“What is?” Fredrick asked.
“Nothing is secure,” she replied with a frown on her lips. “The window was unlocked and so were the drawers.”
Fredrick had an uneasy feeling about this, too, but they couldn’t turn back now. They had an assignment that they had to complete. “Just quickly look through the files and see if you find anything of importance,” he encouraged.
He pulled out a drawer and removed the papers from within. He started rifling through them, looking for something that would help their case. The moonlight streamed into the room, providing enough lighting to make out the words.
After a moment, Miss Delacourt held a sheet of paper up. “These are the buyers that are purchasing the smuggled goods.”
“That is good, but did you discover anything that would point to the reason as to why the French spies came here?”
“Not yet,” came her reply.
The door swung open, and Lord Drycott stepped into the room, a smug look on his rounded face. His black hair was slicked to the side, and his green jacket did little to hide his protruding belly. “Now who did I catch breaking into my office?” he sneered. “It is Lord Chatsworth, the war hero.”
Fredrick lowered the papers to the desk. “Why is it that you don’t look surprised to see me?”
“That is because I am not,” Lord Drycott replied. “I know you broke into my office at my factory, along with your brother, and Mr. Bolingbroke. Do you really think I am so stupid as to not guard what is mine?”
“I don’t know, considering you are smuggling goods out of France,” Fredrick said. “That doesn’t seem very bright to me.”
Lord Drycott stepped further into the room. “It has made me a very rich man,” he said.
“You will hang for your crimes,” Fredrick asserted.
With a chuckle, Lord Drycott asked, “Who is going to arrest me? You?” He turned his attention towards Miss Delacourt. “I had not taken you for a man that would partner with a woman. She looks rather worse for the wear.”
“I would not underestimate her,” Fredrick advised.
Lord Drycott looked amused. “I would not underestimateme,” he said with a flick of his wrist. One of Caleb’s attackers from the alleyway stepped into the room and pointed a pistol at them.
Fredrick lifted his brow. “What is it that you want?”
“I want you dead, and your partner,” Lord Drycott replied. “Then I will kill your brother and Mr. Bolingbroke. And anyone else who tries to defy me.”
“Your plan is to just kill everyone? That doesn’t seem like a good plan to me,” Fredrick remarked.
Lord Drycott smirked. “Once I get the message across that anyone who dares to defy me will die, no one will come after me. I will be unstoppable.”
Miss Delacourt spoke up. “You are wrong. You will never be left alone. Not only are you a smuggler, but you also willingly transported two French spies aboard one of your ships.”
“I don’t care who I transport as long as they pay,” Lord Drycott declared. “And those two paid a pretty penny to be brought over from France.”
“You committed treason,” Miss Delacourt stated.
“Did I?” Lord Drycott mocked. “Oh, good heavens. I didn’t mean to do such a thing. Please forgive me. I will send them back.”
Miss Delacourt narrowed her eyes. “You think you are so clever?—”
“But I am quite clever,” Lord Drycott said, speaking over her. “I’m not sure who you are, but you must die, too. I normally avoid killing women, but I will make the exception with you.”
“How gracious of you,” Miss Delacourt responded. “But since I am going to die anyways, why don’t you tell me what the French spies have planned?”
“How would I know?” Lord Drycott asked. “More importantly, why would I care?”
“You just let French spies come into England without knowing the intent as to why that was?” Miss Delacourt asked.
Lord Drycott pursed his lips together. “I am not a monster. I am merely a businessman.”
