“It was just a bunch of names. Written in English and Arabic,” Seaton replied.
“How do you know they were in Arabic?” Hartwick asked.
Seaton shrugged. “I can’t read Arabic, but I recognize the unusual lettering.”
A list of names. Interesting. “What would Bellamy want with a list of names? Knowing what we do about him, stealing from the Greeks while Britain is helping their effort for independence. Perhaps it was not only about the money. Perhaps he was waiting for that message hidden in the statue.”
“The Greeks are fighting for independence? From who?” Lucy asked.
Adeline looked at Hartwick, and they said in unison, “The Ottomans.”
“Who hired you to procure this list?” Adeline asked.
“That I cannot say.” Seaton crunched on another piece of bacon. “But it was not Bellamy or Rawlings. The information was highly sought after. The payment offered a small fortune if I do say so.”
“My bet is that the list names are intelligence officers working undercover in the Ottoman Empire. What better way to disrupt our efforts to help the Greeks than to cut off our intelligence sources,” Hartwick offered. “The House of Lords recently passed a hotly debated bill for funds to send ships to the Mediterranean to help the war.”
Adeline nodded her agreement. “As foreign secretary, he could easily use his position to play both sides. It makes me wonder where his loyalties lie.”
“What are you saying?” Lucy asked.
“One word. Treason,” Adeline said.
Hartwick nodded his agreement.
“Would you be able to arrange an audience with the king for us?” she asked.
“Yes.” Hartwick nodded. “I will go write a letter immediately.”
“I will walk out with you, brother. Glad I could be of help,” Seaton said.
Hartwick scowled. “You are involved in treason—really?”
“Listen, I don’t ask questions. I am paid, and I do the job. As I told you before, little brother, I am no hero.” He clapped Hartwick on the shoulder. Then, turned toward her and Lucy. “Good day, ladies. I’m sure you’ll get your man back. You’re a clever one, you are.”
Chapter Thirty-Six
Adeline fidgeted withher handkerchief as she listened to Lucy’s butler greet her mother and brother in the front hall. She had asked Lucy to invite them to tea in order to be able to see them without alerting her father she was in town. With Malcolm being detained and Hartwick waiting for an answer to his letter to the king, Adeline wanted to keep as low a profile as possible.
“Don’t worry,” Lucy murmured. Her friend rose with a bright smile as Adeline’s family entered the drawing room.
“Adeline!” Her mother rushed over.
Adeline rose and accepted her mother’s embrace. Her hug was such a comfort that Adeline almost burst into tears. “Thank you for coming.”
George was next to embrace her. “Adeline, you are supposed to be at Millstone. What are you doing here?”
“Sit. There is much to tell,” Adeline said.
George looked so improved. The bruising along his jaw was yellow and fading. Though, his arm was still in a sling.
Lucy poured tea for everyone while Adeline told her family about how she had left with Kingsbury and taken the artifacts with her.
“Good Lord, Addy. No wonder Father was interrogating me about where you had gone. I told him I sent you to Millstone and wouldn’t allow him to marry you off to Bellamy. Mother and I have been trying to avoid him as much as humanly possible. It’s like he has lost his mind. Pacing, cursing, yelling at the servants for no reason.”
“It is because he owes a great sum to those men who beat you. Then Bellamy offered to pay it off for my hand. But the real villainy goes far deeper. Those items were stolen from a prominent Greek statesman. Kingsbury was assigned to find the missing items and find out who arranged the theft. He overheard Father and Bellamy discussing it all, including the transaction for my hand at the Janson ball.”
George ran a hand through his hair. “I was afraid of this. Kingsbury asked me about the artifacts that morning after the ball. I didn’t know what to make of it all, but I did know you needed to get out of town.”
