Remmington took a last look at Lily, nodded once, then he stepped into the hallway and closed the door behind him.
----
Chapter Three
“The charade is over, Lily.”
A transformation came over the earl the moment the two men departed. Gone was the air of fear and distraction. In its place was grim determination. Lily moved out of the way as her father pulled his chair up to the desk. He rummaged through his desk to find his quill pen and a sheaf of paper.
“Have a seat.” The tip of his quill pointed toward a chair on the opposite side of the desk, then he bent over the blank sheet of paper and began to scribble at a furious pace. “I’ll have a footman take this letter around to Sir Malcolm at dawn. It will tell him what happened tonight and inform him that you are already on your way to the safe house he keeps in Brighton . We need to get you out of London . Quickly.”
“What is a safe house?” Lily asked. She nudged aside a pile of papers with her hip as she settled onto the chair.
“It’s a place where no one will ask questions, where you’ll be safe until we catch this man and uncover the reasons for his attack.” He tore a corner from one of the papers stacked on his desk and wrote down an address. “This is the direction to the house. Inform the servants there that you will be staying by invitation of a Mr. Short. It’s a code and they won’t ask any more questions.”
“But—”
“I want no arguments from you, Lily. Every fear I’ve harbored for the past four years came true tonight. It was a mistake to give Bainbridge my permission to involve you in this business in the first place. I knew no good could come of it.” He glanced up from his writing long enough to scowl at her across the desk. “It seems I was right.”
“Sir Malcolm is careful to keep my involvement a secret. We can’t even say for certain that this happened because of our work. You cannot blame yourself, Papa. The man who attacked me is responsible for what happened tonight, not you.”
Crofford dismissed her opinion with an impatient wave. “Bainbridge could sell coal in Newcastle . He convinced me that you would never be in any danger. I must have been out of my mind. I should have put a stop to it years ago, before your very life was at stake.”
“But my work is important, Papa. You said yourself that my talent with codes is rare.”
“True, but you will not put your talent to use again anytime soon.” He added a final paragraph to the letter. “Nothing is more important than your life.”
“What about Robert’s life?” she asked. “I’m the only one in England who can break his Cross code. It will be months yet before you master the formulas.”
He looked up at last and slowly shook his head. “Your brother can take care of himself, Lily. Bainbridge will notify Robert that he is to use the new Maze code until we resolve this situation. The French haven’t developed a new code in months, and I am perfectly capable of deciphering anything they might come up with.”
“You know I can break the codes faster than you can.” It wasn’t a boast, but a statement of fact. If the truth wouldn’t persuade him, guilt might. “What about the lives that depend upon deciphering those messages as quickly as possible?”
“I cannot take care of the world,” he said, “and its fate does not rest solely on your shoulders either. We shall manage as best we can in your absence. What do you think we would do right now if that madman had succeeded tonight? Your absence would be a permanent one. Do you think I will allow you to risk your life that way again?”
The finality of his tone worried her. “If you truly wish to send me away then I will go, but do not take my work away from me. Please, Papa.”
Crofford set aside his pen and folded his hands on the desk. “We will not lose the war in the few days or weeks you are away, Lily. But you must face the fact that I cannot make any promises right now.
----
Chapter Three
“The charade is over, Lily.”
A transformation came over the earl the moment the two men departed. Gone was the air of fear and distraction. In its place was grim determination. Lily moved out of the way as her father pulled his chair up to the desk. He rummaged through his desk to find his quill pen and a sheaf of paper.
“Have a seat.” The tip of his quill pointed toward a chair on the opposite side of the desk, then he bent over the blank sheet of paper and began to scribble at a furious pace. “I’ll have a footman take this letter around to Sir Malcolm at dawn. It will tell him what happened tonight and inform him that you are already on your way to the safe house he keeps in Brighton . We need to get you out of London . Quickly.”
“What is a safe house?” Lily asked. She nudged aside a pile of papers with her hip as she settled onto the chair.
“It’s a place where no one will ask questions, where you’ll be safe until we catch this man and uncover the reasons for his attack.” He tore a corner from one of the papers stacked on his desk and wrote down an address. “This is the direction to the house. Inform the servants there that you will be staying by invitation of a Mr. Short. It’s a code and they won’t ask any more questions.”
“But—”
“I want no arguments from you, Lily. Every fear I’ve harbored for the past four years came true tonight. It was a mistake to give Bainbridge my permission to involve you in this business in the first place. I knew no good could come of it.” He glanced up from his writing long enough to scowl at her across the desk. “It seems I was right.”
“Sir Malcolm is careful to keep my involvement a secret. We can’t even say for certain that this happened because of our work. You cannot blame yourself, Papa. The man who attacked me is responsible for what happened tonight, not you.”
Crofford dismissed her opinion with an impatient wave. “Bainbridge could sell coal in Newcastle . He convinced me that you would never be in any danger. I must have been out of my mind. I should have put a stop to it years ago, before your very life was at stake.”
“But my work is important, Papa. You said yourself that my talent with codes is rare.”
“True, but you will not put your talent to use again anytime soon.” He added a final paragraph to the letter. “Nothing is more important than your life.”
“What about Robert’s life?” she asked. “I’m the only one in England who can break his Cross code. It will be months yet before you master the formulas.”
He looked up at last and slowly shook his head. “Your brother can take care of himself, Lily. Bainbridge will notify Robert that he is to use the new Maze code until we resolve this situation. The French haven’t developed a new code in months, and I am perfectly capable of deciphering anything they might come up with.”
“You know I can break the codes faster than you can.” It wasn’t a boast, but a statement of fact. If the truth wouldn’t persuade him, guilt might. “What about the lives that depend upon deciphering those messages as quickly as possible?”
“I cannot take care of the world,” he said, “and its fate does not rest solely on your shoulders either. We shall manage as best we can in your absence. What do you think we would do right now if that madman had succeeded tonight? Your absence would be a permanent one. Do you think I will allow you to risk your life that way again?”
The finality of his tone worried her. “If you truly wish to send me away then I will go, but do not take my work away from me. Please, Papa.”
Crofford set aside his pen and folded his hands on the desk. “We will not lose the war in the few days or weeks you are away, Lily. But you must face the fact that I cannot make any promises right now.
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