“Does the master expect you?”he asked.
“No, but he will see me.I’m his betrothed.”
This word worked like a key in a lock.The man stepped swiftly aside and let her pass.“Wait here, please,” he said before disappearing up the stairs.
Lise stood in the elegant foyer, taking in what would be her new home someday soon.Crystal sconces were lit against the deepening twilight, reflecting on the polished floors and bouncing off the large mirror over a shiny hall table with mother-of-pearl inlay.It reminded her of the front hall of a London townhouse, seemingly ready for her to place a calling card on the table.
She could see through an open door into an elegantly furnished drawing room.Everything here spoke of wealth.How on earth had he managed —?
“Lise?”
She turned to watch Friedrich descend the staircase, his expression one of pure astonishment.He was in his shirtsleeves, his coat discarded, obviously working in his own study.
“Friedrich, thank God.I need your help.”
He reached the bottom of the stairs and took her hands, his grip firm.“What are you doing here?Where are your parents?”He even looked past her, taking in Anna.But apparently, he didn’t think her a sufficient companion.“Surely you didn’t travel alone.”
“No, I had Anna.I had to come.Henrik brought news —” She broke off, suddenly aware of Friedrich’s thin servant still hovering nearby.“May we speak privately?”
Friedrich clenched his jaw, but he nodded and dismissed the servant with a gesture.
“Anna, you may go find the kitchen and have a cup of coffee,” Lise said, looking to Friedrich for confirmation.
He rolled his eyes but nodded.“Down the corridor,” was all he said to her maid before gesturing for Lise to precede him into the drawing room and closing the door firmly behind them.
“Now,” he said, his voice clipped with barely controlled anger, “you will explain yourself.Do you have any idea how this looks?An unmarried woman, arriving at a bachelor’s residence?”
“I know, I know, it’s improper.But, Friedrich, please, someone’s life might depend upon your assistance.An Englishman has been captured near Lübeck.A mapmaker accused of spying.”
Friedrich’s expression shifted with various emotions until his eyebrows rose in surprise.“Good heavens.When did this happen?”
“A week ago, apparently.He is currently being held at a commandeered estate somewhere nearby.”
“How terrible.”Friedrich shook his head slowly.“Yet I suppose with Bonaparte’s Continental System, any Englishman in the region is viewed with suspicion.”
He paused, his gaze traveling slowly over her.“But how does this news affect you?Why such a reckless action as coming here?Surely the capture of an English spy, while interesting, is not of great importance to you or your family?”
Lise bit her lip.How she wished Henrik were with her.Finally, she said, “We know him.”
Friedrich’s expression remained neutral.“Know him?How extraordinary.How does a family in Holstein come to know an English mapmaker?”
“We met him in London.He became friendlywith Henrik.He was kind to us, to all the KGL and their families.”She had debated for most of her journey whether to tell him that Jonathan was a titled lord and also whether to mention that he was working for the British Army.Standing with Friedrich in his luxurious home, knowing it had been seized from a local family whom she hoped was safe in England, Lise decided the less said on that matter, the better.
“He is a smart man,” she added.
“Not smart enough to keep his freedom, apparently.”
That remark made Friedrich seem petty.She tried again.“He is patriotic and concerned about Europe.”
“More likely concerned about British trade,” Friedrich quipped mildly.
“My father says every man is looking out for his own country.That’s only natural.Don’t you think?”Unless one was a collaborator and was only looking out for oneself.She pushed that thought aside.She mustn’t suspect the worst of her long-time friend and future husband.Instead, she pressed on.
“He’s simply a surveyor doing his work,” she said.“Henrik thought —”
“You met this man in England.”Friedrich interrupted her with a quiet and steady voice, now that he was over his initial shock of seeing her.“How well do you know him?”
She chose to ignore anything unsavory that he might be implying.“Well enough to know he doesn’t deserve to be detained.”Lise hoped Friedrich would focus on the matter at hand, which most certainly wasn’t her acquaintance with Jonathan.“He ought to be allowed to go home,” she said simply.
