1
Miss Elizabeth Wynchester lay in wait in the shadows of a purported hackney carriage. The handsome Black man at the reins was actually her brother Jacob. The brown-haired woman perched on the bench opposite Elizabeth was their sister Chloe.
A small frown creased Chloe’s brow. “You remember the plan?”
“I always remember the plan.”
“Therealplan. Not your bloodthirsty agenda.”
“It ought to be the real plan,” Elizabeth muttered. At her sister’s sharp glance, Elizabeth added, “I know, I know. Resorting to violence is a contingency.”
“A distant one,” Chloe said firmly. “And only if I tell you it’s time for contingencies.”
Today, Chloe was not dressed as the flamboyant Duchess of Faircliffe, but rather as the unassuming, practically invisible pickpocket she’d once been before falling in love and marrying a duke. Now she only used her past skills in the service of bringing justice to one of the Wynchesters’ deserving clients.
Elizabeth preferred to mete out justice with the blade of a sword.
“I just want to poke him a little bit,” she tried again. “When he bleeds, it’ll be simple to snatch the key.”
“It will already be simple to snatch the key. Having him slipperywith blood makes things harder. Plus there’s no room to swing a sword inside the carriage.”
“Not a problem,” Elizabeth assured her sister. “Kuni has been teaching me to throw knives.”
Chloe covered her face with her hand. “God help us all.”
“No murdering!” Jacob called through the sliding panel that separated the driver from passengers.
“Except as a last resort,” Elizabeth reminded her pacifist brother. “Or if the perpetrator deserves to die.”
“My carriage, my rules,” Jacob shot back.
“Absolutely no bloodshed allowed,” Chloe put in quickly, “because Tommy and Philippa need to use this carriage fortheirmission, as soon as we’ve finished with ours.”
Elizabeth let out a long-suffering sigh. “I’m being oppressed.”
“Places!” Jacob hissed through the sliding panel. “He’s coming out of the bank now.”
Elizabeth and Chloe both shot up ramrod straight, then arranged themselves in carefully casual positions.
“If he sits next to you…” Chloe whispered.
“I know, I know.” Elizabeth gripped the handle of her sword stick. “Shove him in your direction.”
“Subtly,” Chloe admonished.
The door cracked open. A male voice gave directions to an address on the opposite side of nearby Hyde Park.
Elizabeth tensed with delicious anticipation. Mr. Bunyan was a liar and a thief… and shortly to receive his comeuppance. The young ward he’d been stealing from would not only have her inheritance returned, but also need no longer fear the volatile temper of a knave who—
“I’ll have you there at once,” came Jacob’s clear voice.
Almost time. Elizabeth was certain there was more than enoughroom in the carriage to unsheathe her sword. However, she didn’t want to be the one who ruined good carpet before her siblings’ next mission, so she heroically stifled her bloodlust and prepared to give the thief a nice, friendly shove instead.
Mr. Bunyan leapt into the carriage. The horses took off at top speed, causing the loose door to swing shut behind Mr. Bunyan. Off-balance and floundering, he fell heavily into the first available seat—which happened to be the bench next to Elizabeth.
“Who areyou?” asked Mr. Bunyan, visibly startled.
Elizabeth opened her mouth to say “Your worst nightmare” before catching her sister’s eye and remembering to stay on plan. Elizabeth was meant to appear even more afraid of this scoundrel than he was about to be of her, thus providing a reasonable cover for panicking and pushing a strange man away from her.
