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The colonel looked up from his desk, visibly startled by Edward’s furious bark

"Captain Rokesby What on earth is the matter?"

What was the ht to keep his fury under control He’d stormed out of the Dutch bakery without his purchases, practically ran through the streets of New York to get here, to Colonel Stubbs’s office at the building currently being used as British headquarters His hands were fisted, his blood was pounding through his brain like he’d been in battle, and by God, the only thing that was keeping hi his superior officer was the threat of a court-e "You knew about Thomas Harcourt"

Stubbs stood slowly, and his skin flushed red under his whiskers "To what, precisely, do you refer?"

"He went to Connecticut with me Why the hell didn’t you say so?"

"I told you," Stubbs said in a stiff voice, "I could not take the risk of influencing your memories"

"That’s shite and you know it," Edward spat "Tellaround Edward to sla to your wife?"

"My wife," Edward repeated He had remembered that, too He wouldn’t say that his memory was completely restored, but it was mostly all there, and he was fully certain that he had not participated in a proxy wedding cereine what had led Cecilia to such a deception, but he could only deal with one cocked-up disaster at a time His eyes landed on Stubbs’s with barely contained fury "You have ten seconds to explain to me why you lied about Thomas Harcourt"

"For the love of God, Rokesby," the colonel said, raking his hand through his thinning hair, "I’ive her false hope"

Edward froze "False hope?"

Stubbs stared at him "You don’t know" It wasn’t quite a question

"I believe we have already ascertained that there is a lot I don’t know," Edward said, his voice clipped with tightly wound ehten me"

"Captain Harcourt is dead," the colonel said He shook his head, and with honest sorrow said, "He took a shot to the gut I’s so a chair for him to sink into "How? When?"

"Back in March," Stubbs said He crossed the roo out a decanter of brandy "It wasn’t even a week after you left He sent word to meet him up at New Rochelle"

Edatched the colonel’s unsteady hands as he sloshed alasses "Who went?"

"Justit clear that he found this difficult to believe

Stubbs held forth a glass "It hat had to be done"

Edward exhaled as ely fresh and stale at the saone to Connecticut together, entrusted with the task of assessing the viability of a naval attack on the waterfront The command had come from Governor Tryon himself He’d chosen Edward, he’d said, because he needed someone he could trust implicitly Edward had chosen Thomas for the very saether for only a few days before Thoathered about Norwalk Edward had continued east, toward New Haven

And that was the last he’d seen of hile shot

Stubbs did the same, then said, "I take it this ave him a sharp nod The colonel would want to question hi until he got some answers about Thomas "Why did you have General Garth send a letter to his family that he was only wounded?"

"He was only wounded e sent that," the colonel replied "He was shot twice, several days apart"

"What?" Edward tried to roaned and seeainst his desk "I couldn’t bring him back here Not when I wasn’t sure of his loyalties"

"Thomas Harcourt was no traitor," Edward spat

"There was no way to know that for certain," Stubbs shot back "What the hell was I supposed to think? I got up to New Rochelle, just as he’d specified, and then before he can say anything other thanat me"

"At him," Edward corrected After all, Thomas was the one who’d been shot