And below that, underlined three times:
They are coming for her. I must warn Isabella.
The Baroness made a sound, something between a gasp and a sob, and reached out to touch the paper with trembling fingers.
“He knew,” she whispered. “He knew they would come for me. He was trying to warn me.”
I felt Thomas’s hand on my shoulder, squeezing once.
“February 15th,” I said, keeping my voice steady. “That’s less than three weeks. The Chamber Session—do you know what that means?”
The Baroness shook her head slowly, but I saw something flicker in her eyes.
“I do not,” she said. “But I intend to find out.”
Father Eberhard had approached, his face pale with confusion and fear. “Baroness, what is happening? What have you found?”
She folded the paper carefully and slipped it into her coat. When she turned to face him, her expression had hardened into the armor of a woman who had spent her life fighting battles most people couldn’t imagine.
“Thank you for your help, Father. You have given us a great deal to work with.” She paused. “I would ask you to keep this conversation private. Do not speak of it to anyone—not your brothers, not the police, not even the Church authorities. There areforces at work here that you do not understand, and your safety depends on your silence.”
“But—”
“Please, Father.” Her voice softened. “You must trust me. I am trying to protect you, as I tried to protect Aldric.”
The Abbot studied her for a long moment. Then slowly, he nodded. “I will pray for you, Baroness. And for whatever battle you are fighting.”
“Pray for us all, Father. We will need it.”
The drive back to Bern passed in silence. The Baroness sat in the front seat again, staring out at mountains she had known all her life, her face unreadable. Otto drove without speaking, his usual chatter silenced by some instinct that told him words were not wanted. Thomas sat beside me in the back, his hand resting on my thigh.
They are coming for her, I thought.The Baroness is their next target.
Whatever the Order was planning, whatever “the Restoration” meant, she was at the center of it. They had killed her source to blind her. Now they were coming for her directly.
I understood now why she had fled to Paris, why she had come to us, of all people, when she hadresources and agents and an entire intelligence apparatus at her disposal.
She was surrounded by enemies.
She didn’t know who to trust.
And somewhere in the back of her mind, she must have known—must have sensed—that she was running out of time.
Three weeks.
We had three weeks to figure out what they were planning and how to stop it.
I looked at Thomas, and I saw the same thoughts reflected there, the same fear, determination, and grim resolve.
Three weeks.
It wasn’t enough time.
But it was all we had.
6
Thomas
