Alfred shrugged. “I have been away on business, but now I’m back,” came the vague answer. “These are really good, by the way. You always did have an eye for quality.”
Dalton forced himself to maintain a polite nod. Smiling and maintaining casual conversation as they enjoyed the cigars. He kept the subjects light. He wasn’t trying to extract information. Not yet.
When nothing but a nub remained of the once robust cigars, he snuffed the flame on the stone balustrade and tossed the remainder into the hedges below.
“It’s been good catching up with you, cousin. Alas, I must return to my guests. Enjoy yourself tonight.” With that, he excused himself. His steps were measured, controlled, as he returned to the ballroom, and immediately continued on to the antechamber where Nathaniel and Alice lurked.
“It’s him,” Nathaniel said without preamble as soon as he entered the room. “The man you were just speaking to, that’s Lord A.”
Dalton felt the blow, sharp but not entirely unexpected. He had suspected this outcome, yet hearing it confirmed was like the dropping of the guillotine blade. Final and painful.
“You are certain?”
“Yes,” Alice said, her hand tightening around Nathaniel’s. “I would know that voice anywhere. His height, his stance—it’s all the same. There’s no doubt.”
Dalton inclined his head once. “It’s as I expected, then. And it ends tonight.” He drew in a breath, letting his ducal mask settle firmly into place. “Thank you. You have done what I needed. The rest is for me to see to.”
“We will stay. Be nearby in case you need us,” Nathaniel offered, but Dalton shook his head.
“I would rather you keep Alice safe. She must be cherished, especially now.”
“She is,” Nathaniel said quietly with a look to his wife that made Dalton’s chest twist. “But we’ll remain close, should you need us.”
Dalton gave a single nod before striding back toward the ballroom.
It did not take long to find his cousin again. Dalton waited until Alfred excused himself to use the necessary, then intercepted him with two of his most trusted men.
“Walk with me,” Dalton said in a tone that brooked no argument.
His cousin’s eyebrows rose, but he followed, sauntering with feigned nonchalance into the duke’s private study.
“Cousin. This is the second time you’ve sought me out tonight. Have you something to say?”
Dalton made sure to close the door behind them before he spoke. “Let’s dispense with the pretense. I know what you’ve done. I have witnesses. I have evidence. You have been selling intelligence to foreign powers—treason, by any definition.”
For a heartbeat there was silence, then his cousin’s lips curved into a mocking smile. “Bravo. Took you long enough to figure it out. You were never half as clever as everyone thought, cousin.”
Dalton’s jaw tightened, but he held his ground. “Whatever grievances you nurse, they do not excuse what you have done. Because of you, good men are dead.”
“Oh, I’m not looking for excuses. I’m enjoying my triumph.”
“Triumph? You will hang for this. Don’t think I’ll spare you for being my cousin. If anything it makes your betrayal worse.”
“Oh, no.” Alfred laughed softly, with chilling confidence. “I will not hang. I will be gone from England and living very comfortably abroad within a week. Thanks to you. You see, I have something you want. Something you’d do anything to have back.”
Dalton’s brows drew together. “There is nothing you have that could buy you leniency from me.”
“Are you sure?” His cousin reached into his pocket with deliberate slowness and withdrew a small rectangle, holding it delicately by the edges. A letter?
No. A photograph.
Then Alfred held it in front of his face, and the world tilted as he stared at the picture.
His wife.
Pain lanced through him with brutal familiarity, sharp enough to stagger him, though he forced himself to remain outwardly unmoved. The photograph was crisp, new. The image unnervingly alive—her features exactly as he remembered, yet subtly changed.
He kept his voice cool, though his heart thundered. “A fine photograph of my wife. Though I do not recall when this one was taken. Nor can I imagine how it ended up in your possession.”
