“It turned that your French friend Dalambert’s comrade decided to be forthcoming with the traitor’s name,” added Wrexford in explanation. “But how did you uncover it?”
“One of the king’s wine stewards lived in the city of Oporto, the heart of Portugal’s famous vineyard area, where he was part of the wine merchant fraternity,” answered von Münch. “Naturally, gossip flowed among its members, along with a surfeit of spirits, and he heard of a profitable illegal enterprise that was smuggling shipments of port into Britain without paying the excise tax. It was a very clever system. A diplomat in Lisbon would keep track of the British navy convoys moving military men and supplies back and forth between Britain and the Peninsula, then send word when it was safe for the smugglers’ ships to make the passage to the Cornish coast.”
“And I take it the diplomat was Lord Taviot,” said the earl.
“Yes. I pressed my Württemberg colleague, and he was able to remember that the British consul in Oporto had once let the name slip out when he was drunk and boasting of his cut of the profits.”
“So, we have yet another nail with which to hammer home the miscreant’s guilt,” announced Charlotte with quiet satisfaction.
Wrexford watched the breeze ruffle through the twines of ivy framing the windows. He wasn’t quite as convinced.
She read his expression and took a moment to interpret his silence. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s just that something isn’t quite adding up for me,” he said softly.
Von Münch appeared confused. “B-But surely there couldn’t have beentwotraitors within the British diplomatic delegation?”
“And yet why risk getting caught in a smuggling operation when that would likely expose his far more serious crime?” said Wrexford. “We know he’s ruthlessly clever . . . and the only reason he would do so is for money.”
A frown. “But it makes no sense financially. He would have been making far more money betraying his country than from being a partner in a smuggling ring.”
“Greed often overpowers reason,” pointed out Charlotte.
Wrexford shifted abruptly and caught the librarian studying him with a searching stare. Charlotte was right—he had a perceptive eye.
What are you trying to see, Herr von Münch?
For a moment, the earl found himself wondering whether the librarian’s steadfast help should be viewed in a darker light. It suddenly struck him that von Münch had been the one who had been passing them the most important clues....
But he shook off such suspicious thoughts. “You’re right. Money can poison one’s mind. Be that as it may, we have solid evidence that Taviot is guilty of the greater crime.”
“What are you going to do about it?” ventured von Münch.
“Vengeance is not the same as justice. I am going to hand over the incriminating information to the authorities. It will be up to the law of the land to judge him and decide his punishment.”
The librarian gave a brusque nod. “I am not a ghoulish soul, but I shall not shed a tear when the Earl of Taviot is dancing the hangman’s jig.”
“May I offer you some tea? Or a stronger libation, Herr von Münch?” asked Charlotte.
“Thank you, but I won’t impose upon your time any longer.” A polite bow. “I’m sure you have a great many things on your mind.”
“I’ll see you out,” said Wrexford, hoping his conflicted thoughts weren’t too obvious to the librarian. Charlotte, he knew, would have sensed the change in his mood.
Sure enough, she was waiting in the corridor when he returned. “Is there something I don’t know that has turned you against von Münch?”
“From the very beginning, he’s expressed a remarkable commitment to helping us ensure that justice is done for Greeley,” said the earl carefully. “And through his diligence we have made a number of important discoveries.”
Charlotte raised her brows. “And you hold that against him?”
Put that way, it sounded absurd.
“Let’s just say that there are some strange coincidences,” he replied. “Through von Münch’s connections, we find a copy of the missing manuscript—”
“Wasn’t it Greeley’s assistant who first learned that a copy might be at Buckingham House?” she interrupted. “You could have easily gained access to the King’s Library without his help.”
The earl didn’t argue. “And then the fellow just happens to have contacts that result in us meeting the French intelligence officer who could identify a British traitor. A traitor, I might add, who has eluded our head of state security and his operatives.” He frowned. “Grentham’s reputation for ruthlessness is well earned. He’s extremely good at what he does.”
Charlotte’s eyes took on a challenging gleam. “But he doesn’t know every secret.”
