“Now I remember where I’ve heard your name,” Mrs. Riley said. “The ‘thoroughly modern couple’ of Good Housekeeping fame. Somehow I expected you to look very different.” Her gaze flicked to Annabelle’s plain dress. She didn’t need to add another word; her mocking expression said it all.

“I’d better get back to work,” Annabelle said, sliding toward the door, which Mrs. Riley still effectively blocked.

“What are you, a secretary?” Mrs. Riley asked.

“Lab assistant.”

The stylish woman’s smile could not be any more fake if she’d purchased it in a store. “Of course, of course,” she said. “Washington does abound in these clerical positions to keep feeding grist into the grist mill.”

Gray stepped to Annabelle’s side. “Miss Larkin is many things, but she’s never been grist,” he said shortly. “Please excuse us for a moment.”

His hand was warm around Annabelle’s arm as he led her outside the distillery. At least he had stood up for her against that horrible woman, but it couldn’t change the facts. Gray had moved on with a beautiful and sophisticated woman who would probably fit into his world with ease. Annabelle drew her cloak closer against a chilly gust of October wind.

Gray turned to her, his face serious. “Thank you for coming today, but I’d prefer it if you forgot whatever you heard about Luke. I don’t believe it’s true, and whatever Dickie has up his sleeve, I’ll handle it.” He paused for a moment, then gave her a hint of a smile. “The information about his new bay horses will be helpful. Thank you.”

Annabelle stood only a few inches from him. She didn’t want to walk away, because he was looking at her with kindness and gratitude.

He touched her arm for the briefest moment. “Thanks again,” he said before turning to head back inside the vanilla distillery.

Gray asked Caroline to meet him on the Pelican. If anyone knew about the possibility of Luke having somehow acquired a Naval Academy diploma, it would be Caroline. Meeting her at the White House was out of the question, and besides, he wanted Otis and Captain Haig in on this discussion. All of them knew Luke well, and they would get to the bottom of the nagging suspicion Annabelle had raised.

He hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her. He’d been stunned when she walked into the distillery earlier today, even though she’d looked like she was facing a public execution. Was he that intimidating to her?

Activity on the Pelican was in full swing as crewmembers sanded the decks and laid down a fresh coat of marine spar. Next week Captain Haig and Otis would set sail, first for Bermuda, then Lisbon, then on to Madagascar. The scent of harbor air and varnish surrounded him as he walked down the passageway to the bridge.