The governor shot a glare at Lord Henry, as if daring him to comment, before striding through the doorway.

At the sound of the front door closing, Henry let out a long, slow breath. “That wasn’t as bad as I feared,” he said. Grinning, he added, “Thank you for shielding me in battle. I shall have to make use of you again, now that I know my nemesis has a connection with you.”

“It appears to be only a slight connection, but I am happy to oblige whenever you need me, sir.”

“You don’t think I should send the children to England, do you? They would be safe—and if there is revolution, it will probably be ugly—but if I let them go, I might lose them forever.”

“Flora might go willingly, but I doubt Rollo or Olive would forgive you for sending them away.”

“I believe the chief struggle of being a parent must be learning to discern between one’s own desires and the children’s welfare. But I have kept you from your duties long enough, Miss Newton.”

My thoughts churned as I headed to the schoolroom to make sure the children hadn’t killed each other while they were unsupervised. I needed to inform the rebels about the new developments. They’d found the article in the park wall niche. I wondered if that would work again.

When all I heard from the schoolroom was Olive playing the piano, with no raised, angry voices, I ducked into my room and scribbled a quick note about the martial law and additional troops. The trick now was to find an excuse to go out and leave it in the wall. It was a pity this household didn’t have a dog that needed to be walked.

I got my opportunity late in the day when Mrs. Talbot informed me that Lord Henry wouldn’t be at dinner that evening. I gave her a weary smile and said, “In that case, I may take a short walk before dinner to clear my head. I’ve already spent far too much time alone with all three of them today.”

She smiled sympathetically and patted me on the arm. “I’ll have a glass of sherry sent to your room for after your walk. Don’t you worry, dear, we’ll have the music and drawing teachers here tomorrow if we have to send our carriage for them.”

*   *   *

Life in our household returned to normal the next day. Rollo’s school was back in session, Flora didn’t come to breakfast, and Lord Henry was his usual absentminded self, spending most of the day in his study. There were few signs of damage remaining between the Lyndon mansion and Rollo’s school. The only difference between this morning and any other was the absence of Nat selling newspapers. I suspected the World was even more restricted under martial law.