Liam smiled at him, that tingle of being in the presence of good family giving him some confidence for the next few hours.
“Capital advice, mate,” he said, and Michael’s grin was triumphant.
“I even got the accent and the fancy talk and all.You’re good people.”
Liam might have hugged him, but at that moment Josh stood and stretched and, without looking at either of them, ambled toward the castle.
It was time.
Josh was moving by himself, but Liam and Michael stayed close, partly so Liam could give Michael cover while he got into the corner of the room where the alarms were placed.When the contacts holding the glass case together were broken, a signal would be sent to the alarms to sound.It was an old system, but a good one, and Michael had a small aerosol can of liquid nitrogen that would freeze the wires and the signal box that enabled the alarm.
Liam’s job was to cover for Michael as he got into place to freeze the wires, and then, while Carl engaged one guard talking about Serpentus, to go engage the other guard while Josh made the drop.
For a moment as Liam entered through the great doors, held open for the daytime tourists, he was distracted by the beauty of the castle itself.The woodwork—walls, floors, moldings, cornices—all of it hand-carved or lathed, lovingly oiled, and kept dust free, created a vast space of vaulted ceilings, rich tapestries, beveled-window crystals, and art, glorious art, on every wall, on stands and shelves, all of it well-lit and showcased for its full beauty.
Liam made a sound of want.He wanted time to linger here, to read the placards and the histories, to investigate the artists, the donors, the pure history of the place, but he couldn’t.He was on a timeline and—
“We have forty-five minutes before the bus,” Josh murmured, coming up behind him silently as he gawked at the entryway.“Find one thing, one glorious thing, and stare at it and study it until you get lost in it.Then it’s yours when the job is done.”
Liam glanced at him, took in his pixilated smile and the hectic color in his cheeks.
Was he well?No.
But he was having a damned good time.
“Suggestions?”Liam asked.
“Upstairs bedroom,” Josh said promptly.“There’s a stained-glass oriel in the bedroom.It depicts the swan knight, Lohen… something or other.”He grimaced.“But there’s swans and knights and the sun coming in, and it’s a place you can sit and gaze out at the world—even though we can’t actually sit there.Anyway, it’s lovely.”
“And you?”
Josh grinned.“In the shelves above the dining room there’s a Fabergé eggalsodonated by the Rothschilds.”
“You’re not going to…,” Liam inquired delicately.
“No, no,” Josh said.“Besides, Grace already did, when we were in high school.We got almost to the airport before I saw it and made him take it back.”He scowled.“Stupid Grace.Almostgot us busted when we were here without our tour.Anyway, we never steal each other’s targets.That’s a bad way to maintain a friendship.”
Liam raised his eyebrows.“Of course it is.”
“I just want to visit it and tell Grace nobody’s pinched it but him.”Josh gave him a devil-may-care grin and waggled his eyebrows, and then Liam and Michael were on their way to see an oriel.
THEY WEREalmostlate to hit their mark, hurrying down the stairs on cat feet.
“Wow,” Michael said for the umpteenth time.
“I’m at a loss,” Liam said, trying to pull his brains back into his head.“So that’s an oriel.”
It was an odd, pretty word to describe what was basically a reading nook of grandiose, glorious proportions.The window—shaped by panels into a semicircle—protruded from the side of the castle, giving anybody sitting on the embroidered satin cushions a view of the topiary-strewn garden outside.The panels were decorated by an ornate frieze of stained glass, culminating in an obelisk at its peak, depicting Lofgran, the Swan Knight, the heraldic coat of arms for the castle itself.The effectwasfairy-tale-esque, because apparently Ludwig II knew his enchantments, and Liam and Michael had spent a great deal of time doing what Josh had advised—taking it in.
“Glass and tape and solder and….”Michael blew out a breath.“Iam full of wonder.I am so glad I didn’t miss that this trip—we were all on the first floor last time.”
Liam chuckled weakly and glanced at his wrist unit—and put on a little more speed.
He and Michael had time to slow down and calm their breathing as they entered the first-floor library and saw Carl talking to the security guard.
The security guard’s back was toward them, and Carl, while not acknowledging Liam or Michael in any way, managed a faint flicker of his eyes to his right, and Michael peeled off toward the wall unit while Carl moved subtly to the left.
The security guard never even saw him.
