Sons of Liberty Read Online Free Page B

You have heard of the marriage of Lady Seymour Dorothy Fleming and Sir Richard Worsley?”

    “ Yes,” Raechel said. Her aunt had been a young girl during the whole affair and spoke of it often, normally when rebuking Raechel for not being perfectly ladylike. “It’s one of the great cautionary tales.”

    “ And so it is,” Irene said. She cleared her throat. “The average British nobleman will have no hesitation in setting up a mistress, but he will react badly to any thought his wife is enjoying the same liberty. Learn the rules of any given place before you break them.”

    Raechel swallowed. Did her uncle have a mistress? She found it hard to imagine her stuffed shirt of an uncle doing anything of the sort, but she had to admit it was possible? And her aunt wouldn't say a word, even if she knew ... she’d probably be glad that her husband was slaking his lusts somewhere else. A proper woman was not supposed to admit the existence of sexual pleasure, let alone feel it for herself ...

    “Quite right,” Irene agreed.

    I’m going to learn how to block you if it’s the last damned thing I do, Raechel thought, grimly.

    “ Good,” Irene said. “Work on it. You’ll have plenty of time to practice.”

    She opened a large wardrobe, revealing dozens of different outfits. Raechel stared; there was a dress that wouldn't be out of place in the palace, a milkmaid’s outfit, a working class dress that had been patched several times ... and, beyond them, a handful of masculine outfits ranging from a military uniform to an elegant suit and jacket.

    “ Tell me,” Irene said. “Why did I order you to undress?”

    Raechel felt her cheeks burning, yet again. “To show me what I would have to do.”

    “ Partly,” Irene said. She tapped her finger on her chest, between her breasts. “And partly to strip you of your identity. What you wear” - she waved a hand at the outfits - “will give you a new identity. Wearing a disguise is not just about putting on a silly outfit, but assuming a whole new identity. You must not act out of character or you will be discovered.”

    She produced a maid’s outfit and held it up. “A maid is always respectful to her employers,” she added. “She is never cheeky, never rude; whatever happens, she never raises her eyes or fights back. A maid may be slapped - or worse - by her mistress and she has to take it. She cannot fight back.”

    Raechel swallowed. She was no stranger to her aunt’s hand, but the thought of allowing someone else to strike her ...

    “ Precisely,” Irene said. “You have to play the role convincingly, if you want to succeed.”

    She smiled. “Still want to play?”

    Raechel hesitated, then nodded.

Chapter Three

    “What I would like to know,” Lord Mycroft said coolly, “is just what happened to Major Shaw.”

    Gwen groaned, inwardly. It felt like only bare hours had passed since the French offensive had been broken, since the French had been forced back to enclaves surrounding Dover and Brighton, since she had been recalled to London. At least Sir James could handle matters, if the RSC needed to get involved. The vast majority of the French magicians had been killed in the Battle of Dorking.

    “ He got a number of good men killed,” she said. Her tired mind hadn't quite processed why she’d been called to the Diogenes Club, rather than Lord Mycroft’s office. Clearly, she was in trouble for something. “I told him to sit down and shut up.”

    “ You broke him,” Lord Mycroft said. “Rumours are already spreading.”

    His voice hardened. “I ask again, Lady Gwen,” he said. “What did you do to him?”

    Gwen gritted her teeth as she turned to stare out of the window, towards the spires of the Britannic School. It was hard, so hard, to keep her temper in check. Lord Mycroft had been one of her strongest supporters, right from the start. He didn't deserve to have her screaming at him, as if he was in the wrong. And yet, the nasty