The dancers who were too far away to hear edged closer. Their steps no longer matched the reel but were a blatant attempt to come within earshot of what appeared to be the most exciting moment of the night.

“May I?” Damaris asked.

Philippa handed her the manuscript.

Damaris flipped through the pages with astonishing speed, pausing only every half second or so to glance at the wrinkled cipher.

The violinists lowered their instruments because no one was left on the parquet to dance. They, too, inched closer to watch.

Damaris closed the book and handed it back to Philippa, then shook out the parchment and began to read. “‘Northrup is a liar and a fraud. If he had created this cipher, he would be able to read it.’”

“Let me see that,” a masculine voice boomed out.

Everyone turned as one of Northrup’s colleagues edged his way to the front. Not a colleague—his commanding officer, Brigadier-General Boswick.

The brigadier-general took the page from Damaris’s hand respectfully and produced a quizzing glass from his pocket.

“We made alterations to the cipher before sending it into the field,” he explained to the crowd. “But the core principles are the same. If I could see the manuscript?”

Damaris handed it to him.

His gloved hands treated the volume with obvious care. He consulted Philippa’s cipher before turning to this page and that with deliberate precision. At last, he closed the manuscript.

“What does it say?” called Lady Eunice from somewhere behind them.

Philippa grinned. Her friends no doubt already guessed what it must say.

The brigadier-general cleared his throat. “It says…‘Northrup is a liar and a fraud. If he had created this cipher, he would be able to read it. With love, Damaris, Philippa, Agnes, and Katherine.’”

Gasps rippled through the ballroom.

Northrup’s face mottled. “Who the devil are Agnes and Katherine?”

“One is your great-great-cousin, many times removed,” Philippa said. “And the other was her…companion. They were the artists who illustrated the Northrup manuscripts. Your ancestor had nothing to do with it.”

“They are the ones who are nothing,” Northrup thundered. “I’ve never heard those names before!”

“Is that why you destroyed your family Bible?” Philippa asked. “In an attempt to erase all evidence of Agnes Northrup, the true heroine in your family?”

“I…” Captain Northrup spluttered. “How did you…”

“Much like our military have not heard Damaris’s name before, even though she was the one who invented the cipher that helped to win the war. Your ancestor was just as unscrupulous a liar as you are.”

Northrup paled, his nostrils flaring. “How dare you suggest—”

“She’s not ‘suggesting’ anything,” Tommy snapped. “Your general just proved you haven’t the least notion how to read a cipher you allegedly created.”

All eyes swung back to Captain Northrup.

“That doesn’t prove anything about my ancestor,” Northrup said quickly. “Sir Reginald was well respected and known throughout his parish.”