Merely the Groom (Free Fellows League 2)

“Yes. It began as a game,” she said. “When I was little, it was a way of teaching me geography as well as Papa’s business, and we’ve continued it because we could tell the trade routes of all the ships at a glance, just by knowing their names.”

“Who knows about this?”

“Papa and Mama and me,” Gillian answered. “And I suppose it’s possible that one or two of the most senior clerks and the older captains might know of it.” She thought for a moment. “It isn’t something we trumpet, but it isn’t something we hide, either.”

“So, it’s possible that a clerk or a sea captain or first mate with less experience would be unaware of the specific way the ships are named.”

“Of course, it’s possible,” Gillian said. “Obviously, whoever compiled this got it wrong.”

“Would the captains of these ships sail the wrong routes if they were ordered to do so?”

“It has to be possible,” she allowed. “If these ships were where this says they were, then all of them except The Lady Dee are in the wrong waters. I think that would depend primarily on two things: who’s captaining the vessel and whether they’re heading home or heading out.”

Colin frowned, not fully understanding the point she was making.

Gillian elaborated. “These are merchant ships, Colin. Cargo space is dear because every bit of space that isn’t used for the crew and the food stores is used for cargo. The more cargo, the more money to be earned from it. Ships leaving London have empty cargo holds. They could put into the wrong port and take on cargo or passengers fairly easily, but a ship coming into London from a trip abroad is filled to the gills with cargo and a crew eager to reach home. A detour to another port would be hard to explain to the crew and to those of us who await the ship.” She studied the paper. “In this case, three of the four ships are way off course. There’s no reason for ships bound for the Mediterranean, the Caribbean, or the Orient to sail north to Scotland. Even the crew had to question that”

“That would depend on whether the crew is in on the scheme or not,” Colin guessed. “And on who authorized the change in the trade route.” He turned to Gillian. “Who is responsible for doing that?”

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“Papa.”

“And if the good baron isn’t available?”

“Me,” she replied. “Or Papa’s designated scheduling clerk.”

Colin looked his wife in the eye. “Do you think it likely that your father might be unaware of his ships’ whereabouts?”

She shook her head.

“Gillian, I’ve seen The Lady Dee docked in the Firth of Forth.”

“That’s where she belongs,” Gillian reminded him. “Yes, I know,” he replied. “But I sailed from Marseilles on her. And I saw The Diamond Princess docked there less than a fortnight later.”

Gillian was so worried about her father and his wayward ships that she didn’t think to inquire about why Colin had been in Marseilles. “Something is wrong,” she concluded. “Papa didn’t authorize that I’m sure of it.”

“So am I,” Colin agreed. “We need to return to London as soon as possible.”

“What about those?” Gillian gestured toward the pile of enciphered messages. She studied Colin’s deciphering. “That should be an a and that should be a y and those two should be an l and an r.”

Colin shuffled through the papers Gillian had retrieved and stacked until he located the enciphering table. He studied it for a moment before he turned to Gillian. “Not according to the table.”

“The table is wrong,” she insisted. “Look at the grouping of numbers here,” she pointed to the passage in question. “And here. The message doesn’t make sense unless you change this to an l. What does the table say?” she demanded.

Colin read it, then turned to her. “You’re right. The table is different. They must be changing it.”

Gillian picked up another page of enciphered messages and quickly began deciphering it.

“How do you do that?” Colin was amazed. He was good at deciphering, and the Duke of Sussex was even better, but he doubted that either one of them could decipher as quickly as Gillian could and without Conradus or a deciphering table to help her.

“I like puzzles,” she reminded him. “And this is just a matter of recognizing the numerical patterns and figuring it out.”

Colin grinned at her. “If I swear you to secrecy and promise to make it worth your while, would you consider spending an hour or so before we depart for London working for the government deciphering codes?”

“On one condition.”

“What’s that, my lady?”