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was Will who shot him an irate gaze, but Alec simply rolled his eyes.
    â€œYou are well aware, I assume,” Dominic started, “that prior to the Act of Union there was a great deal of trouble in Ireland.”
    Will frowned. Though he was only a lad at the time, he’d certainly been aware of the turmoil and bloodshed that had plagued Ireland for years, with factions of Catholics and Irish Protestants united against the English administration in Dublin. In 1798, a group of Catholic rebels had fomented the most serious uprising, this time in league with the French, who had attempted to support the rebels with an invasion force.
    Unfortunately for the rebels, bad weather and bad luck led to the scattering or capture of the French ships, and the insurrection had been brutally but effectively put down. The Act of Union of 1801, uniting the kingdoms of England and Ireland, had signaled the end of that revolutionary period, and the last fourteen years had been relatively quiet regarding Irish republicanism and Catholic emancipation.
    In Will’s opinion, the disabilities enforced by law on the Catholic population, both in England and Ireland, were markedly unfair. After all, he had a fairly good idea of what it felt like to be an outsider. But he knew that his father and most of the royals were vehemently opposed to Catholic emancipation, so he kept his views to himself.
    â€œYes,” he replied, “but I thought the situation in Ireland was under control, especially since the creation of the Irish Royal Constabulary last year.”
    Robert Peel, Chief Secretary for Ireland, had supervised the creation of that Irish police force, nicknamed the Peelers after their founder.
    â€œThat’s mostly correct,” Dominic agreed. “Peel’s men have been effective in containing disorder. But there are still occasional disturbances, especially regarding disputes over tenancy and eviction issues in the countryside. Those disturbances are met with force which, as you can understand, is deeply resented by the local populations.”
    â€œThen they should obey the law and not cause so much bloody trouble,” the duke snapped. “They bring it down upon themselves with their damned agrarian outrages. If a landlord wants to evict some bloody useless Catholic tenant from his land, he has every right to do so.”
    Dominic’s green eyes went as cold as ice chips. Will had the distinct impression he was struggling not to verbally rip the duke’s head off.
    â€œThe situation is indeed disturbing,” Dominic finally answered in a carefully neutral voice. “In any event, although Ireland is peaceful for the most part, the administration in Dublin is forced to keep a very close watch on the situation.”
    â€œWhich, I assume, means eyes and ears on the ground,” Will said.
    â€œSpies, you mean,” Alec said more bluntly.
    Dominic waggled his hand in a not exactly gesture. “Let’s just say there are those who fear the bloodshed that would surely result from another uprising, even though they are generally sympathetic to the Catholic cause. But given the circumstances, these particular individuals believe it a sensible course of action to pass their concerns on to Peel.”
    â€œThey’re informants, in other words,” Alec said in a dry voice.
    Dominic shrugged but didn’t answer.
    The duke glanced impatiently at the bracket clock on the mantel. “Get on with it, Dominic, will you?”
    Dominic nodded, even though his thinned lips revealed his irritation. “There have been rumblings that cells of radicals are forming in Limerick and Tipperary, and also up north near Ulster. Most of the rumors that have reached us are likely just that—rumors. But a highly reliable source in Ulster has come into possession of some disturbing and credible information. According to this source, a group of these radicals may already be in England with the express