him to see the fretful countenance of Beatrix.
'Is this the home of Emanuel Janssen?' he asked in Dutch.
'The master is not here at the moment, sir.'
'You must be Beatrix.'
'That's right, sir,' she said, eyeing him uneasily.
'I'd like to speak to Miss Janssen, if I may.'
'What's your business with her?'
'I can't divulge that,' said Daniel. 'It's a private matter and I don't propose to discuss it on the doorstep. Tell the young lady that I bring news from home. I've ridden a long way to deliver it.'
Beatrix was unsure what to do. The visitor was very personable and had no resemblance to the man watching the house. At the same time, he was a complete stranger and she therefore distrusted him. She was spared the agony of making a decision.
'Invite the gentleman in,' Amalia called out.
'Yes, Miss Amalia,' replied Beatrix, opening the door wide.
'Thank you,' said Daniel.
Sweeping off his hat, he stepped into the house. Beatrix closed the door behind them and thrust home the bolt before she led him to the parlour. He went into the room to meet Amalia Janssen for the first time. Reports of her beauty had not been exaggerated. Even though she was under obvious stress, she was still arresting. He was taken aback at the sight of her.
'It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Janssen,' he said, smiling.
'May I know your name, sir?'
'Of course,' said Daniel, 'when I'm certain that it's safe to tell it to you.' He glanced around. 'How many of you are there?'
'Apart from me, only Beatrix and my father's assistant are here.'
'That would be Kees Dopff.'
She was cautious. 'How do you know so much about us?'
'Because I've been sent to help you,' he explained. 'Your father is missing and you wrote to ask for assistance.' Smiling again, he spread his arms. 'Here I am.'
'Yet still you have no name, sir.'
'I travelled here as a French citizen by the name of Marcel Daron and I have papers to that effect. My real name is Daniel Rawson, Captain of the 24 ^th Regiment of Foot, and I'm attached to the Duke of Marlborough's personal staff.'
Amalia was bewildered. 'What has the Duke got to do with this?'
'It was he who showed me your letter, Miss Janssen.'
'You read it?'
'I did indeed. You have a graceful hand.'
'However did it reach someone as eminent as a Duke?'
'The person to whom you gave it here passed it on to a courier. It was taken to Flanders at once. His Grace chose me to look into the problem.'
Daniel could see that she was both mystified and suspicious. In order to put her mind at rest, he invited her to interrogate him so that he could prove he was not deceiving her. Amalia offered him a seat then perched on a chair nearby. She fired a series of searching questions at him and he answered them with patent honesty. Very slowly, she began to trust him. However, she was still baffled by the involvement of the Duke of Marlborough. She'd heard her father speak in glowing terms of the British commander without realising that there might be a connection between the two men. Daniel sought to enlighten her.
'This may come as a shock to you, Miss Janssen,' he said, gently, 'but your father did not come to Paris solely to work for His Majesty, King Louis.'
She frowned innocently. 'Why else should he come?'
'He was helping to glean intelligence. Yes,' he went on, seeing her wonderment, 'I know that he was not trained in such work but he agreed to do it and he accepted the dangers that went with it.'
'Why didn't Father tell me?' she cried.
'The less you knew, the safer it was for you.'
'What about my father's safety, Captain Rawson? Did nobody consider that when he was asked to be a spy?'
'He was warned. To his credit, he was not frightened off.'
'Well, I certainly would have been.'
'That's one of the reasons you were kept in the dark.'
'If we'd stayed in Amsterdam where we belonged,' she said, hands clasped tight in her lap, 'none of this would have happened.'
'That's true,' he admitted. 'By the same token, if you hadn't come to Paris, we wouldn't have had such a stream of invaluable information, collected at Versailles by your father.'
'Is that what lies behind all this?' wondered Amalia, trying to work it out in her head. 'Father was welcomed when we first came here and everyone approved of his design for the tapestry. Like me, they didn't know that he had another purpose for being here.' Her eyes filled with tears. 'They must have found him out. My father is far too honest to dissemble for long. He must have given himself away.'
'That's one possibility we must consider.'
'What other is there, Captain Rawson?'
'He might have been attacked by robbers in the street or he might have been kidnapped by someone wanting a ransom.'
'We've received no demand.'
'It would not come here, Miss Jansson. It would go to Versailles and a large amount of money would be involved. Have you had any official word from the King?'
'None at all,' she said, using a delicate finger to wipe a tear from her cheek. 'We informed the authorities that Father was missing and they showed no interest. Since then, nobody has been in touch with us. It's unnerving.'
'Do you have any idea at all where your father might be?'
'No, Captain Rawson. At least, I didn't until you told me what he was really doing here. My fear is that Father's been arrested and put to death.' Amalia stemmed more tears with a handkerchief. 'Why ever did he take such a terrible risk?'
'It may yet prove to be worthwhile, Miss Janssen,' said Daniel, controlling the urge to put a consoling arm around her. 'There are ways of finding out the truth. Until we do that, there's no need to vex yourself unnecessarily.' He waited until she'd dried her eyes. 'The first thing I'll do is to speak to Pierre Lefeaux, the person who gave your letter to a courier. What manner of man is he?'
'I never met him. Kees delivered my letter.'
'What did he say about the fellow?'
'Nothing at all,' said Amalia with a wan smile. 'Kees is dumb, Captain Rawson. He talks with his hands.'
'I'll call on Monsieur Lefeaux this very afternoon.'
'Take great care. The house is being watched. A man has been standing near the corner all week. Whenever I leave the house, he follows me and it's very alarming.'
'Do you know who he is and what he's doing there?'
'No, Captain Rawson — I tried to speak to him once and he simply laughed. Since then, I haven't stirred from the house.'
'I can see why you and the others are so upset now,' he said, looking towards the window. 'Has this man made any attempt to get in here?'
'Not so far, but we thought it might be him when you knocked.'
Daniel was purposeful. 'This won't continue, Miss Janssen, I promise you. I'll soon find out what he's doing there. Before that, however, I must seek out Monsieur Lefeaux. He may have found out what happened to your father.'
'Then why hasn't he told us?' she demanded. 'It can only be that Father is dead and Monsieur Lefeaux
