My Lady, My Spy (Secrets and Seduction Book 4) by Sheridan Jeane

straightened himself in the seat and leaned forward to catch a glimpse of LeCompte through the window of the man’s house. “We’ll follow him. Let’s see if he goes on foot or in a carriage.” He analyzed the situation and quickly devised a plan. “I need you to wait in that alley and follow him on foot if necessary. If he gets in a carriage, hurry back and we’ll follow him together.”
    As Turner opened the door and slipped outside, a chill gust of wind swept through the opening and drove away all remnants of fatigue still clinging to Frederick.
    In the silence of the carriage, he kept his gaze pinned on the cobalt-blue rectangle of LeCompte’s front door. Night nearly robbed the bright paint of its color, making it appear as dull and lackluster as the other doors on the street.
    A hackney pulled to a stop in front of the house. Was a guest arriving, or had one of LeCompte’s men sent for it? If so, he’d missed the servant’s exit. What else might he have missed? A moment later, the front door of the townhouse opened, spilling warm yellow light across the bright blue door.
    LeCompte stepped outside as he adjusted the thick scarf around his neck against the chill. A young footman followed him. LeCompte paused and glanced up and down the street. LeCompte’s gaze seemed to stop on Frederick’s carriage for the briefest of moments, but then it moved on.
    Had he been spotted? He held his breath, waiting to see what the Frenchman would do.
    A moment later. LeCompte trotted down the steps toward the hackney. The game of fox and hound was about to commence.
    LeCompte’s footman snatched open the hackney’s door just as LeCompte reached it and then ushered him into its depths.
    The hackney immediately pulled away. Despite wanting to follow, Frederick waited as he stared into the darkness, searching for a sign of Turner. Where was the man? They needed to move quickly, before they lost LeCompte.
    A dark figure darted toward him across the residential street. As it drew closer, Frederick recognized Turner. A moment later the entire conveyance bounced and swayed as the young man clambered up the side to sit with the driver. In an instant, the carriage took off with a jolt.
    From inside the carriage, Frederick couldn’t see LeCompte’s hackney, but he trusted his coachman and footman to handle the pursuit.
    A moment later, a small door in the carriage roof snapped open. Frederick glanced up and saw Turner’s grinning face gazing down at him through the square frame, his excitement for the chase evident. “He took off quickly, but we managed to catch him,” the young man announced.
    “He might have seen the carriage. If so, he’ll expect us to follow.”
    Turner’s face bobbed up and down in the square. “We’ll be careful.”
    The little door snapped shut, and Frederick could only smile at the young man’s exuberance. On any other night, the two of them would be following LeCompte on horseback. He detested tracking someone at night while riding in a carriage, especially in one as distinctive as his. But the condition of his hands left him with little choice.
    Was sitting inside the carriage the only reason his excitement for the chase had ebbed? He shifted restlessly. In truth, he resented that his duties had required that he set aside a much more enticing alternative.
    Josephine.
    Frederick let out a heavy sigh. What kind of life could he offer a woman? Especially someone like Josephine? A life of lies and missed engagements? A life of sitting home alone? Yes, she claimed to already know he was a spy, but that didn’t mean she truly understood what that entailed. The sacrifices she’d be forced to make if she linked her life to his.
    But his life was even more complicated than that of most spies. He harbored secrets within secrets. There was one in particular he was certain Josephine never would guess. A secret he and his brother had guarded for more than a decade. One secret that had shaped his childhood