Chapters (51)
- Cover
- Books by Elizabeth Camden
- Title Page
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- Forty
- Forty-One
- Forty-Two
- Historical Note
- Questions for Discussion
- In 2020, look forCaroline Delacroix’sstory in
- About the Author
- Back Ads
- Back Cover
“She knows that about a year ago, a special request was made at the Office of the Navy to award Luke Delacroix a diploma from the Naval Academy. It was all hush-hush, but officers from the academy arrived and met with the proper authorities, obtained the necessary signatures, and brought that paperwork back to Annapolis to be officially filed. My wife put the signed diploma in the mail. She saw it with her own eyes and personally addressed the envelope to Mr. Luke Delacroix. As of last year, he had the trust of high-ranking officers in the War Department. Now he is a traitor. Tell me, Annabelle from Kansas, don’t you think that level of corruption is worthy of a front-page story?”
It was. And it was also something Gray needed to know right away.
Thirty-Five
Annabelle dreaded going to see Gray. The last time they saw each other had been almost two months ago. That awful morning in the Springfield train station when Gray definitively stated there could be no future for them.
She asked Mr. Bryant for an extra hour at lunch to give her enough time to get to Gray’s spice factory and back. She needed to get this information about Luke to Gray immediately if he was to have any prayer of somehow scuttling the second part of the article Horace predicted would come next week.
The nearest streetcar stop was half a mile from Gray’s spice factory, and her tension ratcheted higher as she walked. The heady scent of spices greeted her the moment she stepped inside the factory, her gaze darting around in search of Gray. He wasn’t there. Somehow, she instinctively knew she’d be able to spot him in less than a heartbeat if he was there. His office, perhaps?
She recognized the gangly man unloading dried herbs into a spice roller. It took only a second to recall his name.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Zimmer,” she called out over the rumble of rotating spice drums.
He set down the basket of herbs. “You’re the Smithsonian lady. Back for another tour?”
She shook her head. “I’m at the Department of Agriculture now. Is Mr. Delacroix available?” She held her breath, but thank heavens, Mr. Zimmer nodded.
“He’s out back overseeing another batch of vanilla. You remember where that is?”
“I do.”
She headed outside to the squat brick building behind the factory. She dreaded bringing this rumor to Gray’s attention, for merely mentioning Luke’s name would remind him who was responsible for his brother’s imprisonment. Outside the door of the distillery, she drew a fortifying breath but then paused. Was that the sound of voices coming from inside? She knocked just to be safe.
“Come in!” Gray’s voice was clearly recognizable.
She twisted the knob, entered, and immediately froze.
“Oh,” Annabelle said stupidly. “I thought you would be alone.”