“Using Miss Sparks, Gwen,” said Lady Matheson. “I wouldn’t dream of putting you through this.”

“That’s unfortunate,” said Gwen. “Because there is no possible chance of her going in without me.”

“Wait a second,” said Iris. “There’s no reason for one of us to go in, much less both of us.”

“There is every reason,” said Gwen. “First, he’s less likely to try something if there are two of us. Second, even though there will be two of us, it’s still two women, so he won’t feel as threatened. Third, as a practical matter, you need an extra person with an extra pair of hands. There are too many objects being passed around—money, letters, possibly torches to be held if it’s a dark place, as one imagines it would be. We want Iris to have her hands free in case she needs to bring those special skills into play. Really, when you come right down to it, I should be the one making the exchange, with her as my protector.”

“This is utter nonsense,” said Iris. “We’re not doing this, Gwen.”

“I think we should,” said Gwen.

“You do?” asked Iris, looking at her in surprise. “Why?”

“Because the Queen needs us,” said Gwen simply. “You had an entire war to serve Crown and country, while I and my wealthy, married, maternal status fled to the safety of a country estate. I’ve contributed nothing, Iris, but now I have a chance to do something.”

“You lost a husband to the war,” said Iris. “The country cannot ask you to do more.”

“If Ronnie was alive, he’d want me to do this,” said Gwen. “We’ll make the exchange, Patience. Both of us.”

“Then it’s decided,” said Lady Matheson. “Thank you, Gwen. We’ll meet back—”

“Of course, there will be an extra fee,” said Gwen.

“What?”

“Well, you can hardly expect us to be putting our lives at risk without compensation,” said Gwen. “We run a marriage bureau. Making secret payments to blackmailers does not fall within the purview of our business or our prior arrangement with you. If you can manage five thousand pounds to a criminal, then an additional fifty pounds each for the delivery girl and her muscle—”

“Oh, I say!” said Iris, flexing her biceps. “I like that!”

“As I was saying, that shouldn’t stretch the black budget overmuch,” finished Gwen. “Don’t you agree?”

Lady Matheson began to laugh.

“Why, you conniving little—”

“Ma’am?” cautioned Mrs. Fisher.

“You’re in the connivance game, Patience,” said Gwen. “Don’t get upset if we want to play, too. May I ask you a question?”

“Go ahead.”

“What do you intend to do with the letters?”

“It depends on their contents,” said Lady Matheson. “Burning them would be the best course of action, don’t you think?”

“I do,” said Gwen, smiling at her. “I am relieved to hear you say that.”

“Well, this has been a most surprising day,” said Lady Matheson, getting up from the chair. “Not the least of which has been discovering this hitherto unknown mercenary aspect of my cousin. I must remember to make further use of that in the future.”