Free My Scandalous Viscount by Gaelen Foley Page A

stare.
    “You sound very sure about this.”
    “Nick is confused right now. That much was obvious.” He shook his head. “I have to help him. I can make him listen to reason, I’m sure of that. I just need to track him down.”
    “What about the girl? She’s compromised you, sir.”
    I’ve compromised him? she mentally retorted. I daresay it’s the other way around!
    “I’m aware of that, believe me. Of course, I’m sure I’ve compromised her, too. And you know what the worst part is? Her uncle is the bloody Earl of Denbury. Highest of high sticklers! I wish like hell that Rotherstone and his team were here.”
    Carissa furrowed her brow in confusion at Beau’s mention of Daphne’s husband. Lord Rotherstone was involved in this somehow? Team? she wondered, increasingly bewildered.
    “I mean, I don’t see why Falconridge had to go with them. He shouldn’t even have gone on that mission, not with his injuries.”
    Mission? Carissa tilted her head. I thought they were on a hunting trip.
    “It’s been over a month since he killed the assassin,” Gray replied. “I’m sure he’s doing fine.”
    Carissa’s eyes widened. Assassin?
    Gentlemanly Lord Falconridge? The paragon of the universe, the wonderful, scholarly earl she most would’ve loved to have for an elder brother had killed . . . an assassin?
    “Well, he should have stayed in Town. Unflappable as he is, he’d have been perfect for dealing with Ezra Green. Better than I am at it, anyway.”
    “If the Elders did not think you equal to the task, my lord, they would not have hesitated to give it to someone else.”
    “Thanks.” Beau exchanged the rag he’d been pressing against his arm for a long strip of bandage.
    He began winding it around his biceps and finally tucked the end of the bandage under like he’d done it a hundred times before. “I’ve got to take Miss Portland home.”
    “Very good, sir.” The butler gave a cordial nod, but then hesitated, lowering his head with a worried look. “My lord, do you really think Lord Forrester has betrayed the Order?”
    Order?
    Beau let out a sigh and shook his head. “I don’t know, Gray,” he admitted. “I know Nick would never work against us.” He shrugged. “He said he just wants out, and truthfully, after tonight, I can’t say I blame him. When I saw that girl get hit—” A murderous look hardened his face. His big body bristled, but he shook it off. “He’s lucky he didn’t hurt her.”
    Hullo, a bullet scraped my head.
    “Hell, after the night I’ve had, I rather hate the spy life myself.”
    Her jaw dropped as he reached for his shirt, and all the puzzle pieces flew together in her mind. Her eyes were as round as moons, her heart thumping. Her mouth hung open in the darkness; she covered it with both hands, staring with the greatest astonishment of her life.
    But there was no mistake. Her ears had not deceived her. Lord Beauchamp was a spy, the Inferno Club a front for some sort of covert ring. Daphne’s and Kate’s husbands . . . and even dear, chivalrous Lord Falconridge!
    How can this be? She did not know. But it was. All that she had overheard left no doubt on the matter.
    No wonder Dante House had all these mysterious passageways! Her heart pounded like it would burst right out of her rib cage with her excitement at this treasure trove of secret information.
    She had never heard one rumor in Society that ever came close to anything like this.
    As for the “hunting trip” to the Alps that Lord Rotherstone, Lord Falconridge, and the Duke of Warrington had gone on—well, now, there was a half-truth!
    So much else about her friends finally made sense.
    Even the Home Office investigation. Of course!
    Surely it had to do with their spy stuff, not with Beau himself. She suddenly furrowed her brow, wondering if this was the real reason why Daphne and Kate had disappeared from Town.
    Beau’s exchange with the butler had made it clear that trouble was afoot. Perhaps the