Teaser Tuesday - First Look at A Season for Spies!

 

Last week I finished writing the first draft of A Season for Spies!!!!! I flove how this book came out. Evie and Anthony were so different from what I thought they'd be and they far exceeded my expectations. I'm just gonna go ahead and say it - this might be the best book I've ever written. I am SO excited for it to come out in a few months.

And here's your first sneak peek!

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Prologue – Two Years Earlier

Evie

“Someone tried to assassinate the Duke of York?” Evie burst into her uncle’s office, no longer content to listen at the keyhole as her eldest cousin reported in. Though her uncle was the Crown’s spymaster and all three of her cousins assisted him in one capacity or another, all four of the men were dedicated to keeping her out of the ‘men’s business’.

Despite the fact that she had survived the streets of London on her own when she was a mere child and had proven her usefulness over and over again since her uncle had found her and taken her in. She wanted to be part of the family business too, and since she did not consider herself a ‘lady’ of the ton, she did not particularly care if such things weren’t fit for ladies. High society did not fit her.

Uncle Oliver groaned, rubbing his forehead with his hand.

“I thought you were in your room resting.”

Evie narrowed her eyes at him. She was very aware he would have been happier leaving her out, she did not need him to say it out loud.

“I was. Then I saw Elijah return home in a hurry from my window and I wanted to know what the problem was.” Evie kicked the door shut behind her and crossed her arms over her chest, lifting her chin defiantly. “If there has been an assassination attempt on such an important personage, you are going to need all the help you can get.”

“It is too dangerous,” Elijah said immediately, raking his hand through his dark hair. Like father like son, Uncle Oliver and her cousin were cut from the same cloth, though the grey in her uncle’s hair made their age difference clear. “The Duke was nearly killed.”

“As if I have never been in dangerous situations before,” Evie retorted, rolling her eyes. “Need I remind you how helpful I was in France?” She’d spent two years there during the way and had done just as much work as any of her uncle’s operatives. Even saved one of them from capture when he’d been set up in a trap, though she pushed that memory away immediately.

She did not need her thoughts distracted by him.

“You were very helpful, even if you were not supposed to be in Denmark at the time,” Uncle Oliver said through gritted teeth. He was honest to a fault, even when he did not want to admit the truth. Telling her that she had not been helpful, when she had provided him with information that none of his other operatives had been able to suss out, was beyond him no matter how much he wished he could.

Evie smiled thinly.

“Then let me help now. I can be even more helpful here than I was in France.” After all, England was her home. She should be able to do more in familiar territory than unfamiliar.

The two men exchanged a glance and Evie’s jaw locked into place. Stubborn fools. They were going to deny her again! When would they learn? As determined as they were to keep her safely tucked away in the manner they thought best, she was even more determined to live her own life on her terms. To make her own choices.

Though she would never bring public or societal shame to her family, not after Uncle Oliver had rescued her, no one ever knew of her extracurricular activities anyway. No lord or lady would believe their eyes even if they did see her in one of her myriad disguises – not that they ever looked. Especially among their social set. The ton was so convinced of its own importance, they rarely paid attention to anyone who wasn’t on their level, often to their own detriment.

“If we need you, we will certainly call on you,” her Uncle Oliver said carefully.

Truthful to a fault. In his opinion, they never needed her, so he was not telling a lie, but Evie knew she would not be included in this escapade. Regardless of her work in France, which had assuredly been far more dangerous.

Unfortunately, the one witness to her most brilliant rescue had no idea who she was, nor did she want him to. And, considering that she’d met him in a brothel, it was not a rescue she’d been able to take the claim for to her uncle. Despite the result, she knew it would not help her cause.

Bloody daft men.

“I see,” she said. Because she did see. Attuned to her tone of voice, both her uncle and cousin were still watching her warily, ready for the outburst. Evie was tired of the fighting though. France had been much more productive after she’d slipped her ‘leash,’ the companion her uncle had sent with her, and taken matters into her own hands.

She would learn from that lesson and apply it here.

Nose in the air, she turned on her heel and yanked the door open.

“Thank goodness. Browne should be here any moment,” Elijah muttered, likely under the impression that she either could not hear him or was so upset as to not be paying attention. He must have forget that she had unusually excellent hearing.

Evie’s back stiffened as she slammed the door shut behind her. Hopefully the two men would think she was in a snit and not give her another thought. Especially when they had such important matters to deal with.

She needed to clear out before Captain Browne arrived. The operative had never met her as Lady Eveline Stuart and she intended to keep it that way. If he recognized her, it would be utter disaster.

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