He rubbed his hands up and down her arms, partly to warm her, partly because he simply wanted to. “Don’t forget who you’re talking to. I’ve lived like a monk, so you’ll have to suggest examples of these ‘outings’ I should take you on.”

“How about the new exhibit at the Smithsonian?” she suggested. “There’s a reception for a medieval manuscript exhibit next week. It was postponed due to the president’s funeral, but events are starting again. It will be a modest occasion with some refreshments and the chance to wander a new exhibit before it opens to the public. I know I can get us in. Will you accompany me?”

“Of course.” Her mention of the president’s funeral cast a pall over him, but he tried not to let it show. He kept stroking her arms, trying to think of something cheerful to say and shake off the gloom.

Impulsively, he unfastened his kestrel tie clip and reached out to grasp the edge of her shawl, pinning it on her. “Here,” he said. “My first little gift.”

“Are you sure?” She touched her fingers to the silver pin. “I know how much it means to you.”

“That’s why I want you to have it.” Actually, he simply wanted to give her something, and the tie clip was the only thing he had on hand. “I’m glad about Luke,” he finally said. “You deserve to be happy.”

“So do you,” she instantly replied.

He wasn’t quite convinced of that yet. Not after the burden he’d been. The only way he could salvage his pride was to stand up and resume his responsibilities. That meant he couldn’t ignore what he’d seen tonight.

He withdrew a few inches to study her expression carefully. “Who is your brother working for?” he asked softly.

A little shiver ran through her. “The very best people,” she finally said with one of her typically charming smiles, which was a dead giveaway that the question made her uneasy.

When he’d first arrived at her house, during that initial rush of elation, she’d said Luke had been released on President Roosevelt’s orders, but when Nathaniel tried to learn more, Luke silenced her. Something was going on, and it seemed underhanded. When he said as much to Caroline, she got defensive.

“There is corruption in the military,” she said. “They sent Luke to investigate.”

“Who is ‘they’?”

She folded her arms across her chest and refused to answer.

“I don’t want to argue about this, but there are rules,” he said. “Lines of authority and reporting. The government can’t operate if the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing. I have to report all this to Wilkie.”

“Do what you think best,” she replied lightly.