political entity, it was in its infancy. All the strengths and weaknesses of youth were very evident in its behavior.
The same could be said in many ways of Italy, on Austria’s southern border. The country had been unified only in language and heritage, but politically it remained the patchwork of warring city-states that it had been since the fall of the Roman Empire.
The more he read of all of it, the more fascinated he became. He was more than halfway through the pages when he came to a passage he did not fully understand. He read the passage again, made a note, and then continued until he came to the end. He went back and reread the page that had troubled him. Then he picked up the whole and took it back to Tregarron’s office. He knocked on the door.
It was answered immediately and he went in.
“Ah, what do you think?” Tregarron asked. He was smiling, leaning back a little in his chair, his powerful face relaxed, eyes expectant. Then he saw Jack’s expression and he frowned. “A problem?” he asked without any anxiety, but rather with a look of very slight amusement.
“Yes, sir.” Jack felt foolish, but the matter troubled him too much not to raise it. “On page fourteen the phrasing of the second paragraph suggests that the Austrians are not aware of the Germans’ agreement with Hauser, and we know that they are. The Austrians would profit from this quite unfairly.”
Tregarron frowned and held out his hand.
Jack passed him the papers.
Tregarron read the entire page, then read it again. Finally he looked up at Jack, his heavy brows drawn together. “You are quite right. We need to rephrase that. In fact, I think it would be better if we omitted that paragraph altogether.”
“That would still mislead Berlin, sir,” Jack said unhappily. “I don’t know how Vienna knows about the agreement, but it’s quite clear from the dispatch we had yesterday that they do. Shouldn’t that be stated here?”
“Whatever Austrian intelligence has learned, it is not our concern to inform Berlin of it,” Tregarron replied. His eyes hardened. “But you are perfectly correct to bring that to my attention. The reference must be taken out. Good work, Radley.” He smiled, showing strong, white teeth. “You have saved us from what could have been a very considerable embarrassment. Thank you.”
Later that evening, as Jack escorted Emily to a dinner party she very much wished to attend, he found his thoughts returning to Tregarron’s explanation of the discrepancy in the document. It seemed an uncharacteristic error to have made; Tregarron was not a careless man. Far from it: He was meticulous in detail. How had he not seen the anomaly himself?
Emily was across the table from him dressed in pink, an unusual color for her. She had always said it was too obvious, better suited to someone darker. But this gown, with its huge sleeves emphasizing her slender shoulders and neck, and the white lace inserts in the low bodice, was extraordinarily flattering. She was enjoying herself this evening, but he could tell by the carefully controlled pitch of her voice, and the slight stiffness in the way she held her head, that she was still troubled by her quarrel with Charlotte, though she was determined not to give in until she received a more specific form of apology. His attempts to persuade her to answer Charlotte’s letter had only made matters worse. She had called him an appeaser in a tone of total contempt. Her anger was with Charlotte, not him, but he knew very well not to interfere again, at least not yet.
The chatter swirled around him. He joined in politely. His charm had always been effortless, and he could give only half his attention and still seem as though he was thoroughly engaged.
Tregarron was not at this particular function, but someone mentioned his name. Jack saw the respect on Emily’s face, and she spoke warmly of Lady Tregarron. Jack’s mind returned again to the papers. How had Vienna known about Germany’s agreement? If it was through their own intelligence service, as Tregarron had said, that meant they must have an agent operating within the British Foreign Office. And if that was true, it should have caused far greater alarm than it had in Tregarron.
Surely that must mean there was some other explanation, then? He did not know what it was, though, so he put it to the back of his mind and turned to the woman next to him, devoting his attention to her.
They did not call their carriage to take them home until well after midnight.
Emily stifled a yawn with elegance. “I enjoyed that so much,” she said with a tired smile, leaning her head against his shoulder.
He put an arm around her. “I’m glad.”
She turned toward him, although in the dimness of the carriage, with the shadow and light from streetlamps moving across their faces through the windows, she could not see him clearly.
“What were you worrying about? And don’t tell me you weren’t worrying; I know when you are giving someone your whole mind and when you are not.”
He had never lied to her, but discretion was an entirely different thing.
“Political papers I saw today,” he said, perfectly truthfully.
“You can manage the problem, whatever it is,” she responded without hesitation. “Tomorrow it will be clear enough. I’ve long thought nothing much is ever well solved when you are tired.”
“You are quite right,” he agreed, and leaned his head back. But he did not forget it. He had already made up his mind that tomorrow he would call upon Vespasia.
“Good morning, Jack,” she said without concealing her surprise when he was standing in her morning room just after breakfast. “There must be some matter of concern, to bring you so early.” She studied him more closely. He had always been an unusually handsome man; now he looked restless, hiding unease with less than his usual skill.
“May I speak to you in complete confidence, Lady Vespasia?” he asked.
“Oh, dear.” She sat down and gestured for him to do the same. “This sounds very grave. Of course you may. What is it that concerns you?”
In as few words as possible, he told her about the agreement with Berlin, omitting the substance of it except for the one matter that concerned Vienna. Then he explained the sentence that troubled him, and watched for her reply, never taking his eyes from hers.
“I am afraid,” she said at length, “that if you are correct, then someone in the Foreign Office is giving sensitive information to Vienna that should be kept from it. I suppose you have read this particular document very carefully and you cannot be mistaken?”
“I asked Lord Tregarron if there had been an error,” he replied. “He said that he would attend to it, and thanked me for my diligence.”
“But that does not satisfy you, or you would not be here telling me,” she pointed out.
He looked profoundly unhappy. “No,” he said almost under his breath.
“Have you mentioned this to Emily?”
He looked startled. “No, of course not!”
“Or Thomas?”
“No … I …”
“Then please do not. If you speak to Thomas, he is now in a position where he will have no choice but to act. I shall deal with it.”
“How? I don’t expect you to do anything except advise me. I suppose I was hoping you would say that I am starting at shadows, and to forget the matter.”
She smiled. “My dear Jack, you know perfectly well that you are not starting at shadows. At the very least, there has been a mistake of the utmost carelessness.”
“And at worst?” he asked softly.
She sighed. “At worst, there is treason. Keep your own counsel. Behave as if you consider the matter closed.”
“And what will you do?”
“I shall speak to Victor Narraway.”
“Thank you.”
