Seducing the Spy by Celeste Bradley Page B

Lady Alicia.
    Why her, of all people? What strange skill did she have, that she could hide from him, yet the world had no doubt of her lies? Why did she affect him so?
    She was odd, rude, indelicate, reputedly unchaste, and… well, damn it, she was annoying, from her bare feet to her green-as-first-spring eyes!
    Bloody hell. Now she had him waxing poetic about her damned eye color!
    Yet his two encounters with her had put none of his doubts to rest. She wasn't lovely, but neither was she stupid. Surely a woman as sharply intelligent as that would not put herself in such a position to be caught sleeping with a stable boy?
    Perhaps there was more he ought to know about Lady Alicia Lawrence after all.
     
    To Lady Alicia Lawrence,
    While I indeed instructed you to purchase new items as needed for our purposes, I fail to see the necessity of charging the cost of an entire year's wardrobe to my accounts.
    Sincerely,
    Stanton Horne, Lord Wyndham
     
    To Lord Wyndham,
    I don't expect you to understand the necessity. You're a man. You have no idea what a woman of Society requires. You undoubtedly believe we all wake up looking like fashion plates every morning. Pay the bills and let me be.
    A.
     
    To Lady Alicia Lawrence,
    Why the need to buy a carriage? I will be escorting you to any and all necessary events and I already own several, admittedly not as opulent as the one you attempted to order, but I find them sufficient.
    Sincerely,
    Stanton Horne, Lord Wyndham
     
    Wyndham,
    Oh, very well. Then I shall require the exclusive use of one of your carriages for the duration. You might as well send along a driver, if you can manage to pry his pay from your tight fist. I have found a suitable house. Here is the address.
    A.
     
    To Lady Alicia,
    A house? Are you entirely mad? Why in heaven's name would you need to buy a house? Especially one that is larger and more ostentatious than mine? Why do you need a new address? We will be leaving London in a week.
    Wyndham
     
    Wyndham,
    I realize that the larger part of the brain of most males resides somewhere other than their skull, but do try to think logically for a moment. No one gossips more than a dressmaker. The fact that you allow me to live in a sewer pit will be all over London
—
and your precious house party
—
before we even arrive
.
    A.
     
    To Lady Alicia,
    If you insist upon a new residence
—
and only for the duration
!—
then I shall rent you a small, respectable house within the confines of Mayfair. I am confident that will suffice
.
    It had better.
    Wyndham
     
    Wyndham,
    It was worth a try.
    A.
     
    To Lady Alicia,
    I promised to pay your expenses, but I should be highly displeased if you beggar me in the process.
    W.
     
    Wyndham,
    What are you going to do, ruin my reputation? Oh, worry not. I am only doing what is necessary to create your precious illusion. Besides, mistresses are supposed to beggar their paramours. It's practically a law.
    P.S. I need jewels.
    A.
     
    To Lady Alicia,
    You'll buy paste.
    W.
     
    Wyndham,
    You're not doing your own reputation any good, you know. Every Society lady worth her salt is trained from birth to spot paste ten yards away.
    A.
     
    To Lady A.,
    I will take care of the jewels. Do not purchase jewels. At all. In any form. Is that understood?
    W.
     
    Wyndham,
    Yes, milord. Of course, milord. Whatever you say, milord.
    However, must you be so stingy with the salaries for my new staff? We need discreet people who value their jobs. Must I think of everything?
    A.
     
    To Lady A.,
    I will hire your staff. You may choose your own lady's attendant. Do not press me further.
    W.
     
    To Lady Alicia Lawrence,
    You have not replied to my letter of yesterday. Did you fully understand my instructions?
    W.
     
    W,
    No jewels. Hire a dresser. Don't press you. Now stop bothering me. You have no idea what a chore all these fittings are. Go take care of some useless male business and let me do my job.
    A.
    P.S. I do think we ought to run a