The extra policemen took an entire table, while Betsy and Ludmila stole glances from the neighboring table. Such excitement over six young men! Hopefully tomorrow Nathaniel could ease up, and life would return to normal. As it was, he looked tired as he sat beside Sullivan, finalizing the patrol schedule for the evening.

Caroline felt his eyes on her as she walked to the sideboard and filled a plate with green beans and a slice of ham. She scanned the room, looking for a spot to sit. Sullivan noticed and slid over on the bench, leaving her just enough space on the end.

The hallway clock struck six o’clock, and three of the guards vacated their seats as they headed out to patrol. It was a good thing, for George had just arrived. Finally! It was odd to go an entire day without seeing him before dinner.

“Busy day?” she asked as he sat at the neighboring table.

He nodded. “The president and I were over at Treasury. The budget was just delivered, and it’s always a monster.”

That went without saying. The budget was compiled by the House of Representatives and was responsible for the entirety of federal spending for the coming year, and the president needed to know precisely what he had to work with.

“How many pages this year?” she asked.

“Over a hundred,” George grumbled. “Someday the government needs to get organized. The president ought to be able to allocate funding as he sees fit, but just try wresting that power out of Congress. Humph! Instead, we’ve got dozens of agencies throwing their demands at Congress, where it all gets printed up, and the money is supposed to magically appear on the fifteenth of November. I have no idea how we’ll pay for everything.”

George continued to grumble, but Caroline looked up to catch Nathaniel’s gaze. He was thinking the same thing she was. The budget! All this time they’d been looking for the delivery of a tangible gift, but the budget was the only major item to hit the White House today. Could there be something hidden in it?

“How can I see a copy?” she asked.

George looked taken aback. “They only printed three copies. One has been sent to the Senate, one to the president, and the other is still at the Treasury.”

“Who has the president’s copy?” Nathaniel asked.

“I do. It’s locked in my desk.”

Caroline stood, leaving her ham untouched. “George, I need to see it. Now. Tonight.”

“I just sat down,” he protested.

But Nathaniel and his agents were preparing for another tedious shift walking the grounds overnight, and if the surprise was hidden in the budget, they both wanted to know. It was a ridiculous hope, but she couldn’t shake it.