Page 41 of The Viscount's Code
Reeves shrugged. “You know how he was. Kind-hearted to a fault.”
“Too kind-hearted for a brilliant man,” Anthony muttered. “He forgot that his self-sacrifice also changed my mother’s life. And my own.”
“Now you are free to do something about it,” Reeves said, leaning forward. “I am not sure where to start, but first do you want to tell me about why you are here? Show me what you have, and then we can determine how long you will be staying.”
Anthony nodded, reaching for his bag beside him – the small one that he didn’t think he would ever allow to be apart from him – and pulling out the two books. After he had removed them from their exterior binding, he had bound them in plain leather. He unfolded them on the scarred oak table before them, placing them side by side.
Reeves, his interest obviously piqued, walked over to the side of the room, sliding on gloves before he returned and ran his hands over the pages.
“Beautiful books,” he whispered, obviously more to himself than to Anthony and Hope. “The ink and the coloring are immaculate. Attention to detail, craftsmanship, first rate.”
“Yes,” Anthony said, allowing Reeves to have the moment to appreciate the beauty before him. He understood it, even if he was eager to move on.
“What have you found so far?” Reeves asked.
“I thought I had it solved,” Anthony explained. “I discovered words underlined on pages that also included numbers. I thought the numbers corresponded to pages and lines in the second book. However, all of the words or letters that I have found do not make any sense. That either isn’t the code, or I am doing something wrong. I was hoping you could help.”
“Where did you find the books?” Reeves asked.
“The first book we found as the answer to a riddle that our friends solved. They thought it would lead to treasure, but instead, only found this book. It came with a note that read,‘Greetings, my dear friend! It was such a pleasure to see you again. There is nothing new to report. I look forward to spending some time with you when I come to town this summer. Until then, cordially yours, friend.’Then the Duke of Sheffield recalled that he had seen a nearly identical book at Newfield Manor – which is Hope’s home. Her father was in possession of this second book, which his grandmother had been gifted by a friend in her youth.”
“That is all very intriguing,” Reeves said, before sitting back. “We shall look closer at them this evening. First, why do we not have something to eat? I have stew prepared over the cookstove as well as some bread, if that will suffice.”
Anthony nodded, knowing, if nothing had changed, that Reeves had a woman come in daily to help him, as he didn’t feel comfortable in having any staff live with him. He likely could have lived in a far greater estate due to his familial connections, but he always said he preferred it out here, alone.
Anthony hoped he wouldn’t mind having their company for the night.
“I have a room prepared for you,” Reeves said, as though reading Anthony’s thoughts. “I suppose that will be for the lady now. You will have to sleep on the sofa.”
“Thank you, Reeves. It is very kind of you to share your space, especially when I arrived unexpectedly,” Hope said with a small smile. Reeves nodded at her, obviously taken by her charm. Not many people could crack his rigid exterior, but Hope, of course, had done so.
They made their way out to the small dining table and spent the majority of the meal reminiscing about Anthony’s father. Reeves had a good number of stories, both about their work in the war effort as well as their days together as children.
“I haven’t heard many of those anecdotes,” Anthony said, sitting back and lifting his drink to his lips.
Reeves shrugged. “Your father preferred not to speak of some of them,” he said. “He was a humble man and rarely claimed his accomplishments.”
“This is true,” Anthony said. “I think it was a broken heart that killed him, as he could never quite overcome the fact that the country he worked so hard for was the very one that turned on him.”
“There is a lot of truth to that,” Reeves said, and when Anthony looked up, he saw Hope peering at him intently, a sheen of water covering her eyes, and he was instantly annoyed with himself for bringing such a melancholy topic upon them all.
“Should we return to the books?” Anthony asked, attempting to clear the mood, and Reeves nodded as he stood, while Hope began to clear the table.
“I will do that,” Reeves said, but Hope shook her head with a smile.
“I am capable. I think,” she said with a bit of a laugh. “But it is best that the two of you begin your work.”
When the table was clean, Reeves covered it with a sheet, and then set the books down upon it while he and Anthony donned their gloves.
Anthony lost track of time as the two of them worked into the night, reviewing every word, every letter, every number – anything they could think of while Hope sat in a corner of the sofa, her legs curled beneath her, a blanket over her as she read.
“I think I’ve found something,” Reeves finally said, breaking the silence, and Anthony sat up expectantly.
“What is it?”
“A pattern – perhaps. Do not get too excited just yet. I think you were on to something, however, Anthony. You were just not reading it right.”
“What are you thinking?”
