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“What of it? I did not read it, if that is your concern.”

“No, no. He was unaware of what you were there for either. He mentioned that Dushard had been given a map and some documents that would have shown their plans and routes of travel, even maybe their contacts and places where other spies may be planted. Did they leave anything at the fort?”

Thomas rubbed his hand down his face. “After the fire that I mentioned in the report, Elena went up there, but she did not come back with anything.” Then he remembered he had told her not to touch anything while she was up there. Perhaps there had been something left there, and she had not told him. “I will ask her later and see if she remembers anything.”

“There is more.” Tony stood and refilled Thomas’s glass. “We do not know just how deep Stafford was in all this. He must have struck some kind of deal with the French about you, but what did he get in return? Other than your finger.”

Thomas looked at his hand. “Sometimes it feels like it is still there. Is that not strange? I have learned to use my hand again and I find it does not really hinder me. I guess it was a good finger to lose if one must have it lopped off, that is.”

“How you endured the torture is truly exceptional. You have become a legend within the Ring. The Unkillable Captain.”

“Oh, lord.”

Tony laughed, and so did Thomas, because it was all too absurd. The truth was, he had been reckless and had allowed himself to relax when he should have seen the clues, the signs that would have spared him the indignity of being caught at all. And then there was Stafford. Exactly what did he get out of sending Thomas to his death in a foreign country?

“So, do you think I am still in danger? My family?”

Tony’s face showed his concern. “I wish I knew for sure, Thomas. Whoever aided Stafford in this venture may still be at large and still angry enough that he missed out on the payment they were to get for the information that was in that ring. He could come after Lucinda or me for that matter.”

“Do we have any idea who it might be?”

“Not a clue. I’d like you to stay a few days, go over the files with me to make sure we have left no stone unturned. They may also think you have possession of those documents and the map.”

“They burned the place out. I doubt they would have left anything of value behind.” Thomas walked over to the fire and poked at the coals with the fire poker. “It was Lord Stafford who overturned my study at Milford and then scared the hell out of my mother and sister. It makes me so angry to think he was able to scare them out of their own home. I’d like to have pierced him through with this for the fear he caused in them.” He returned the poker to its stand. “I am happy to help, Ashton, but what of Elena? I cannot leave her for hours on end.”

“Lucinda is going to take her under her wing. Perhaps show her some more feminine friendly parts of London. I will have men on them at all times, and they will have a maid with them also.”

“If you think it will be safe. I am sure she would be delighted, and they seemed to be getting on quite well.”

“Lucinda has had years of practice dealing with all sorts of people at that school and now that she is comfortable with her surroundings she has really grown in confidence. Both my mother and siblings adore her. Even my brother the duke.”

“I am convinced,” Thomas said with a laugh. “My ward was a charming child. I only wish I had known more. I could have protected her better.”

Tony smiled. “No one is blaming you, least of all Lucinda.”

“I wish I could let it go but it seems we are all involved still with the secret within the ring and its consequences.”

“Let’s hope we find some answers in these papers.”

“Oh, I just remembered, one of the Frenchmen uttered the name Falmere before he died. I have never heard the name. Have you?”

Tony frowned and raked his fingers through his blond locks. “No, I have not. Falmere. Could it be Dushard’s replacement?”

“Let us hope his name comes up in one of these reports. It would be good to know who he is.”

“I will ask Warrington as well. He has a spectacular memory for such things.”

They stayed another hour in the study talking and devising a plan of action regarding the reading of boxes and boxes of files. When Thomas made it up to bed, he found Elena fast asleep. He climbed in beside her and kissed her hair. He had done nothing but put her in dangerous situations, all because he simply could not be without her. He was a selfish man when it came to her. It made him determined to find the last piece of the puzzle so they could finally begin their life together without this cloud above them.

*

Lucinda Ashton was a delight. She was kind, and patient, and full of life. However, there was a caution about everything she did, like she had become used to looking over her shoulder. The men were going to be working all day on their spy problems, and Lucinda wanted to take Elena to the confectioners for a sweet treat. She had no idea what this was all about until they stopped outside a shop, and they alighted from the carriage.

“What is this place?” Elena asked Lucinda, fascinated to know what lay inside the doors.

Lucinda clapped her hands, and a huge smile adorned her face. “All manner of wonderful things. You wait and see.”

Elena followed Lucinda into the store. The sweet smell of sugar, coffee, and citrus filled the air. On little tables all around the boundary of the shop were displays of macaroons and jellies and syrups.