Accustomed to delicate and secret undertakings, they took this one in stride. The only problem was in knowing how best to deploy them. After ordering them all to carry iron, I dispatched some to places where Chantress families had once flourished, with instructions to search for descendants whom Scargrave might have overlooked. The rest I kept with me at Whitehall—including young Barrington, who was still recovering from the injuries he’d sustained at Charlton Castle. “But you can count on me,” he told me eagerly. “My left shoulder still catches me, but my sword arm is fine.” He slashed in the air to prove it. “Put that down, Barrington.” The last thing I wanted was for him to start hacking at potential Chantresses. “It’s not your sword I need right now but your brain.” I turned to Captain Knollys and the rest of the men. “And that holds true for all of you. Our best scouts will go out into the taverns and meeting places of this city, where they will listen for any talk that may be useful to us.
