Free The Spy Who Loved Her: Once Upon an Accident, Book 3 by Melissa Schroeder Page A

their wives did.
    “It is good to see you out more, Lady Anna.”
    She cut a sharp glance at the young man returning her to her mother.
    “I go out, Lord Greenwood.”
    He reddened and swallowed and she instantly felt guilty. He was a nice enough man with a shock of curly red hair, dark green eyes and the sweetest disposition. Unfortunately, even though he was several years older than Anna, she always felt as if she was the older of the two of them.
    “I do apologize. I did not mean that you did not do anything. I know that you do a lot of work with your orphanage.”
    That made her stop in her tracks. “You do?”
    He smiled. “My father told me all about it. Apparently, your mother does talk about it.”
    His father? She had no idea her mother was acquainted well enough to be discussing her daughter with the man. She looked for her mother in the crowd and found her looking up at the Earl of Greenwood with a smile that stunned Anna. She could not remember ever seeing her mother looking like that, not since their father died.
    “Lady Anna.”
    She turned to find a young footman standing beside her. “Yes.”
    “This came for you a moment ago.”
    She took the envelope and recognized the penmanship immediately. She tore it open and read the note from Mrs. Markham. Several of the boys were sick. Panic welled up inside of her.
    She turned to Lord Greenwood as she ordered herself to calm down. “I do apologize but something has come up. Could you tell my mother that I had to go home?”
    There was no reason why she should tell her mother that she had to leave for the orphanage. It would only take a moment to stop by and double check on the boys. Mrs. Markham could take care of it herself, but the truth was the doctors tended to come faster if they knew the summons was from her and if she were in attendance.
    “If you are—”
    “Nothing all that important, but I need to make sure this staff member is taken care of.”
    She smiled at him and he seemed to lose his concentration as he stared at her.
    “Lord Greenwood?”
    He shook himself out his stupor. “Of course, Lady Anna.”
    She thanked him again, then made her way out of the ball room. If one good thing came out of the illness hitting the children, it had helped her escape early.
     
    Daniel crept down the street ever aware of the danger around them. Yes, meeting a former French spy was dangerous, but Daniel knew the bigger danger was those who inhabited the streets here. They were the lowest form of scum on the earth, and many of them could care less whether they lived or died.
    “Do you think there is a chance the froggie will run?” Jack asked.
    “I have no doubt he will be here. He owed everyone in town.” And he had said he knew of the Viper. That had been enough to pull Daniel away from anything, especially the ball.
    When they stepped onto the street, he realized that they were just a block or two over from Anna’s orphanage. He would have to come up with something that would keep her out of here. He was not a man who thought women should be sheltered, but running around the East End was just not the thing. Even during the day. He knew he didn’t have a right to tell her what to do, but he truly didn’t want her hurt. If she continued in this fashion, something would happen.
    He pushed those thoughts away. Having a woman, especially this woman, on his mind was not a good thing considering their mission. He had to keep his mind on what was happening around them. As they made their way to the pub, Daniel sensed a stir in the air. It gave him a sense of foreboding before the man stepped out of the shadows.
    “I hear there are wolves running loose in London.”
    Jack jumped, his hulking figure moving toward the man. Daniel stopped him. “No.” Then he turned to the man. “You should not pay attention to the gossip of the ton, my lord.”
    The man stepped into the light and the nerves that had bunched up seemed to relax. Both Jack and he walked