The Beauty and the Spy by Gayle Callen Read Free Book Online Page A

the other army families into Kabul? She was always foolishly brave, even more so than her brother, I think.”
    Nick tried not to let his bitterness show, but Will was too clever for that.
    â€œYou knew her?” Will asked, tilting his head to study him.
    â€œIntimately. We both agreed it was only for a short while because I wasn’t going to be in Kabul long. Sam had introduced us. He grew up in the same parish as the Reeds.”
    â€œSo what does this have to do with me?”
    For a moment, Nick stared into the fire. Was it still so difficult for him to believe that Julia had committed treason without him even knowing? “She was sending British troop information to the Russians.”
    Will stiffened. “How can you accuse a woman of treason, let alone be certain she actually did it?”
    Nick hadn’t anticipated how difficult it wouldbe to talk about something so personal—and embarrassing—even to Will. “The Reeds didn’t have much money. They were from an old family whose investments had long ago gone bad. I knew then that she wanted more than someone like me, a mere cousin to nobility, could give her. She took matters into her own hands.”
    â€œAll right, you’ve given me motive,” Will said as he stood up to pace, “but not any proof. I assume you know for certain this happened?”
    â€œOriginally, the word ‘treason’ was whispered by one of my Afghani informants. I knew he was playing both the Russians and us, but he could be useful. I think he was shocked when he realized that a British woman was involved. She sent the information in a coded letter, and he saw her deliver it.”
    â€œAnd you know it was Julia?”
    â€œHe described her perfectly—how many women can there be in Kabul with hair so blond as to be almost white? One who would roam the bazaars dressed as a boy?” Nick had been drawn to her independence, to the wild, unfettered way she lived her life, so different from the other European women he knew.
    â€œMaybe she spurned his advances,” Will said thoughtfully, “and he’s decided to punish her.”
    Nick shook his head. “She left a necklace I had given her with a certain Russian officer. I saw it myself.” He didn’t want to see the pity in Will’s eyes. Will must have suspected that Nick sympathized with women. Had Will realized Nick’s weakness as an intelligence agent?
    â€œNick, you might be only one of many she bedded,” Will said cautiously. “How do you know she wasn’t simply involved with this Russian?”
    Nick refused to allow his emotions to get the better of him, and he hardened his tone. “Because I traced her accomplice back to England. He’s here now, ready to testify against her. He gave me one of the letters, and he has the matching code letter. They look innocent—except for little blobs of ink, certain letters filled in, as if someone just randomly scribbled on them. She would send two letters, by two different routes, and you could not read the code until both letters were side by side. The accomplice will give me the matching code letter when I reach Leeds and get him to safety. He’s afraid she’s going to have him killed for what he knows.”
    Will leaned back into his chair, his expression wary. “But why now? This all happened over a year ago.”
    â€œIt’s taken me a long time to track this man down. But the main impetus is that my lovely Julia has made a good match for herself. She’s supposed to marry the Duke of Kelthorpe.”
    When Will gave a low whistle, Nick scowled and said, “I can’t let a traitor to England marry into one of the highest families in the land—hell, the groom is a distant cousin to the queen!”
    His outburst sounded loud even to his ownears, and the silence that followed was awkward. He was making this assignment too personal, and he had to get past