Clarendon Estate (The Sinclair Society, Book Three) Rough Draft

Chapter Twelve

My honesty made both men tug at their cravats as though they were uncomfortable. I wished I knew what detail iot was that discompsed them. Was it that I, a woman, had been attacked, or that I felt the need to protect myself?

"Dunbar's sudden 'illness' and removal from Bath," Mr. Harper said in a low voice. He narrowed his eyes. "What did you do to him?"

I lifted my chin and met his gaze. "Only what I was forced to do, Mr. Harper. I warned him to leave me alone and then I defended myself when he did not listen to my warning. I was left little choice in the matter."

Though he shook his head, there was an expression of admiration and amusement on Mr. Harper's face. "How, exactly, did you defend yourself?"

Before I could answer, Sir Horace cleared his throat. "I don't think we need to discuss the matter any further. I do want to know how it is you had this paper in the first place," the man said, holding up the folded paper. "It does not belong to you."

Of course he'd recognized it. If I said I'd found it in his secret compartment, he'd want to know why I'd been searching the office. I still wasn't sure if either of the men were the mysterious 'H' mentioned in the cipher found in my brother's papers. I could not trust either of them, even ifthey had been my brother's friends.

"I know there was only one made and yet this is an exact copy," Sir Horace continued, his eyes narrowing as he stared at me. "The hand alone is different. At some point you must have seen the original and made a copy. How did you come to have it? Come. Tell me!"

"She had it because I asked for her assistance in finding the key to solving the cipher," Lady Leith's voice rang out. Twisting around to hide my sigh of relief, I watched my employer sweep into the room. She had a dressing gown over her nightgown and her hair was a tangled mess. "She was comparing it to the poems in the book Miss Hanson removed the cipher from."

"Celia!" Sir Horace exclaimed, standing up. His tone was one of astonishment"What are you doing down here?"

"Good morning, Lady Leith," Mr. Harper said, a blush appearing on his cheeks. He managed a respectful bow, showing more composure. "I was not expecting to see you at this hour of the morning."

"Really, why did you not speak to me about this before disturbing my maid at her work?" Lady Leith demanded, keeping her eyes on her husband. She showed no shame at being seen in such a disheveled state. "Nelson answers to me and no other person. Not even you, Horace."

"My lady, Miss Nelson has been near other situations of national concern," Mr. Harper said, his tone reasonable. "We only—"

Lady Leith cut him off with a sharp glance. "Mr. Harper, my question was directed at my husband. Not to you."

National concern? The valet in the Burnham house had been stealing information from his employer and selling to French spies. What other situation had I been near that had been of concern to the government?

The flush on Mr. Harper's face deepened and he took a step back. "Celia, please. Allow Harper and I to handle this matter," Sir Horace said, his town soothing. "There are things you don't know—"

"And who's fault is that? Did you imagine that the secret compartment in the desk would remain undetected?" She raised her eyebrow at her husband. "I did find it strange for you to keep my letters in such a place with letters from the government."

Again, Mr. Harper was tugging on his cravat. He, if I had to hazard a guess, found the situation more uncomfortable than I did. Well, it served him right for being so high-handed! "Then, you were aware of the message being in Miss Nelson's hands?" he asked, daring to speak up again.