by Julia Quinn (Author)
Olivia Bevelstoke is on top of London rumors and gossip, key to the city's social life. When he learns that his neighbor, Sir Harry Valentine, may have murdered his fiancée, he begins to spy on him. What harm can there be in looking a little to make sure? Despite not seeing anything too suspicious, it is clear that the young man is hiding something: he carefully writes and reviews a large number of papers, over and over again. Sir Harry Valentine grew up with a Russian grandmother who only spoke her mother tongue and French. Thanks to her, Harry handles three languages as if he were his own, and works as a translator of boring and crucial documents for the War Office, despite having been manipulated as a spy. The appearance of a beautiful blonde looking at him through her window puts some color into his days. Even more so when he begins to notice that his interest in her could become quite personal.