Recipe for Treason Read Online Free Page B

free.”
    Instead of answering, Saybrook reached into his valise and withdrew a slim leather portfolio. “I’ve made some notes of what we know—and what we don’t. A review of the facts may help spark an idea of how to go about picking up Renard’s trail.”
    “Given what happened in Vienna, the trail has probably gone cold. He’s likely become even more careful,” pointed out the surgeon.
    “Or more desperate,” pointed out Arianna. “If Napoleon really has ambitions to escape from Elba and re-seize his crown, he must act sooner rather than later—which may force him and his operatives to take risks. The peace conference is making headway with drawing new borders and forging new alliances. Once Europe is rebuilt from the rubble of war, the Powers That Be will be loath to let anyone plunge the Continent back into chaos.”
    “Perhaps,” conceded Henning.
    Paper rustled as Saybrook arranged his notes in his lap. “The former Emperor is not easy to defeat. Yes, we managed to spike his guns, so to speak, during our trip to Austria. But he’s a genius of battlefield tactics. He will regroup and attack from a different angle.”
    “And his operative Renard is just as canny. The last time, he sought to twist the Scottish fervor for freedom to his own nefarious purposes,” added Arianna. “God knows what he’ll try next.”
    Hunching his shoulders, Henning stared meditatively at his scraped hands. “Judging by what we found inside that brass eagle, you have every reason to fear the worst.”
    “I trust you are still willing to make an introduction to the chemistry professor at the university in St. Andrews.” Saybrook’s words were half statement, half question.
    Grentham had not sent them rattling off to Scotland merely out of spite. In recounting to the minister what had happened during their Vienna mission, Saybrook had been required to explain in great detail about the chilling chemical discovery that he and Henning had made. The surgeon had recognized the diabolical design for an explosive device from an article he had read in a scientific journal from the university at St. Andrews. Further tests on the liquid had confirmed his surmise—the compound was a lethally dangerous concoction, far more powerful than traditional gunpowder.
    Arianna slanted a sidelong look at Henning and her husband. That the substance was linked with Renard had sent a rumbling of alarm through the halls of the British government. And so Grentham had wasted no time in manipulating the three of them into undertaking this journey to Scotland in order to hunt down the traitor.
    Whatever his other faults, the minister was just as cunning as Renard in wielding the weapons in his arsenal.
    Heaving an inward sigh, she noted the surgeon’s slight hesitation in responding to her husband’s query.
    “Aye, Connery and I have known each other since we were wee lads. He’ll talk to me . . . and to you, with my vouching. But we have to approach him slowly and very carefully. Despite our friendship, he won’t be overly eager to expose a fellow Scottish professor to the wrath of the English government, so we must be subtle in our inquiries.”
    “You know I’ve no interest in doing Grentham’s dirty work for him regarding the Dragons of St. Andrews or any other secret society dedicated to democratic ideals and independence from the Crown,” assured the earl. “I’m only after Renard and his cohorts. The identities of any other people I meet will be safe with me.”
    “I don’t doubt you , Sandro.”
    “But you are uncertain of whether that is good enough protection for your Scottish friends?” pressed Arianna.
    Henning gave a cryptic shrug.
    “Grentham has given me the name of the government’s contact in St. Andrews, who will help arrange the release of your nephew and provide any other local assistance that we may need. I shall be discreet in my dealings with him.”
    “You have to be discreet about a lot of things,