which would suit the best, in this situation?

The trouble was, lying to random people he would never see again was a darn sight easier than lying to Lucy, and not just because he currently lived in her house on her father’s beneficence.