Free The Female Charm by Amelia Price Page A

had handed over on his lap.
    “Yes, back to
London.”
    Mycroft knew his
work wouldn't quite be over. Kendel was sly enough that he'd try to
hide some electronic copy of the document somewhere, like a phone
or external hard drive, but Mycroft would make sure it was deleted
the next time either connected to anything Kendel browsed the
internet with. As long as the Prime Minister and his MPs didn't do
anything stupid over the next few months, Scotland should remain
part of the UK.
    Satisfied, he
turned his mind to other tasks and emails he'd received throughout
the day. His work was never done.
    ***
    It took Amelia a
moment to gather her thoughts when she first woke up. The sun shone
brightly but she could tell the room was cold. Fighting the urge to
snuggle back down into the warm duvet, she flung back the covers
and swung her legs out of the bed.
    Noticing the chair
propped under the door brought back memories of the previous night.
She yawned as she felt a small amount of relief. Whoever had broken
into her kitchen the first time hadn't disturbed her again.
    Despite it now
being day time, she hesitated to open her bedroom door. Just
because they hadn't come into her bedroom didn't mean they weren't
somewhere else in the house.
    By the time she'd
been to the bathroom and put the kettle on, she was laughing at her
behaviour. No one had come into the house a second time.
    After eating a
light breakfast, she returned her dining chairs to their usual
location and went to fetch the bag she kept her gi and gym clothes
in. Saturday morning was always her favourite lesson time with Tom.
They took two hours over it rather than only one, and he was
usually in a better mood.
    As she picked up
her bag from the closet in the spare room, she noticed a strange
wooden box right beside it. That hadn't been there two days
earlier. She frowned and picked it up. As she did, an envelope that
must have been lightly fixed to the bottom floated to the
floor.
    She laughed aloud
as she realised whoever had broken in last night had been from
Myron. Instead of them stealing something, they'd left her
something. She also felt relief that she hadn't messaged Myron to
ask him what to do about a possible burglar. It wouldn't have gone
down well.
    The wooden box was
plain pine, sanded smooth, with a small digital display on the
front. It had a picture of a locked padlock in the centre and a
small arrow off to the left.
    She carried it
through to the living room and dunked it into her handbag. As much
as she wanted to figure out what it was for, if she didn't leave
now she would be late for her lesson.
    Once she was
walking on the usual route to the fitness centre, Amelia opened the
envelope that had been with it.
     
    NAA DD:DD WEEE
BB:CC
     
    A grin spread
across Amelia's face. This was what she'd needed the three previous
numbers for. But she hadn't seen anything for D or E yet. The smile
was immediately replaced by a frown. It was possible she'd missed
her last two clues.
    Before she could
decide what else she'd seen that might be a clue, Amelia arrived at
the fitness centre. As usual, Tom was already changed and waiting
for her to begin.
    She hurried into
the changing room and locked away her belongings. It wouldn't be a
good idea to enter into a lesson with Tom with something else on
her mind. She'd done that once and regretted it until the bruises
her distraction had earnt her had faded from sight.
    After a
half-an-hour warm-up Tom spent an hour putting her through her
paces practising all the moves he'd taught her. Now that she'd been
learning for several months, he was being more picky with her exact
stance, as well as the precision she put into each attack and
block. By the time he told her to relax, she panted and her muscles
ached.
    “Sit for a minute
with me and close your eyes,” he said and plonked himself down on
the floor in front of her, crossing his legs. She mimicked his
position and immediately felt the relief in her calf and