Natalia's Secret Spinster's Society (The Spinster's Society) (A Regency Romance Book)(2)

That was the price of blackmail.

She closed her eyes and tried to listen past the murmur of conversation across from her and beyond the chill winds to focus her mind on the men inside.

Tonight, she would meet the scoundrel who’d been causing her family trouble since before she’d been aware of it, too young to ask the right questions.

Laughter rang out. It had the distinct air of men of means, baritone notes with a deeply cultured dialect. She pressed herself against the wall and watched the men in fine suits and winter coats leave the foundry, never once glancing in her direction or that of the beggars.

They were the foundry’s investors, but Leah only needed to follow one of them.

Lord Reinburg. He was the one who had the connection to Leah’s blackmailer.

The men all stepped into a carriage, and Leah moved with her face averted and grabbed a hack. Using some of her precious coin, she asked the driver to follow the hack then pressed her face to the window as the vehicle conveyed her down High Street.

A moment later, she was surprised when it stopped before the city’s observatory. It was late for anyone to be out, but it made sense that the observatory would be open. After all, one got the best views of the sky at night. A few other carriages were about tonight, and she wondered at the event taking place inside.

She made sure to keep her distance from the men and slipped into the building through the servants’ entrance. In the last year, she’d grown very good at sneaking around and donning one disguise after another. If anyone guessed who Leah truly was, the granddaughter of a march owner, which was the borderlands given to a marquess, it could mean her death.

Yet she’d risked returning from France to England because she’d known it was up to her to set the past to rights.

Or as right as she could make it.

The observatory was built like a thick column, a circular structure with a dome that could hold hundreds. Inside were three floors—the main foyer, the science library, and then the observation floor.

Leah left her frock in a closet and moved to the second floor. Once there, she straightened her posture, so she could easily flow amongst the ladies and wealthy women who were present. If no one stared too hard at her dress, they’d never notice that it had seen better days.

She met no eyes and offered no smiles as she moved through the room. She touched her pale brown wig to ensure it was in place and then moved around the tables, chairs, and bookshelves until she saw Lord Reinburg. He and his companions were moving toward the third floor, climbing the curving marble staircase. She followed.

“Excuse me,” a male voice called from behind her. “Have we met before?”

Leah slowly turned and found an attractive young man she was sure she’d never met. He was a student. She could tell just by gazing at him and guessed his age to be… twenty? She was twenty-six, but life’s blows had aged her mind far beyond that.

She put on a smile and decided to speak to the man in her mother’s native tongue. While many of the English were proficient in France and Latin, not many studied Spanish.

The man seemed confused, a look that only emphasized how handsome he was, and she knew he was searching for words in Spanish that were similar to either French or English. His brown eyes roamed over her before returning to her face. “You’re very beautiful.”

She blinked and pretended not to understand. Then she gave her apologies and tried to move away.

He caught her hand and turned her toward him once more. His muddled gaze said he was drunk. “Won’t you join me for the evening?”

She laughed because she couldn’t help it. She knew very well what he was asking of her. Thanks to her father, she was English, more English than anything else, if one considered her paternal grandfather had been the Marquess of Darvess, yet after spending years on the Continent, she’d learned that men of a certain means were the same, no matter where she went. Persistent was a mild word where they were concerned. How many times had she witnessed one man after another attempt to use her mother? But Romina’s religious upbringing would not allow her to sell her body. Not even for wealth or power. “No, thank you. Have a good evening.”

Her sudden mastery of their common language startled him enough to allow her to rush from his side and blend into the crowd once more. She moved quickly up the stairs, pressed through the heavy doors at the top, and stepped into the darkness of the observation room. There, she knew she’d be safe from prying eyes, just as she knew the blackguard who’d been blackmailing her thought the same.

Lord Reinburg was easy to find. He stood in the corner of the room by a lamp, and though the flame was very low, as to not obscure the view of the sky, it was enough. She was surprised to see that he was alone. She couldn’t see the other two men he’d come in with, but they didn’t matter. Only the man who stood a few paces away did.

She looked around the room for a moment to see if she recognized anyone from her past. It wasn’t likely she would, however. It had been eighteen years since she’d left. She’d been eight at the time and on a completely different path in life. She’d been a daughter of the wealthy and friends with those who would one day hold powerful titles.

Now? She was little more than a servant in the midst of these men and women.

So, she was sure that no one would recognize her and, after so many years, she probably would not have known an old friend if they walked right in front of her.