Dante sat up straighter. “Not far, I’m afraid, sir.”
Sir Phillip drilled him with his eyes. “Perhaps giving the Ambassador a bloody nose at an inn during a house party set you back a few steps?”
Lydia tried not to smile at Dante’s uneasiness.
“‘Tis hard to say, Sir Phillip since I don’t believe we were very far along before
that incident happened.”
“But it might keep the Ambassador far from you. How do you propose to gather information from him if the man is concerned that you might attack him again?”
Dante glared at the man. “If he would keep his hands off—” Lydia nudged him.
He took a deep breath. “I have no idea what you’ve heard, sir, but I did not attack the man. He was behaving in a grossly improper way toward Miss Sanford. She had asked him to leave her alone, but the snake was drunk and refused to listen to her. I did what I had to do.” He tugged on the cuffs of his jacket.
Lydia felt the color rise to her cheeks when Sir Phillip swung his head in her direction and stared. “And what about you, Miss Sanford. Do you feel it was necessary for Mr. Rose to defend you in such a manner?”
She hesitated and could feel Dante’s eyes boring into her. “Yes, I do. No other man at the table did anything except stare at the Ambassador. I asked him more than once to leave me be. I even elbowed him, but he would not stop.”
Seeming satisfied with their explanations, Sir Phillip nodded and continued. “I still think you two are the best chance of us uncovering the individual who is passing along secrets to the Ambassador. However,” he nodded at Dante, “while you are defending Miss Sanford’s reputation,” he swung his attention to her, “and you are defending his actions, Miss Sanford, the Crown’s secrets are leaking from a high echelon source.”
They both jumped when Sir Phillip slapped his hand on the desk. “We need that information!” He stood, dismissing them.
“We will not fail at this, Sir Phillip.” Dante helped Lydia up from the chair and they made their way out of the office, down the corridor to the door, then down the steps to the awaiting carriage.
Once they settled in, Dante said, “That was not as bad as I had imagined. However, I believe a respite to a tea shop so we can go over our movements so far, and what we need to do in the future, is in order.”
Lydia nodded. “I agree. I’ve never failed at an assignment before, and do not intend to do so now.”
“Me, neither. Nothing would please me more than seeing the Ambassador shipped back to Germany. And whoever is passing secrets sitting in prison.”
They stopped at the small tea shop they’d visited before. Once they’d ordered their tea, Lydia said, “I think a visit to the Embassy is in order.” She hesitated, watching for Dante’s response. “By me. Alone.”
“No.” He shook his head. “Absolutely not.” He tapped his finger on the table in a cadence.
Lydia covered his hand with hers. “Listen to me. If I go and apologize for what you did—” She held up her hand as Dante started to object. “I can get back into the Ambassador’s good graces.”
“That is precisely where I do not want you to be.”
Lydia shook her head. “Let me finish. If the Ambassador thinks I disapproved of what you did, I might regain my position to his inner circle again.”
“No. That is not going to happen.”
She sighed, then looked up at the waiter who brought their tea and laid it all out in front of them. “Thank you.”
As she poured their tea, she continued. “You are with me every time I am near the Ambassador, so nothing will happen.”
He accepted the cup of tea from her. “And what about a visit to his office? Didn’t you just say you wanted to go alone?”
“Yes. But for heaven’s sake, it’s an Embassy. There are people all over the place.”
Dante shook his head. “I still don’t like it.”
“We must begin to move forward with this. Sir Phillip is losing patience and I agree with him. As he reminded us, while we are working on this, secrets—most likely vital ones—are being passed along to a foreign country.”
They both remained silent as they drank tea and nibbled on small sandwiches and biscuits. Finally, Dante said, “I will allow this. On one condition.”
Lydia huffed. “I don’t need your permission, Mr. Rose. This is a good strategic move, and you know it.”