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For a moment, Daisy was stunned to hear such a comment, only to realize that this was the rumor that her mother and sister had informed her about. “No,” she answered, with a small, rueful smile. “I am not dead, as it has been said. In truth, Lord Templeton, I have very little idea where such a whisper has come from, but I have not any particular urgency to prove it otherwise.” She watched him frown, his eyes darting from one side of the room to the other before fixing back on hers again. “I am not come to London in order to re-enter society, Lord Templeton. I am come for one reason only.”
Lord Templeton’s frown remained. “You come to seek out more information about the death of your father,” he said, without hesitation. “And I do not think that you will willingly give up without learning what it is I have discovered.” He lifted one eyebrow and let out a weary sigh, as though her determination was more than a little irritating. “But I must be honest with you, Miss Williams. I have discovered very little indeed, but before you begin to protest, I will state that this is not the end of the matter. A further investigation is already beginning and will bring to light those who were responsible.”
“I want to help.”
Daisy saw the older man stiffen and steeled herself against what she thought would be an immediate refusal, only to see Lord Templeton sigh heavily and rub one hand over his eyes.
“Your resolve is stronger than almost anyone I have ever met,” he told her, with a shake of his head. “I want to refuse you, Miss Williams, but I fear I cannot. It would not be right to keep you from doing what you wish and from helping you with what you seek. After all,” he finished, with a small sigh, “it was your father that was taken from you and the explanations given to you thus far have been severely lacking indeed.”
“I want to help,” Daisy said fervently, finding a small modicum of hope beginning to burn in her soul. Lord Templeton was not about to turn her away, as she had feared. Instead, he seemed to be softening somewhat, seemed to be encouraging her to continue her pursuit of this matter. It was not at all what she had thought would occur, having feared that Lord Templeton would steadfastly refuse to give her any help whatsoever and instead would state that, should they find out anything more, she would be duly informed.
“I will do whatever I can to help,” she said quietly, her fingers lacing together as she looked back at him steadily. “I know that my father was a part of The King’s League, and whilst I know that a woman could not be permitted, I would like to try and help in whatever way I can.”
This, for whatever reason, made Lord Templeton smile. His light blue eyes lit up with evident humor, and his lips curved up gently. Daisy did not know what to make of this, and so she sat quietly, waiting for him to speak. Her heart was beginning to beat furiously, and she forced her fingers to tighten all the more, remaining silent as Lord Templeton continued to smile at her.
“The King’s League has always looked for gentlemen who have a strong resolve, a determined spirit, and a belief in doing what is right,” he said, after some moments. “Those within it are gentlemen who have a strong sense of justice and who are unafraid to face difficult situations. Whilst they are within society, they put their desires and the like to the very back of their minds, choosing to put the safety of their country over their own wishes.” His smile grew just a little. “You are everything one might wish for when it comes to recruiting someone new, Miss Williams.”
Daisy blinked in surprise. “Oh.” She had not expected Lord Templeton to compliment her so, but rather had expected him to turn her away.
“I am getting old,” Lord Templeton continued, with a small sigh. “I have decided that will be the very last thing I am fully involved with in the King’s League. Thereafter, I will still be able to advise and the like, but I shall not become fully involved.” He looked at her again, considering. “I think that I would be willing to consider involving you, Miss Williams, given that this is my last investigation. The other gentlemen of the League might not be particularly impressed with such an idea, which is why we shall not tell anyone of it.”
Daisy blinked in surprise, awash with a sudden warmth. “I see,” she murmured quietly. “And what is it you think I can do?”
Lord Templeton grinned suddenly, his lined face alive with enthusiasm. “There are four gentlemen with whom your father was acquainted,” he said, sitting up a little more in his seat. “He was doing what he could to befriend them, knowing that one was an enemy of the Crown.” His smile began to fade, the light in his eyes dimming. “Perhaps all four were involved in some way.”
“Involved?”
Lord Te
mpleton nodded and cleared his throat gruffly. “We found coded messages being passed from one person to another, speaking of the weakness of English defenses.” He waited until a tea tray had been set before Daisy before continuing, waving his hands about expressively.
“It was one evening, at some soiree or other, that we first discovered these messages. Lord Winchester was hosting the ball, and he is one of the gentlemen within the League, so we had every reason to trust him. However, by chance, both myself and Lord Harrogate – your father, walked into the library to discover a gentleman pulling something out from one of the books within Lord Winchester’s library.”
A wave of shock crashed over Daisy. “Goodness,” she murmured, reaching forward to pour herself some tea. There was only one cup on the tray itself, making her realize that Lord Templeton clearly did not want any. “So what happened next?”
“Lord Harrogate and I had been on our guard that evening,” Lord Templeton continued, making Daisy’s heart swell with both pride and pain over the mention of her father. “We knew that only four gentlemen had left the drawing room at one time or another, which meant–”
“Which meant that only one of those four could have placed the coded message within the library,” Daisy interrupted, making Lord Templeton smile. “I quite understand.”
The gentleman nodded, watching her keenly. “You are correct. Therefore, your father decided that he would further his acquaintance with each of these men, believing that one was not as he seemed.”
A heavy stone fell into Daisy’s stomach. “And you believe that one of these men killed my father, because he discovered the truth of his identity.”
Lord Templeton nodded gravely, no smile on his face now. “That is it entirely, Miss Williams.”
“And you do not know the names of the four men my father was trying to befriend?” she asked, her stomach knotting. “Is that right?”
“No, no, indeed not!” Lord Templeton protested immediately, shifting forward in his chair. “We do know the names of these four men, but the difficulty has been in following their movements, Miss Williams. You see, in the days following your father’s death, it was discovered that the four gentlemen had all decided to leave England’s shores.”
Daisy blinked in surprise, her hands tight on the china cup as she lifted it slowly to her lips, taking a quick sip of tea which spread warmth through her. So this was why no progress had been made in identifying who had taken her father’s life. Each of the four men who might have done such a thing were, in fact, gone from England entirely!
“One decided to undertake the Grand Tour and made his way to the docks almost at once,” Lord Templeton continued, with a shake of his head. “He was young enough for such a thing to have been acceptable, of course, but it was decided upon very swiftly.”
“And the others?” Daisy asked, her heart beginning to quicken all the more. “What of the other three?”
“One left to inspect holdings on the continent somewhere, whilst the other two sailed for America.”
Daisy closed her eyes in frustration, feeling as though whoever had taken her father’s life had managed to escape without any sort of consequence.
