natural as breathing. “She met with three smugglers in Jack Blackbourn’s pub. They gave her the first folio. Sir, they were nervous. Fidgety.”
“Traitors tend to be that way. Come to think of it, so do smugglers.” Sir Charles looked up. “Is she their leader?”
“They treated her with deference, from what I could see through the window.”
“And the second folio?”
“The second folio she obtained while inside an abandoned quarry used to store smuggled goods. I counted twenty-one smugglers that night. A mix of farmers and fishermen. Blackbourn himself was there as well.”
“How did you acquire the folios, Shadow?” Paper crackled as Sir Charles shifted a page to the side.
“I recreated the pages with false information and replaced them in the folios.” It had taken days of painstaking work. Nights of hiding in that damn stillroom while Miss Hannah slept a floor above him.
Sir Charles’s head jerked up. “She hasn’t noticed the switch?”
“I don’t believe so, sir. But I could not risk taking the folios altogether and alerting her or the traitor that we were getting closer.”
“Let’s hope she doesn’t notice.” It was not a chastisement, but it was close. Sir Charles pointed a thick forefinger at the description of Alastair Whitmore in the first document. “Angel will be pleased you intercepted the information about his true identity.”
“It keeps
him
out of retirement.” Julian didn’t try to hide the bitterness in his voice.
“The accuracy of the information contained in these folios is disturbing,” Sir Charles continued. “Whoever the government traitor is has access to sensitive information. Angel’s true identity is known only to a handful of people.” Sir Charles paused, then continued more softly, “None of whom I would suspect of betraying his country.”
“I intend to work backward from Grace Hannah. If I can determine who her contact is, I will follow the channel of communication back here to London.”
Sir Charles leaned back and propped one elbow on the arm of his chair. “What’s your opinion of Miss Hannah?”
“She’s not at all what she seems. It’s my experience, sir, that the quietest suspects play the deepest games.” Julian gave a short, humorless laugh. “She appears to be every inch the lady, though she is subservient in her uncle’s household. I would have guessed she was nothing more than a poor relation.”
He wondered if he would have seen what was beneath the surface if he hadn’t been looking for it. He was trained to see what others didn’t, but she played her role so well he couldn’t be sure.
“She is heavily involved in local smuggling,” he continued. “I don’t know her role within the smuggling gang, but she is accepted as one of them and appears to hold some position of authority.”
“It’s a leap from smuggler to treason.”
“True.” A fact that troubled him. “At this time, the only connection I have to the traitor is Miss Hannah and the smugglers.”
“We could shut down the smuggling ring.” Sir Charles tapped his finger on the documents. “It would prevent any further information being carried to France.”
“I thought about that, sir.” He had examined every angle during the long, sleepless nights at Thistledown. “Shutting down the ring would alarm the traitor here in London. He might disappear or cease operations altogether until he had safer channels of communication. If he did, we’d lose our connection to him.”
“A good point. Although there is a question as to why the information is being held in England. Why would she hide it rather than send it to France?”
“I don’t know.” It was another fact that plagued him. “I have no method of finding out except through Miss Hannah. We’ve developed a rapport.” The words tasted acidic in his mouth. He swallowed, felt his stomach start to burn. “I can use it.”
Sir Charles eyed him. “Do you have any compunction about using her
“Traitors tend to be that way. Come to think of it, so do smugglers.” Sir Charles looked up. “Is she their leader?”
“They treated her with deference, from what I could see through the window.”
“And the second folio?”
“The second folio she obtained while inside an abandoned quarry used to store smuggled goods. I counted twenty-one smugglers that night. A mix of farmers and fishermen. Blackbourn himself was there as well.”
“How did you acquire the folios, Shadow?” Paper crackled as Sir Charles shifted a page to the side.
“I recreated the pages with false information and replaced them in the folios.” It had taken days of painstaking work. Nights of hiding in that damn stillroom while Miss Hannah slept a floor above him.
Sir Charles’s head jerked up. “She hasn’t noticed the switch?”
“I don’t believe so, sir. But I could not risk taking the folios altogether and alerting her or the traitor that we were getting closer.”
“Let’s hope she doesn’t notice.” It was not a chastisement, but it was close. Sir Charles pointed a thick forefinger at the description of Alastair Whitmore in the first document. “Angel will be pleased you intercepted the information about his true identity.”
“It keeps
him
out of retirement.” Julian didn’t try to hide the bitterness in his voice.
“The accuracy of the information contained in these folios is disturbing,” Sir Charles continued. “Whoever the government traitor is has access to sensitive information. Angel’s true identity is known only to a handful of people.” Sir Charles paused, then continued more softly, “None of whom I would suspect of betraying his country.”
“I intend to work backward from Grace Hannah. If I can determine who her contact is, I will follow the channel of communication back here to London.”
Sir Charles leaned back and propped one elbow on the arm of his chair. “What’s your opinion of Miss Hannah?”
“She’s not at all what she seems. It’s my experience, sir, that the quietest suspects play the deepest games.” Julian gave a short, humorless laugh. “She appears to be every inch the lady, though she is subservient in her uncle’s household. I would have guessed she was nothing more than a poor relation.”
He wondered if he would have seen what was beneath the surface if he hadn’t been looking for it. He was trained to see what others didn’t, but she played her role so well he couldn’t be sure.
“She is heavily involved in local smuggling,” he continued. “I don’t know her role within the smuggling gang, but she is accepted as one of them and appears to hold some position of authority.”
“It’s a leap from smuggler to treason.”
“True.” A fact that troubled him. “At this time, the only connection I have to the traitor is Miss Hannah and the smugglers.”
“We could shut down the smuggling ring.” Sir Charles tapped his finger on the documents. “It would prevent any further information being carried to France.”
“I thought about that, sir.” He had examined every angle during the long, sleepless nights at Thistledown. “Shutting down the ring would alarm the traitor here in London. He might disappear or cease operations altogether until he had safer channels of communication. If he did, we’d lose our connection to him.”
“A good point. Although there is a question as to why the information is being held in England. Why would she hide it rather than send it to France?”
“I don’t know.” It was another fact that plagued him. “I have no method of finding out except through Miss Hannah. We’ve developed a rapport.” The words tasted acidic in his mouth. He swallowed, felt his stomach start to burn. “I can use it.”
Sir Charles eyed him. “Do you have any compunction about using her
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