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17. consequences

Joseph Bines thought he had it covered.

He had hid the loot in the forest with the horse. When he was ready, he'd take off. He even convinced the Tilderlys that he was a friend of Anne's. He threatened Anne into silence. The only weak spot in his plan was that tedious boy Gilbert Blythe.

Joseph arrived back at Guardinia Cottage, and groaned internally at the greeting sound of his guardian chopping wood around the back of the house. He had met his guardian when he was only ten years old, a thieving urchin on the streets of New York. Not only did he take Joseph under his wing and teach him a lot but he pretended they were family, so Joseph had the perfect cover if he needed to blend into every day folk during a job.

But Mr Bines was harsh and strict. He only wanted Joseph because he was a useful resource. Joseph was quick and clever and the best thief of his age that Mr Bines had ever met. Despite this, he was sometimes sloppy on big jobs, he forgot the clean up and left clues. That's why Mr Bines never let Joseph tackle big hauls on his own.

Joseph tried to slip into the house unnoticed, but he heard Mr Bines' gravelly voice ring out before he even stepped onto the porch.

"JOSEPH. GET BACK HERE."

Joseph groaned angrily and stormed around the back of the house. Mr Bines was intimidating and loud, but Joseph was used to him. He wasn't afraid of him, he just hated him. Mr Bines used to beat Joseph when he didn't do well on a job. He hadn't done that in a long time, because Joseph had been working tirelessly to impress his guardian. This was partly to avoid the punishments, but partly to lull him into a false sense of security - Joseph had been planning on leaving Mr Bines for a long time. His idea was to get a big haul and disappear. The heist last night hadn't gone to plan, so now here he was to face the consequences instead of being halfway to New York by now.

If Mr Bines was angry, he must know about the wagon heist. Joseph knew he wouldn't be impressed this time.

"This town is pretty small." Mr Bines said, levelling Joseph with a hard stare. "That was meant to be a good thing. We'd blend in and lay low until the steamer heist rumours cooled down. But because it's so small, word travels fast. Which means I heard all about something bad that happened last night. A wagon of gold and valuable goods bound for a very important, well-respected, rich toff has turned up missing."

Joseph's heart sank. He wasn't getting out of this one.

"You were out all last night." Mr Bines said slowly. "Please God, tell me you had nothing to do with this sloppy, amateur heist and that you have no idea where that very valuable wagon-load of loot is now."

Joseph bit his lip. He said nothing at first. Then, "I don't know where it is. I had nothing to do with it."

Mr Bines stared at Joseph for a moment, his eyes flickering. It was times like this when he seemed taller and broader and more powerful than usual. Joseph felt small and he hated it.

"Don't lie to me." Mr Bines growled.

"If I was going to tackle something like that, I'd do it with you." Joseph muttered. "I don't work alone anymore."

Mr Bines slammed his large axe down into the huge wood-chopping stump. Joseph flinched. Mr Bines walked over to Joseph, big stomping foot steps. His dark eyes flashed in the afternoon sun. Joseph tried not to stumble back away from the huge man. He wanted to hold his ground.

"If I find out that you did this..." He whispered deeply. "You're going to be wishing you'd stolen that wagon horse and rode out of town far, far away from me."

...

Mr Barry sat in his tidy, sunlit study. He was lost in thought. He was usually a very busy man, constantly working on his business with no time for pondering. But his eldest daughter, Diana had run away in the dead of the night. True, she had come home again... But he felt that he was disconnected from her and he didn't know her very well anymore. This idea upset him.