Chapter 9

"You waited this long to tell me my house was broken into?"

It was now nearly eleven, an hour after her meeting with Sir Boniface. Rebecca did not wake Richard last night after the assassin had left. She had been too worried about George. Later, after George revived, both had agreed to let Richard sleep. They would speak to him the next morning after they had reported to Sir Boniface. Rebecca didn't believe that it was a mistake, even now.

Richard differed. The man stood in his office, rigid. Indignation and outrage burned in his eyes.

Rebecca steeled herself and said, "The danger had passed at that point. George and I needed to report to Sir Boniface first."

"You left the house by yourself to find him with no one to help you should you need it," Richard said. "You don't even have a weapon."

"Yes, I do have a weapon, and I did," Rebecca said. "I had it with me when I left the house. There is no reason for you to be upset about this. I had the matter in hand."

"Yes," he said, building to a rage. "You had everything so much in hand that an assassin got past the watch, snuck into your bedroom and… And what exactly happened at that point? Sir Boniface Fogg may have been given a full report, but I am still waiting. What did the assassin do under my roof while you allowed me to sleep? And while you explain, you might tell me why you brought a weapon into my house without telling me."

"Sir," Rebecca shot back, "I was brought into your home to protect you from an assassin after a shooting. You seriously expected me not to have some weapon in hand from the very beginning? If you did not, how, pray tell, did you expect me to defend you? I am attempting to give you a report now… if I am not interrupted again."

Richard went silent. He listened, barely holding back his reactions. She had been attacked, rendered defenseless, as was the other so-called professional. They should have been killed. What bothered him more was the assassin's message.

Richard's eyes were wide, staring beyond Rebecca. "The negotiations are held in utmost secrecy. No one, and especially not the representatives from the German States, wants our discussions to become public knowledge. The change of guard in Prussia is so close. We cannot act until this matter can be broached with a new head of state."

"Evidently, someone found out and Prussia knows," Rebecca said. "Someone within Prussia is not taking it well."

"Damn, damn, damn!"

Richard turned away from his companion.

More words were spoken under his breath, but Rebecca heard them.

Richard felt sick. Three months, now blown to perdition.

"Someone has spoken out of turn. All understood, Prussia would take such negotiations badly. We have been very discreet. It has been agreed that another German state, possibly Saxony, would tender the plan when the time was right."

"Too soon," he whispered. "Too bloody soon."

He turned back to Rebecca. He showed no temper, his voice was level, but still showed his mood, sounding level, yet firm as granite. "You should have told me last night. For now, you will tell me immediately as anything further happens. Not the next morning, not an hour later, but right then. If that is a problem for you, then I will dispense with your services. Now, I must see to damage control."