India Black in the City of Light Read Online Free PDF Page B

haven’t any experience with women, Cutliffe, or you wouldn’t trot out such a feeble line.”
    That earned me a baleful look. He shifted on his seat and nudged Dunstan’s body with the toe of his boot.
    “Too bad about this one. I trust the prime minister will see that the widow and children get a nice pension.” He pursed his lips. “Oh, dear. I’d forgotten that we’re talking about a servant of the British government. The poor woman and the kiddies will be lucky to get a letter of condolence.”
    I hadn’t intended to converse with the rogue, but I found him deuced annoying. “I suppose you think your Russian masters give a toss about you?”
    His raised a ginger eyebrow. “But of course they do. So much so that they’re exchanging one of Disraeli’s best agents for me.”
    “If he’d been one of the prime minister’s
best
agents, I doubt he would have been caught,” I said lightly. “And the same goes for you, of course. I can hardly think that you’re very accomplished at this spying game if you’ve been apprehended.” I didn’t believe my own guff, but it gave me some pleasure to wind up Cutliffe.
    Unfortunately, he wasn’t taking the bait. He gave me a placid smile and looked down at the revolver in my lap.
    “I confess I am rather shocked to see a woman ride to the rescue. Has the British Empire fallen to such a state of decrepitude that it now recruits members of the fairer sex as agents?”
    “Oh, women are naturals at this espionage game. After all, we spend our lives telling lies to men like you. Do you know your Dante?” I asked. “Do you remember where the traitors spend eternity? The ninth circle of hell. You know, the circle right next to Beelzebub himself, reserved for those who betray their countries.”
    Cutliffe snorted disdainfully. “How very English you sound. All this talk of treachery and betrayal. Had I been paid a decent wage, I wouldn’t have felt the need to augment my salary with a stipend from the Russians.”
    “I see. It wasn’t treason, merely a commercial transaction.”
    “I expect you know all about that sort of thing. I don’t suppose you work for the government just because you enjoy it.”
    Damnation, this fellow was a cool one. Inadvertently, he’d touched a nerve with that comment. As I have mentioned, I had been blackmailed into my first mission for the British government by French himself, the poncy bastard. Thereafter, I’d done my bit for the Sceptered Isle because running a going concern like Lotus House is a bit less exciting than chasing Russian spies and protecting Queen Vicky from assassination. On the other hand, I’d begun to fret at the rather cavalier way French and the prime minister just assumed I’d be happy to go undercover with anarchists and track down murderers without a farthing of compensation. I’d been meaning to speak to French about that very issue, and soon.
    I checked my temper and gave Cutliffe a superior smile. “Has it escaped your notice that I’m the one with the gun and you’re the bloke in the handcuffs?”
    Thereafter, we called it a draw and rode in sullen silence. The sun had cleared the horizon by the time we arrived at the next hamlet. I looked out the window as French eased the brougham off the road and saw a few houses of plaster and wood, with the obligatory geese foraging in the gardens and lines of washing swaying gently in the breeze. Wisps of smoke from a dozen chimneys trailed lazily into the sky. A cock crowed loudly. I was a bit disappointed, for rural France appeared similar to rural England, which is to say it looked deadly dull. I hoped we had found an inn at which to procure a decent meal and a belt of brandy, for I was feeling peckish. All my victuals and drink were destined to line my former coachman’s stomach.
    I thought longingly of a feather bed and soft sheets. My eyes were gritty from lack of sleep and I’d begun to yawn, but I knew French would veto any attempt to stop until we