His lips quirked. “I can’t claim to be surprised, but are you going to do that pondering now, or would you prefer returning to the topic of how you were able to solve the cipher?”
“I’m a lady who is quite capable of thinking about more than one subject at a time, which is yet another reason—”
“You think you’ve earned a place in the firm,” he finished for her when she faltered, his eyes twinkling in a far too compelling manner. “I’m now getting the sneaking suspicion I may be retaining ownership of a certain grappling hook.”
“You may be right about that, but since I’m anxious to tell you more about the cipher, I’ll curtail my nagging about the accounting firm, at least for now.” Adelaide moved with Gideon across the floor, waiting until he turned them around before she continued. “I must admit that it was trickier than I thought it would be to solve.”
“It took you a mere afternoon.”
“Far too long if you ask me, and I had my doubts I would find any success, especially when I tried several different codes from my book, ones that spanned decades of wars and government intrigues. I was on the verge of giving up, which would have delighted Camilla’s stylist, who kept complaining I was moving my head too much, when I had a thought.”
“And that thought allowed you to crack a code that I and numerous associates have been working on for two weeks?”
She smiled. “Indeed, and that I found success when you and your associates were floundering suggests yet again that I should at least be considered as a future associate.”
He sent her a quirk of his lips before he gave her another twirl and shook his head. “I believe the grappling hook is now firmly off the table because your tenaciousness seems to beincreasing, something I’m going to broach with your mother, who will certainly have a few thoughts on that subject.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Complaining to my mother is hardly fair. She completely adores you and will definitely have more than a few thoughts to share withmeif she thinks I’m being tenacious about something while in your company.”
His only response to that was to send her another charming smile, which left her treading on his shoe again.
She refused a sigh. “I beg your pardon, Gideon. I didn’t mean to trample your foot yet again.”
“That you did so suggests I’m being negligent with properly distracting you.” He bent close to her ear. “To get us back in sync, tell me how you cracked the code.”
The feel of his breath against the side of her neck sent her pulse skittering madly about. But not wanting to crush his toes again or begin stumbling all over the ballroom floor, which would probably see Camilla’s plans for her dying a rapid death, no matter if Gideon was showering attention on her or not, Adelaide drew in a steadying breath.
“I figured out that someone chose a cipher from the Revolutionary War.”
“And you came to that conclusion because...?”
Adelaide inclined her head to Miss Martha Radcliffe, who was staring as she waltzed past with Mr. Thomas Hassel, a gentleman Adelaide had sat beside at a long-ago dinner, that circumstance never happening again after she’d thought Thomas had been choking on a piece of beef and had given him a few whacks on the back, only to discover he’d not been choking at all. Given that Thomas settled a warm smile on her, paired with what seemed to be a wink, before he steered Martha in the opposite direction, it was fair to conclude that he was finally willing to forgive her for trying to save his life when it hadn’t needed saving. She returned her gaze to Gideon and frowned.
“It’s very odd, isn’t it, this abrupt change in how societytreats me. Thomas Hassel hasn’t spoken to me in eons and yet, if I’m not mistaken, he just winked at me.” She wrinkled her nose. “Do you think Camilla really had the right of it and society has collectively changed their mind about me simply because you’re showing particular attention to me?”
Gideon slowed their pace. “As Charles recently remarked to me, people are drawn to those possessed of a certain level of ... panache, if you will. Camilla understands that all too well. She knew if she could have one fashionable gentleman pay attention to you and use her own social standing to influence those around her, society would follow suit and accept you.”
“Hmm...” was all Adelaide said to that, earning a surprising grin from Gideon. “What?”
He drew her closer. “I can see the wheels spinning, but that is causing you to scowl, which Camilla will certainly take issue with. That means we need to shelve this conversation for a later date and return to the cipher, which I’m dying to hear more details about. How did you determine the code might have been from the Revolutionary War?”
Realizing she was indeed scowling as she thought about how easy it had been to persuade society to accept her after all the years they’d spent treating her like an outsider, Adelaide summoned up a smile. “Truth be told, I should have figured it out sooner because the diary was written around the time of the Revolutionary War. I began wondering if the diary itself was a clue, perhaps one that allowed someone to know what cipher was needed to translate the code.” Her smile turned genuine. “Imagine my surprise when I started working with a monoalphabetic substitution that was created during the Revolutionary War, one used by a Dr. Church, which was intercepted by Washington’s army, and ... it worked.”
“What did the cipher say?”
“It’s not a message, but a series of numbers. Eighteen, seven, twelve, and three. I think it’s a combination to a safe, but therewas nothing written about exactly what the numbers meant or a location where to find a safe.”
“That’s slightly problematic.”
“Indeed, because we have no idea what the target is. However, I imagine if we put our heads together, we can figure it out.”
Gideon led her around a couple who were trying their best to pretend they hadn’t been watching them. “I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but there isn’t going to be anywein this.”
“There’s that odd aversion you have with the wordwe, but no need to be hasty with rejecting my assistance. I’ll give you a few days to ponder the matter, but no more than that because I’m sure this is a situation where time is of the essence.”
Gideon guided her past Miss Jennie Gibson, who was dancing with a man Adelaide had never seen before. He then twirled her once and smiled another charming smile at her, done so, no doubt, because Camilla was standing on the sidelines two feet away from them, watching their every move.
“While I may have an aversion to the wordwe, you seem to have that same affliction, but with the wordno,” he said.
