Phoebe realized the sound was coming from the partially opened door at the end of the drawing room that led to the library.
“M’lady, please come out from under the desk!” Aya sounded mortified.
“I was simply checking in case a re—in case something might have fallen behind the drawer.” Aunt Laura’s voice was muffled.
But as Phoebe approached, the strange tone of Aya’s voice made her slow her pace and pause out of sight of the half-open door.
“A receipt? A jeweler’s receipt?” Aya spoke quietly, unlike the half-scolding, half-joking tone she usually took with her eccentric employer. When her aunt didn’t reply, Aya continued, “I saw the crest on the watch. It’s the same one that was on that pendant.”
“Of course not,” Aunt Laura replied briskly, but Aya interrupted.
“I was there with you that night. I saw it. That watch is somehow connected to her, isn’t it?”
Phoebe’s limbs had become solid blocks of ice. She had the feeling that whoever that woman was, she was important to her aunt for some very unpleasant reason.
“Will you reach out to the Senhora?” Aya asked.
“No, not yet.”
“You’ll probably have to tell Phoebe.”
“I’m not ready for that yet, either.”
She might be overhearing something she ought not to know. Although she was close to her aunt, naturally there would always be things Phoebe would never know, but she had the impression that these secrets were weightier than normal. It was like a dark, shabby closet that had cracked open, and she knew she would not like the spiders she found inside.
—from Lady Wynwood’s Spies, Volume 1: Archer
Curious how it all begins?
Click below to read the beginning of Lady Wynwood’s Spies, Volume 1: Archer for free and step into a world of Regency intrigue, danger, and slow-burn romance.
💌 Prefer to ease into the series?
You can join my newsletter and get a free ebook copy of Lissa and the Spy, a romantic Regency mystery introducing another pair of spies in my world.
Reference Footer
This post relates to Camille Elliot’s Lady Wynwood’s Spies, a Christian Regency romantic suspense series set in 1811 London and featuring intrigue, espionage, botanical alchemy, slow-burn romance, and themes of faith and redemption.
• Lady Wynwood’s Spies Series Reference Page
• Reading Order: Lady Wynwood’s Spies Reader Journey Roadmap
Comments