The Gallows Bride by Rebecca King Page A

has changed
too.”
    Dominic
and Peter exchanged a searching glance. “They are now called the
Star Elite?”
    Hugo
nodded. “When you, quite rightly, returned home and left the men
back in Norfolk to tie up loose ends, they went after the smuggler
who got away. Determined not to be beaten, they have spent the time
since locating him and gathering a wealth of information on his
activities. We have unearthed a lot, I can tell you.”
    “ Over the course of the past few months the men have been
specially trained in gunmanship, espionage and all sorts of special
skills that have made them the elite of the War Office. They were
given a name under which to work, and now consist of Rupert
Samuels, Jonathan Arbinger, Pie Masters, Archie Balfour, Simon
Ambrose, Stephen Montague, Harper ‘Harry’ Hamilton-Smythe and Jamie
Montford. They are the Star Elite.”
    Peter
swore, shaking his head in wonder as the names of at least five men
he went to school with, were mentioned.
    “ So they have been on Scraggan’s tail ever since?”
    Hugo
nodded cautiously. “Among others, but mostly we have been keeping
an eye on Scraggan, as he is the ringleader; the head smuggler, if
you will.” He turned to Jemima. “We always managed to only get so
far, though, before we were blocked in one way or another. Until
your father brought his valuable information to the War Office.
That is what gave us a new lead to follow, which has proven richly
rewarding.” He held up his hand when Peter tried to
interrupt.
    “ Let me explain. We have men undercover. Although you know who
the Star Elite are, it is important that you don’t know who is in
Padstow as they are heavily disguised. They are able to feed us the
information we need to find out about Scraggan’s activities before
they happen, but there is a lot information missing. Because we had
men already undercover when your father came to us, we heard that
you and Eliza had left Padstow and Scraggan had sent his men after
you.”
    “ So you knew that because of their father’s visit to the War
Office, they were in significant danger? Why did you not give them
protection?” Peter demanded, impatience lining his every
word.
    “ Because they left before we could find them,” and he turned
to Jemima, his eyes sad and full of sympathy. “I would like to take
this moment to offer my sincere condolences to you on the loss of
your father. He was an exceptionally brave man who gave his life
for the welfare of his country. You should be very proud of
him.”
    Silence
settled over the room for several moments. Jemima nodded her
thanks, unable to speak past the huge lump in her
throat.
    “ If it wasn’t for your father, and his valuable contact in the
village, then we wouldn’t have had the leads we had. We have been
able to capture several French spies on British soil as a direct
result of your father’s bravery.”
    Jemima
gasped, feeling a thrill of pride at the knowledge that her
father’s actions hadn’t been ignored after all. She blinked back
tears, determined to hear the rest of Hugo’s explanation. Although
she still didn’t trust him, some of her initial horror had started
to fade, leaving curiosity in its wake.
    “ But there is a lot more work to do. We need a lot more
information about Scraggan’s activities before we can arrest him
and put him before a judge. He has been very careful not to be seen
doing things himself. He has always sent his men out to do his work
for him. But someone has been arranging meetings with the captains
of the ships carrying the cargo, and someone has been setting up
the network of people who smuggle the spies through the country. We
know it is Scraggan, but we just need more information. He will
certainly hang for his crimes; it is just a matter of when.” Hugo
began to pace backward and forward before the fireplace, clearly
lost in the intricacies of the case against Scraggan and his many
criminal activities.
    “ We need to get into a position