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Esther rose also, plumping her father’s pillows as he drank and helping him to rest back against them again. Her brow was puckered with concern, and she wanted to tell him to save his strength and not to speak any longer if it was paining him, but Lord Leighton, it seemed, was utterly determined. Shaking his head at her request to quieten himself and speak of such things later, he pushed himself up a little more and set his jaw.
“I was then visited by a gentleman I did not know,” he said, his voice wavering just a little. “I thought him calling about a matter of business or some such thing, but he soon mentioned Sir Taylor, and I felt the world about me begin to shrink. I knew then that his less than prying questions were a good deal more than they appeared. Worried for the cipher as well as for the safety of my daughter and my sister, I removed myself from this house and went into hiding. Although,” he finished, dropping one hand onto the bed uselessly, “I did not know what I would do thereafter.”
Lord Westbrook cleared his throat gently, catching Lord Leighton’s attention. “That man was Mr. Leadsom,” he told the earl. “He was working with Lord Hogarth, who had discovered that Sir Taylor had given the cipher to an old friend – someone who had once worked in The King’s League. There are three or four of you within London at present. I believe that Leadsom gave more of himself away than he had intended, and when you went into hiding, they knew then that you had the cipher. For Lord Hogarth to find you was unfortunate indeed.”
Lord Leighton nodded, his expression growing pained. “I did not tell them anything, even though they pushed at me to do so,” he said slowly. “They threatened my daughter and said they would bring me an eye witness who saw her being shot.” He shook his head. “That brought me such a great fear that I almost told them everything.” His eyes glistened with tears as he held Esther tight by the hand. “But they did not bring a witness.”
“That is because they did not manage to do as they had intended, Lord Leighton,” Lord Westbrook said quickly. “Your daughter has been nothing short of courageous, and without her willingness to accept my help and to be honest with me, I fear that things might have turned out rather differently.”
“But they have not,” Lady Ware interrupted, putting a smile on her face that Esther knew was meant to encourage Lord Leighton. “You are safe now, brother, and your strength will return with each passing day. I shall, of course, remain here with you and Esther until such a time as you can return to your estate.”
Esther took in a long breath, feeling her heart settle into a calm and peaceful rhythm once more. Her father was going to recover and be himself again very soon. They would return to the estate and life would be as it had been before.
And then, Lord Westbrook squeezed her shoulder and her eyes flew to him. No, things would not be as they had been before. They would be vastly changed. There was to be a different future for her now, if her father was to agree. She might return home to her father’s estate, but it would not be for long. She would have to prepare for a change that would bring with it both happiness and a measure of sadness in leaving both her father and her home behind.
“I thank you, my dear sister,” Lord Leighton murmured, forcing Esther’s attention back to her father again. “You have been very good to Esther, I can see. I am sorry that I had to disappear in such a fashion, especially when I wanted very much to tell you all that was going on.”
“You need not apologize, Papa,” Esther said, smiling at her father as he looked back at her. “There is nothing you did that requires an apology. I understand the reasons behind your disappearance and am only sorry that it took such a long time for us to find you.” Her throat worked furiously as an ache began to form there, tears blurring the corners of her vision. “I feared that I woul
d not see you again.”
Her father said nothing but squeezed her hand gently, reassuring her that, despite his tiredness and his weakness, there was a strength of will that could not be taken from him.
“There is one question I must ask you however,” Lord Westbrook said, moving around from Esther’s side and coming a little closer to the head of the bed. “If you are not too tired to hear it?”
Lord Leighton looked up at Lord Westbrook, his eyes still heavy but his expression determined. “But of course.”
“The cipher,” Lord Westbrook said, making Esther start in surprise as she realized the cipher itself had not yet been found. “I know that you did not speak a word of it to Lord Hogarth or to Leadsom, so neither of them could discover its whereabouts.”
“That is so,” Lord Leighton murmured, frowning just a little. “What of it?”
Lord Westbrook spread his hands. “Then might I ask you, Lord Leighton, where you hid the cipher itself? We cannot find it anywhere, even though your daughter has searched through your study for it.”
Esther watched closely as her father frowned, then began to smile. It was the most extraordinary expression she had ever seen, for whilst his brows were furrowed, there appeared a broad smile that lit up the rest of his features. It was as if he were confused over their lack of success in finding the cipher whilst also being proud of it at the same time.
“Well, well,” he murmured, his eyes fastening onto Esther. “It appears as though my prayers have been answered, for I prayed steadfastly for it to remain unnoticed, even though it was directly before your eyes at every moment.”
Esther’s breath caught, and she stared at her father, seeing out of the corner of her eye how Lord Westbrook glanced at her in evident confusion.
“I did wonder if, on that day, you realized what I had said and knew that I could not be telling the truth,” Lord Leighton continued, his voice growing stronger now, as though bolstered by what he had managed to achieve in concealing the cipher. “I told you that it could not be opened and yet, before that, had stated that there was nothing within.”
Esther blinked rapidly, trying to recall what her father spoke of, only to remember what it was he had said. Without taking her eyes from Lord Leighton, she reached up and unclipped her locket, letting the chain pool in the palm of her hand. Lord Leighton smiled and rested his head back against the pillows.
“There,” he said softly. “I am sorry that I had to leave you with such a precious thing, my dear girl, but there was no other place that I could think to leave it. I knew that there was a chance that my townhouse might be searched, and I did not want anyone to discover it.”
“The locket,” Esther breathed, turning it over in her hand and feeling her heart quicken with a sudden excitement. “You put the cipher in there?”
“I did,” Lord Leighton admitted, quietly. “Perhaps it was wrong of me to do so, but I had to come up with an idea to hide the cipher where it might never be found.”
Esther shook her head, hearing Lord Westbrook’s muted exclamation as he looked at the locket in her hand. With trembling fingers, she began to turn the locket all around, looking at every side and then at the back. There appeared no easy way to open it.
“Press the emerald,” Lord Leighton murmured, his eyes closing again as tiredness took over. “Press it lightly, my dear.”
Looking up at Lord Westbrook and seeing him nod, Esther looked back down at the locket and gently pushed down on the single green emerald in the middle. Something clicked softly, and the locket became softer, allowing her to lift up one side completely, seeing the tiny hinge appearing on one side.
“There,” Lord Westbrook breathed, reaching out to grasp the folded up piece of paper. “The cipher.”
“I did what I could to fit it into my wife’s locket,” Lord Leighton said, his voice growing soft again as tiredness tugged him back towards sleep. “It is written in such small letters that I fear you will need to study it carefully to make sense of it.”
