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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

“I’ll help you train someone else who would be better. If I go to Milwaukee, half my mind and all my heart will be left in Washington. I’ll be no good to you.”

Wilkie grumbled but accepted it.

His excitement mounted as the train drew closer to home. As soon as he arrived at the platform in Washington, a part of him wanted to dash across town, pound on Caroline’s door, and sweep her into his arms to begin showering her with affection and adoration.

The other part urged restraint. He would lavish as much care and planning into winning her back as he’d briefly devoted to a mission in Milwaukee. Her birthday was coming up, and Caroline liked presents. Big or small, it didn’t matter to her, and he had an idea for a perfect one.

But he couldn’t do it alone, and her brother Gray was the logical person to help.

He took a streetcar to the spice factory where Gray worked. He’d never had much contact with Caroline’s older brother, but he knew that she idolized him and Gray would probably be willing to help.

The Delacroix Global Spice factory was a cavernous warehouse containing dozens of stainless-steel spice mills that each stood ten feet tall. Workers fed seeds, leaves, and dried berries into grinders, filling the air with the pungent scent of spice. He asked to see Gray Delacroix and was led to a hallway where ordinary business offices were mercifully segregated from the noise of the factory.

Through the window in an office door, he spotted Gray where he sat at a desk, poring over paperwork. With his serious demeanor and threads of silver in his dark hair, Gray couldn’t be more different from Caroline’s bright radiance.

He looked up in surprise at Nathaniel’s knock. “Agent Trask, isn’t it?” he asked after opening the door.

Nathaniel nodded and offered his hand. “You should probably call me Nathaniel,” he said, hoping this was the beginning of a long friendship.

If all went well, they would soon be brothers.

Thirty-Nine

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Caroline clutched a letter from George as she made her way to the temporary quarters for the Department of Commerce. Someday, she was sure, the Department of Commerce would be one of the largest departments in the government, but for now it occupied two rented floors in an office building on Fourteenth Street. The rooms were eerily vacant as she walked down a hallway, searching for George, since there were no clerks to ask.

The empty rooms would soon be filled, as his letter indicated. He needed to hire dozens of secretaries and clerks to get the department up and running and had offered Caroline her choice of several positions.