“Colonel Darcy’s, sir,” the older servant said.

I had no idea who that was. But I thought it might look suspicious to ask, so I just said, “Thank you,” and turned to go.

“You won’t find him there, however,” the man said. “The colonel is in Cambridge for another two weeks.”

“Oh.” I decided to chance it. “Is someone staying there instead?”

“Yes, sir. Colonel Darcy was gracious enough to permit the Baron of Oxton to stay at Whitehall while the colonel is away.”

The Baron of Oxton.

Domhnall Ardrey.

The man I’d seen outside the palace gates. The man who’d appeared in the Banqueting House.

I thanked the servants and hurried back.

We went inside.

I left the door unlocked, in case we needed to make a quick escape. We found ourselves in a sitting room, a bedroom to the left. The rooms were dark; I took one of the blankets from the bed, to stuff at the bottom of the door so no one passing would see the light from our lanterns.

“What are we looking for?” Tom whispered.

The Templars’ map showed a scroll of paper. “A letter,” I whispered back. “Or something like it.”

That was just a guess, but it gave us a place to start. And we needed to hurry. We had no idea where Lord Ardrey was. He might come back at any time.

Tom and I began at the desk, shuffling through the papers atop it, before opening the drawers. Sally took the bedroom.

Nothing in the papers seemed of interest. Most looked to be documents for a land deal near the baron’s estate in Scotland; if that was a threat to the king, I couldn’t see how. The rest was private correspondence, mostly gossip.

Sally joined us in the sitting room. “Anything?” I said, and she shook her head.

Tom glanced nervously at the door. “What now?”

This couldn’t be it. The Templars’ letter had led us here; there had to be something to find. “Check everywhere. Hiding spots. Secret compartments. Anywhere you can think.”

Sally returned to the bedroom to give it another look. Tom checked the couch. I stayed with the desk, knocking at the wood, prying the panels to see if anything popped out. Eventually, frustrated, I yanked out the drawers and dumped them on the floor.

Nothing. Nothing hidden, nothing underneath. I crawled under the desk—

And there it was.

Tucked under the wood, right at the back. By pulling the drawers out, I’d exposed a secret panel. Pressing the front of it made the panel pop open, and a letter, folded tightly, fell to the rug.

I grabbed it and crawled out from under the desk. Sally, who’d heard the commotion, hurried from the bedroom to find me sitting at Tom’s feet, holding the letter.

I opened it, and we all read it together.

D.—

Your plan has worked. The enemy and their agent were deceived. The man in black informed me secretly that the threat inside the palace has forced the oath breaker out. He will be taken tonight by carriage to Hampton Court.

Tell F. to camp his men at the bend by the river, hidden in Barnham Wood; it’s the best site for an ambush. All must answer the call—there will be a score in the escort, at least. God willing, we shall finally hold the oath breaker to account. The Lord our righteousness!

—N.