Heloise reached into her bodice and blushed at the impropriety of her hiding place. The translation had been the furthest thing from her mind whenRaven’shand had been there a few minutes ago. She half turned away and extracted the crumpled paper—slightly damp with spilled champagne—with a flourish.
“What’s that?” he asked.
“A message that, until a few hours ago, was undecipherable.”
“And now?”
“I’ve cracked it.” Heloise savored the rush of elation. She’d been so excited about her breakthrough, but there had been no one at home with whom to share her success. As a woman she’d been ineligible to fight on the front lines against Napoleon, or even behind them, like Raven and her brothers, but her skill at code-breaking had given her an unexpected opportunity to serve her country.
“The French change their codes about every six months or so. They created this one just after Napoleon was defeated, and it’s proved far more complicated than usual. I’ve been working on it for months. Tonight I finally had a breakthrough.” She waved the paper at him. “I think this message is about your friend Kit Carlisle.”
Raven straightened, instantly alert. “Kit? Why, what does it say?”
Heloise glanced down at her hastily scribbled translation then back up at him. “It’s dated three weeks ago, addressed to Rovigo.”
Raven nodded. “That’s Anne Jean Marie René Savary, Duc of Rovigo. He was Napoleon’s top spymaster, along with Fouché, but he managed to retain his position despite the French defeat. The man’s as slippery as an eel. Who’s it from?”
“It’s signedAlvarez.”
He frowned. “I don’t know who that is. What does it say?”
“ ‘The prisoner is in poor health and gives us no new information. I urge you to consider completing the exchange you suggest quickly. The Baker will be of more use returned to us than this English Apollo. I can bring him to the church at Endarlatsa with notice of a few days.’ ”
Raven’s eyebrows rose in disbelief. “Apollo? Are you sure?”
“Yes. That’s Kit’s code name, isn’t it?”
Castlereagh’s spies all had code names based on the Greek and Roman gods. Her brother Nic was Mercury, god of messengers and thieves, and Richard, being the eldest sibling, was Jupiter. She’d yet to discover Raven’s code name.
Raven exhaled slowly. “Yes. And this suggests he’s still alive. Or, at least, he was three weeks ago.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Bloody hell. Do you know where this message was intercepted?”
Heloise shook her head.
“Is there nothing else? A seal? A watermark? Anything that might determine where it came from?”
“No, but I looked at an atlas. There’s a village called Endarlatsa; it’s in northern Spain, near the border with France.” She glanced up at him. “Who’s the Baker?”
Raven’s jaw tightened. “The French give their agents code names based on trades or professions. The Doctor, the Farmer, the Shoemaker. The Baker is a man called Marc Breton. He’s currently our guest in Newgate. Richard and I are the ones who brought him in for questioning.”
The way he intoned the word “questioning” held a world of dark menace. Heloise shivered.
Raven pushed off the desk and started pacing. “I have to go and get Kit.”
It was no more than she’d expected. Raven was insanely loyal to his brothers in arms. “Do you think the French have already approached Castlereagh and indicated that they’re willing to swap Kit for this Baker?”
“No. Castlereagh would have told me if he’d heard Kit was alive.”
“What if Savary’s changed his mind?”
He made a dismissive gesture with his hand. “It doesn’t matter if he has. We know where Kit is now—it must be somewhere within range of this church.”
“What if they haven’t offered because Kit’s already dead?” She hated to voice the question, but it needed to be said.
Raven fixed her with a piercing look. “If there’s even a chance he’s still alive, I’m going after him.”
Heloise nodded. She’d do the same, in his place. “Well, the good news is, now I’ve cracked this code, I’ll be able to read all the other messages we’ve intercepted. One of them might reveal something more about his location. I can go to London immediately and show Edward how to—” She stopped on a pained gasp. Edward wouldn’t be there to tell.
Raven stopped pacing. “No. London’s too dangerous. Someone’s already taken a shot at you.”