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“Good luck,” Barnaby laughed. “If you give me your keys to your lodgings, I will pack your things up, give your notice, and send your things to Rutland with everyone else’s.”
“Right then, if you want to put your cloaks on, we will be on our way,” Ben sighed, and went to fetch the pile of cloaks.
Tahlia’s stomach dropped to her toes. She glanced nervously out of the window. Now that it was time to leave the safety of the house she wasn’t sure she could bring herself to do it.
“Are we not going to wait until night-fall?” she asked tremulously.
“It is best to move when the streets are crowded,” Barnaby replied.
“But, won’t they mug us or something? Surely if the streets are busy we are at a greater risk of being hurt?”
“It is safer to be with people in nicer weather because there will be witnesses around to see anybody launch an attack. They are also likely to be mobbed by the public if they do attempt anything. Besides, we can hide in a crowd of people a lot easier than if we are in a deserted street.”
Tahlia had to concede that Connor had a point.
“I need to clear the things out of the safe Henry left me,” she said as an afterthought when she was on her way out of the room.
“I want to show the safe to Barnaby. I will empty what’s left. It would be safer for me to carry the jewels Henry wanted you to keep.” Connor waited for her to nod and gave her a reassuring smile.
“I have taken the rest of the jewels to the War Office,” Barnaby warned.
Connor nodded. “Henry left Tahlia a small pouch of jewels he has purchased over the years for her and Joseph. The receipts for the purchases are with the gems. It is all legitimate, I have checked.”
Barnaby nodded. “Show me this safe,” he ordered.
“Do you think she will be able to do this?” Ben asked when they had closed themselves into the library.
Connor nodded. He didn’t doubt Tahlia’s hidden strengths for a second. After all, she had left London three years ago with her reputation in tatters, and had forged a new life miles away all by herself. Not only that but she had raised a son while there. He knew she would cope with whatever lay ahead. This time, he was by her side.
“She will hate every second of it, but she won’t whine or anything. We will do it because it means that we can go to Joseph. Tahlia would climb mountains if she needed to,” he advised, and knew without question that he was right.
“Enjoy your new life, my friend,” Barnaby said as he held his hand out. He shook Connor’s hand effusively and stood back while Ben, Isaac and Reg did the same.
“Make sure we get invited to the wedding,” Reg ordered.
Connor’s grin widened. “It will mean a hasty trip to the counties. I don’t intend to wait long once we are there.”
“Don’t arrange the wedding for the next week or two,” Barnaby protested. “We have a Count to catch, don’t forget.”
He grinned when Connor snorted.
“Good luck with that one,” Connor mused ruefully.
Strangely, Connor felt no reluctance at leaving them to it. It was a relief, in a way, to leave it all behind for once and get a bit of life back. The dark days of danger around every corner would be replaced with a life he wasn’t used to yet, but he almost relis
hed the challenge of the new experiences that lay ahead.
Every man in the Star Elite knew that the odds were stacked against them. Sayers’ gang of criminals stretched far and wide, and could be as brutal as they were secretive. But nobody from the War Office would ever surrender to a third rate criminal. Their fight to bring the man, and the entirety of his network, to justice would continue no matter who was working on the investigation. It had now turned into something of a quest for all of them not to allow Sayers, an underworld criminal, to thwart them.
“Right, well, let’s get you on your way then, shall we?” Barnaby announced and went in search of his cloak.
With a nod, Connor, Reg, Isaac, and Ben set to work.
Everyone converged in the hallway and donned identical cloaks. They looked like a group of monks all lined up as they were with their hoods up. Tahlia shivered in disbelief at just how sinister they looked. She didn’t believe for a second they weren’t going to draw attention, and started to wonder if they were right after all.
“Are you sure we wouldn’t do better wearing our normal clothes?” she asked. “We are never going to lose ourselves in a crowd in these.”
“We can,” Connor grinned. He dipped his head and peered into the depths of her hood but could see nothing more than the tip of her nose. “They can’t see who we are, or what we are wearing underneath. If we are followed we can wait for the right opportunity and remove our cloaks. We can then sail right past them wearing ordinary clothes without them even noticing us.”
