“How did she figure that? Wait, you know? It doesn’t matter, and it doesn’t surprise me. She’s too smart for her own good. Continue.”
Collin wanted to argue his words. “She’s not toosmartfor her own good. Too brave, maybe, but her intelligence is an asset.”
Michael blinked at him. “Very well, I take it back. Continue.”
“Well, I visited the apothecary—”
Michael groaned. “What did you do?”
“I went in and said something about the other districts, and I named one, saying I wanted that district.” Collin shrugged.
“Oh. How did that work for you?” Michael asked skeptically.
“Well, it worked a little too well,” Collin replied, twisting his lips. “Here’s where it all went to hell.”
“You’re clearly alive so they didn’t kill you…so it could have gone worse?”
“Maybe,” Collin replied.
“Oh, good Lord, just tell me.” Michael rubbed his face again. “It’s too early for this. Gah! Go on! Tell me.”
“Well, I was taken back to a man named McKensie.”
Michael’s face went blank. “Who?”
“McKensie. Apparently he’s the person in charge of this district—”
Michael stood. “You’re a dead man, Collin.”
“Well, not quite.” Collin shrugged. “But he did send a message to check my credentials, which of course, will return and implicate me as a liar—”
“Bloody hell,” Michael swore.
“And they also connected me with Elizabeth—”
Michael stopped. “They did?”
“Yes, but I’m sending her to London before they can receive word about my made-up tale.”
Michael’s body sagged in relief. “Very well, that’s the one good thing you’ve done. The rest, horrible. You’ve single-handedly put yourself and others in danger. For what, Collin? Tea?” Michael tugged his hair and kicked a chair.
“No. Not for tea.” Collin stood. “For my name, Michael.”
“Hang your name!”
“No! It’s the name that my father gave me, and that someday, God willing, I’ll give to my children. It’s the name…” He paused. “It’s the namethat Elizabeth will have when she marries me. It’s the name of my past and all the hope of my future. I’ll not just let it be used carelessly. Right now, the War Office and Parliament believe that my name and others are not connected, but what if someone compromises that?” He leaned forward, splaying his hands on the table as he regarded Michael. “What if someone gets greedy and decides he might as well benefit from the use of my name and then it all goes to hell? That’s not the legacy I want to leave, and it’s sure as hell not the legacy my father left to me. I’m on borrowed time to make this right, to clear it up so that it’s not an issue for any future generations. I could care less about the tea smuggling. Though it is wrong, it is not my problem. But when they started using my name to do it? They made it my problem.” He released a deep breath.
Michael shifted on his feet. “We need a plan.”
“I have one,” Collin replied.
“No, you are no longer trusted to make plans. You made a mess out of this one.”
“It’s a good plan,” Collin tried.
“To hell with your bloody plan.” Michael lit a cheroot.
“You don’t want to hear it?”
