Read Regency Spymasters 01 - Spy Fall for Free Online Page A

unconquerable, and he loved a challenge. Whatever the reason, Mari’s natural sensuality drew him like a magnet.
    The balloon swooped down. One of its inhabitants—a tall, dark-haired man with spectacles—threw out a cable and anchor as it neared the earth. The wicker gondola hit the ground with a scraping thump before rebounding several feet and coming down again, hopping like a giant rabbit. The moment the car made its final thud, acquiescing to earthly bonds, a second man, with coloring similar to that of his companion, only shorter, with a more wiry frame, leapt out with easy agility.
    Mari ran forward, all long legs and liquid movement, and grabbed some of the cable. She and the men worked in tandem; they threw down the anchor and tethered the balloon to the ground with rapid efficiency. Sand-filled ballasts were tossed into the center of the gondola to weigh it down.
    The boat-shaped basket was larger than Cosmo would have expected, about six feet by four feet. It appeared to be made of interwoven rattan and willow with leather bindings. The sides were thigh high, and there was a seat at each end of the gondola, leaving space for ballast in the middle.
    With the task of grounding the contraption complete, the rangy man in spectacles jumped out of the basket and pulled Mari into his arms with a laughing familiarity that made Cosmo want to snap the man’s knees.
    Smiling, she ran her fine-boned hand over the dark stubble on Spectacles’s cheek. “You look like a peasant,” she said in French. “I should not allow you to kiss me with this face.”
    Were kisses something she dispensed regularly to this man? The second fellow, with the wiry frame, put his arm around Mari’s waist and bussed her cheek. She favored him with the same easy smile the first cull had received. “The landing was excellent, n’est-ce pas ?”
    Spectacles rounded back to the wicker car, putting things to rights. “The hydrogen works perfectly,” he said. “But we still must work on the parachute oscillations.”
    “I have been thinking of this,” Mari said, and the three of them launched into a discussion in French about parachute vents. Both men were obviously French. Cosmo didn’t bother trying to follow their conversation. He was too busy noticing how comfortable she seemed chatting with Wiry’s arm around her waist. Was she allowing him to bed her? Or maybe she was knocking both of them. They courted risk and danger together. It made sense that they might engage in other activities as well.
    Ire shot through him, surprising him with how strongly he disliked the image of Mari Lamarre naked with any man—other than him, of course. As a rule, he didn’t share his women, but it was laughable to feel proprietary about one he’d known for barely a day. Linking his hands behind his back, he cleared his throat. “Won’t you introduce us, Mademoiselle Lamarre?”
    “ Bien sûr .” Laughter lit the rainbow of color in her eyes. “Monsieur Dunsmore, this rogue is Marcellin,” she said, tilting her head toward Wiry, whose arm remained draped around her waist. “And that other scoundrel is Maxim.”
    “Welcome to Langtry, gentlemen,” he said stiffly. “I do hope you will be comfortable here.”
    Challenge sparked in Wiry’s—Marcellin’s—eyes. “We won’t be staying long enough for that.”
    Mari threw an arm around the man’s shoulders. “Marcel, this is the excellent news I must share.” They were almost the same height, as Mari was rather tall for a female. Their coloring—dark hair and olive skin—was also similar. “The Marquess of Aldridge has been most generous. He is offering us the use of his property.”
    Spectacles, who she’d introduced as Maxim, leapt out of the gondola and walked over to them. “We are to prepare for the exhibition here?”
    Mari nodded. “There is even a cottage at our disposal.”
    Our ? Cosmo didn’t care for the direction of this conversation. “We can easily continue to