Chapter 3
During a brief moment of solitude in his dressing room, Peregrine leaned over his desk, searching for answers in the puzzling ruins of the message contained in the gold locket his sister had thrust unceremoniously at him. He’d have preferred to have remained in his red velvet upholstered armchair, enjoying the quiet and the warmth of the fire in his dressing room, but soon Nelson would be on hand to dress him for a dinner he was to attend in honour of his old friend, Lord Cowdril, for his elevation to the House of Lords. A house party attended by more guests would follow.
Straining to see the letters more clearly in the weak light, he traced his forefinger over the crumpled, partly destroyed parchment: ‘este immediately ...’
Charlotte maintained that ‘este’ referred to the las
