Page 45 of The Housebreaker's Assistant
“I know,” Greer nodded, turning serious as well. “It should be easy to climb up to one of the windows and to slip inside, or to bring Lord Fabian out that way.”
Penny smiled as he chewed. When he swallowed, he said, “That’s what I noticed as well.”
For a moment, the two of them sat there grinning at each other. Penny’s chest felt light and fluttery, which was madness, considering how anxious he’d felt just an hour or so before. The fresh Cornish air had addled his brain.
Greer’s smile dropped a few seconds later. “Dalhurst was there,” he said. “I overheard him speaking with another man. They confirmed what you heard at the inn about Lord Fabian being in immediate danger of being moved.”
“I can see why they would want to move him as soon as possible,” Penny said with a mouth full of bread. “That castle isn’t as secure as it should be for holding someone prisoner.”
“There must be something we’re missing,” Greer said, frowning. “Dalhurst and Hammond aren’t fools. Brutus and Titus wouldn’t have sent the two of us out here so hastily if they were.”
“You think there are hidden dangers and difficulties?” Penny asked.
“There must be. Dalhurst and Hammond are ruthless, experienced traffickers.”
Penny agreed with that logic. He nodded. “So what do we do?” he asked. “Clearly, there’s more at play here than either of us could determine, despite our cleverness.”
The corner of Greer’s mouth quirked up.
Penny caught himself wanting to lick it and delve his tongue into Greer’s mouth.
“We need to know more,” Greer said, his gaze dropping to study Penny’s mouth in turn.
He didn’t say anything beyond that. Penny had the distinct impression his focus had scattered once again.
Penny took a bite of the cheese and put the plate down. “Can we go back into the castle?” he asked, amused that he was the one still concerned with the mission while Greer’s mind seemed to have wandered on to other things.
Greer sucked in a breath, and his eyes snapped up to meet Penny’s. “If we want to execute this mission as easily as possible, with full understanding of everything we could encounter, we might have to,” he said.
“We should go tonight,” Penny went on. “I don’t think time is on our side.”
Greer nodded. “Would that we had an entire fortnight to plan this thing.”
Penny laughed. “I don’t think we have even two days, let alone two weeks.”
It was the truth, though neither of them liked it. Despite his reputation as an accomplished housebreaker and a daring thief, Penny had learned that Greer was a cautious and methodical man by nature. He did not like acting without a plan or rushing into anything. He supposed that’s what made him such a successful housebreaker.
The sun was already mostly set by the time they made the decision to return to the castle for more reconnaissance. Greer took the plate that the farmer’s wife had given him back to the house while Penny carefully stashed his case in the barn’s hayloft, where Greer’s case already waited. He was careful to keep out of sight so as not to alert the farm’s inhabitants to his presence there.
“I’ve told them I’m going straight to bed and that I’ll most probably be on my way before dawn tomorrow,” Greer told Penny once he returned and the two of them started back along the road to the castle.
“And they are happy with that?” Penny asked.
Greer shrugged. “Bob and his son don’t seem to care, but the farmwife, her daughter, and Michael’s wife don’t seem to like me much.”
Penny laughed. “They don’t know you. Anyone who knows you would certainly like you.”
He elbowed Greer for good measure.
Greer laughed and shoved him in return. Their gestures were childish and fun, but with each touch and the closeness that came with the two of them walking in step and nudging into each other, Penny’s heart beat faster.
He was brimming with unaccountable good feeling and excitement by the time they made it back to the castle. By then, it was well after dark, and most of the lights that had shone in the windows of the castle as they’d approached it had gone out.
“We’re not here to rescue Lord Fabian tonight,” Greer reminded Penny as they walked slowly around the castle’s perimeter, studying the windows, half of which were open, just as Penny had hoped, and getting a feel for the ground around the crumbling wall, where the moat had once been. “We’re here to map things out.”
Penny agreed with a nod. His blood raced with a sense of fun, as if he were playing a dangerous game instead of risking his life to free a tortured prisoner. No wonder Greer had committed himself so much to this line of work. Penny himself would have to make his case for a lengthier partnership with the man once all was said and done and they were back in London.
Trebarral Castle was quiet and lazy in the night. It definitely worked to their advantage. They circled the wall multiple times, testing the stones and trying to learn where the rough spots in the ground were. Finally, when they were satisfied that they understood the castle’s exterior, Greer picked a window and climbed a few feet so that he could peer inside the darkened room beyond.
