“No one has approached my father about buying Wivenly Imports, and he couldn’t make a decision without my aunt’s approval in any event.” The only scenario Will could imagine was straight out of the romance books his sisters read: The dastardly villain convinces the poor widow to sell, thereby enriching himself. All it would lack was the young daughter whom the scoundrel wanted to marry. “You’re not going to tell me that this Howden fellow has lied to my uncle’s wife?”
“I don’t know.” Andrew shrugged. “It certainly seems far-fetched. Still, stranger things have happened.”
This was preposterous. Will tossed back the rest of his drink. “How dare he think he can do this to a member of my family! Not to mention the additional grief he’s caused my uncle’s widow.”
“There was something else.” Andrew paused for a few moments. “I was unable to see his books. He said he’d have to get permission from the owner.”
“We need to move quickly in the event he attempts to hide anything.” Will caught the barmaid’s attention and ordered two more drinks. “It’s time to become myself again.”
“If you do that, you’ll scare him off.” As Andrew stared out the window across the room, his lips tilted up. “There must be a second set of books to show the widow, in the off chance she asks. As Mr. Howden didn’t wish to show me the accounts, care to do a midnight run to the offices of Wivenly Imports?”
Will’s lips curved up as well. He hadn’t had a real lark in ages. “Break in, you mean?”
Andrew’s gaze sparked with mischief. “Indeed.”
They couldn’t get in any real trouble. After all, Will’s father was a trustee, and he had documents authorizing him to act on his father’s behalf. “When?”
His friend lifted his glass. “Tomorrow night. We’ll need to send someone round to keep watch and discover what time the office opens and closes, and if there is a guard.”
“I’ll send Griff. He needs an occupation.” Will lifted his tumbler in a toast. “To a mission swiftly resolved.”
The next evening, shortly before midnight, Eugénie and Cicely helped each other don dark gowns.
“Why did you have to wearthat?” Cicely turned up her nose. “It didn’t become you when it was new. I still don’t know why you bought it. It’s not at all like any of your others.”
“Itisthe only gown that would not be missed if something happened to it.” Eugénie swung her cloak over her shoulders. Her friend was right. With the high, tucked bodice of twill, one would have to have a much longer neck than she did to wear it comfortably. The dark color, more closely resembling the vegetable’s dull shade rather than the usual lovely purplish red normally associated with aubergine, made her look ill. Even after she’d picked off the bright yellow trim, the gown was still hideous.
She’d only accepted it because she felt sorry for the seamstress. “My maid was to have cut it up for rags, but I told her I’d already done it. I knew it would come in handy one day.”
Cicely’s lips formed amoue. “If anyone saw you in that, who knows what they would think.”
“The whole point isnotto be seen.” Eugénie pressed Cicely’s cloak into her hands. “Please, may we go?”
When they reached the gate letting out onto the step street, Cicely’s footman, Josh, awaited them. He had to be in love with her to take such a risk. If they were caught, he would be let go. However, Cicely always could twist men around her fingers.
The three of them took care in descending the step street, moving as silently as possible. Whether it was due to the water surrounding the island or something else, sound traveled quickly here. After reaching Dronningens Gade, Eugénie, Cicely, and Josh hugged the sides of the buildings, keeping to the shadows. Soon they reached the long rectangular warehouses that stretched to the waterfront. Each building was separated from its neighbor by a narrow alley. Fire hazards, Papa had called them. He was the first to build his warehouse of brick and add a second floor. Finally, they reached the one where the door to Wivenly Imports was located.
“How did you get the key?” Cicely whispered.
“I took the chance that Maman had forgotten to take it out of Papa’s desk. Now hush. We cannot risk anyone hearing us.”
She turned in to the pitch-black alley where the entrance was located. Even the stars couldn’t penetrate the dark here. Eugénie ran her fingers along the stucco-finished wall until she came to the raised edge of a doorway. “Josh, unshutter the lantern just a bit. I need to see the lock.”
A narrow beam of light twisted and turned until it stopped on the door. Eugénie carefully pulled the ring of keys from her cloak pocket, trying to keep them from clinking, and began trying the ones most likely to fit. The only sound was her breathing and the roar of her heart pounding in her ears. Her hands were suddenly damp as the sound of the lock clicking back seemed much louder than it probably was.
The door swung open on well-oiled hinges. “Come, quickly.”
Cicely swept past, followed by Josh. Eugénie closed the door.
Her friend took the lantern from the footman. “Josh, you stay here.” The lantern swung around the room. “Where is it?”
“Upstairs.”
A few moments later they entered a plainly furnished outer office lined with shelves. Eugénie was thankful all the window shutters were tightly closed, and no light would seep through. “Now, where to begin?”
“Let’s start with the bank ledger dated right after your father died.” Cicely pulled off her gloves in a businesslike manner. “That should tell us when things started going wrong.”
Row upon row of thick record books filled the shelves. Eugénie had not realized how many there were. Would they be able to find what they needed in the short time they had? “Do you know what they look like?”
