Read Saving Persephone (The Haberdashers Book 4) for Free Online Page B

agent like Sims. But that, apparently, had been the problem.
     
    Robert struck his prisoner again. “Why did you betray us?”
    Sims spit blood out, his glare still keen and angry after two days of questioning. However, his accent had reverted back to the stews. “P'raps if that light bit of skirt you sent me with was worth anything she'da known what was happenin'.”
    At first Robert assumed Sims was referring to Anna, another agent he had sent in to also keep an eye on George. But thinking that he had most likely been overprotective, he had sent Anna on another assignment shortly after their arrival in Vienna. Since he knew that the Prussian diplomat hadn't turned Sims until two months later, he realized that the man was referring to Georgiana. One of his little sister's best friends. A girl he had known since she was in leading strings, whom he had steadied the first time she sat a horse. A girl he had trained for espionage. As his hand closed over Sims' throat in a crushing grip it occurred to him that even if George had been ready for her first assignment, it was possible he himself hadn't been. “She isn't a light skirt, you mewling pus,” he growled. “I trusted you to watch over her.”
    “To sit your snooty whore?” Sims managed a surprising amount of venom as he gasped against the grip on his throat. “Plum assignment, that. The next, was it walking your dogs or currying your horse?”
    The blow Robert dealt him was so violent that the chair toppled over, leaving an unconscious Sims sprawled on the straw-covered floor.
     
    * * *
     
    Less than a week after their rendezvous, Imogen received an invitation from the duchess to leave the following day for a week in the country at Belle Fleur. After sharing it excitedly with Violetta, she retreated to her room to examine it beside the one she had received for tea. It was the same color and weight of stationery, the same seal, and the same handwriting. Perhaps Robert had his sister write the invitation? Perhaps this actually was an invitation from the duchess and simply coincided with the plan Robert had proposed. She was amused as she penned a response, wondering if she were accidentally accepting a week with an officious and nosy sister, rather than the lover she wanted to steal away with.
    Even the next morning she remained confused as liveried servants quickly loaded her luggage onto a carriage with the ducal seal while she said goodbye to Violetta. A petite woman peeked out of the carriage window and made an impatient gesture, and Violetta laughed.
    “Sweet cousin,” Vi said, “as much as I'll miss you, I don't think it wise to keep the duchess waiting.”
    After a last hug, Imogen let one of the ducal servants help her into the carriage. The duchess was looking out the opposite window, her face obscured by her bonnet.
    “Thank you so much for the invitation, your grace,” Imogen said as the carriage wheels started into motion.
    The figure chuckled and turned to look at her. “It feels good to be addressed as 'your grace.' Perhaps I will add that to my repertoire of games.” Nimble fingers untied the bonnet strings. Even now, the woman looked remarkably like the duchess and could pass for her in poor lighting. 
    Imogen laughed. “I'm sure some men would pay quite well for it.”
    Free of the bonnet, the woman's hair was luxurious and dark. She tilted her head, appraising her companion. “You know what I am?”
    “I have no idea what you are, but I think I can surmise what you do. A woman who can be hired for such a scheme, who talks of her games? It's a trade plied all over the world.”
    “For a lady, you don't seem particularly shocked.”
    “Should I be? Anyone who purports to be shocked by something more common than rain is either woefully sheltered or purposefully obtuse.”
    The woman's laughter was rich and musical. “I think Madame Blythe would love you.”
    “As I don't know Madame Blythe, it's hard to know what to say to