Dangerous Seduction: A Nemesis Unlimited Novel (44 page)

He gazed down at her with affection. “You sound more excited to work another confidence scheme than see Paris.”

“Oh, I can’t wait to do both. And do them with my new husband.” The plain band was back on her ring finger, except now it was genuine, placed there by Simon in the church at Trewyn a month earlier. Sarah and Henry had been there with their infant daughter, as had Harriet, Eva, Jack, and a burly but kind man named Lazarus. Even by Trewyn standards, the wedding had been small—but that had been by choice. Alyce didn’t want to put on an extravagant show when she knew the next day she’d be moving away.

Since then, there’d been adjustments. She received letters regularly from Henry, keeping her apprised of developments at Wheal Prosperity, and she’d write back with her suggestions. Sarah wrote her, too, with more domestic news, and those letters she’d read and reread, feeling as though part of her were still in Cornwall.

London still baffled her, sometimes overwhelming her with its size and commotion. But she’d had an excellent guide in Simon, who explored the city with her by day. And by night, they explored each other. She was learning, too, how to live in his town house that seemed so impossibly big for just two people, yet it wasn’t a cold, unwelcoming place. Little by little, it became not merely his, but theirs.

She’d sometimes catch Simon with a confused look on his face, as if he didn’t quite know what to do with this new life.

“Do you regret your decision?” she’d asked him one night, fearing the response but needing to know the truth.

“Not regret. I just … I think I’m
happy.
” He sounded so baffled by the idea, it nearly broke her heart. But she made sure to keep him happy, even if it mystified him.

He’d introduced her to his family, too. When the dinner had been announced, terror had gripped her. His father could cut him off for marrying her. She’d wanted to use the same part she had played in Plymouth—but Simon had argued that if they couldn’t accept her for who she was, he didn’t want their approval or money.

In the end, she’d convinced him that he did the most good for Nemesis as a gentleman in good favor with his family. His connections to the upper ranks provided valuable information for Nemesis’s objectives. So, reluctantly, he agreed, and she’d been presented to his family as a mine manager’s daughter. Simon’s father had been one of the most intimidating men she’d ever met, and he hadn’t exactly welcomed her with a warm embrace, but she’d passed muster enough to keep Simon from disinheritance. And, if his father was any sign, Simon would age very well, indeed.

Since then, she and Simon had dined with his family twice more. It wasn’t ever comfortable.

The one thing that hadn’t taken much getting used to was being a part of Nemesis. She’d thought that adjusting from being a bal-maiden to someone who helped others find justice would be a rough change. The most difficult part was seeing how much injustice there truly was in the world. She’d been sheltered in Trewyn, aware only of the plight of the miners. London had opened her eyes to rampant cruelty. It was one thing to know that people could hurt one another—she’d seen it at the mine—but she’d never forget the faces of the girls rescued from a brothel, or lose the smell of the dank alleyway where children forced into thieving gangs slept.

But with each case, each wrong righted, she felt herself more and more grow into the work. Simon was easing her into it, with small bits of surveillance and collecting information. Though she’d always be a bal-maiden, she matured into this new self, and it was exactly
right.
Especially because he was with her.

Yet this trip to France marked the biggest challenge so far.

“Will Marco meet us in Calais or Paris?” she asked.

“Paris. He’s got roles for us to play, and he can’t leave Mrs. Parrish alone—she’s in too much peril.”

She nodded, fighting for calm when she could barely contain her excitement. This case promised to be a little more glamorous than the usual Nemesis work, although the stakes were no less high. Mrs. Parrish, a young widow, had been cheated out of her inheritance, with Marco taking on the mission, and it seemed the deeper he got, the more corruption and danger he uncovered. And now Alyce and Simon were going to lend their help, just as Marco had helped them a few months earlier.

“I’m sorry I didn’t book us a private cabin,” Simon murmured, brushing his lips against hers. “We could make use of that half hour.”

She smiled against his mouth. “Half an hour isn’t long enough. Besides, we’ve got business to take care of first.”

“And a hotel room all to ourselves after.” His voice was husky with suggestion. “For as long as we want. I know how much you enjoy hotel rooms.”

“Only when you’re in them.”

With that promise in mind, they both turned their gazes to the horizon, ready to meet the next challenge.

ALSO BY ZOË ARCHER

Sweet Revenge

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Zoë Archer
is an award-winning romance author who thinks there’s nothing sexier than a man in tall boots and a waistcoat. As a child, she never dreamed about being the rescued princess, but wanted to kick butt right beside the hero. A graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, she now applies her master’s degrees in Literature and Fiction to creating butt-kicking heroines and heroes in tall boots. She is the author of the acclaimed Blades of the Rose series and the paranormal historical romance series, The Hellraisers. She has also written the steampunk romances,
Skies of Fire
and
Skies of Steel
. Zoë and her husband, fellow romance author Nico Rosso, live in Los Angeles. Please visit her on the Web at
http://www.zoearcherbooks.com/

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

DANGEROUS SEDUCTION

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eISBN: 9781466805446

St. Martin’s Paperbacks edition / December 2013

St. Martin’s Paperbacks are published by St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.