The button badge lingered in the old squire's mind like an inescapable nightmare.
What could possibly make this elderly man, already halfway through his life, feel such terror?
On the surface, it was nothing more than an ordinary, unremarkable decorative button badge; its pattern not only failed to rival the trendy accessories sold in Paris fashion shops, but also did not emphasize the user's refined taste and dignity.
The pattern on the badge was merely a dull and uninteresting white handkerchief.
However, for an old squire who regularly read the "Moscow News," this was no ordinary handkerchief button badge, because it symbolized an organization—a shadowy organization that could shroud the Druiysk officialdom in darkness—the Tsar's Office Third Bureau!
