Page 63 of The Number of Love
For a change of scenery, he set himself up at Aunt Millie’s small desk in the bedroom he’d taken over. By the time he pulled out scrap paper, some of his good stationery, andLes Heures Claires, the entire surface was filled. With only a moment’s longing for his desk at Abuelo’s, he set to work.
He may not be able to give Margot answers on her mother. But maybe, just maybe, he could find the equation for her heart.
“Margot. What in the world are you doing?”
Margot glanced up only briefly from the newspaper she had spreadover her desk. And only then because it was Barclay who spoke, and she hadn’t seen him in nearly a week. “Taking my lunch break.”
His silence spoke eloquently as he looked over her shoulder at the marks and circles obscuring some of the print on the page. “Margot.”
She knew how it looked. But she also knew she wasnotmad. “DID said one of the German agents in custody mentioned their suspicion that we communicated with our agents through coded messages hidden within newspapers. Why would they assume that unless it was a methodtheywere using? If my mother was targeted, there could be information to be found here.”
She could only hope he wouldn’t remember that it was the method her father had used to train her. That would make it seem a bit ... desperate.
Given the look he shot her, hedidrecall. “Margot. If you need help with something, you know well you can simply ask me.”
She’d be lying if she said she hadn’t considered doing just that, after Drake confessed last night that he’d been called off the investigation. Barclay certainly had connections she didn’t—the very ones that made him an invaluable asset to Admiral Hall. After years of scavenging and thieving through the city, he knew the ins and outs better than just about anyone.
But his connections to the intelligence world were all through Mr. V, the man who had recruited her to Room 40 to begin with. V answered directly to Admiral Hall. Using Barclay’s aid in this question would lead her right back where she started, and the admiral had been firm this morning. No more Room 40 resources could be dedicated to the question of her mother’s death.
“There’s nothing you can do, Barclay. Though I thank you for the offer.” She dug up a smile that probably bore only the slightest resemblance to a real one. “What are you doing here today, anyway?”
“What, I can’t come and visit my favorite cryptographer for no reason?” With a grin, Barclay leaned against her desk in that way he always did, as if he had all the time in the world and nothing better to spend it on than a conversation. He had a way of looking instantly relaxed that clashed with the Wavy Navy uniform he nowwore. “V said Hall had a task for me. I appear to have arrived a bit early, so I thought I’d take a minute to bother you.” He made a show of looking around. “Where’s Dot? I thought you took lunches together.”
“Usually. But she’s having lunch with a ... friend today. From outside the OB.” It wasn’t jealousy that had wriggled through her when Dot had shared, with pink cheeks, that she was meeting Redvers Holmes at noon. A bit of sorrow for herself, perhaps. Such a new friendship, and already they were being pulled separate directions. But Margot wouldn’t begrudge her any happiness.
“So instead you decide to pass your lunch with newspapers and sad questions?”
She opened her mouth, sure a clever retort would find its way to her tongue, but all words went silent when the admiral strode into the room. His all-knowing gaze took in the newspapers with a blink. His lips thinned. But then he focused on Barclay. “Sorry, Pearce. Did I keep you waiting long?”
“Just long enough that I could say hello to my little sister.”
Despite herself, a corner of her lips turned up. Barclay was the only person in the world who seemed to think that liking a person made them a sibling. Well, one of his adopted sistershadmarried Margot’s brother...
Hall chuckled and slid a hand to his inner pocket. It emerged again with a folded paper. “See to this, if you would.”
“Yes, sir.” Barclay didn’t even ask what it was. Just took the paper and straightened again. And then he leaned over to press a kiss to Margot’s forehead. “See you on Sunday, Margot.” In a whisper he added, “If you need me, you’ve only to ask.”
“Bye, Barclay.” She wanted to ask, even now. But she knew she shouldn’t. She may be willing to risk irritating Hall herself, but she certainly didn’t want to land Barclay in any hot water for pursuing what the admiral thought to be a waste of time.
He watched Barclay exit and then turned back to Margot. The sigh was, no doubt, over the newspapers spread across her desk. He too would know well what she was doing. But it was her own time. She could spend it however she pleased.
Perhaps he realized as much. Or perhaps he didn’t want to open the debate again. “When your break is over, my dear, I’ve a task for you: a new recruit who needs to be trained.”
Margot set her pen down and frowned at her superior. “Since when do I train new people?”
Hall grinned. “Since the new chap has a chip on his shoulder that has already put off half the fellows here—and the rest haven’t met him yet. I didn’t think you’d be prone to such reactions.”
He must be quite a chap if Hall was determined to bring him on board despite not fitting in well with the rest of the team. “Who is he?”
The admiral tapped a finger to another of the newspapers on her desk. “Black Heart.”
Her brows flew up before she could stop them. “We’ve brought an RFC pilot into our numbers?”
“He has talent with more than aircraft. And I enjoyed pulling one over on the people who wanted to make an example of him. Took a few tugs on odd strings to get him here, but worth it, I hope.”
She chuckled and nodded. “All right. Consider me your new trainer. Where can I find thisCœur Noir?”
“I have him sequestered in the little storage room at the end of the hall for now, until he stops snarling at everyone.” The admiral lost the battle to another grin. “Apparently being threatened with court-martial and a firing squad has put him in a bit of a foul temper. Nothing you can’t handle though.”
