Instead, she rushed forward and leaned down to hug her friend gently. "Oh, Sally, it is good to see you again. I have worried about you so."

"I am still here, as you can see," Sally said in a surprisingly firm voice. "And more busy than ever assisting that tyrant you married. Graystone always was a severe taskmaster."

"Assisting Graystone? Not you, too?" Augusta groaned as she realized the implications. "I should have guessed. You were part of his—" She broke off, remembering Meredith's presence.

"Of course, my dear. You knew I had a rather sordid past, did you not?" Sally's chuckle was weak, but it contained real amusement. "Now, introduce me to this young lady. Graystone's daughter, if I am not mistaken?"

"Just so." Augusta made the introductions and Meredith made her curtsy.

"The resemblance is unmistakable," Sally said affectionately. "Same intelligent eyes. Same slow smile. How lovely. Run along, Meredith. You may help yourself to some cakes from the buffet."

"Thank you, Lady Arbuthnott."

Sally watched Meredith hurry toward the array of food on the other side of the room. Then she turned slowly back to face Augusta. "A most charming child."

"And every bit as scholarly as her father. She tells me she might write a book." Augusta seated herself in a nearby chair.

"She probably will. Knowing Graystone, I imagine she is being taught a very comprehensive curriculum. One shudders to think of it."

Augusta laughed. "Never fear, Sally. I have taken care to make up for the lack of certain frivolous subjects in Meredith's curriculum. I have started her on an intense program of watercolor painting and novels. In addition, I have enlisted the assistance of her governess in exposing Meredith to a view of history she will never get from her father's books."

Sally laughed. "Oh, my irrepressible Augusta. I knew you would be good for Graystone. Some part of him must have known it, too, or he would never have put your name at the top of his list."

"At the top of the list, did you say? I always assumed I was at the bottom. A sort of afterthought." Augusta helped herself to tea and replenished Sally's cup. As she set the pot back down she noticed the small jar of tonic that sat on the table near Sally's chair.

When Augusta had left Town, Sally had been in the habit of only calling for her tonic when she needed it. Now she apparently kept the bottle beside her all the time.

"You were never an afterthought. Quite the opposite. Graystone was never able to get you out of his mind after he met you."

"Rather like a case of hives or an itch he longed to scratch?"

Sally laughed again. "You underestimate yourself, my dear. By the way, I have a complaint to lodge with you. You have cost me an excellent butler."

"Do not blame me. 'Tis my cousin who obliged poor Scruggs to quit his post."

Sally smiled. "So I am given to understand. I saw the announcement of the engagement in the Post yesterday morning. I believe it will be an excellent match."

"Uncle Thomas was pleased."

"Yes. Sheldrake is a bit of a rake, but I have always believed he longs to be reformed. He has been racketing about London since returning from the continent, searching for a mission. Getting married and attending to his father's estates will give him the direction he has been seeking."

"I formed the same opinion," Augusta agreed.

"You are very perceptive, my dear Augusta." Sally reached for the tonic. She opened the jar and added two drops of the medication to her tea. She noticed Augusta watching sadly and smiled. "Forgive me, Augusta. As you no doubt have guessed, I am having more difficulty these days."

Augusta reached out and touched her hand. "Sally, is there anything I can do? Anything at all?"

"No, dear. This is something I shall be obliged to handle on my own." Sally's eyes drifted thoughtfully to the jar of tonic.

"Sally?"

"Calm yourself, my dear. I am not going to do anything drastic just yet. I am much too busy at the moment seeking information for Graystone on the Saber Club. Heaven knows I always adored this sort of work. I have been in touch with old contacts I have not heard from in nearly two years. Amazing how many are still around and looking for employment."

Augusta sat back slowly in her chair. She glanced at Meredith, who had paused beside the writing desk to observe something Cassandra Padbury was showing her. Probably Cassandra's latest effort at an epic poem, Augusta thought.

"My husband is very determined to track down the information he seeks," Augusta murmured to Sally.

"Yes. Graystone has always been a very determined man. And he wants the Spider very much. The connection to the old Saber Club is an interesting one. It makes a great deal of sense when you think about it."

"What do you know of the club?"

Sally shrugged elegantly. "Not a great deal. It did not last long. Attracted young military officers who thought themselves quite daring and dashing and in need of a club that catered to their image of themselves. But the place burned down within a year after it had been established and that was the end of it. I have not been able to discover any of the members as yet, but I believe I may have tracked down one of the former employees. He may well remember some names."

Augusta was fascinated in spite of her misgivings about what might eventually be discovered in the course of this investigation. "How exciting. Have you spoken to this person?"

"Not yet. But I expect to do so soon. Arrangements are being made." Sally's shrewd gaze settled on Augusta for a long moment. "You are personally concerned with this project of Graystone's, are you not?"

"I am interested in the outcome, yes. I know it is important to him," Augusta said evasively.

"I see." Sally was silent for a moment and then she appeared to come to a decision. "Augusta, my dear, you are aware that Pompeia's betting book is always left open to the current page?"

"Yes. What of it?"

"If you were ever to find it closed, I would have you take the book to Graystone. Make certain it is opened."

Augusta stared at her. "Sally, what are you talking about?"

"I know this must all sound quite mysterious and melodramatic, my dear, when in reality it is not. 'Tis merely a precaution. Just promise me that you will see that the book gets to Graystone in the event something unexpected should happen."

"I promise. But Sally, will you tell me what this is all about?"

"Not yet, my dear. Not yet. Graystone knows I always prefer to verify my information before I turn it over to him. Harry can be the very devil about unverified information. Your husband has very little tolerance for mistakes." Sally smiled at some private memories. "Just ask our old friend Scruggs. I shall never forget the time he got into trouble with a French officer's wife and…ah, but that is an old story."

"I see." Augusta sipped her tea in silence, aware once more of the familiar sense of being on the outside looking into a warm room. She knew that she held no place in the intimate circle of friendship that bound Harry, Sally, and Peter together.

She knew this feeling well. It was the wistful sense of longing that she had often experienced since her brother's death. She supposed she should be accustomed to it by now.

At times during the short weeks of her marriage, Augusta had thought the feelings of not belonging to a real family had finally begun to fade once and for all. It had seemed that Meredith was beginning to accept her, and Harry's passion had made Augusta feel desired, at least physically.

But Augusta knew she wanted much more than what she had. She wanted to be an important part of Harry's life in the way that Sally and Peter were. She wanted to be her husband's intimate friend, as well as his wife.

"The three of you were rather like a family in some ways, were you not?" Augusta asked quietly after a moment.

Sally opened her eyes in surprise. "I had not thought of it before, but perhaps we were. We were all quite different, Graystone, Peter, and I, but we were obliged to share some very dangerous adventures. We needed each other. And we were frequently dependent upon each other for our very lives. That sort of thing binds people together, does it not?"

"Yes, I would imagine so."

Harry was seated at his desk in the library when he at last heard the commotion in the hall that heralded the return of his wife and daughter. It is about time, he thought grimly.

Augusta had only been back in Town two days and already she was dashing about the city with Meredith in tow. When he had arrived home an hour ago no one had seemed precisely certain just where the pair had gone. Craddock, the butler, was under the vague impression Augusta had taken Meredith to the British Museum.

But Harry knew better. There was no telling what sort of amusements Augusta would deem suitable for a child of nine. Harry did not believe for one minute that his wife and daughter had spent the day at the museum.

He got to his feet and went to the door. Meredith, still wearing her new pink bonnet, saw him at once. She rushed toward him across the hall, bonnet strings flying. Her eyes were alight with rare excitement.

"Papa, Papa, you will never guess where we have been."

Harry glanced sharply at Augusta, who was removing a seductively brimmed hat trimmed with huge red and gold flowers. She smiled innocently. He looked down at Meredith again. "If I shall never guess, then you must tell me."

"To a gentlemen's club, Papa."