You Only Love Once Read Online Free PDF

and a pert, full mouth that was now pursed up almost in a kiss. He edged a little closer, unconsciously breathing deeply to catch the scent of her skin.
    â€œI don’t care what you expected or what you would prefer,” she whispered in her French-flavored voice. “I will do my part, and you can do yours. Or not; I do not care a great deal what you do. But if you chatter so indiscreetly in public again, I’ll cut your throat myself.” With a pleasant smile, she sat back and turned her face to the window once more.
    In spite of himself, he found a slow smile forming on his lips. He liked her much better already. “Ah,” he said. “Then we understand each other better than I thought.”
    â€œAs if that is a concern.” The carriage had stopped. She gathered her skirt in one hand and reached for the door. Feeling more cordial now, Nate opened it himself and jumped down, offering her his hand. She took it and let him help her down. He caught a glimpse of slender ankles and calves as she swished her skirts back into place. Very nice, he thought; a spy with lovely legs and plump, pretty breasts. If he was to be saddled with her, at least there would be some compensation.
    She turned and walked up the steps of the neat little house without a backward glance at him. “ Au revoir , Madame,” he called after her, grinning at the way she completely ignored him. She let herself in and closed the door without looking back, but he knew she’d heard him just the same. He could tell by the set of her shoulders that she was refusing to turn back and glare at him. Instinctively Nate glanced at the window nearest the door, wondering if she would peep out at him once she was safely inside. He couldn’t tell—was that a shadow just beyond the curtain swaying so gently in the breeze? He touched the brim of his hat and smiled, just in case.
    â€œTwo shillings, guv,” said the cabdriver then, interrupting his thoughts. Nate started, then laughed at himself. What a clever girl, sticking him with the fare. But what was the cost of the hackney, when it had shown him where she lived?
    â€œLimehouse docks,” he told the man, then stepped back into the carriage, taking one last assessing look at the neat little house.
    Somehow he found himself looking forward to his next meeting with the mysterious Madame Martand.
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    â€œHas he gone?” Angelique kept her eyes on the back of the hall as she unbuttoned her pelisse. Lisette’s eyebrows shot up, but she moved quickly to the window, staying just behind the fluttering curtain.
    â€œ Oui , Madame. He got into the hackney and it is leaving.”
    She let out her breath in a sigh of aggravation and yanked loose the ribbon of her bonnet. What a boorish man! So brash, so impolitic, so reckless! Had he even listened to a word Stafford said? Anyone might have seen him follow her—right to her own doorstep! She wrenched off the pelisse and handed it to Lisette with the bonnet, muttering slurs on the American’s head as she strode into her small library.
    She hadn’t been eager to take on this commission before; now she was so annoyed she was tempted to refuse immediately, and announce her retirement as well. How dare Stafford try to impose that imbecile upon her? The American had seemed stiff and condescending, which was bad enough. Then he followed her in broad day, forcing his company upon her and questioning her competence. For a moment she wondered how upset Stafford would be if she were forced to cut Mr. Avery’s throat as well as Dixon’s, because she wasn’t sure she could stand much more of his company.
    Of course she could not do that. The American came from his president, and it would cause trouble for Lord Sidmouth if she harmed Avery. Lord Sidmouth, the Home Secretary, was Stafford’s master. Angelique knew very well that Stafford ran his little band of agents at Sidmouth’s pleasure, and