Page 10 of To Love

“As unseemly as it seems, the ability to trust those in this chamber with such information is of paramount importance,” she said, agreeing with Ashcroft without saying the words. “I assume your . . . actions uncovered nothing?”

Ashcroft’s chin rose. “Correct.”

“At present, all in the chamber, in addition to Pembroke, are the only people aware of our suspicions?”

“They are,” Ashcroft confirmed.

“Lady Elara,” the normally quiet Bennington said. “You are uniquely qualified for this sort of unseemly task.”

A compliment, of sorts. Elara frowned, knowing for certain that if she’d been a man, he would have phrased his words differently.

“Will you uncover the truth of the matter?”

She intended to. A traitor among them could easily lead to Empress Matilda’s downfall, and all of their own with her. But she had one condition.

“Aye,” she said, leaning forward. “But I do it alone. If each of you attempt to pursue the matter as well, your questions and actions, as sly as you may think them to be, are more likely to alert the traitor than catch them. Say less, observe more. But I alone investigate.” She said the last with as much conviction as possible.

“I do not believe such a precaution is necessary,” Ashcroft scoffed. “We should—”

“In his early years as chancellor to King Henry,” Eamon cut in, “Elara’s father embarked on a clandestine investigation, scrutinizing the movements of courtiers and nobles alike at court when rumors of a plot to assassinate the king reached his ears. He uncovered a plot by one of the king’s own trusted advisers, who harbored ambitions of seizing the throne for himself. Very few were made aware of the situation. Cedric Irwine met the king’s justice while Elara’s father became the king’s favorite, with good reason.” Eamon’s eyes narrowed, directly at Ashcroft. “He was younger than Elara is now when this occurred. The lady, like her father, is highly adept in political strategy and possesses a unique set of skills no other in this chamber can match.”

The chamber was so silent, Elara could certainly hear a speck of dust land on the table before them.

“Cedric Irwine was lost at sea,” Bennington said.

Eamon leveled him with a look that nearly made Elara laugh.

The baron blinked and said, “I see.”

“Now then, you were saying, my lady?” Eamon prompted her to continue.

Avoiding Stirling’s narrowed eye, she continued. “Do I have your agreement?”

Murmurs of “aye” were enough for her.

“You will need at least one in the knights’ confidence, will you not?” Gareth said, having remained mostly quiet. “I can assist you.”

“If our traitor is a recruit, it would be helpful, aye, to have a trusted man to listen and watch from within.” Her mind spun. “Your aid in that matter would be useful,” she said. “If you were still one of them.”

Gareth opened his mouth and then shut it. Elara knew he still saw himself as one of the men, especially because of his bond with Darien, Roland, and Alden.

But there was another whom she might trust with this information who was one of the men, a recruit like the others.

Alden.

“If not Gareth, who?” Eamon asked. “You will need someone who can be trusted, and at present, that list includes none but those in this room.”

“I have ways,” Elara said. “To learn if such trust is warranted. And I do have someone in mind. Perhaps we should meet each Saturn’s Day so I can apprise you of my findings?” With luck, that would appease the group, who, Elara was certain, would be concerned about the status of her quest.

“Is this acceptable to all?” Eamon asked.

More murmurs.

Elara stood. “Very well, then. I’ve much to do and would start straightaway. Good eve, sirs. My lords.”

With that, she left to find Alden of Shirsten St. Mary.

Chapter