The Untitled Books by C.J. Archer

Author:C.J. Archer [Archer, C.J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: C.J. Archer

Chapter 10

I’d never known London to be so quiet and empty. The rumble of the Vauxhall Prince Henry’s engine was loud in the eerie silence of my street. I was sure it would wake my landlady up and she’d order me back inside. Fortunately, the lights in my building remained off, the door locked. I tucked the front door key into my pocket for later.

The closer we got to Mayfair, the more motorcars we passed. Willie’s driving was as erratic late at night as it was during the day, perhaps more so since the lack of traffic meant she could go faster. I had to grab hold of the door as we turned corners or I would have slid all over the seat. The occasional drunken youth staggered along the pavement, returning home to his parents’ house after a night out with chums. That would have been Gabe and Alex before the war, by all accounts.

Willie parked around the corner from Lady Stanhope’s place and we walked the rest of the way. “That the only black outfit you could find?” she asked as we passed beneath a streetlamp.

I looked down at my plain cotton dress. “I wanted to wear trousers but didn’t know who to borrow them from without giving away too much. What’s wrong with this?” I had a sudden image of us scaling drainpipes and climbing through windows. It was so absurd that I giggled.

My laughter quickly vanished as I realized that could be precisely what Willie had in mind.

“Skirts get tangled around your legs when you run,” she said.

“I’ll lift my skirt if I have to.”

“If you fall behind, I ain’t waiting for you. Just return home. Got that?”

“I understand. But what if I’m caught?”

“Use your knife to cut them.”

“I don’t have a knife.”

She swore under her breath as she removed a small knife from her pocket. As she flipped back her jacket, I noticed the gun in its holster, strapped around her waist.

I held the knife gingerly between thumb and forefinger. “I don’t want to cut anyone.”

“Then don’t get caught.”

“Will you use your gun if you have to?”

I took the glare she gave me to mean I was a fool for thinking she’d allow herself to be caught.

We observed the townhouse for a few minutes from the opposite side of the street. All seemed quiet inside. The lights were off, the curtains drawn.

We crossed the street and Willie handed me the lantern she’d been carrying. Instead of trying the front door or windows, she headed down the steps behind the iron fence to the basement service door. She pulled two slender sticks out of her pocket and bent to the lock. It clicked open moments later.

She put a finger to her lips to silence me and entered the corridor. We passed the kitchen and other service rooms. In two hours, the lowest maid would be beginning her day’s work, but now it was as silent as the grave. The servants would all be asleep on the top floor, Lord and Lady Stanhope on the floor below them, still well above our heads.

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