Page 87 of A Courtship of Conspiracies
“To reach both of you.”
“What about Alverton?” James asked.
Nicholas spoke up. “Guilty of arrogance, poor manners, and a shockingly ugly waistcoat, but not treason. Half the ballroom saw him after Kate vanished. He was too busy nursing his wounded pride to be useful to anyone.”
“And the man who drew me away?” Alex asked.
“Gone,” Westmarch said. “Likely paid for only the one task and nothing else. We are looking.”
“The Privy Council is still secure?” James asked.
“For now,” Westmarch said. “That is the good news.”
James rested his forearms on the table. “And the bad?”
“We do not know where the Circle will strike next.”
William tapped the ledger pages. “We need to know how they move. Money, property, shipments, messages, there must be something that points to their next move.”
“Then we work backward,” Kate said. “I will continue searching those pages for patterns.”
William studied the stack of intelligence. “And the lost ship?”
“Still lost, for now,” Westmarch said. “But the false entries suggest it may not have vanished in the way we were meant to believe.”
William shook his head slowly. “Ships do not disappear without leaving a trail.”
“Then perhaps you should be the one to follow it,” Westmarch said.
“And the Great Dover Shipping Company?” Kate asked.
“Being watched by an agent,” Westmarch said. “Discreetly. The company appears legitimate, which makes it more useful as cover. The clerks know little, the men who matter seem to have disappeared, and someone has been using ordinary shipments to hide unusual cargo.”
“I will reach out to some of my connections that I trust,” James said. “I’ll ask them to listen for any whispers. Someone in this town has to be willing to talk.”
Kate drew the copied list closer as pieces of their conversation with Thomas locked into place. “These are not only names,” she murmured. “They are functions.”
The Architect. The Chancellor. The General. The Merchant. The Treasurer. The Oracle. The Herald. The Ghost. The Sentinel. The Magistrate. The Warden. The Orator.
James shifted to study the list. “The Sentinel enforced obedience.”
“And removed threats,” Alex said.
“The Merchant moves goods,” William added, pointing to the list, “while the Treasurer moves money.”
“The Herald carries messages,” Kate added.
Nicholas’s usual levity faded. “And the Architect?”
“The head, I would guess,” Westmarch said. “Or near enough.”
Alex crossed his arms. “Then removing Henry does nothing. They will simply replace him, just like they will every time we expose one.”
“Perhaps,” Westmarch said. “But not easily. Men in those positions hold knowledge, connections, secrets, and loyalties. Remove enough of them quickly enough, and the Circle will be forced to retreat and rebuild rather than striking new blows.”
“Then we shouldn’t try to take down the whole Circle at once,” Nicholas said. “We should concentrate on the men who are the hardest to replace.”
Westmarch nodded. “Precisely. If we identify the eleven remaining men on this list quickly, we may cripple the organization before it can choose its next target.”
