“Hard to say with any certainty,” he said. “Knowing Somerton, I wouldn’t doubt that he’d create the list and then conveniently misplace it.”
“I’ll be interested in seeing how his lordship faces this challenge.”
“Glad to hear it, Mrs. Ashcroft, because this is where we need your assistance.” His gaze caught hers, held her immobile with feral claws. “I want you to copy the list of names and deliver them to me within the next sennight.”
“What?” She bolted from her chair and paced the confines of the drawing room. “You cannot be serious. What you’re asking me to do goes far beyond our arrangement of reporting suspicious activities.”
He didn’t flinch at her outburst, simply followed her about the room. “Indeed, it does.”
“What if his lordship catches me? If he’s as ruthless as you say, I’m putting not only myself in danger but also my daughter.”
“That is an unfortunate side effect to this request, but my superiors are concerned about Somerton’s ability to complete his task.”
“Unfortunate side effect?”
“You do understand now that the Nexus might be the ones responsible for your husband’s death, don’t you?”
She strove for calm. “I surmised as much.”
“Then you also realize that the letters Ashcroft sent you were likely coded messages, warning the intended recipient of Somerton’s perfidy. Are you certain Ashcroft did not mention my name anywhere in his correspondence?”
Catherine felt every drop of blood drain from her face. “This can’t be happening.”
“Ashcroft did mention me.”
She nodded. “It’s how I recognized your name.”
“You lied to me,” he said. “This revelation complicates matters.”
“How so?” she asked. “If the letters were meant for you, shouldn’t that knowledge clarify, rather than complicate?”
He waved off her comment. “I must think on this more. In the meantime, keep an eye out for a list of names. It will bring you one step closer to the justice you so desperately seek.”
Catherine’s jaw tightened. “How on earth do you expect me to locate something so important?” Especially after Lord Somerton rebuffed her earlier. “If he compiles it at all, he’ll likely keep it in a secure spot in the family wing.”
“Mama, are you still here?”
At the sound of her daughter’s muffled voice, terror ripped through Catherine. She glanced at Cochran, whose gaze slithered from the closed door back to Catherine. She did not like the calculating gleam pulsing in his eyes.
“In whatever manner you deem necessary and expedient, madam.” He nodded toward the door. “Let her in.”
“I would rather not,” she said. “Are we finished? I am late for my appointment.”
He stood, the action so abrupt that Catherine stepped back, even though several feet separated them.
“Indeed, we are.” Before she could stop him, he strode to the door and opened it.
Her daughter, who obviously had her ear plastered to the wood panel, tumbled inside. She popped up with the speed of a rabbit, looking from Cochran to Catherine with wide-eyed curiosity. “Hello,” she said.
“Miss Sophie,” he said. “It is nice to finally meet you.”
“It is?” her daughter asked.
Catherine angled her body between them. “Sophie, run along. I believe you have lessons to finish.”
“I heard your voices.” She didn’t budge. “Aren’t you going to see Meghan McCarthy?”
“Yes,” Catherine said, disturbed by the way Cochran continued to stare at her daughter. “I’m leaving for the McCarthys now.”
In a stage whisper to Cochran, Sophie said, “She’s insane.”
“Sophie, we do not discuss such things in front of visitors.”
Cochran glanced at Catherine.
“She means enceinte. In the family-way,” she provided.
“McCarthy,” he said. “This Meghan is Irish?”
Her daughter nodded. “Mama’s going to try to find out who the father is.”
“Sophia Adele, enough gossip,” Catherine said. “Back to the nursery. Now.”
Her daughter, not used to Catherine’s sharp tone, dropped her head. “Sorry, Mama.” She ran from the room.
With her daughter no longer under Cochran’s sharp gaze, Catherine was finally able to take a full breath. “My apologies, sir. Sophie does not meet many strangers.”
“Like her mother, she has made this a most productive visit.”
She stared at him in confusion until she recalled his comment in London about wanting to meet Jeffrey’s daughter.
“Now I will leave you to your appointment,” he said. “Sounds like you have a challenge ahead of you—in more ways than one, to be sure.”
Catherine did not need the reminder of the terrible task ahead of her. How had she become entrenched in espionage? She prayed Lord Somerton cooperated with the Foreign Office’s edict, and soon.
After collecting Cochran’s hat and gloves, Catherine led the official to his sleek black curricle. “If I locate the item, how will I notify you?”