There's Something About Lady Mary by Sophie Barnes

weren’t standing on a public street in the middle of London, he’d take much pleasure in wringing this man’s neck, no matter whom he might turn out to be.
    “Meaning that, if I were you, Mr. Summersby, I would tell Lady Steepleton that if it is a hobby she is looking for, she ought to pick something less likely to draw awareness.”
    The sound of hooves clicking on the cobbles nearby drew Ryan’s attention for the briefest of moments. When he looked back, the Messenger was gone.
    Damn!
    He needed someone to talk to, not to mention a stiff drink to calm his mood. Picking up his pace, he headed down David Street, toward Berkeley Square. He knew exactly where he wanted to go.
    “C an I offer you some more claret?” Alexandra asked as she regarded her brother closely. She couldn’t recall the last time she’d seen him so out of sorts.
    Ryan nodded, taking the bottle from his sister and filling his glass. He took a long sip. “I need your opinion on something,” he finally said after a lengthy moment of silence. “Percy came to me a few days ago, asking that I keep an eye on Lady Steepleton.”
    “The marchioness that everyone has been so busy talking about?”
    “The very one.” Ryan sighed. He then went on to tell Alexandra about his conversation with Percy and about the hooded stranger he’d encountered in the street.
    “And what about Lady Steepleton herself?” Alexandra asked. “Has she not given you any clue as to what might be going on?”
    Ryan shook his head somewhat sheepishly, forcing a troubled sigh from his sister. She knew that he’d always felt less suited for a career in intelligence than she and William. Not that he couldn’t hold his own when it came to fighting or thinking on his feet, but he just didn’t have the same feel for uncovering information that had come so naturally to both William and herself. It was one of the key factors in his decision to give up on a career in the Foreign Office and continue with his studies instead. What irked Alexandra was that he seemed to consider the lack of this quality a shortcoming. On the contrary, she’d give anything for the ability to soak up knowledge the way Ryan did.
    “All right,” Alexandra said thoughtfully. “Let us consider everything that we know so far. You say that her father was a physician and that he was killed at Waterloo. We also know that she received a letter, which appears to have alarmed her in some way, and that upon having read it, she went to meet with Lord Woodbridge, who, by the way, also happens to be the Master of the Royal College of Surgeons. If you ask me, Ryan, whatever it is that your marchioness may be involved in, I am strongly inclined to believe that it is medically related.”
    “I have to agree, but I just fail to see why that would pose a threat to her in any way.”
    Alexandra was quiet for a moment. An idea had begun to manifest itself in her head, but it was only a guess, and to verify it, she would have to meet Lady Steepleton in person and take a good look at her. “What if I accompany you on your next visit to the marchioness?” she suggested with a bright smile. “I have a feeling that the two of us will get along famously.”
    “That is an excellent idea, Alex. I was planning on going over there tomorrow afternoon for tea, but if you are coming along, then perhaps we might take Lady Steepleton shopping. There are a multitude of balls this season, and she is in dire need of some proper gowns to wear.”
    Alexandra made a sour face, as if she’d just bitten into a lemon.
    “Actually,” Ryan continued, shifting nervously in his seat, “I thought you might perhaps be able to act as our chaperone.”
    Alexandra flashed her brother a cheeky grin. “Why, Ryan, I do believe her ladyship has you smitten!”
    Ryan sent his sister a scowl, but it made very little difference to her. Not once in all her life could she recall having seen her brother blush, yet there he was, as red as a ripe tomato