My Lady, My Spy (Secrets and Seduction Book 4) Read Online Free PDF

drinking. You shouldn’t go haring off alone in the dark after some thief.”
    “I have no choice. You don’t understand the severity of the situation. It is imperative that we recover that book. Everything depends upon it.”
    “Not without my help,” Josephine insisted. When Frederick opened his mouth to protest, she held up her hand to silence him and continued speaking. “I’ll accompany you. I refuse to allow you to do this alone. It’s obvious your brother needs to be elsewhere, so I’m the only person who can help you.”
    “I like the plan,” Robert said, surprising her. “The book is too important to allow anything to get in the way. Recovering it has to be our priority.”
    “I know this will come as a surprise to both of you, but I like the plan too,” Frederick said.
    A surge of relief washed through her. “Thank goodness,” she murmured.
    As Frederick went over some details with Robert, Josephine made her own plans. Frederick really shouldn’t go out again. Once he was home, she’d convince him to take better care of himself and retire for the evening. He needed to rest. And if she couldn’t sway him with logic, she’d do her best to soothe him into compliance. Pampering had a way of lowering a man’s defenses and making him more amenable to suggestions. She knew what was best for him, even if he didn’t.
    Just past Hyde Park, Robert banged his cane on the ceiling of the carriage, causing Josephine to jump in fright. He must have done it to get his coachman’s attention, because the carriage pulled to an abrupt halt.
    “What are you doing?” Frederick asked.
    “There’s no need for me to return home with you. I need to remember where I saw that woman, and I’ll think better if I’m walking.”
     

 
     
     
     
     
     
    CHAPTER THREE
     
     
    Frederick suppressed his sigh of relief as the carriage pulled up to the entrance of Woolsy House. The tension between him and Josephine had begun to build with his brother’s abrupt departure, but he’d managed to resist breaking the silence. He didn’t want to confront Josephine— not when he felt so miserable and she looked so confident. If she pressed him now, all his secrets would come spilling out, and that could only hurt her. He’d lied to her so many times, he’d lost count. What kind of man treated a woman he cared for in such a disrespectful manner? Only someone callous could be so manipulative.
    That was him. Callous and manipulative. Not at all a suitable match for a woman as vibrant and glorious as Josephine. That much was clear.
    His one solace was that he only lied to protect her, both from the dangers of his life and from the stress and anxiety the truth would bring her. After all, what good would the truth do? None that he could see. She’d only worry about him. Be fearful every time he left for a mission. Truth would cause her pain, and he’d do anything to protect her, even from him.
    Frederick hurried to exit the carriage, avoiding touching the door frame with his injured hand and instead jumping to the pavement.
    As he turned back to face the carriage, Josephine appeared in the open doorway, looking radiant with her glossy blond hair peeking out from beneath the hood of her celadon-blue cloak. He froze for a moment at the sight. Her skin was pale in the moonlight. Her blue eyes with their thick blond lashes caught the reflected light of the lamps flanking his front door, and the flames made them shift and flicker with secrets of her own.
    This wasn’t the first time he’d wondered at Josephine’s depths. She presented a smooth, cool demeanor to the world, but at times she allowed him glimpses of her inner self— the woman who lived within that beautiful exterior.
    He shook off the moment of bemusement and moved closer to offer her his arm to help her descend safely. She placed her hand on his forearm near his elbow in an obvious attempt to avoid touching his burns, just as she’d done back at the embassy.
    As