The Deception (Baron 3)

Chapter 19

She nearly ran out of the castle but stopped herself. Perhaps it was better this way. She would see firsthand how the operation worked. She would have proof that Edgerton was a traitor. Then she would send a messenger to the duke.

Yes, that would work. She just had to keep her nerve with Edgerton. She couldn’t allow him to suspect what she was going to do. It was difficult to wait to go to the cove, and she did sneak out of the castle early, pulling her cloak more closely about her. The summery weather had disappeared. It was cold now, not bitterly cold, but soon it would be. She walked carefully down the long path to the cove, a half-moon guiding her. When she reached the cave, she turned for a moment to look out at the sea. The waves built slowly, then tumbled gently forward, rolling over and over, like a huge bolt of cloth unfolding, until they reached the shore, there to lap softly over the sand, just a whisper of sound.

She didn’t want to step into the frightening, dark cave. She walked to a rock near the entrance and sat down, waiting. Perhaps Edgerton wouldn’t come. Perhaps he had been discovered and her father would be safe. Of course he hadn’t been discovered. It was just a futile prayer. She knew she wasn’t a good actress, but she had to be tonight with John Edgerton. He mustn’t suspect that she was anything but obedient to him.

Tomorrow, she thought, tomorrow she would send a message to the duke. He would come back. He would help her.

She wanted to see John Edgerton in hell.

She also felt the huge weight of guilt lifted off her.

It was getting colder. She shivered. Where was Edgerton? Perhaps she’d misunderstood his instructions, perhaps—

“Good evening, Evangeline. Unlike most women, you are punctual. That pleases me and relieves me.”

She whirled about, nearly falling off the rock. There was John Edgerton, silhouetted in the moonlight, standing quietly in the mouth of the cave. How long had he been there, waiting in the darkness, watching her?

She rose slowly, holding her cloak tightly fisted to her throat. “I have found that men, more often than women, are the ones who aren’t punctual. Perhaps it is their desire to swagger into a room after all others are already present.”

“You are very young, your experience limited, and thus your opinions are not very important. You are here. Had you been late, I might have wondered about your intentions. I didn’t have a chance to tell you the other evening how delighted I am to see you again. Naturally, I would have preferred a different context for our reunion, but alas, it was not meant to be. But I digress. The next time you have occasion to visit the cave, bring a lantern. Come along now.”

She watched as he set his lantern upon the cave floor and knelt to light it. He straightened toward her, his face shadowed in its dim yellowish light. “In twenty minutes you will give a signal, using the lantern.” He paused, looking at her closely. “You’re afraid. That’s not a bad thing. It will keep you from making mistakes, mistakes that could be fatal to your dear father.”

She said nothing.

“Listen to me now. You will be meeting some men at the dock. I will wait here to see that all goes well. Come now, and learn, for we haven’t much time. You hesitate. This is a very big step for you. Tonight you will perform a treasonous act against England. A single act, but one that will serve our purpose. Then the die will be cast. There will be no turning back for you.”

If she’d had a gun, she would have shot him with no hesitation. No regrets. Oh, yes, she would turn back. “You’re a fool, Sir John. You believe this some sort of game in which you dominate me. Don’t lie to yourself. You’re nothing but a miserable old man.

“Houchard holds my father. You know I have no choice. All the rest of this—it’s nothing more than stage settings and bad melodrama. Get on with it, damn you.”

She thought he would strike her. He raised his hand, then slowly, very slowly, he lowered his arm. “You push me, Evangeline. You believe I shall remember the girl I once wanted, the girl your miserable father refused me?”

“My father refused you nothing. I was the one who refused you.”

He smiled, a terrifying smile in the gloom of the cave. “You are in my power now, Evangeline, make no mistake about that. I find your bravado somewhat amusing. I should even like to pursue this with you, but not tonight. We have more important things to do, and we must hurry.”

“You’re English. Why are you betraying your country?”

He shrugged, frowning down at the glowing lamp. Then he said, looking straight at her, “All of us make choices, Evangeline. I choose to assist a great man to fulfill his destiny. It is a destiny that will extend far into the future, and I will have been a part of it. But enough. I wouldn’t expect you to understand. No, don’t try to argue with me. We haven’t much time. What we do here tonight is very serious business. Your duties will be varied, but none of them will place you in any particular danger. Your primary function will be to serve as a checkpoint. No one will be sent to me unless you have first verified that they are who they purport to be.”

He drew a folded piece of paper from his cloak pocket and handed it to her. “All messages that you receive will be in this code. Only you, I, and Houchard know it. You will meet whomever you are instructed to, Evangeline, and you will examine their papers carefully. You will never clear a man until you have ensured that his instructions are authentic. Then you will write your initials at the bottom of each page to prove that you have verified the message. It is for my protection as well as for Houchard’s. You and I have further protection. No one will know either your name or mine. You will be known as the eagle, L’Aigle, and I, the Lynx, le loupcervier. You are smart—study the code.”

Evangeline moved close to the lantern and sank to her knees. The code was a formula substituting numbers for letters in various combinations.

“The vowels have a separate code. You will practice the code in a few moments.”

She looked up at him. “What if a man carries a message that isn’t authentic?”

“If you prove this to be true, you won’t do anything. You will simply direct the man to this address in London.” He handed her a small visiting card. “I don’t expect anyone to successfully penetrate our network, but one can’t be too careful. We try to foresee all contingencies. I trust you will be quite certain that you are sending along a Bonapartist, for if you make an error, purposefully or not, I assure you it will be your last. Of course, then your father will die also, not that you’ll be alive to know of it.”

She held up the card. “You mean that anyone I send to this address will be murdered?”

“Naturally. Now, here is my card. The men you clear, you will send here.”

“Where is the letter from my father? Houchard promised to send one to me.”