She asked Mr. Bryant for an extra hour at lunch to give her enough time to get to Gray’s spice factory and back. She needed to get this information about Luke to Gray immediately if he was to have any prayer of somehow scuttling the second part of the article Horace predicted would come next week.
The nearest streetcar stop was half a mile from Gray’s spice factory, and her tension ratcheted higher as she walked. The heady scent of spices greeted her the moment she stepped inside the factory, her gaze darting around in search of Gray. He wasn’t there. Somehow, she instinctively knew she’d be able to spot him in less than a heartbeat if he was there. His office, perhaps?
She recognized the gangly man unloading dried herbs into a spice roller. It took only a second to recall his name.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Zimmer,” she called out over the rumble of rotating spice drums.
He set down the basket of herbs. “You’re the Smithsonian lady. Back for another tour?”
She shook her head. “I’m at the Department of Agriculture now. Is Mr. Delacroix available?” She held her breath, but thank heavens, Mr. Zimmer nodded.
“He’s out back overseeing another batch of vanilla. You remember where that is?”
“I do.”
She headed outside to the squat brick building behind the factory. She dreaded bringing this rumor to Gray’s attention, for merely mentioning Luke’s name would remind him who was responsible for his brother’s imprisonment. Outside the door of the distillery, she drew a fortifying breath but then paused. Was that the sound of voices coming from inside? She knocked just to be safe.
“Come in!” Gray’s voice was clearly recognizable.
She twisted the knob, entered, and immediately froze.
“Oh,” Annabelle said stupidly. “I thought you would be alone.”
A striking woman with jet-black hair stood close to Gray. Her smartly tailored suit with its tiny cinched-in waist made Annabelle’s gingham dress feel like a potato sack. Gray and the woman were nestled between a huge tank of vanilla and the brick wall, her hand resting on his arm.
“I was just showing Mrs. Riley the cold extraction process for the vanilla,” he said. “She wanted to learn more about the business. Samantha, this is Anabelle Larkin from the Department of Agriculture. What are you doing here?”
Her mouth went dry as her discomfort grew, for the woman made no move to lift her hand from Gray’s sleeve. There was no wedding ring, and given her close proximity to Gray and the possessive smile floating on her mouth, Annabelle suspected Mrs. Riley had designs on Gray.
“I need to speak with you on a private matter,” she said.
Gray glanced at Mrs. Riley, who didn’t look quite so smug anymore, then back at Annabelle.
“You can speak freely in front of Mrs. Riley.”
“It’s about Luke.”
If possible, the unease on his face deepened. He put an arm around Mrs. Riley’s shoulders and gestured toward the door. “My apologies,” he said to her. “I’ll escort you back to my office, where Mr. Zimmer can bring you a cup of tea. We’ll continue our tour after I’ve completed my business with Miss Larkin.”
Annabelle raced to the window to spy on Gray as he headed back to the factory with Mrs. Riley. She didn’t like the way he lowered his head as if to catch every syllable the elegant lady spoke. Not that she was jealous. It just hurt to see.
She crossed her arms and glowered at Gray’s back. Of course she was jealous!Maybe it was Elaine’s upcoming wedding that made Annabelle feel even more like a spinster. Or maybe it was because she feared that no other man would ever measure up to Gray. If only she’d never met those two generals. If only she’d never been forced to choose between loyalty to her country and loyalty to Gray. Knowing she’d made the right choice didn’t soothe the drumbeat of regret.
After a few moments Gray rejoined her in the distillery, his face drawn and sober. “Yes, Annabelle, what is it?”
“One of my coworkers at Agriculture is tapped into a lot of inside gossip in this city. He thinks Dickie Shuster has more scandal up his sleeve for next week’s article.”
“Obviously.”
“Scandal about Luke. Horace’s wife is a secretary at the War Department, and she swears she handled some paperwork that awarded Luke a diploma from the Naval Academy last year.”
Gray’s eyes widened, but there was no other change in his expression. “Luke doesn’t have a diploma. Not from the Naval Academy or anywhere else. He would have been shouting it from the mountaintops if he did.”
“Are you sure about that?” He stiffened, and she rushed to continue. “What I mean is that Luke was pretty good about keeping secrets. Horace’s wife said that a lot of important military people showed up and signed off on Luke’s diploma, so he’s obviously well-connected within the department. Horace thinks Luke might have been acting on orders from higher up in the War Department. That there are more spies to be sniffed out.”
Gray’s eyes narrowed in confusion as he slowly shook his head. “I don’t believe it. Tell me where you heard this again?”
She did her best to recount everything Horace said, and how her co-worker’s voracious hunger for gossip was infamous. The corners of Gray’s mouth turned down, and his face hardened.
