THIEF: THE MIDNIGHT VEIL

09: "SHIPPING... AND DECEIVING"

Elise stood, wrapped her arms around Declan, and gave him a long, lingering kiss before pulling away and brushing his cheek with her hand. "I suppose not. Though you're reckless as all hell, and that I won't budge on."
Declan smiled and gave her another kiss before kneeling and hurriedly hiding the compass beneath the floor again. "We'll leave tonight. By sunrise at the latest. I don't know how long it'll take them to notice it's missing, but I don't want to stay here an' find out."
"Where will we go?"
"Remember when I told you about my brother and his family? We can head to the farmstead." The man produced an iron bar from his belt - clearly the one he had used on the guard - and hid it with the compass under the floorboards. "It's a long carriage ride from The City, but once we're there... freedom, my love. Free at last."
Elise squealed softly with delight and cupped her hands around the man's face. "I love you, Mr. Chauncey."
"And I love you, Ms. Rhodes."
They kissed again, and Declan pulled away after a moment, his nose crinkled in question. "What is that smell? What is that on your hand?"
"Hm?" Elise looked down at her hands and then chuckled. "Sorry. It's moss."
"Moss?"
"Yes. Found some growing inside the manor tonight. Was all over the floor in front of the Leisure Room." She twiddled her fingers playfully in front of Declan's face. "Guess who got to clean it up?"
Declan squirmed away from her with a laugh. "Well, you won't be cleaning up messes for much longer. I promise you that."
They embraced each other again.
Garrett rolled his eyes impatiently.
He had done everything by the book on his mission so far that night. He had remained undetected, save for his moss arrow's yield outside of the Leisure Room, and he had successfully avoided a single confrontation with anyone, security or house staff.
Declan Chauncey, as fate had it, had picked that very night to decide he'd had enough of the Butler's Life and decided to risk everything on attacking a guard so he could commit a life-changing theft in the name of love.
All because two lights went out in the hallway; torches that Garrett, ironically, had put out.
Now the thief had to navigate a manor full of angry, alert guards for the rest of the night. He had to deal with the consequences of getting caught even though he had not actually been caught.
Garrett glared disapprovingly, though he was careful to still keep his gaze averted to the couple's feet.
As much as he would have loved to give Mr. Chauncey a good crack over the head with his blackjack, Garrett remained silent and patiently waited for the man and woman to wrap up their little rainbows n' roses session so he could get back to work.
Garrett knew exactly how he would make the butler pay for making his job ten times more difficult.
Declan and Elise shared a final kiss when heavy footfalls were suddenly heard from the hallway outside, jolting the couple from their dreamy stupor.
Garrett could tell just from the weight of the steps that they were approaching guards, much less the armor jostling about with each stride.
Someone rapped loudly on the door. "Mr. Chauncey?" came a man's voice. "Are you present?"
"Present?" Declan echoed, looking to Elise in alarm. "Y-yes. I'm here with Elise. Come in."
From the shadows wedged in the corner behind the wardrobe, Garrett could not see the newcomer, but he could hear the folly of armor and chainmail quite clearly.
"Mr. Chauncey, Ms. Rhodes - please report to the main foye immediately."
"W-what's this about?" asked Elise.
"A guard's been assaulted tonight. We still don't know who did it, and there could still be an intruder on the estate grounds."
"What?" echoed Declan in shock. "What do you mean 'assaulted' a guard? When?"
"Where?" chimed Elise. "Was it nearby? I-I don't want to leave this room if there's still someone sneaking around, Henry."
Garrett had to admit that they feigned their surprise at the news quite well. It wasn't too forced, too obvious, too subtle, too flat.
Not bad.
The guard named Henry did not budge. "Let's go. Captain Galway's orders. All house staff are to convene immediately."
A second guard entered the room, judging by the heavy footsteps on the floorboards. "Oi," came a woman's voice, "what's the holdup?"
"We're afraid to leave Mr. Chauncey's quarters," Elise replied. "What if there's still someone out there, Terri? What if—"
"Elise," the guard named Terri snapped, "both of you are to get your arses down to the foyer immediately, or by the Builder I swear the intruder will be the least of your problems."
"She's right," Henry added. "Hurry up. Jasper's orders. Let's go."
Garrett could hear both Declan and Elise sullenly oblige and hurry out of the room into the hallway with the guards. The door slammed shut, and he could hear someone lock it behind them.
That had been an uncomfortably close call.
Garrett carefully emerged from the shadowy corner by the wardrobe. The room had been cloaked with darkness before, but Declan had left the candles burning.
The thief wasted no time.
He was at the secret floorboard hiding place in the blink of an eye. As he knelt, he grabbed Declan's letter opener from the desk and wedged the plank loose.
There it was: Kirill's Compass, as Elise had voiced. Garret lifted it from its hiding place and it gleamed brilliantly in the candlelight.
He admired it for a moment. It sure looked to be pure gold; he had come across enough fake gold and jewels in his time to be able to spot one easily, but still... he was not a jeweler. His fence would need to appraise it.
He had never heard of a 'Kirill' or a compass owned by such... but it sure looked valuable.
Garrett pocketed it securely in one of the many leather pouches on the rig he wore beneath his cloak, and took another look in Declan's hidden stash.
Two keys were there, next to a small pouch.
Excellent. One of the keys must have been the key to get into the Gallery on the second floor, where The Midnight Veil waited. Garrett swiped them both and slid them into tiny compartments on his leather gauntlets, small enough and secure enough to hold keys, lockpicks, and the like until they were needed.
He scooped the pouch out from beneath the floor and undid the string binding it closed, and it revealed a shiny silver pendant on a gleaming silver necklace.
Upon closer inspection, it might have been white gold, not silver; and there was a ring embedded in the pendant with a small diamond set in its center.
It could have been a keepsake or memento with some personal meaning. Maybe it was a gift, a necklace with a wedding ring for Elise that Declan was saving for a later date?
It didn't matter. They were Garrett's now.
He set the plank back into its place in the floorboards and stood, allowing a slight grin of satisfaction as he strode across the room to search the closet and the wardrobe he had hidden behind.
Neither the wardrobe nor the closet held anything of value. Garrett took a final look around the room, and his gaze settled on the floorboards near the desk, where Declan's hidden stash had been located.
Satisfied that everything looked untouched and undisturbed, the thief turned to carefully make his way back out into the hallway.
Because of Declan's bold attack on the guard, things would be far riskier for the rest of the night. Garrett decided it would be best to move upstairs sooner than he had originally planned. The signet that Flor needed Garrett to stamp her forged letter with to Father Karras would be in Lady Arden's study, and that was on the second floor - as was the painting.
The coin that the painting could fetch would more than make this foray worth it... if he could get out alive.