Page 90 of Love Abandoned

Both Walford and Richard sat forward, staring keenly at Laurence.

“Then what were you doing here? Who the hell do you work for?” Walford asked.

“I am a member of a small elite squad. We work outside the parameters of what the Home Office is allowed to do. There are only a handful of us. Even the prince regent does not know of our existence.”

“Well, I’ll be damned,” Walford said, finally taking a swig of his cognac.

“As I said, Miller was not our primary target, although we were pleased he’d finally exposed himself and we could apprehend him. We’ve been trying to find the man who’s been feeding Miss Paisley the information. My partner and I watched Mrs. Tate’s house, but everyone checked out. I began following her, but none of her activity seemed out of line or suspicious.”

“It wasn’t,” Richard chimed in. “He found her when she was out and slipped it to her, sometimes without her even being aware it had happened.”

“We figured it must be going on before our eyes. Whoever he is, he’s good. Exceptionally good. Which is one of the reasons we want him. The information he has divulged has been solid, but the big question remains: Why did he share the Wellesley letter? Was he demonstrating he could play both sides of the fence, or was he trying to expose the traitor among us? If it is the former, he is a dangerous man to the security of our operations. If it is the latter, he could prove invaluable.”

“Why bring Thornwood into it again?” Walford asked.

“We didn’t. Miller did. We were watching him the day he met you in the park.” Laurence turned his attention to Richard. “If you hadn’t followed him into the grove, we wouldn’t have been able to overhear your conversation.”

“You were there? How did I not notice?” Richard asked, his mind racing back to the day, trying to recreate the scene. He was certain no one had been around.

“You are not trained to notice, my lord. Besides, I would not be very good at my job had you, now would I?” Laurence smiled.

Although Laurence’s looks favored his father more than his sister, Richard could see Lady Walford in that smile. It was oddly reassuring.

“And for the record, the Home Office never threatened you. That was all from Miller. Originally we presumed he knew the spy he’d shared the letter with, but it seems he didn’t. He would not have gone to these great lengths to draw him out if he did. Imagine Miller’s surprise when the information he’d given the man returned to the Home Office via Miss Paisley. We assume the spy misled Miller, in some way, to garner the letter in the first place. Which is why Miller was as anxious to find him as we were. Of course, our main concern is the man may not be loyal to the Crown, whereas Miller’s concern would be that the man could identify him as a traitor.

“We figured the spy would be watching you after Patricia disappeared. Which, by the way, taking that pawn out was a stroke of genius,” Laurence said to Richard.

“There was no great thought behind it other than to set her on a better path,” Richard said, his head spinning with the tale Laurence was weaving. He’d been a part of much more than he knew.

“Well, you have.” Laurence raised his glass in a cheer. “She’s bought a small tea shop in Hull. I might have had a friend there to help her invest wisely.” Laurence smiled sadly. “I know what it is like to have your life in shambles and become an outcast.”

Walford cleared his throat and clasped Laurence’s shoulder. “You are not an outcast in my home.”

Richard watched the interplay between the two as he relaxed back in his chair, trying to digest all the information. He was relieved to hear of Patricia, but there were many missing pieces to this whole game. “You did not get your spy,” he said, not wanting to intrude but anxious to have his answers and head home.

“It would seem not. Nor, however, did Miller. Although, our guess that he was watching you and would follow you here seems to have been on the mark.”

“How? I didn’t see anyone,” Walford interjected, his personal feelings set aside again and his focus back on the events of the evening.

“I believe it was the harlequin. I assumed he was one of the countess’s men until he fled unexpectedly. From what I saw of her interaction with her pirates, they did not succeed in capturing him.” Laurence shrugged. “A loss, but I’m optimistic he is on our side. At the very least, I’m certain he’s not against us.”

“Why?” Richard asked. The man had dealings with Miller. How could he be trusted?

“Because he saved your life tonight, Lord Thornwood. That scythe was ready to swing at you, and I was too far away to stop it. So was Nic.”

Walford’s stern expression confirmed Laurence’s assessment of the situation.Damn and blast.Richard blew out a breath, trying to steady himself. Those minutes had unfurled so quickly he’d had no idea he’d come so close to being slain. He finished the last of his cognac in one swallow.

“Why did Miller choose out here for the exchange?” Walford asked. “He had to know it would be harder to escape here than in London, where he could slip away like the rat he is.”

“He didn’t,” Laurence said. He looked at Richard. “You did. We sent the directions to him from your stationery with your seal. He would not think you capable of any trickery, and as far as he knew, the Home Office was unaware of his extortion attempt.”

“My stationery? My seal?” Richard asked, shaking his head.

“The countess is a good friend, is she not? She can come and go freely in your home?”

Laurence raised both eyebrows in question, but Richard knew he was not waiting for an answer. Richard’s head was beginning to ache with fatigue and confusion. “I don’t understand. Sophia is…?”

“The countess is a woman who loves her adopted country and is well connected. She helps out when she can.”

---