A Spy's Devotion (The Regency Spies of London #1)

322 Pages·2016·0.45 MB·english

by  Dickerson

O T H E R T I T L E S B Y M E L A N I E
D I C K E R S O N
Medieval Fairy Tale Series
The Huntress of Thornbeck Forest
Fairy Tale Romance Series
The Healer’s Apprentice
The Fairest Beauty
The Captive Maiden
The Princess Spy
The Merchant’s Daughter
The Golden Braid

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places,
events, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or
are used fictitiously.
Text copyright © 2016 Melanie Dickerson
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system,
or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written
permission of the publisher.
Published by Waterfall Press, Grand Haven, MI
www.brilliancepublishing.com
Amazon, the Amazon logo, and Waterfall Press are trademarks of
Amazon.com, Inc., or its affiliates.
ISBN-13: 9781503950511
ISBN-10: 1503950514
Cover design by Mike Heath | Magnus Creative
C O N T E N T S
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
CHAPTER THIRTY
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
EPILOGUE
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
C H A P T E R O N E
April 1811. London, England.

Mr. Nicholas Langdon wasn’t supposed to be here.
Miss Julia Grey blinked, but he was still standing across the room
from where she sat at the pianoforte.
It was the first party of the Season, and several of her aunt and
uncle’s guests surrounded him. And in spite of the recent wounds he’d
sustained fighting in the Peninsula, he looked as handsome and whole as
he had the last time she’d seen him, a year and a half ago.
Just then, Miss Phoebe Wilhern, Julia’s cousin, turned and saw him
—and gasped loudly enough to be heard by everyone in the room.
Phoebe’s face turned pink, and the hand she lifted to cover her overjoyed
smile never quite reached her mouth.
Julia stood to go to Phoebe, to admonish her not to make her
feelings so obvious. Julia had spent the last year and a half trying to help
Phoebe forget her infatuation with the faraway army officer and think of
other things besides her obsession with Mr. Langdon.
“Do sing for us, Miss Grey.” Mrs. Caldwell hovered by Julia’s
elbow, smiling. “We all know you play exceeding well, but we insist on
hearing your heavenly voice.”
Julia hesitated, but she wanted to draw attention away from Phoebe.
She chose some music while her cousin was still staring at Mr. Langdon,
her mouth hanging open, her eyes wide. Phoebe was never very good at
hiding her feelings, and her infatuation with Mr. Langdon showed all
over her face. Thankfully, he was talking with Mr. Hugh Edgerton and
didn’t seem to notice her.
Julia began playing and singing, staring at the sheet music to make
sure she didn’t forget the notes. When she glanced up again, Phoebe was
standing in front of Mr. Langdon and talking to him.
When Julia finished the song, polite applause erupted.
“Won’t you play my favorite song?” an elderly guest entreated,
leaning on his walking stick and plucking the song he wanted from
amongst the sheets of music. “You played it so well several months ago,
as I recall.”
She longed to go to Phoebe and urge her not to expose herself to
gossip. Instead, she said, “Of course.”
Mr. Langdon looked as though his shoulder wound had healed.
He’d also suffered a leg wound. Would he have a limp?
He nodded politely to Phoebe and walked away. No limp, but
Phoebe gazed forlornly at his perfectly straight, retreating back.
Phoebe had been Julia’s constant companion since Julia was six
years old and Phoebe was four. And although Phoebe was impulsive, she
did listen to Julia’s admonitions—usually. If Julia told her a man had an
insincere countenance and a bad reputation, Phoebe refrained from
flirting with him. If Julia advised her to take a shawl because the air was
chilly, Phoebe would comply. Then, in the middle of their walk, Phoebe
would invariably exclaim, “Julia, if you had not reminded me to bring a
shawl, I would have been miserably cold,” and spontaneously embrace
her.
A few days before, Julia had confided in Phoebe about Mr. Richard
Barrington, who she had thought might ask her to marry him, but he had
suddenly shifted his preference to a girl with an inheritance of ten
thousand pounds. With a fierce look, Phoebe said, “I can’t imagine any
man not falling in love with you, Julia. Mr. Barrington must be an utter
fool.”
Julia’s heart had swelled with love for the affectionate girl.
And now, feeling she had little choice, Julia played the old
gentleman’s requested song and hoped her cousin wouldn’t do anything
too impulsive or indiscreet.
Nicholas Langdon surveyed the room where the dancing would take
place. Young ladies in gauzy dresses of pale pink, blue, yellow, and
white floated about like butterflies. It was a lovely sight to one who had
been isolated from his home country, across the sea with only his fellow
officers and soldiers in the Peninsula for almost a year, followed by
months of convalescing here in London.