The King's Code (The Lady Spies Series #3): A Regency Historical Romance by Samantha Saxon

fired back, “Not all of us dress to impress Parliament, Ian. Some of us prefer the notice of women.”
    “And some of us,” the marquis said, looking down his nose, “prefer the notice of ladies.”
    The door opened and Christian was spared from yet another lecture on the unsuitability of his many paramours.
    “Good evening, Marquis Shelton,” Lady Felicity’s butler said, expecting them. “Lord Christian.”
    Christian nodded, appreciative of the butler’s courteous acknowledgment of him while in his illustrious brother’s company.
    “If you would be so kind as to wait in the drawing room, I shall inform Lady Felicity that you have arrived.”
    “Thank you,” Ian replied, prompting the butler to bow deeply to the future Duke of St. John before withdrawing from the foyer.
    “He never bows for me like that.” Christian plopped into his favorite chair of the familiar drawing room.
    “Well.” His brother removed his beaver skin top hat and set it on a round side table. “You are only the spare after all.”
    Christian adjusted his white gloves, noting the grin that his brother attempted to hide. “You’re quite the blackguard, aren’t you, big brother.”
    “Better a blackguard than a wastrel.” Ian walked to the fireplace.
    Christian laughed, ending their brotherly barbs. “Good of you to do this, Ian.”
    “Not at all.” His brother waved his gratitude away as he warmed himself in front of the fire. “I needed a break from Parliament.”
    “I would put a bullet through my head if I were forced to bang the political war drums,” Christian muttered to himself more than to Ian.
    “The work I do is imperative, Christian. Many would vote to withdraw from the Peninsula, giving Napoleon free rein over Europe. What they fail to comprehend is that our isolation will only give Napoleon the time and resources he needs to invade England.”
    “I know, I know.” Christian stretched both arms over the back of the settee, having heard the speech a hundred times before. “I’m in complete agreement, remember?”
    Ian chuckled, placing an elegantly positioned elbow on the mantle. “My apologies. Force of habit, I’m afraid.”
    “Well, do quail the habit when the ladies arrive. I know you are a bit rusty when it comes to women.” His brother shot him a glace that conveyed forbearance.
    Lady Felicity swept into the room, looking as beautiful as ever.
    “Marquis Shelton, it has been far too long,” she said, offering Christian a polite nod before turning back to Ian. “I shall just go and retrieve Lady Juliet. However, I did first want to thank you for doing this for my cousin, for me.” Felicity put her right hand to her chest.
    “It is purely”—Ian bowed, lifting her hand to his lips— “my pleasure, Lady Felicity.”
    Felicity curtsied and Ian met Christian’s eye over the lady’s lovely head, raising his left brow.
    “We will be but a moment.”
    Christian bowed as Felicity left the room and then looked at his brother the instant the door closed.
    “What was that?”
    “What?” his brother asked innocently, but Christian knew him far too well.
    “Don’t bloody well fob me off. That look . . . with the eyebrows.” Christian pointed to his brother’s irritatingly handsome face.
    The marquis shrugged, shaking his head. “I had forgotten how beautiful Lady Felicity was.”
    Christian’s jaw dropped, stunned. “When is your birthday, Ian?”
    “Next month and thank you for remembering.”
    “I knew it! You’ll be thirty next month,” he accused his brother.
    “You really are quite strange, Christian,” Ian said, turning away from him. “Perhaps we should consult with a physician specializing in—”
    “Don’t change the topic of conversation.” He walked toward Ian, peering into his brother’s eyes. Ian was a master at hiding his thoughts but Christian had spent his life digging them up. “When you were twelve, you told me that you planned to marry by thirty and have two