Page 37 of Inconvenient Honor
There would be no rescue by her father; Lily’s luck had run out.
She was three months along.I can’t wait any longer.
Chapter Fourteen
“We cannot divert one of our packets for one man,” Lord Castlereagh sputtered.
Castlereagh had little time and no patience for what he considered minor affairs. He had been Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs since 1812. He was shrewd, ruthless, and unendingly pragmatic. Richard admired the man but didn’t always agree with him.
“If we responded to every Englishman’s family inconvenience, the entire Foreign Office would turn into a fraternity of errand boys. No, you may not have the Gibraltar Packet.”
Castlereagh is right, of course. He usually is.
“Who did you dispatch to Thessaloniki?” The foreign secretary demanded.
“Archer. We’ve had no reports.”
Castlereagh grunted, cocked his head to the right, and tapped his thigh with one hand impatiently. “We need information, damn it!”
Richard didn’t bother defending what they both knew to be a simple fact of their life. Dispatches took time.
“Information. Our stock in trade,” Castlereagh growled. “Someday we’ll find ways to get more of it faster. For now, fast horses, fast men, fast ships.”
Richard didn’t interrupt the old man.
“What I need from you, Glenaire, is your analysis of the risks posed by revolt in Naples to our colony on Malta. I read Maitland’s report, but I need you to factor in dispatches from the groundthroughout the area, particularly about potential piracy activity. Have you gotten the reports I requested from returning naval captains?”
“Some,” Richard replied. “I should have the rest in a few days.”
Castlereagh pointed a finger at him. “Any information Thornton could have given us from Russia will have gone cold. He can make his way home as best he can.”
Lily will have to endure the delay. Her precious Papa is safe enough in Copenhagen.
“Yes, my lord,” Richard said. “I’ll take my leave.”
It had been over three months since he promised her he could retrieve her father. Heaton said she had begun to openly complain about the delay. She would have to endure it.
I will not put my career on the line for Miss Lily Thornton,he thought grimly. England needed stability in Greece, quiet in Naples, troops in Canada, trade in India. Apparently, it did not need John Thornton home in a hurry.
He wrote a quick note to his business agent. The man had decent taste; he would know what sort of ring would impress the lady. Richard could absorb the cost, whatever it was.
Having managed that piece of business to his satisfaction, Richard wrote a brief analysis of troop morale in Canada.
He finally returned to his notes about the Mediterranean waters. Castlereagh’s fears lay on vague, but likely true, concerns. Richard reviewed his notes about the Barbary pirates. Since the Americans’ efforts and Decatur’s victory at Cape Gata, the seas had been safer. Safer but not secure. Chaos in Naples may encourage the damned pirates again. Damage to shipping hurt the economy, and the threat of ransom weighed on the foreign secretary. Richard’s jaw clenched at the thought of their last discussion about it.
“We can’t pay blood money,” Castlereagh had insisted. “It only encourages the trade.” He planned to notify their embassies and outposts accordingly. Richard’s retort that the poor souls sold into slavery might view it differently fell on deaf ears. The old manmust know slave auctions are as lucrative as ransom. Letting English souls fall into Barbary slavery is unconscionable. He wondered if he could find sufficient argument buried in this heap of notes.
He was still at his desk when word came from Heaton.
Sir
Miss Lilias Thornton has given us the slip. Thought you should know soonest.
R Heaton
Castlereagh’s reporton Naples would have to wait.
It was ridiculously easy,Lily thought, to give those fools the slip. Desperation drove her errand; she didn’t need Glenaire’s spies to follow. A quick and overly blunt reference to one’s bodily needs, a convenient back door, and swift feet did the work. It may not be so easy next time.
