Free Murder on Charing Cross Road by Joan Smith Page B

the House, but we’ll be meeting this evening to discuss it. Meanwhile Coffen is watching Morgrave. It is vitally important that he not continue with his work. You can imagine the harm he could do. We’ll let you know what is decided.”
    “Let me know?”he asked, and uttered an ironic laugh. “I plan to be there. I told you, I’m back in action. And what exactly is Coffen doing to prevent further damage to state secrets?”
    While she was still describing Coffen’s role of watching Morgrave’s flat, Coffen was announced. “By Jove, Reg, I didn’t think you’d be up and about so soon,”he said, coming into the room. “What happened to your eye?”
    Reg shrugged and batted his hand. “Knighton says a few broken blood vessels or some such thing. Just temporary. I shan’t lose the sight in it.”
    “And your nose —will it still work as well? It’d be a pity not to smell.”
    “I trust I don’t smell! Never mind about my few scratches, why aren’t you watching Morgrave, now that we know what he’s up to?”
    “Oh Coffen, you haven’t heard,”Corinne said and told him about the code book.
    “You shouldn’t have left him unguarded for a minute,”Prance said.
    “How did I know he was working on codes?”
    “Did he leave the flat? Did you follow him? Where did he go?”Prance demanded.
    “He left not five minutes after Luten and Corrie. Headed straight to Arthur’s Club, I followed him in after a few minutes. He was sitting down with some fellows I didn’t recognize. Probably heavy betters. I heard them ordering dinner for six o’clock, so he’s safe there for now,”
    “True,”Prance said, nodding. “Foul deeds are usually done under cover of darkness.”
    “Daresay he’ll lose his shirt, dark or daylight,”Coffen said. “That’d be why he’s taken to selling our secrets to the Frenchies. He’s only a younger son. He can’t have much money to squander at cards.”
    Prance listened, frowning. “His wife is well to grass, though. Samantha Sinclair had a dot of twenty thousand, if rumour is correct. They’ve only been married a few months. He can’t have run through all that so soon.”
    “It might be tied up somehow,”Coffen said vaguely.
    “One doesn’t go to Arthur’s to lose his shirt,”was Prance’s next objection. “White’s Club and Brookes’s are the places for that sort of game.”
    “You can lose money any place if you know what you’re doing,”said Coffen.
    Prance just shook his head. “I daresay a man of your genius could do just that, Coffen.”
    “Why thankee, Reg.”
    “Not at all. And Fitz managed to get you home all right, did he?”
    “I took a hackney. I’ve no idea where Fitz is. There was no sign of my rig when I came out of Arthur’s.”
    “I don’t know why you bother keeping a carriage. Or to be more precise, why you keep Fitz.”
    “He means well,”Coffen said. “He’s just not much good at finding places. I’m the same myself. Anyhow, I’ll tell Luten tonight what I found out and let you know what we plan to do.”
    “Why do you all act as though I’m some sort of helpless invalid?”Reg asked, in well-simulated annoyance.
    “Because you are,”Coffen said. “You won’t want to go about looking like some sort of a bruiser. You have your reputation as a dandy to consider.”
    It was precisely the look Prance was striving for, and he was thrilled with it. “If you can go about looking like an unmade bed, I can go about looking like a bruiser.”
    “He’ll only be going to our place,”Corinne said to Coffen. “No one will see him. Has there been any word from Black?”
    “I haven’t been home. He was to keep in touch. I’ll dash home and see. I’ll be back.”
    He left, and to save time, Prance ordered sandwiches and coffee while he was gone. Naturally Coffen would want to be fed. In his role as Baron Wolfried, Prance also ordered one of his footmen to go to Arthur’s, gave him a description of Morgrave and ordered him to