Free Regency Spymasters 01 - Spy Fall by Diana Quincy Page A

father’s reputation. Her bloody frog cohorts could be floating offshore even now, waiting for a signal.
    Chills shivered down his spine. Until this evening, figuring out her game had been a harmless amusement, but this was no lark. The parachutist was up to something that could have serious repercussions for the country, as well as for Aldridge. He had to stop her. He had to protect his father at all costs.
    It was time to call for reinforcements.

Chapter Six
    Marcel surprised Mari the following day by making an unexpected appearance in the main house.
    “Our friend has sent word,” he said with quiet urgency when Mari greeted him in the front hall. Outside, a roll of thunder rippled through the skies, threatening an afternoon storm. “He wants a meeting.”
    She pulled him into a small feminine sitting room and closed the door. “Now? It is not possible.” Outside, the skies erupted. Rain splattered against the window. “How can he want me to come to Town now?”
    “Not London. He travels here in a sennight.”
    Alarm filtered through her. “He comes here? To Langtry?”
    “ Non. To the village. You are to meet him at the tavern Monday next.”
    She released a breath. “When exactly?”
    “He will send word. And he wants you to go alone.”
    “Very well.” She didn’t like it. If their friend planned to make a trip to Dorset for the purpose of an emergency meeting, something must be wrong. “Anything new on who Aldridge’s go-between could be?”
    Marcel shook his head. “Nothing. Perhaps notre ami brings news of it.”
    “Perhaps.” But she didn’t think it likely.
    “Did you learn anything of interest yesterday?”
    She thought back to her conversation with Rosie Chalcroft. “The sister, Elinor Dunsmore—Elinor Laurent—had a lady’s maid who attended her in Paris. We must find her.”
    “Is the wench important?”
    “I am not certain, but it is a possibility we must explore.”
    He shrugged. “As you like.”
    Together they walked to the front door. She watched him run across the grass to the barn in the pelting rain. Lightning cracked against the sky, and she shivered against the unsettled feeling engulfing her, a sense that something wasn’t quite right.
    Perhaps another chat with Mrs. Godfrey would prove helpful. She headed for the kitchen to ask for a cup of tea. Greater knowledge of Langtry and its residents might eventually allow her to piece seemingly unrelated bits of information together into something comprehensible.
    “There you are, Miss Lamarre.” Aldridge appeared in the doorway of his study as she passed. “May I tempt you with a game of chess?”
    Mari glanced beyond him to the rain battering the windows. “I suppose this weather provides me with an excuse to escape work.”
    “Indeed.” Stepping aside, he allowed her to pass and they settled at the chess table. “I’ll ring for tea.”
    Given the chill of the day and the gloomy weather beyond the windowpane, it seemed like an excellent idea. They were silent while setting up the ornately carved ivory pieces on the board.
    “You’ve been quite busy since Tristan’s departure,” he said.
    “There is much work to be done before the exhibition.” As far as Aldridge knew, for the past three days since the viscount had left Langtry, she’d been readying her parachute for a test jump. In the evenings, though, once the household was abed, she’d undertaken an extensive search of the entire house, except for the marquess’s private chambers. Yet she remained determined to breach his enclave, more convinced than ever that the document she sought could be found there, if it existed at all.
    “Will you take the first move?” she asked.
    While he contemplated the board, she couldn’t help admiring his gray-streaked dark hair and sharp profile, which revealed no softening of the chin. It was easy to see what an attractive man he must have been in his youth, one who could have had his way with half the ladies of the