Simone reached up and gently rubbed the mustache above her top lip. “My cook made a concoction that keeps the mustache on if I am very careful. But it doesn’t last long so I don’t have much time.” She held her hand up to the top hat. “And the wig is attached to the top hat. It is all very clever, if you ask me.”
Caleb lifted his brow. “What is so important that you are risking your reputation, and mine?”
“You will never guess who my father’s mistress is.” She paused before adding, “It is Juliette.”
“Juliette?” he repeated in disbelief. “That is your father’s mistress?”
“That is what I said, wasn’t it?” Simone asked.
Fredrick interjected, “Who is Juliette?”
“That is one of the French spies that we have been tracking,” Simone explained.
Turning in his seat to face Simone, Caleb asked, “Where is her brother?”
“In one of the guest bedchambers,” Simone replied.
A server approached the table and directed his attention at Simone. “May I get you a drink, sir?”
Simone opened her mouth to respond, but Caleb decided it was best if he spoke for her. “He would just like a cup of tea.”
As the server walked away, Simone said, “I can speak for myself.”
“Not here you can’t,” Caleb responded. “One good lookat you and your ruse is exposed. You are far too beautiful to be a man.”
Simone visibly tensed. “I will have you know that I have done this ruse many times and I have never been caught.”
“I don’t know how,” Caleb remarked. “They must have been idiots to not be able to see what was right in front of them.”
“Regardless, I have come for your help,” Simone said, her voice tripping on the last word.
Caleb knew that admission must have cost Simone a great deal so he wasn’t about to tease her about it. Instead, he leaned closer and asked, “Did Juliette say what she wanted?”
“No, but she knows that we are spies, and she has threatened to reveal our secret if we do not go along with her charade,” Simone shared. “Apparently, Mr. Barnard told her about you and it didn’t take much of an assumption on her part to realize I was a spy as well.”
“So I was right. My cover has been compromised,” Caleb said. “This does complicate things greatly.”
“Should we notify Kendrick and have them arrested?” Simone asked.
Caleb shook his head. “We still don’t know what their assignment is or how your father plays into all of this.”
“I don’t think my father is a part of anything nefarious,” Simone said. “He lives and breathes for the Crown.”
“Yet, he willingly let two French spies into his home?” Caleb questioned.
“I don’t think he knows that they are spies, at least that is what Juliette implied,” Simone said. “I think she is just using him.”
Caleb pushed his drink away from him. “Either way, this is not good. Lord Hungerton is privy to confidential information as a member of the peerage.”
“My father wouldn’t betray his country,” Simone argued.
“You don’t know what men are capable of when backedinto a corner,” Caleb remarked. “Regardless, he must have some inclination that they are up to no good.”
Roswell cleared his throat. “I must agree with Caleb on this. If your father is involved somehow, it will not end well for him.”
Simone’s shoulders slumped. “That is what I was afraid you would say.”
Caleb leaned closer to her. “Keep your shoulders back and your head up,” he advised. “A gentleman does not display his emotions in public.”
