Page 89 of Heiress of Longbourn (Pride and Prejudice Variations)
Warosa’s Office in London
“What does this say?” Lady Catherine demanded, pointing at a random phrase on the paper in her hand.
Mr. Warosa’s clerk peered at the paper and said, “‘in the event of’, Madame.”
“‘In the event of’,” Lady Catherine repeated, her brow furrowed. “Are you quite certain?”
A vein throbbed noticeably in the clerk’s forehead, but he managed to maintain a courteous tone. “Quite certain, Lady Catherine. I wrote the document myself.”
The leader of the League of the Golden Daffodil made a show of holding the paper close to her, moving it far away, then pulling it close again. “Ah yes, I see it now. Thank you. Now I understand.”
She frowned down at the paper again just as Miss Priscilla Colby entered the office and said, “Lady Catherine, we must depart if we are to be on time to Lady Metcalf’s luncheon.”
“Oh yes, Miss Colby, thank you,” Lady Catherine said, rising to her feet. “Very good, Mr. erm…”
“Mr. Wolsley, Madam,” the clerk said patiently.
“Yes, Mr. Wolsley. Kindly tell Mr. Warosa, when he returns, that I will have one of my men bring a draft to my bank for ten thousand pounds within the week.”
“I will do so, Madam,” the clerk replied courteously, though his eyes were bright with relief that his visitor was departing.
Lady Catherine swept out of the office without a nod and stepped out onto the busy street where her carriage awaited her. The two women stepped in, took seats across from one another, and the carriage lurched into motion.
“You found nothing?” Lady Catherine asked.
“Nothing of use,” Priscilla returned unhappily. “I searched his office while you kept the clerk busy, and while there are documents relating to his role as a barrister, I found nothing pertaining to his investments.”
“It is quite all right, Priscilla,” her employer said in a comforting tone. “I suspected Warosa would not care to leave incriminating documents in his office. It is likely that he keeps ledgers and names and sums, and perhaps even money, in his office in his home in Cheapside. Darcy and Elizabeth promised to keep Mr. Warosa at Netherfield until tomorrow, at least; thus, tonight will be a perfect time for the twins to break into Warosa’s office and retrieve items of use.”
“What of the servants in the house?” Priscilla asked worriedly.
“I understand that Mr. Warosa does not permit anyone but his valet to enter his bedchamber, and the valet has the day off since Warosa is in Hertfordshire. Do not worry, my dear girl. We will prevail.”
***
Netherfield
Hours later
“Oh, Mr. Warosa, that sounds wonderful!” Lydia Bennet exclaimed enthusiastically. “I have been to London, of course, to visit my older sisters, and also my aunt and uncle Gardiner, but Brighton sounds marvelous indeed!”
“It is, Miss Lydia,” Warosa agreed, bestowing a dazzling smile on the youngest Miss Bennet. He had thus far met three of the daughters of Mr. Bennet, and while Mrs. Bingley and Mrs. Darcy were more beautiful than the girl sitting across from him, Miss Lydia was pretty, vibrant, energetic and, best of all, was responding eagerly to his admiring words and glances.
“Mr. Warosa,” Mr. Bingley said, claiming his attention.
“Yes?”
“I do not know if you have noticed the weather; it is growing dark and there is no moon tonight. I really think you had best stay the night here at Netherfield.”
Warosa, who had brought along his gear in the hopes of being invited to stay overnight, made a show of demurring. “Oh, Mr. Bingley, I would not care to intrude…”
“Nonsense, Mr. Warosa!” Miss Lydia said, fluttering her eyebrows in a coquettish manner. “Charles and Jane have plenty of spare bedrooms. Do say you will stay the night, sir!”
Warosa gazed deeply into the dark eyes of the lovely girl and said, “In that case, it would be my pleasure.”
***
Mr. Warosa’s House
Cheapside
Midnight
Laurel, dressed in black, carefully adjusted her fingers and toes to better grasp the stones protruding from the wall, pulled up another foot, and rolled gracefully onto the top of the wall surrounding Mr. Warosa’s house, being careful not to disturb the bag she carried on her back. Lockpicks and their associated paraphernalia were useful items, but noisy if they jostled. A moment later, Lily, also clad in black, scrambled to the top of the wall and joined her sister. For a moment, the twins maintained complete stillness to ensure that no one had observed their movements in the wan light of the crescent moon. It seemed unlikely, given that they had surmounted the wall in an area behind a tree, but it was best to be safe.
“I do not hear dogs,” Lily whispered.
“We would have been warned by the Lady if there were watchdogs,” Laurel returned, turning around and climbing down the inside part of the wall, and then dropping gently onto the well-manicured lawn.
“Shall we use the eaves trough to attain the second story?” Lily murmured as she, too, reached the grass.
“Yes.”
Fifteen minutes later, the girls had climbed to the second story of Mr. Warosa’s private wing and broken a window, allowing them to unlock the window and enter. The inside of the room was black as pitch and the twins halted for a few minutes to allow themselves to calm their breathing and allow their eyes to settle somewhat.
“Should I light the candle?” Lily finally whispered.
“Let us move into the hall and then yes,” her sister returned sotte voce . “We need to find Warosa’s office and close the curtains, then we can get to work.”
Lily grinned in the darkness and reached out a hand, only to meet her sister’s hand reaching out for her.
“For Cecilia,” they murmured together, and stepped forward.
***
De Bourgh House
Three hours after midnight
Dover
June 5th, 1813
Madame,
It will be an expensive proposition to buy a boat for use in the Channel. If you are still interested in making such a purchase, kindly inform me as to the sums available…
Lady Catherine set down her letter with a sigh and leaned back against her chair. She needed to make a decision about the yacht, and soon, but her mind was too busy to focus on the problem.
The house was silent at this hour, with only the occasional chimes of the ebony bracket clock in the outer hall marking the passage of time. She was tired but not sleepy, which was no surprise; she had found long ago that she was quite incapable of slumber when members of the League were in the midst of a dangerous mission. She trusted Laurel and Lily and had great respect for their abilities, but they were young, and it would be most difficult if they were captured and arrested.
The door opened to reveal Mrs. Jenkinson, nominally her daughter Anne’s companion, in fact one of the foundational members of the League. “The twins are here, Madame.”
Lady Catherine felt her entire body relax, and she rose to her feet. “Bring them in. Can you arrange for a small repast to be prepared for the twins?”
“Of course!” Mrs. Jenkinson said and gestured for the acrobats to enter Lady Catherine’s office.
“Lily, Laurel, it is so good to see you,” she said warmly. “Did the operation go smoothly?”
“It did, Lady Catherine,” Laurel declared and, with Lily’s help, untied herself from her bag and lowered it carefully onto a handy table.
Catherine de Bourgh reached eagerly for the knot, untied it, and pulled out several ledgers, a pile of letters, and last but not least, several packets of banknotes.
“The ledgers are probably the most important acquisitions,” Lily volunteered. “We did not linger long in Warosa’s office, but we took the time to glance through two of them; they have names of the women who have invested with Mr. Warosa, along with sums of money accepted and disbursed.”
Lady Catherine frowned and laid one rather large hand on the pile of ledgers. “What of Warosa’s investment strategy? Where is that information?”
The twins exchanged glances, and Laurel shook her head. “We found nothing of that kind, Lady Catherine. There were no records of securities, no bonds, no documents concerning investments in Funds or Consols.”
Their leader shook her head in bewilderment. “I presume there was no documentation about smuggling or other nefarious activities?”
“No, madam.”
“How very peculiar! Where did you find the ledgers, correspondence, and money?”
“In a safe behind a portrait in Mr. Warosa’s office,” Laurel said proudly.
Lady Catherine stared at the girls in wonder, chuckled aloud, and said, “You are very sly, Laurel. Am I to assume that you have been taking lessons from our safe-cracking friend, Mr. Simon?”
“We both have,” Lily said cheerfully. “Laurel is more skilled than I am, but Mr. Simon says we are both moderately adept now at breaking into safes and lockboxes. Laurel was able to open Mr. Warosa’s safe in under twenty minutes.”
“It was not a particularly well made safe,” Laurel admitted, “for which I am devoutly thankful. Mr. Simon says I require much additional study before I can crack the really difficult safes.”
“Do you think it will be obvious that the safe has been accessed when Mr. Warosa enters his office?”
Again, the twins looked at one another and Lily said, “I fear so. We inserted a wedge at one point and it twisted the door; the portrait does not hang smoothly anymore. We apologize if that is a problem.”
Lady Catherine drummed her fingers thoughtfully even as she smiled at the girls. “Nonsense, my dears, you did truly excellent work. Now you must be fatigued; Mrs. Jenkinson will have a small meal ready for you in your room, and then you should sleep. Thank you for your willingness to assist us in this matter.”
“We will do anything for you, my lady,” Lily said passionately. “Our dear Cecilia’s life would have been ruined without the assistance of the League.”
“It was our honor and pleasure to help her. Now do go and get some rest.”
The acrobats filed out of the study obediently, leaving Lady Catherine to stare at the documents with a pucker between her eyebrows. What was Warosa doing with the money?