Chapter Thirteen

Twenty minutes later, Kaitlyn had excused herself from the undersecretary’s office, as Marcus and Sir Albert were finalizing the details on the clandestine security to be assigned to Lord Danbury.

Besides being unable to stand the cloying scent of stale cigar smoke that had seeped into the tapestry of the room itself, she was eager to stretch her legs. She was never one to sit still for long, and being contained in the same room with Marcus, while all she wanted to do was kiss him again, had been torture.

Why the man was affecting her so much was as frustrating as it was concerning. Distraction of any sort when trying to hunt the Chameleon was a dangerous recipe, and one she couldn’t afford to indulge in.

Striding out of the room and past the antechamber which housed his assistant’s desk, she went into the outer area overlooking the grand foyer. Walking over to the balustrade, she peered down at the hum of activity below. The majority of the foyer had been cordoned off from the entry and turned into an efficient hub of desks for the various clerks that worked for the War Office. It was as orderly and precise as ever, as the men all went about their duties of deciphering, filtering, and disseminating various intelligence to keep Britain safe.

Sighing, Kat turned back to look through the antechamber to the closed door of the undersecretary’s office. Hopefully, Marcus wouldn’t be too much longer. There was much to be organized when she returned home. Indeed, she was eager to set her own informants to the task of finding out as much information as they could regarding the possible assassination targets.

The sound of hurried footsteps clipping across the marble floor had her turning to her left. She saw Mr. Fullbrink hurrying along the passage, carrying the little red book in his hands and waving it about in excitement.

“Good news, my lady,” he enthused as he came to a stop in front of her. “I have partially deciphered the key that will allow me to decode the contents!”

Kat smiled. The man was a genius with codes. “Mr. Fullbrink, that’s wonderful news! And so quickly, too.”

A stain of red began to creep up the man’s cheeks. “Yes, well, I mean, I still have to decipher it fully and then properly decode the journal, but I thought you still might be here and would want to know of my progress. You did say it was important to you.”

“It certainly is, and I do thank you for making it a priority. Were you able to make any sense of it, though?”

“I took a look at the last few entries, as I thought they may be more recent and hence of more assistance to you.”

“And what did you discover?” Marcus’s deep voice asked from her right.

Kat jumped slightly and felt the hairs on the nape of her neck prickle at his nearness. She inwardly cursed herself for not being aware he had exited the office. She was getting sloppy when he was near, and she couldn’t allow herself to make those sorts of careless mistakes. Or continue to feel this sense of attraction to the man. So much so that when he was near, she had to restrain herself from grabbing him and demanding he kiss her again.

Fullbrink glanced up at a coldly furious Marcus. “Well, it is a bit odd,” he replied, tugging at his collar as if it was constricting his neck. “On a cursory glance, bearing in mind I have only partially decoded the cipher, I would guess that the entries in the journal may be transaction details. Lists of some sort, with possible names, sums of money and dates for each entry. Though, what was of particular interest is the list on the last page. I am still to decipher it fully, but I think the Secretary, Lord Danbury himself, may indeed be named on the list.”

Kat and Marcus looked sharply at each other.

“What makes you say that?” Kat asked him. It couldn’t be a coincidence that the man’s name was in a ledger and also listed as one of the Chameleon’s next targets.

“I partly decoded some of the words, and though I won’t know for certain until I do finish decoding the cipher in full, one of the words I’m fairly certain will be Danbury… So that’s why I thought it might be in reference to our Secretary of State of War, Lord Danbury, as it’s not that common a name.”

“Are there other names on that page?” Marcus asked.

“I think so, but I won’t know until I’m done,” he replied. “I’ll work on the last page first, where I think Danbury’s name appears, along with other entries.”

“There are other names listed, along with Danbury’s?” Kat couldn’t contain the anticipation in her eyes as she glanced to Marcus. This could be the breakthrough they were after.

“Possibly, though I won’t know for certain until I’m done decoding. What I did find odd is that these last entries appear incomplete in comparison to other similar pages. There are letters in what I assume is the name column, but the other column has no numbers, like the other pages do.”

“Almost like incomplete transactions?” Kat asked.

“Potentially.” Fullbrink nodded.

“You’re to make deciphering the last page of that journal a priority, Fullbrink,” Marcus’s voice was stern. “Drop all other projects you’re working on. We must know the rest of its contents immediately. Sir Albert will approve my direction.”

“Very well,” the young man said. “What should I do once I complete the task?”

“Tell Sir William and Sir Albert what you discover, and then find us immediately,” Marcus told him.

“Where will you be later tonight, then?” Fullbrink tentatively asked.

“At the Lyceum Theatre,” Kat said. “I’m attending with Etta and the Duchess of Calder.”

“The Dragon Duchess is playing chaperone to you both?” Marcus seemed surprised. “I thought you and she didn’t get along?”

“We might bait each other with our words, but we respect each other, and we do enjoy trying to verbally best one other.” Kat shrugged. “Besides, I think Livie has asked her to keep an eye on Etta and me while she’s in the country.” She returned her attention to Fullbrink. “Can you locate me there? It does get crowded.”

“It will a pleasure to find you again, my lady.”

Fullbrink bowed to her and then Marcus before turning on his heels and hurrying back down the hall to his office. She turned to face Marcus and observed the thoughtful expression on his face. “Potentially, Danbury’s name, along with others, incomplete on the last page of a transaction ledger. Somewhat of a coincidence, do you not think?”

He rubbed his jaw. “Too much of a coincidence. But we shall have to wait for Fullbrink to decode it fully before we leap to any conclusions.”

Kat scoffed. “There are incomplete entries on a ledger we find in a secret room in a club with links to the Chameleon, who we now find is tasked with assassinating seven men. Do you know what this means?”

Marcus nodded. “We may have found a transaction record of the Chameleon’s assassinations.”

“I can’t see what else it would be,” Kat admitted. “But as you said, Mr. Fullbrink will unravel it and then we shall know for sure.”

Marcus scowled at her.

“What has got you in a flutter?” She picked up the skirts of her gown and began walking down the staircase.

He kept pace next to her and growled low in her ear, “Must you flirt with poor Fullbrink every time you see him?”

“I was not flirting with him. I was being less ornery than my usual self. And I may have smiled at him once or twice, which I don’t often do. At least not unless I like the person.”

“That might be so,” Marcus grumbled in concession. “But still, it’s downright cruel to the poor fellow.”

“But effective.” She grinned up at him. “And look, now I’m smiling at you, too.”

His scowl turned even darker and she laughed aloud.

“Oh, do relax, Marcus. We have learned a great deal this morning.”

“We have. Clearly, the Corinthian Club is more involved with the Chameleon’s activities than we knew.”

“Yes. I do believe we’ll have to pay Mr. Dartmoore another visit.”

Marcus nodded as they made their way through the foyer and out into the sunshine. “No doubt. But we shall do so after Fullbrink decodes the thing. More ammunition that way.”

“Let’s hope he decodes it soon.” Kat didn’t like the new information that the Chameleon was potentially targeting seven men, because it meant that with each passing hour a man’s life was slowly running out.