Sons of Liberty Read Online Free

damned woman could at least have told Raechel her name. “Why don’t you tell me about myself?”

    “ As you wish,” the Talker said. “My name is Irene, by the way.”

    She paused, closing her eyes thoughtfully. “Your name is Raechel Slater, or so you think of yourself. Officially, as the ward of Lord Standish, you are Raechel Slater-Standish. You are eighteen pushing eighty” - her lips curved into a thin smile - “and have been rebelling against your aunt for the last two years, mainly by going to dubious parties and having sexual relationships with junior scions of the aristocracy. The danger of finding yourself pregnant never really occurred to you, as your paramours promised to pull out before it was too late and they lost control. Which, incidentally, is not a reliable method of birth control.”

    Raechel blushed, furiously. Memories rose unbidden to the forefront of her mind. Young men, handsome enough to make her heart flutter, rakish enough that she knew her aunt would never approve of them ... some good at giving her pleasure, some only interested in themselves. And Irene, if that was her real name, had seen everything in her mind ...

    She cringed in embarrassment, but Irene went on.

    “ You went to Russia because your guardians feared to leave you in London alone,” she continued. “There you met the Royal Sorceress, who was posing as your maid at the time; Lady Gwen set you straight and convinced you that you could be something more than just another brainless beauty. You requested a post at the Royal College. Lady Gwen promised to ensure an introduction, instead, to the covert branch of British Intelligence. After a brief interview, you were given an address and told to come here. To me.”

    Raechel nodded, shortly.

    “ You are impulsive,” Irene concluded. “There is no doubt that you are smart, but you are often driven forward by your emotions rather than common sense. You are very lucky indeed not to wind up pregnant, which would have been hard to explain to your guardians, not least because you wouldn't be sure just who fathered the brat. Lady Gwen was capable of playing your maid long enough to get to Russia and carry out her mission. Can you do the same?”

    “Yes,” Raechel said.

    Irene gave her a long look. “Very well,” she said, finally. “You will be trained. I will train you. If at any moment you want to leave you may do so, but there will be no second chance to shine. You can stay in London with your money and look for a suitable husband.”

    “I’d rather die,” Raechel said, surprising herself.

    “ That may be an option,” Irene warned. “Covert work is never played by the rules. An agent who gets into deep trouble may wind up dead, or worse. And very few people will know how you died and why.”

    “I understand,” Raechel said.

    Irene nodded. “You will do everything, and I mean everything, I tell you to do,” she added, sternly. “Again, if you want to leave you may leave ...”

    “ But there will be no second chance,” Raechel said, irritated. She was no maid who needed the same orders repeated time and time again before she understood, no rake who needed to be told no twice before he backed off. “I understand.”

    “ Good,” Irene said. She reached around the back of her neck and undid her dress. It fell to the ground, pooling around her feet. “Undress.”

    “What?”

    “ Undress,” Irene repeated. There was no give in her voice. “Undress or leave.”

    Raechel hesitated. She had never been naked in front of anyone, save for her maids, since she was a very young girl. Even her liaisons at the club had involved nothing more than hauling up her dress to allow her paramours entry. To be naked in front of someone on the same social level as herself was wrong, against everything she’d been taught. Even her husband shouldn't be allowed to look at her naked body. And yet ...

    Gritting her teeth, she unbuttoned the dress and allowed it to