The Mayfair Affair by Tracy Grant Page A

leave matters where they were.
    David looked at him in inquiry.
    "Did you tell me the whole of it?"
    David took a sip of whisky. "Of course. We've never had secrets from each other."
    Simon regarded the man he had loved for a third of his life, the man who meant more to him than anything on earth. It wasn't just Malcolm David was lying to. He had just lied to Simon as well. And with a chill no whisky could drive out, Simon realized he could not be certain how far those lies went.

Chapter 8
    Suzanne twitched the quilt smooth over Jessica, then went into the night nursery and tucked Colin's his stuffed bear into the crook of his arm. The gray light of dawn seeped into the room, casting a cool wash over the white-painted furniture, but both children would likely sleep for hours yet. Suzanne smoothed Colin's hair, then looked up at Blanca, her maid, her friend, her companion in deception. "I don't know how long we'll be at Newgate. If the children wake before we return—"
    "I'll give Jessica a cup of milk and read Colin a story. Don't worry, Colin's clever, but I'll make sure he doesn't realize something's wrong with Laura until you get back and can talk to them."
    Despite the strains of the past hours, Suzanne smiled. "What would I do without you?"
    "You'd manage. But you'd have a harder time of it."
    Suzanne laughed and went back into the bedroom. Malcolm had already gone downstairs. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to help with the children for a bit. I can dress myself and get myself to bed, and if anything gets torn we can leave off mending it."
    Blanca waved a hand as she followed Suzanne into the room. "It's no matter. You dress yourself half the time anyway. You're a much less demanding mistress than most ladies I hear about."
    Suzanne pulled a face at her friend.
    Blanca pulled the door to. "You think Laura will come back?"
    A difficult question to answer for myriad reasons. "I don't know," Suzanne said.
    Blanca nodded. "I like her. She doesn't talk much, but she's sensible. I'd like to help."
    "Watching the children will be a tremendous help. Perhaps you could also make inquiries among the Trenchard House maids."
    Blanca crossed to Suzanne and straightened the shoulders of her gown. "You're working with him, aren't you?"
    "Who?"
    Blanca snorted. "You'd think I'd never been an agent myself. Do you really think I don't know Raoul was in the house last night?'
    Suzanne suppressed a sigh. She should have seen this coming. "He's caught up in the investigation."
    Blanca tugged hard on one of Suzanne's sleeves. "Raoul never gets caught up in anything he doesn't choose to embroil himself in."
    "Be that as it may, we're all involved."
    "Let him run his own investigation." Blanca adjusted one of the frogged clasps on the bodice of Suzanne's gown. "Away from you and Mr. Rannoch."
    "We need to share information."
    "Mélanie." Blanca was one of the few people who still used Suzanne's real name. She'd been born Mélanie Suzanne Lescaut. "Have you gone mad?"
    "Probably. You frequently say I always have been."
    Blanca seized Suzanne's arms. "It's worse, you've lost your memory. You can't have forgot what we both almost lost, a scant three months ago—"
    Suzanne touched Blanca's shoulder. "Whatever happens, this won't affect how Addison feels about you."
    Blanca took a step back and folded her arms. The wedding band Miles Addison had put on her finger last month glinted in the early morning light. "It's not Addison I'm worried about at this point. It's Mr. Rannoch."
    Suzanne slapped a bright smile over her own doubts. "Malcolm can handle it. Better than I would have expected. He was quite practical about the need to work with Raoul."
    Blanca snorted. "Oh, course he's not going to admit it bothers him. Even to himself, I daresay. But for God's sake, the man was your lover. Could you work calmly beside Mr. Rannoch's former mistress?"
    Memories from the investigation into Tatiana Kirsanova's murder in Vienna danced in Suzanne's