I needed a second to put it together. “No…He was deceiving our own allies? He was captured by—by us?”

“Yes. They suspected him of being a Tory spy. He was released, thank heaven. But only by the intervention of…” Another grimace—this one so contorted his eyeglasses slipped down his nose. “I can’t bear to say it.”

“You don’t have to.” It was obvious. General Washington. “I’m sorry.” It was an embarrassment of the highest order. I understood his mortification too well. “You made a mistake. I’ve made mistakes too, as you know, but we’ve gone on, haven’t we? Wasn’t it Virgil who said, ‘Fortune sides with him who dares’? You dared, and I am proud of you for it. Next time the outcome will be better.”

“Miss Coates, there will be no next time. With the campaign shifted south and the winter we had, we’ve not been effective for too long. We have withered on the vine. There’s no reason to go on. I have told them that I’m done.”

“What do you mean, ‘done’? You cannot stop.”

“ ’Tis safer this way for both of us. We did some good, but this is the end.”

It didn’t make any sense. The war was still going on. It wasn’t the end. “Not for me,” I said. “I am not finished yet. I’m not giving up because of this. Monk is still out there.”

“A monk?” he asked.

“Monk. That’s the name he uses—the man I told you about. He’s out there, Townsend. He’s negotiating with the British—he has something they’ll pay a fortune for. I’m positive he’s connected to Knyphausen. Clinton. André.” I couldn’t say “Duncan.”

Townsend’s dark eyebrows drew together. “Yes. I remember now. Have you any firm information on the plan or on who this Monk is?”

“Not yet. But when Duncan returns I will.”

“When he returns, this war might be over.”

“Or it might not.”

Townsend sighed. He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. “Miss Coates, it has been nearly a year since you first told me of this Monk. I must ask you, respectfully: If still you haven’t learned anything useful, why should I believe that will change?”

“Because I don’t give up. That’s why you should believe it. Believe it if you believe me.”

He turned to the market and watched the commotion for a while as I silently begged him to reconsider. I did my spying alone, but it was Townsend who made me a patriot. He was my connection to the rest of the spies. He made what I stole into something valuable. I trusted him. With the exception of Anna Strong, I didn’t trust anyone else but him.

“I believe you’re a true patriot, Miss Coates,” he said finally. “I believe you’ve made a difference. I shall always be grateful for your contributions and grateful to have shared in them. But my decision has been made. I simply cannot continue. You must try to see this as good news. You can live your life now. You no longer need be divided.”