"I see you didn’t like Thistlewood's revolution any better than Lord Sidmouth did," I said.
The shock on Doddard's face told me I'd hit the mark—and the suspicions I'd long ago quelled were correct: Lord Sidmouth had made sure Thistlewood's revolution never took place.
I grabbed Doddard by the scruff. "What has Sidmouth to do with Wallington?"
Understanding lit Doddard's eyes. I had overplayed my hand. But he surprised me by saying, "Sidmouth isn't the only man with secrets."
Doddard yanked free of my grasp and sauntered away as if he hadn't a care in the world. And he didn't. The men who paid him to lie had maintained their power by enlisting the aid of men like me to stop the Thistlewoods of the world.
I stared as Doddard disappeared into the shadows. He hadn't told me why he had been paid to denounce Wallington, but he had told me that whoever paid him had a secret. I wager that Wallington was—is—a threat to that secret.
September 12, 1827
I have, again, taken to watching Mallory and Harrington.
Phoebe paused at recollection of the night before when Lord Stoneleigh had introduced her to Lords Mallory and Harrington at the Halsey soirée. This was one of the answers she'd been searching for all these years, yet it was strange finally putting names and faces to the men responsible for her father being falsely accused. Her chest tightened and she took a deep breath to ease the constriction. This was only the beginning. Knowing who was behind the lie was only the first step. No telling how long it might take to uncover their motives. Then came the task of proving their guilt—and her father's innocence. She returned her attention to the letter.
The many hours of solitude give me too much time to think. I have replayed the events of the Cato Street Conspiracy. Of the half dozen spies I had inside the Spenceans, there was one man recruited by Lord Sidmouth, George Edwards. It was Edwards' reports that we most relied upon. He is the one who showed Thistlewood the notice we'd placed in the New Times announcing the Cabinet's fictional meeting at Lord Harrowby's, and Edwards even supplied the Spenceans with weapons. Wallington once made a comment about Edwards that I dismissed, then forgot. "The real instigator in the Cato Street plot is George Edwards." Recollection of Wallington's words sheds new light on the fact that Edwards was never caught and, though a warrant was issued for his arrest, no real efforts were made to capture him.
I did my duty in capturing the would-be murderers. Now, however, I must discover exactly what fruits my handiwork wrought. Should I be surprised to have discovered that during Thistlewood's and his cohorts' trials the defense put forth the notion of Edwards as the instigator behind the assassination plot? They even argued that the conspiracy was 'nothing more than the artful invention of hired spies and secret agents.' Yet the prosecutor retaliated with evidence of a man who claimed that Thistlewood had approached him with the plot to assassinate the ministers days before we made it known they would meet at Harrowby's. Such evidence simply could not have existed…just as the defense couldn't have known the depths of Edwards' part in the conspiracy—unless someone told them.
Pride welled up in Phoebe as she ran her fingers over the last lines of this letter as she read them:
What had Doddard said? "Every war has its casualties." Wallington's single comment showed me he was in the forefront of that war. How could his enemies possibly ignore the threat?
January, 5 1828
Tonight I met with Lord Alistair Redgrave.
At promptly eight o’clock, Redgrave arrived at the private dining room I engaged for the evening. I wasted no time in revealing my identity and that I was investigating the charges against Wallington.
“So, you have discovered that Mallory hired Doddard," he said once I'd told him enough of my investigation." It isn't strange that Lord Mallory would enlist aid to ensure that Thistlewood and his men were arrested. You of all people know that Thistlewood escaped justice once before." He referred to Spa Field, of course, four years before the Cato Street Conspiracy, and Thistlewood's acquittal of high treason charges. "How can you be surprised that Mallory wishes to locate Wallington?" Redgrave went on. "Mallory suspects I am in contact with Wallington. It is, of course, untrue, but understandable that he would make the connection. I am among one of the few men Wallington might contact were he alive.”
“You think he is dead?” I asked.
“Of course he's dead. Lord Mallory is correct, were Mason still alive, he would have contacted me."
“Indeed,” I replied, “given the two of you are in the same business, you would be the most logical choice.” This, I saw, surprised him.
“You are well suited to your profession,” he remarked. “And I applaud your loyalty to a man you believe has been innocently condemned.”