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Charlotte’s eyes flickered in thought. “I take your meaning. Courts can be fractious things. If she has been given shelter by a sovereign, someone’s discontent might tell us what we need to know. Am I to assume you will have the marchioness’s assistance?”

“Hers, and others.” Peregrine spread his hands. “Sir Nathaniel Thorne has pledged his aid. Lord Ravenscroft, I believe, has a vested interest. And Mr Xavier—but he will not be able to pass as one of the aristocracy. ”

“How is the marchioness?” the Queen asked, her inquiry as close to regret as Peregrine had ever heard. “I am sorry that I did not decide to keep her as a guest for longer. And you, Duchess Atholl?”

“She is—we are well, Your Majesty,” Charity said, giving the polite lie. But her head turned towards Perry. Her soft gaze told him that though the words might not be entirely truthful now, she believed it would be. Someday.

Queen Charlotte’s brow drew down, and she gave Peregrine a look with the barest lift of her eyebrow.

What would the future look like for the falcon and the diamond? Charlotte could keep wondering, because Peregrine didn’t know how to answer her. Not beyond that he fully intended to keep Charity as close as she would let him.

They would not be able to pretend they were courting indefinitely, and he would not shame her by making her into a mistress. But as for something more permanent, they had discussed nothing.

“You need access to the events, to the delegations,” the Queen summarized, when no one said anything further. “What of the Duchess Atholl’s guards?”

Peregrine shook his head. This part they had discussed. “Her Grace will not be able to move easily or attend events with guards in tow. Fortunately, I believe we have put an end to the threat against her, so you may reclaim them, Your Majesty.”

“You lifted the bounty on the duchess’s head!” Sidmouth exclaimed. “I did not hear that part. How?”

“It proved rather easier than expected. Chandros had used a middleman to sign the contract. As soon as the papers reported the duke’s death, rendering his agent quite unable to dispute whether the terms had been honoured, the bookkeeper was content to act as though the funds had simply fallen into his pocket by accident, never to be spoken of again. ”

“What a happy accident,” the Queen said acridly. Peregrine huffed in reluctant agreement.

“Then perhaps our tasks are not quite so impossible as they seem,” she continued. “I shall see that you have as many eyes as you require to greet our guests at St James’s. As for the matter of what to do with your mother…” Her lips pressed into a thin line. “That may wait for another day.”

Sidmouth shifted position, as though weighing whether to speak up or hold his tongue.

In the end, his words won out. “It will certainly be something to think about. Even if we knew where Lady Fitzroy currently resided—even if we did not have to convince a court of her peers that she was guilty—it will be nearly impossible to pull her from the grasp of her benefactor. You may find that the only way we can dispense any semblance of justice to your mother… would be to take a page from her own book.”

Peregrine could feel the weight of their eyes on him. As if everyone wanted to see how he would react to the suggestion that assassination might be the only way to stop her.

He swallowed the lump in his throat. “I hope you are not asking me to play that part, Sidmouth. If it ends up coming to that.”

“No, Fitzroy,” Sidmouth said, his voice muted. “I would not ask that of you. But I did want to point out that it might be a… necessary evil.”

“Necessary evils have a tendency to crawl up from the forgotten places you have boxed them in, Sidmouth,” Perry told him. “Be careful.”

The home secretary nodded, and Queen Charlotte gave them leave to go. Peregrine’s stomach was churning as he stepped back out into the hallway.

Charity followed him. “Perry,” she said, reaching out to set her hands on his arms. “Perry, I am so sorry Sidmouth brought it up like that.”

“Don’t be sorry, Sparkles. I daresay my mother has earned such an end. Irony and all.”

She stepped closer, and Peregrine closed his eyes, inhaling her perfume. It brought him some measure of calm. “That doesn’t mean that it wasn’t cruel.”

He cupped her jaw briefly. “Truth can be cruel.”

“Perhaps,” she said softly, her next words coming out in a rush. “But there is something else I wanted to ask you, before you go. The welcome reception. I—I know we have not had a chance to look forward beyond tomorrow, but… I would like you to stand beside me.”

His lips parted in surprise. “Are you quite certain, Charity?”

The Duchess Atholl, given her rank, would be standing near the royal family. To put him beside her at such a public event, by her own choice, was a very bold statement indeed.

Charity’s eyes crinkled slightly. “I am not particularly interested in abandoning our courtship or concealing it, Lord Fitzroy. I am ready to declare it before all… if you would like to have me.”

Peregrine was too speechless to find an answer for her. But the brilliance of his smile seemed to speak well enough.