Thief for a Bride (chapter ten - The Theft)

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"I'm sorry," she said quietly. "I didn't mean to be late but I-" She cut herself off and shook her head. "No, I don't have any excuse, but I won't be late again."

The Raven seemed surprised by her answer but simply motioned for her to follow him. She looked at Paul but he had already started off after the Raven. She followed the pair down streets and allies before coming upon a large estate. Genevieve recognized the mansion immediately as the Edmund estate. She thought she was thinking of another estate but there was mistaking the large eagle and crossed swords on the front gate symbolizing the family crest.

"Yes, we did steal from here before," Paul told her, reading her expression. "But Rav- I mean, we forgot to get something there and we're going to finish the job."

"What is it?"

"A painting," Paul replied, "A very old and expensive painting."

They moved to the eastern side of the estate where Paul's wife, Caroline, was waiting. As they drew nearer to her, Genevieve realized Caroline looked like she had been in some sort of fight and lost...badly. She had a large bruise on her cheek and blood running from her bottom lip. Genevieve gasped when she saw her and rushed passed the Raven to give her aid.

"Caroline? What happened?" Genevieve said worriedly but Caroline simply smiled at her.

"I'm fine Genevieve," she assured her. "None of this is real, well, the blood is real but it's not from my lip." She held up her left index finger which had a small bandage on it. "Oh, the sacrifices I make to be a thief." The Raven rolled his eyes at Caroline's theatrics and Paul smiled before trying to kiss her but she put a hand over his mouth. "You'll mess up my makeup." Genevieve wanted to ask what all of this was for but she imagined she would find out sooner or later. They made their way to the northeast point of the estate and Genevieve looked around the corner at the two guards standing by the large gate.

"Be safe," Caroline whispered to Paul and he said the same thing before Caroline darted around the corner towards the guards. She started to cry and say she had been attacked. The guards stiffened in hesitation at the strange woman but didn't raise their weapons. She ran into the arms of one of the guards and begged him to save her. When the guard tried to push her away, she snatched his hat and ran off. The guards shouted angrily at her and gave chase, leaving the front gate completely unguarded.

"The Edmund's might be rich," Paul commented, "but they have horrible taste when it comes to security." Genevieve smiled as the Raven handed her a dark green mask with a white symbol of a swan across the left side of it.

"Thank you," she said as she placed the mask on her face and secured it behind her head with a green ribbon. The mask was shaped exactly like Caroline's with only the right eye and mouth uncovered. Genevieve felt a little better about being a thief again with a mask on in case anyone should spot her. It wouldn't take much for someone to recognize the duke's wife, even with the way she was dressed. Paul gave the Raven a leg up and he climbed up the wall surrounding the estate before helping Paul up. The both reached down and pulled Genevieve up and over the wall to the ground on the other side before jumping down themselves.

Swiftly, they crossed the grounds to the mansion that stood out against the clear night sky. They moved to the side of the building where Paul whispered there were excellent hand and foot holds to scale to the second story where the painting was hanging. The Raven made a motion for Genevieve to climb up first and she looked at him as if he were crazy. When he motioned again she simply did as he asked. Climbing the wall wasn't easy but it still took them no more than a few minutes to reach the second story window.

Unsurprisingly, the window was locked. The Raven took out his knife and slid it between the doors before moving it up until the latch was pushed open. The windows, thankfully, made no noise as they opened and Genevieve slipped inside. Before the Raven or Paul could get inside they heard someone outside the room and froze.

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