“I cannot say with assurances,” Beaufort admitted. “It was not so much her appearance, for when she actually looked at me, she wore a great deal of powder and cream on her face. It was more to do with her voice. Very familiar.”
Alexander looked up in perplexion, but Beaufort immediately ordered, “Look! Look!”
Alexander turned back in time to see Honfleur bend his head to kiss the woman on the mouth and to press a gentle squeeze to her breast.
“Oooh!” Alexander declared in disgust.
“That makes the woman more dangerous for your sister,” Beaufort announced. “We should warn her.”
“I will have Lionel sneak in with a message,” Alexander said. With a sigh of resignation, he asked, “Are you attending the session in the Lords today?”
Beaufort shook off the suggestion. “I believe I will stay the course. I simply cannot shake the idea that something is about to explode at Amgen House, and I do not want your sister caught in the crossfire if there is a means to protect her.”
Alexander squared hisshoulders as he entered the hall leading to the House of Lords. At the end of the passage stood Duncan and all Alexander’s brothers, except Beaufort. His eyes teared up immediately. They all wore a mask over their lips, just as did he. For years, he had ranted against the Fates that had stolen his family away, while forgetting those same Fates had presented him a larger and stronger bond with the four men meaning to stand with him today.
“A new code of attire?” one lord after another asked. Each time, one of them handed the man a small slip of paper that said, “We plan to listen rather than talk over each other. Join us.”
Most walked away chuckling, but a few took out their handkerchiefs and tied them around their heads to hang loosely before their mouths.
Only Alexander carried an additional piece of equipment, an ear trumpet, in the style of a man of a particular age who had lost his hearing. He felt the fool he was, but he knew Theodora was worth this gesture. She would remember his actions forever and count herself fortunate to have married a man who placed his affections on public display.
He sat in the back row with his brothers and Duncan, where they waited for the ridicule, but none came. Instead, Charles Grey said to one and all, “Finally, there is a chance to hear myself over the shouting. Perhaps I shan’t recognize my own voice.”
Having kept hisword to Mrs. Dove-Lyon and to Dora, later, Alexander enjoyed the pure joy on Theodora’s countenance, as well as his betrothed’s sweet kisses before he made his way back to the watch house to learn what Beaufort had observed after Xander’s departure earlier in the day.
“How did it go today?” Alexander asked as he set a plate of cold chicken and bread on the table before his friend.
“Lots of goings and comings,” Beaufort acknowledged as he moved away from the window to uncover the plate. He tore off a piece of the chicken to pop in his mouth. “I agree with Lionel,” he said around a mouthful of chicken and soft bread. “Your cook has a way with chicken.”
“Who came and who went?”
“From the front, only Honfleur. Twice, in fact, but according to Mr. Kepper, Margaret Childers and Mary Darwin were also inside for perhaps an hour when Honfleur returned the first time. They came through the walled entrance. Kepper was within when the women arrived, and he pretended to be calling at Number 4, Trippman Hall. He said he had his hat down and simply nodded a greeting to them. Thankfully, neither of the women appeared to question his presence nor did they take note of him near the mews when they departed.”
“So you think that Honfleur and the others are prepared to move?” Alexander asked.
“It appears so,” Beaufort stated.
“And Annalise?” Alexander asked, fearing for his sister’s life. He could not lose her now and continue to know sanity.
“She placed her red sash in the window earlier, which is the signal she is well, but worried.”
Alexander’s eyebrow rose in both interest and dismay. “How many signals have you two designed?”
“The last few days before Honfleur returned, Lady Annalise developed a series of messages. Doing so seemed to bolster her confidence so I did not discourage her. She likened the messages to when she was on Honfleur’s ship and learned how to use the signal flags.”
“Only you and Lionel know all the signals,” Alexander protested.
“Such is why one of the two of us have made it our business to be close.”
“It should have been me,” Alexander chastised both himself and Beaufort.
“You and I are family,” Beaufort corrected. “Lionel is also part of your extended family. We all wish to see you and Lady Annalise living under the same roof. It is the dream none of us thought possible. It gives us all hope.”
Neither of them spoke for several minutes. Beaufort digested the chicken along with staring off at the wall behind Alexander’s head. Meanwhile, Alexander again admonished himself for not realizing how creative Annalise was.
At last, Beaufort asked, “Did you tell Duncan about the kiss Honfleur shared with the housekeeper?”
“I forgot,” Alexander admitted, “but we should learn more about the woman. Was she hired through an agency, or has she been Honfleur’s lover before his arrival in London? We all thought he hoped to marry Lady Winston. Is he already married or does the woman hope to secure a man who will provide for her?”
“If it is the second,” Beaufort summarized, “Honfleur will use her and leave her. At least she does not appear to be of childbearing years, but I doubt that would stop the man from taking what he wanted.”
