Charming a Spy by Elizabeth Chance Page A

asked.
    “I’ll just check,” he said, disappearing again as easily.
    “Who else has been invited to the ball, Maribel?” Kat asked.
    “So far the only other family I have heard of are the Trannens,” Maribel said. Kat couldn’t help raising her eyebrows and smiling at Maribel.
    No sign of the butler yet, but Kat pretended she wasn’t anxious.
    “Don’t tease me so,” Maribel chastised Kat. “You know as well as I do that Trig is an old family friend who’s practically a brother to me.”
    “I’ve seen the way he looks at you, Kat, and it has nothing to do with a sibling’s affection.”
    “Maribel.”
    “I think you should consider him.”
    “The only thing I consider Trig Trannen is a pest. Besides, there will doubtless be other men worthy of consideration there.”
    “Is there someone in particular you have hopes for?” Kat asked, for a second terrified at the possibility her best friend might actually want to marry the man she was planning to seduce.
    Maribel twisted in her chair as if being interrogated.
    “I’m not going after Stamwell if that’s what you’re implying,” she answered, reading Kat’s mind. Kat unconsciously sighed with relief.
    “I won’t pretend I wasn’t thrilled when the duke asked me to dance at his ball the other night. He is so handsome… and the way he looks at a woman, well it could positively make you melt.” Kat swallowed. She definitely knew what Maribel meant about the melting part. “But I’m over him now,” she said.
    “You are? Why?”
    “Because I think he has an eye for my very best friend in the world, and I think she may think very highly of him as well.”
    “Maribel. I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Kat said, but it didn’t sound convincing even to her.
    “First, he hand delivered an invitation to your house. Then you left the room at the ball, not moments later he followed behind you like a hunting dog on a scent. You both disappeared for so long…”
    Kat didn’t need to see her reflection in the mirror over the mantle to know her cheeks were flaming red.
    “We were just talking,” Kat said, quickly defending herself. She hoped no one else was as observant as Maribel.
    “Do you deny you fancy him?”
    “Oh, Maribel. As my bosom friend, I can tell you I honestly don’t know how I feel. I admit, of course, he is handsome and furiously alluring. I also thought for a few moments he may fancy me, but then I saw him with Jessica Grier and now I don’t know what to think.”
    “Ms. Dubois. The correspondence,” Royston said, handing her a stack of letters. Amongst the cards was a square-shaped envelope addressed to Mrs. Seymour and Ms. Dubois closed with the official seal of the Duke of Stamwell.
    “It’s here,” Kat whispered in disbelief.
    “I told you it would be,” Maribel said, clearly also relieved. “It’s official. The Duke fancies you. Now, about what we are going to wear…”

Chapter Ten
    ‡
    K at stared out the coach window at the country house coming into view. It was magnificent. Enormous magnolia trees lined the pathway leading up to the house, raining down pink petals when the slightest wind shook the branches. It wasn’t clear whether Rosewood took its namesake from the magnolia flowers or the light pink brick from which the house was built. Either way, the rosy hues made it seem like the enormous home was blushing.
    The grounds surrounding the house adorned the home’s fingers with geometric jewels. A long rectangular pond carpeted up to the house steps where it blossomed into a fountain. Topiary gardens flanked both sides of the front walls and a rose garden lay just beyond. Miles of green stretched far beyond the house, beckoning Kat to take long walks.
    “Isn’t it divine?” Kat asked.
    “Simply gorgeous. You know, some very lucky young lady will become the duchess of this home,” her Aunt said.
    “Aunt Ellie…” Kat warned.
    “I am not saying anything about your relationship with the