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Rosamund made a skeptical sound. “I doubt that.”
“He was chasing after me when he was pierced.”
“And did you know that would happen?”
Letty swallowed, looking down at their joined hands and said nothing.
“Well then, don’t be so arrogant as to assume that you are able to influence God’s plans. Etienne died because it was his time.”
Letty nodded, feeling something that had weighed her down for years, lift. It was not her fault. She was not to blame for her brother’s death.
“You were telling us how you came to be here,” Bertram gently reminded her.
“Ah yes. Well, once I arrived in Dover, I had no money, and no prospects…” she hesitated, looking to Letty.
Letty nodded, knowing full well what a woman in her mother’s position might be forced to do.
“I met a man; a soldier in the King’s Army.” She hesitated then continued with a sigh, “After some years of… seeing him, I told him about my children across the Channel; and asked if he might make inquiries for me.”
She turned to Letty, “He did come back with some information. He told me that your brother had died and that you followed the drum with your father. That you had been conscripted as well, to pass messages. He said that the man who controlled you was powerful and he would not let you go easily.”
Letty’s eyes widened as her mother hesitated over her next words. “What did he make you do?”
“He didn’tmakeme do anything. I was happy to enter into a quid pro quo arrangement. I would help him obtain information he needed and he would bring me news of you. Many times, he would tell me that you had been on English soil, but onlyafteryou returned to France.”
Letty stared at her mother in wonder. “You…looked for me.”
She leaned forward to look Letty in the eye. “Of course I did.”
“That’s all very well and good,” Bertram said, “But how did you go from there to here?”
Letty’s mother turned serious hazel eyes upon him. “You must be careful. The commander does not wholly trust you. That is why he sent me.”
“Commander? You mean, Wellington?”
She nodded. “He sent me to find out just how much Jacqui knows, and what she has told the French.”
Bertram got to his feet and began to pace, his mind racing. “Why would he trust you over your daughter?”
“I have fulfilled many tasks for him over the years. My…officer was quick to use me to advance himself in this way, by offering my services to the commander.” She turned to Letty, “Just like you, I have existed under the whim of others for a long time. The only difference is, it was my choice.”
“So did the commander already know of Letty before they met?”
“No. You did not mention her. And he had never seen her, only heard news of her activities from time to time.” Rosamund turned to Letty with a proud smile, “He told me that you were quite skillful at evading capture.”
Letty smiled back. “Yes, well, I had a tremendous amount of practice.”
Rosamund laughed a bit sadly. “That’s true.”
Bertram looked from one to the other, seeing the very close resemblance between mother and daughter. How strange that they should end up doing the same thing on opposite shores.
“So you’re saying that Wellington sent you to our wedding to see if your daughter was still a spy?”
Rosamund nodded. “Exactly. But I was just so happy to see you, Jacqui. You have grown into such a beautiful young lady. I could not spoil our reunion with questions. But I knew that Wellington would want his answers.”
Rosamund flicked an apologetic glance at Bertram. “So I decided to find the Frenchmen instead. The ones you would have reported to. I knew there were only a very few men it could be and I have twenty years of keeping an eye on this area. I knew where to go for information.”
“What did you find out?” Bertram asked.
