His throat suddenly dry, he hurried over to examine the containers. As he got closer, the chests came into focus, and he stopped, abruptly realising the enormity of what he was about to do. Clearly, this was the treasure theSensiblehad been taking back to France.
His eyes roamed over the large chests – there were four in all. Heart slamming against his ribs, he stepped towards the first one. It was locked, but the large key remained in the lock. ‘Bloody Froggy idiots,’ he muttered to himself, turning the key. The chest contained gold francs. Right up to the very top. With a feral grin, Witherspoon put down his pistol and began stuffing his pockets, before pausing abruptly.Stupid. He’d never be able to hide the blunt, and what the hell would he do with a pocketful of French silver? Spilling the coins quickly back into the chest, he closed the lid and went on to the next. This time the coins looked to be gold. Painfully aware he was running out of time, he hurried to the third chest.
This time he struck lucky. The chest contained jewellery haphazardly piled to the top. The fourth lieutenant gave a low exultant laugh, digging his hands into the pile of trinkets. There were brooches, necklaces, bracelets, all studded with gems. Digging down deeper, he unearthed a ruby the size of a small pigeon’s egg. Grinning in triumph, he tucked the gem inside his britches and closed the lid. Then picking up his pistol, he turned back towards the door.
Where Barnet stood watching him in horror.
‘Wot the bloody ‘ell d’you think yer doin’ Withers?’ the Third Lieutenant hissed, stepping away from the door. ‘Put it back. They’ll crop you for sure.’
‘Only if they find out,’ retorted Witherspoon. ‘An’ if you’ve got any sense, you’ll be doin’ the same. They won’t miss a few trinkets.’
Barnet shook his head. ‘You’re a bleeding fool, Withers. Where d’you think you’re goin’ to ‘ide it? You goin’ to stick it up your arse?’ He shook his head and turned back to the door. ‘I ain’t bein’ any part o’ this.’
Witherspoon watched as Barnet began to pull the door open. Without thinking, he put his hand in his pocket and slipped out his clasp knife. Soundlessly, he unfolded the blade and without taking his eyes of the Third Lieutenant, he carefully wrapped his hand around the wooden handle. ‘Stop,’ he ordered hoarsely.
Barnet paused briefly but didn’t turn round. ‘I won’t see you swing, Withers. For God’s sake put it back.’ His whisper was pleading.
‘What’s God ever done to ‘elp,’ Witherspoon scoffed, lifting his arm high over his shoulder. A second later, the knife flew through the air and buried itself in the Third Lieutenant’s back.
Chapter Seven
Present day
It took Chastity nearly ten minutes to climb up the tree. Each time she pulled herself up onto a new branch, she made sure to carefully test the limb first, being persuaded that breaking a leg or worse right at the Earl’s front door would not add anything to the situation. After what seemed like ages, she finally managed to pull herself onto the branch outside the Earl’s bedchamber window.
Winded, she sat for a few moments, straddling the limb. Now came the difficult part. She estimated that the distance along the branch to the window was probably about six feet. If felt like a hundred. She would need to shuffle herself along the branch until she was close enough to grasp the window latch.
Swallowing nervously, she pulled herself forward, only to find herself wobbling precariously. ‘Don’t look down. Don’t look down,’ she chanted under her breath. She could feel the roughness of the tree snagging on her drawers and petticoat and almost hysterically found herself wondering whether she’d still be wearing any by the time she reached the window. She supposed it was a trifling matter in the grand scheme of things, given that she was actually attempting to gain clandestine access to a gentleman’s bedchamber in the middle of the night.
Taking a deep breath, she shuffled forward again. And then again. Slowly, the window came closer until finally, she was able to grab hold of the catch. Quickly, she pushed at the window until it was wide enough for her to slip through. Now was the tricky part. Carefully lifting her right leg, she slipped it over the sill, then grasping hold of the frame on either side of the opening, she pulled herself up and over, until at long last she was standing in Christian Stanhope’s bedchamber.
For a full five minutes, she remained still, allowing her eyes to adjust to the darkness. The bed in front of her looked to be huge. Indeed, the Earl could well climb into bed and spend the whole night with her without actually realising she was there. Taking a deep breath, she slowly began undoing the buttons to her dress.
Getting to the second, she suddenly stopped. Truly, she did not have the boldness to wait for the Earl unclothed. What about in just her undergarments? Would that be a good compromise? She tried to think which ones she was wearing. As she hadn’t intended to leave the house, her petticoat was her old threadbare one, and she hadn’t dared inspect her drawers after shuffling along the tree branch. When the Earl pulled back the covers to the bed, the first thing he’d see would be the hole right in the front of her shift. She gave a small moan. That would be worse than being found with no clothes on at all.
Abruptly, she became aware of how cold the room was. There was no fire in the grate. Mayhap Christian Stanhope truly had found himself on the rocks. Shivering, she made a sudden decision. She was persuaded that neither her naked body nor her threadbare undergarments would likely provoke the required outpouring of lust in the Earl, so she would simply wait in his bed fully clothed.
Indeed, as she climbed under the covers, she wished she’d brought her cloak.
∞∞∞
The Reverend and Percy watched in open-mouthed horror as Chastity pulled herself agonisingly slowly along the branch towards the open window.
While the clergyman had been all for charging across the street yelling like a banshee, Percy was of the opinion that whilst such an action might well prevent his daughter from breaking and entering, it would almost certainly result in her breaking something else.
‘There’s no doubt about it, I’ve raised heathens,’ Augustus Shackleford moaned as he watched Chastity finally manoeuvre herself off the branch and drop to the floor inside the room.’ He shook his head in disbelief as he watched her push the window back to the position it was in before she’d entered. ‘What the deuce could she be about, breaking into the Earl’s house at this time of night?’ Percy refrained from commenting that, in his opinion, breaking into the Earl’s house in broad daylight would not have made it any better, aside from the fact that she would more likely have been spotted.
‘Thunder an’ turf, Percy,’ the Reverend muttered as a thought suddenly occurred to him. ‘What if that room she’s just entered is Stanhope’s bedchamber?’ He grabbed the sleeves of his curate’s cassock fearfully. ‘I mean, what if he finds her there?’
‘Well, I very much doubt his lordship will retire this early,’ Percy responded in his most reassuring voice.
‘Oh dear Lord, mayhap she intends to seduce him,’ Reverend Shackleford continued, his voice rising in panic. ‘That’s it, Percy, that’s the totty-headed baggage’s plan. I know it.’ He wrung his hands in agitation. ‘Where did I go wrong, Percy? Eight daughters and every last one of ‘em’s been involved in some kind of havey-cavey business.’
Percy didn’t think that now was the time to remind his superior that much of the havey-cavey business had been instigated by the Reverend himself…
‘But breaking and entering in order to seduce a gentleman…,’ Augustus Shackleford groaned, shaking his head in disbelief. ‘I thought we were over that kind of wanton behaviour once we got Temperance leg shackled.’ The clergyman peered towards the offending window but couldn’t see any movement in the room. After a few seconds, he took a deep breath, straightened his shoulders and said, ‘Right then Percy, there’s no time to lose. Follow me,’ before marching across the road towards the Earl of Cottesmore’s townhouse, an enthusiastic Freddy in tow.
His heart dropping faster than you could say, ‘Amen,’ Percy hurried after him. Once under the tree, the Reverend handed the curate Freddy’s lead and pulled off his cassock.
