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Love and survival in the shadow of Waterloo . . .
Wearied by his years as a British intelligence officer, Simon Duval resigns his commission after Napoleon’s abdication. Hoping to find new meaning in his life, he returns to England, where he discovers his cousin’s widow, Suzanne Duval, the Comtesse de Chambron. Working as a seamstress, living in reduced circumstances, Suzanne has had a life as complicated as Simon’s. While both believe they are beyond love, their sympathetic bond leads him to propose a marriage of companionship, and Suzanne accepts.
She didn’t want or expect a true marriage, but as Suzanne joins Simon in a search for his long missing foster brother, warmth and caring begin to heal both their scars—and a powerful passion sparks between them. Then news from France threatens to disrupt their happiness. Napoleon has escaped from Elba and Wellington personally asks Simon to help prevent another devastating war. Only this time, Simon does not go into danger alone. He and Suzanne will face deadly peril together, and pray that love will carry them through . . .
Praise for the Rogues Redeemed series
“Deftly balances fascinating historical detail, adventure, and menace with a passionate romance.” –Library Journal
“Though suspense and adventure drive this story forward, the love at its center sets it apart.” –Kirkus Reviews
“Impeccably written.” –Booklist
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An excerpt from Once a Spy by Mary Jo Putney
London, February 1815
Even though Suzanne was working under the small window in her room to get the best light, it was now too dark to continue sewing. England was much farther north than where she’d been living, and in midwinter the days were short and often rainy or overcast. She might have to buy candles to finish these alterations by the end of the week.
She set aside the gown and stood to stretch. Perhaps she should go for a short walk. The day was raw and her old cloak barely adequate, but she loved having the freedom to go outside whenever she wished.
Solid steps sounded on the stairs outside her room and she recognized the dignified approach of her landlord, Mr. Potter. He knocked on the door and announced, “Madame Duval, there’s a fellow here who says he’s your cousin, Colonel Duval. He’s down in the sitting room. Do you have a cousin who is a colonel?”
Suzanne opened her door, surprised. After the last tumultuous years, she had no idea what relatives might still be alive, or what they had been doing. “I might, but I’ll have to see him to be sure. I assume he looks respectable or you wouldn’t have allowed him in.”
“He has the look of a soldier, not that being one would make him a saint,” her landlord said dourly. “I’ll go down with you in case you want me to send him away.”
She nodded her thanks. Mr. Potter was very protective of the female tenants in his boardinghouse. It was one of the reasons she’d chosen to live here.
She peeled off the fingerless gloves she wore to keep her hands warm while sewing, brushed a casual hand over her dark hair, and straightened her knit shawl over her shoulders, glad that her appearance was no longer a matter of life and death. Then she followed her landlord down the narrow stairs.
When she opened the door to the small sitting room, the dim light revealed a man gazing out the window, his hands clasped behind his back as he studied the shabby neighborhood. Lean and powerful, he did indeed have the bearing of a soldier. His wavy dark hair was in need of cutting and he had a familiar grace as he turned at her entrance. His searching gaze met hers and he became very still.
She froze, paralyzed with shock. Jean-Louis!
But her husband was dead–she’d seen him murdered with her own eyes. Also, Jean-Louis had been twice her age when they married. This man was younger.
When she saw his cool, light gray eyes, she remembered a young second cousin of her husband. Simon Duval had been a boy, only a couple of years older than she’d been as a very young bride, but he’d shared a strong family resemblance to her husband. The years had emphasized subtle differences in his features and she guessed that he was a shade taller and more broad-shouldered than Jean-Louis had been.
Realizing she wasn’t breathing, she inhaled slowly. “Well met, Simon. Or should I call you Monsieur le Comte?”
“So it really is you, my cousin Suzanne,” her visitor said with soft amazement. “The name is not uncommon and Hawkins didn’t say you were the Comtesse de Chambron. But though you are a countess, I am no count. Merely a distant cousin by marriage who is very glad to see that you are alive.”
He spoke English with no hint of French accent and she remembered that his mother had been English. “Though I no longer think myself a countess, you might be the Comte de Chambron if enough members of my husband’s family have died.” Which was true, but even more true was that the world where French courtly titles mattered seemed very far away. She extended her hand. “Mr. Potter announced you as a colonel. Which army? British, French royalist, or French imperial?”
“So many possibilities! The British army, though I’m going to sell out now that the emperor has abdicated.” He smiled a little as he took her hand and bent over it, a gesture wholly French. “I’m glad to see you well and more beautiful than ever. I’d heard you were dead.”
His hand was warm and strong and competent. She released it with reluctance. “You flatter like a Frenchman, Simon,” she replied, returning his smile. “I am no longer a dewy young bride and I was very nearly dead several times over. But yes, I have survived.”
Her landlord cleared his throat and she realized that he’d been monitoring this meeting from the doorway. “Madame Duval, I imagine you and the colonel have much to discuss, so I’ll bring you some tea.”
“That would be lovely, Mr. Potter.” After he left, she knelt on the hearth and added a small scoop of coals to the embers of the fire. “Indeed, we have much to catch up on, cousin. It’s been a dozen years or more.”
Simon had been one of many guests at her wedding to the Comte de Chambron. She’d been only fifteen, dazzled by suave Jean-Louis and thrilled to be making such a grand marriage. Since Simon had been near her age, they’d developed a teasing friendship in the days before the wedding, but that had been a lifetime ago.
She settled in the chair to the right of the fireplace. “How did you find me?”
“Captain Gabriel Hawkins.” Simon took the seat opposite her. “He and I shared an alarming adventure in Portugal some years back. By chance we ran into each other and, as we exchanged news, I learned that he’s just returned from a voyage to Constantinople and you were a passenger.”
She stiffened. “Did he tell you my circumstances?”
Voice gentle, Simon said, “He said you were in the harem of a powerful and deeply corrupt Turkish official, and that your aid was invaluable in rescuing two English women, including the young lady who is now his wife.”
Those were the bare facts. She hoped that Hawkins had said no more than that. “And in return, he rescued me and brought me here.”
“Hawkins said he offered to take you to France, but that you chose to join émigré relatives who were in the French community in Soho.” His perceptive gaze was evaluating her and the clean but worn sitting room. She could guess his thoughts. In London, Soho was the French quarter where the wealthy émigrés lived. The poor ones struggled to make a living in this rundown neighborhood in the St. Pancras parish.
Answering his unasked question, she said, “After Napoleon abdicated, those cousins returned to France to reclaim their property. I was not surprised to find them gone. But no matter. I prefer to make my own way in England rather than return to France. There is nothing for me there.”
His gaze flicked around the worn sitting room again. “Forgive me for asking, but how are you managing?”
“I sew well and I’ve been doing piecework. Soon I should be able to find a permanent position.” She smiled wryly. “But I do wish I’d been able to bring the jewels I had when I was a favorite in the harem! I’d have been able to buy my own shop.”
“Money makes everything easier,” he agreed, his brow furrowed. “I’m fortunate that my mother came from a successful English merchant family and her fortune remained on this side of the channel.”
“Very prudent of your mother and her family.” She cocked her head to one side. “Are you here only to look up a distant family connection? Perhaps you are bored now that you’ve sold out of the army?”
“Not bored, though I am rather at loose ends,” he admitted. “But as soon as Hawkins mentioned you, I wanted to see if you were the right Suzanne Duval, and if so, to learn how you are faring.”
Mr. Potter returned, a tea tray in hand. The tray was dented pewter and there was a chip in the spout of the teapot, but her landlord presented the refreshments with the air of a duke’s butler. There was also a dish of shortbread.
“Thank you, Mr. Potter!” Suzanne said warmly. “You and your wife have outdone yourselves.”
“The pleasure is ours, my lady.” He inclined his head and withdrew from the room.
“My lady?” Simon asked as she poured tea for them. “He knows that you’re an aristocrat?”
“He was just being polite, though you might have changed that.” She sipped her tea, then offered him the shortbread. “Have a piece. Mrs. Potter is a wonderful baker.”
He followed her advice and murmured appreciatively after he bit into it. “She is, and she doesn’t stint on the butter.” He finished his tea in a long swallow and set the cup down with a clink. “I wonder if I might find old friends or relations in the émigré community. Have you found your compatriots welcoming even though your relatives have returned to France?”
Her mouth twisted. “The grand émigrés in Soho will have nothing to do with a woman who was a whore in Turkey.”
He winced. “Surely no one said such an appalling thing!”
“The aristocratic ladies did. Their husbands tried to corner me in empty rooms,” she said tartly. “I decided I would be safer among my more humble countrymen here in St. Pancras.”
He bit off a curse. “You deserve so much better than this, Suzanne!”
She sighed. “If there is one thing I have learned, it’s that no one ‘deserves’ anything more than the right to struggle for survival. I’d rather be here altering gowns in a cold room than living in luxury in a Turkish harem and wondering which night might be my last, so I think I am doing well.” She raised her teacup in a mock toast. “Will you drink to my survival, Simon?”
“I can do more than that,” he said, his gaze intense. “Marry me, Suzanne.”
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About Mary Jo Putney
Mary Jo Putney is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author who has written over sixty novels and novellas. A ten-time finalist for the Romance Writers of America RITA, she has won the honor twice and is on the RWA Honor Roll for bestselling authors. In 2013 she was awarded the RWA Nora Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award. Though most of her books have been historical romance, she has also published contemporary romances, historical fantasy, and young adult paranormal historicals. She lives in Maryland with her nearest and dearest, both two and four footed. Visit her at maryjoputney.com.