Thomas’s fingers curled into a fist before relaxing again. “Then we don’t wait for them to act. We make the first move.” His voice was calm, but the edge beneath it was unmistakable.
The room went still, each of them absorbing the veiled threat.
Barrington exhaled sharply. “The Order doesn’t make idle threats. This means they are watching.”
Bridget’s breath quickened. “They know we have what they want even if we’re not certain what Alastair’s notes say.”
Thomas set his hands flat against the table, his expression unreadable. “Then we make them think they’re getting what they want.”
Bridget turned to him. “You mean a trade?”
“Not exactly.” His gaze met hers, understanding flickering between them. “A deception. We don’t need to give them the real document. We just need them to believe we have it.”
Bridget straightened, her mind racing. “A decoy.”
Tresham frowned. “That’s a dangerous gamble. If they realize the ruse—”
Barrington frowned. “And how exactly do you plan to age a document to match something centuries old?”
Bridget shook her head. “We don’t have to. It’s not the parchment they want. They want the translation. They already believe we’ve done the hard work for them. If we present them with what looks like a complete transcription, they’ll think they’ve won.”
Bridget’s lips parted as the idea took shape. “We craft a replica, something close enough to convince them they’ve retrieved what they want. If we control the circumstances of the exchange, we can lure them into revealing themselves.”
Tresham gave her a questioning gaze. “And how do you know they’ll accept the decoy? Surely, they will verify it.”
“They won’t need to,” Thomas said, his voice measured. “They’re already convinced we’ve done the hard work. If we play this carefully, we dictate the terms of the exchange.”
“And if they realize it’s false?” Townsend pressed, his tone sharp. “Then we’ve just made ourselves the next targets.”
“Then,” Bridget said, lifting her chin, “we ensure they have no reason to doubt us. The key isn’t the pages themselves. It’s the illusion that they got what they wanted.” Her confidence rang clear, though a glimmer of uncertainty coiled deep inside.
Thomas studied her, a flicker of something unreadable in his eyes. “A dangerous gamble, Bridget.”
“A calculated risk,” she corrected. “And one we need to take.”
Their gazes held for a moment, charged and unspoken. There was more between them than strategy and survival. He saw her determination, and she saw his loyalty. And something warmer pulsed beneath it.
Thomas’s expression was unreadable, but there was something else in his gaze, something deeper. His eyes lingered on her, something between admiration and exasperation flickering beneath the surface. “That is a bold plan.”
Barrington crossed his arms. “And incredibly reckless.”
Townsend nodded slowly. “But it might be our best chance to flush them out.”
Bridget met Thomas’s gaze again, heat creeping up her spine. “You don’t approve?”
He hesitated, tilting his head slightly, watching her. “I wouldn’t dare underestimate you.” His voice was low andsmooth, and something about it sent a thrill through her. “But that doesn’t mean I won’t be standing right beside you if this plan goes wrong.”
Her lips twitched just slightly. “Is that a promise, Captain?”
His mouth curved, though his eyes still held that warning gleam. “A certainty.”
Barrington cleared his throat. “Then we best start planning. We don’t have much time.”
Townsend leaned back, considering. “I’ll get ready to take a copy of this to Whitehall. If there’s even a fraction of truth in what we suspect, they need to know.”
Barrington nodded. “Not until we make the exchange. They are watching, and I don’t want to give anything away.”
Townsend nodded.
