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Back A Gilded Lady
Chapters (50)
  1. Cover
  2. Half Title Page
  3. Books by Elizabeth Camden
  4. Title Page
  5. Dedication
  6. One
  7. Two
  8. Three
  9. Four
  10. Five
  11. Six
  12. Seven
  13. Eight
  14. Nine
  15. Ten
  16. Eleven
  17. Twelve
  18. Thirteen
  19. Fourteen
  20. Fifteen
  21. Sixteen
  22. Seventeen
  23. Eighteen
  24. Nineteen
  25. Twenty
  26. Twenty-One
  27. Twenty-Two
  28. Twenty-Three
  29. Twenty-Four
  30. Twenty-Five
  31. Twenty-Six
  32. Twenty-Seven
  33. Twenty-Eight
  34. Twenty-Nine
  35. Thirty
  36. Thirty-One
  37. Thirty-Two
  38. Thirty-Three
  39. Thirty-Four
  40. Thirty-Five
  41. Thirty-Six
  42. Thirty-Seven
  43. Thirty-Eight
  44. Thirty-Nine
  45. Historical Note
  46. Questions for Discussion
  47. In 2021, look for Luke Delacroix’s story in
  48. About the Author
  49. Back Ads
  50. Back Cover

It made Caroline feel nauseated. Captain Holland lived his cozy life in Washington while ordinary soldiers bled and died in Cuba.

“Mateo and I were in separate cells, but we were let out in the yard for around an hour each day,” Luke continued. “He saw me sweating and suffering along with all the other rebels who’d been arrested, and that’s what eventually won his trust. He told me of his connection to a high-ranking American officer and wondered if it could help us get out of jail. I said it might, but only if he gave me the name. He eventually told me it was Captain Holland. He eventually told me a lot of things, which is how I knew about plans to blow up that road to Havana. Now we can arrest Holland and haul him into a court of law for sabotaging the war effort. He’s been funding the rebels with money and ammunition for two solid years.”

Philip shook his head. “Everything you’ve told me is hearsay, not even enough to get a search warrant. Captain Holland is one of the navy’s highest officers. He’s got powerful friends, and he outranks me.”

“He doesn’t outrank President Roosevelt,” Caroline said.

“We’re leaving the president out of this,” Philip said. “It doesn’t look good for him to have been dabbling in this, and we can do it without him. All we need to do is trick Holland into action, and it shouldn’t be hard.”

The plan Philip outlined was breathtakingly simple. They could manufacture a fraudulent telegram from Mateo to Captain Holland, claiming Mateo had escaped from prison, along with an offer to continue the rebellion. To raise the stakes, the telegram would report that Luke Delacroix was an American spy investigating military embezzlement, and he’d escaped the prison on the same night. It would force Holland into action. All they had to do was carefully monitor Captain Holland after receiving that telegram to see what he would do.

Luke’s smile was devilish. “I want to be in on the stakeout. Nothing would give me greater pleasure than hauling that man’s carcass into court.”

“Whoever is involved in the stakeout needs to blend in,” Philip said. “That means your hair has got to go.”

An expression of amused dismay crossed Luke’s face. “I like looking like a reprobate.”

“You don’t look like a reprobate, you look like a skeleton with hair,” Philip said. “Eat a decent meal, sit in the sun, and get a haircut. Then I’d be prepared to send you on—”