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duchess gave a decisive nod and walked away, Carys noticed that Lady Rice looked slightly less sour than usual. Oliver took her hand with a pleased smile.
    “I am glad to see you furthering your acquaintance here in town, my dear. I have been told that the new duchess, thanks to her husband, is in a position to wield considerable power if she chooses to use it.”
    “She is also very charming, my lord. I believe I will enjoy meeting her again.”
    With a disarming smile for her prospective mother-in-law, Carys allowed Oliver to sweep her into the dance. As she glanced up at him, she tried to ignore her conviction that Jack’s sudden appearance meant that nothing would ever be the same again.

Chapter 4
     
    STRUCK BY AN unaccustomed sense of unease, Jack lingered at the door and allowed the duke to precede him into the mahogany-paneled meeting room at the Foreign Office. The room reeked of privilege. Framed portraits of previous dignitaries glowered down from the walls, and thick brocade curtains deadened all sound from the busy street outside. What if the other men in the room, men of his own class, men Jack had probably been to school with, ignored him or, worse still, condemned the duke for bringing him at all?
    “Llewelyn, close the door behind you.” The duke murmured.
    Jack did as he was told and ventured further into the book-lined room. The table was so well polished that when the duke took his seat, his elegant form was reflected in the surface. To Jack’s surprise, there were only three other men present.
    Jack didn’t recognize the two men facing him. The third was an unwelcome surprise. The duke waved him to a chair and Jack sat opposite the two conservatively dressed men he assumed represented the Foreign Office.
    “Gentlemen, this is Lord Jack Llewelyn,” the duke said. “I believe he will be able to help us in this unprecedented situation. He has my complete trust and the authority to act on my behalf.”
    The older of the two men put on his spectacles and gave Jack a suspicious glare. “I am Sir Adrian West. I have the honor of knowing your father, Llewelyn. I’m certain you will do your best to help your country and not besmirch your family’s honorable name—again.”
    The sneer in his voice was unmistakable but Jack let it wash over him. He was too old to be cowed by the thought of his father’s wrath. If Sir Adrian was good at his job, he wouldn’t allow his prejudices to overcome his desire to capture Mrs. Forester.
    The younger man stood up and bowed, his sympathetic manner and soft features so at variance to his companions’ that Jack fought an instinctive urge to mistrust him. “My lord, I am Steven Gardiner, Sir Adrian’s secretary. I will be dealing with the day-to-day matters regarding this case.”
    Jack didn’t bother to rise as he nodded to the two gentlemen opposite him. “Sir Adrian, Mr. Gardiner. As the duke says, I am happy to be of service. Now what exactly can I do for you?”
    A heavily accented Welsh voice interrupted him. “Aren’t you going to introduce yourself to me, Llewelyn? It’s a long time since we’ve seen each other.”
    Jack drew in a harsh breath and turned toward his brother-in-law, who sat half in the shadows. Gareth’s red hair and freckles had faded in the intervening years, but his pugnacious personality seemed undimmed. The last time they faced each other was at dawn on Hampstead Heath with a pair of dueling pistols.
    “Good evening, Gareth,” Jack said. “It seems as if it is the night for family reunions. I am glad to see you have recovered.” His gaze flicked over Gareth’s left shoulder, where he knew he had lodged a bullet.
    Gareth’s left fist flexed and he brought his hand up to rest on the table. “I am well enough. Some wounds heal better than others.”
    Jack tore his gaze away from Gareth’s intense blue eyes. They reminded him of friendships lost, loyalties betrayed and the burden of living a life full of lies. The stuffy