“If we assist you, does that mean we are spies, as well?” Evelyn asked, her eyes hopeful. Her question drew out a responding groan from Grey’s throat.
Belle almost smiled.
James flashed them a grin. “Only if that is what you wish.”
Grey cursed.
“So you want us to assist you in finding a foreign spy?” Westfield asked for clarity, before glancing at the women. “This is hardly a matter for ladies.”
Jo and Evelyn stiffened. Belle remained quiet. Unbeknown to them, she’d already taken matters into her own hands.
“I’ll have you know,” Jo put in snippily, “that no one knows the back alleys of this city better than I.” Jo’s eyes flickered over to her. “Do you not agree, Belle?”
Belle had spent a lot of time running through those back alleys with Jo. “Of course. We ladies are more resourceful than most, much more than anyone seems to think.”
“Ha!” Evelyn agreed, giving her husband a triumphant smile. He merely shook his head in mock surrender.
Westfield snorted. “The fact remains that you should not even have those urchin contacts of yours in the first place. You are a lady, not a back-alley savior.”
St. Aldwyn put his hand over Jo’s lips before she could blast Westfield with her opinion.
Derek nodded. “Be as it may, Lady Josephine has the contacts we need. But more to the point, the lower class trust her.”
“What is it you would have us do?” Belle asked.
Westfield frowned in her direction before instant concern lit his brow.
She must look a fright.
Derek turned his undivided attention to her, perhaps sensing that as the only unattached female, and therefore the only one without a male to dictate her actions, and so if she chose to be part of this project, the others might follow suit.
“We are to investigate, discreetly, his whereabouts and if possible, the reason for his return. It is my hope that you would ask around, through your own contacts, any information relating to him.”
Belle studied Derek with an unwavering regard. His eyes seemed to speak a truth that none of the other men recognized. The arrogant weasel knew who she was—at least, he knew she was the infamous Madam De La Frey. It was why she’d been included in any of these schemes in the first place. No one other than Jo and Evelyn knew about her role as the infamous designer. Well, they and possibly the mercenary. And now it would appear Derek Shaw. Maybe even his brother.
Too many people in her good opinion.
Of course, her contacts may prove to be even more valuable than Jo’s urchins.
With a nod of assent to Shaw, Belle sauntered over to the window, needing to clear her mind. Gray clouds hovered overhead. It suited her mood.
“I suppose it would be easy enough to ask around,” Jo murmured. “I will, however, need a description of this Edgar De Roux.”
Derek retrieved a small portrait from his pocket and handed it to Jo. Belle did not need to study the portrait to know what her friend would see. She glimpsed Jo’s expression through the reflection of the window and saw the surprise that registered in her eyes. Ah yes, Edgar’s face was utterly deceptive in its beauty; it could strike a woman blind.
“Well,” Jo said, clearing her throat. “I daresay it’s a face that won’t be forgotten.”
St. Aldwyn snatched the portrait from his wife’s fingertips. “Stop ogling the bastard.”
Jo gave Belle a look that practically said, “Do you see what I have to put up with?”
Belle managed to tilt her lips upward in response.
“What do we know about the night he escaped?” Grey asked, taking Evelyn’s hand in his.
Derek, noticing the gesture, paused before answering. “We suspect it happened in the early morning actually, and that he escaped by boat, likely dressed as a fisherman. A woman’s scream and a gunshot had been heard, but when officials arrived, no one was found. Only a pool of blood remained on the scene. It is uncertain whether the woman was involved or if it was even her stain.”
The silence that fell over the room was deafening.
