Chapter Seventeen

"Well that was a thorough waste of time." Patience grimaced at the cold, damp evening. Their carriage was nowhere to be seen. Apparently their driver was still annoyed at them for being late to depart and had decided to teach them a lesson. "I cannot believe I wore a dress for that."

Nate peered up and down the road. "If it's of any comfort, you looked beautiful."

Patience opened her mouth and closed it.

"You still do, even with your hair wilting in the rain."

She gave his arm a tap. "I have never been beautiful—you do not need to flatter me."

"I do not need to, but I wish to."

Nate should have bit his tongue in half to stop himself but he could not. Now was not the time for flattery or flirtation. They had wasted an entire evening listening to Magnus and his friends talk of business and society, and only the one mention of Pauline. Magnus had confided that he had tired of her and was on the lookout for another lady but the more time spent in Magnus' company, the more Nate was convinced that Magnus was not interested in a mistress at all and was simply using them as a cover for his true tastes.

The warm glow of lanterns drew his attention to the inn nearby. He motioned to it. "Let us wait in there. I have little intention of returning to the dinner party." He paused. "Besides, it might do to wait."

Patience peered at him. "You're plotting."

"Yes." He grinned and led her across the road to the inn. "Yes. We shall wait. And once Magnus is abed, we shall sneak into his house and find that information."

"You want to break into his house?"

"Why not?"

Patience shook her head in disbelief. "Well, it is better than attending any more dinner parties, I shall give you that."

Nate managed to find them a seat near the window. If he leaned around and peered through the murky glass, he could see the lanterns lit in the lower windows of Magnus' house. With any luck they could wait until he was asleep and slip in somehow.

Thankfully the inn was quiet with only a few travelers stopping in briefly. Nate nursed an ale while Patience sipped on some wine that made her curl up her nose and look far too adorable.

Adorable . Listen to him. He sounded like a little girl eyeing up a litter of puppies.

They waited over two hours. Patience kept suppressing yawns and the innkeeper kept eyeing them with annoyance, considering they had nursed the same drinks the entire time. Nate was tempted to order another but they had drunk wine and brandy at Magnus' and he wanted his head to remain clear. If someone put another ale in front of him, it was very likely he'd drink the whole damned thing.

"Nate," Patience hissed excitedly. "The lights are out."

He peered out of the window and nodded. "They are. But we had better wait a while longer to ensure he is abed and the servants aren't around."

Patience scowled but nodded. The damned woman was certainly keen to get involved in illegal activity. Any other woman would be running to the hills but here was Patience ready to hitch up her skirts and break down doors.

He grinned at the mental image and drained his ale, deciding the last drop would not hurt. He placed a coin on the table in the hopes of making up for not drinking enough for the innkeeper's liking and motioned for Patience to follow.

They made their way across the road and up the side of the house. Nate tested one of the cellar windows to no avail. The door that led into the back of the house was no good either. Completely shadowed in dark, the rear of the building offered no other ways to enter.

Nate stilled when something rustled nearby. Patience smacked into his back with an oof.

"Shh," he said.

"A fox or something," she said. "Come on, let us try there." She motioned to the window on the second floor that he had been ignoring. It was slightly ajar but would need to be forced open.

"Too high."

"I can climb. Just give me a boost up."

He shook his head again but she was already making her way over to the window. She eyed the drainpipe that ran up the side of the building then bent to twist her skirts up. She tied them in a bunch around her thighs.

"Pauline is not going to be impressed," he hissed.

Patience waved away his words and nodded to the corner of the pipe where it hooked onto the wall. "Lift me up and I can climb from there."

Nate sighed. There was no fighting her on this and he couldn't think of any other way of getting in. If he climbed the pipe, it would likely give way under his weight. He only hoped nothing happened to Patience or he would never forgive himself.

Nor would her brothers. He'd be lucky to retain his balls if he let her come to harm.

He bent and lifted her up onto one shoulder. From there she hooked her arms around the pipe and one foot into the wall-attachment. He grimaced as metal creaked but there was no crash as the pipes gave way or thud as Patience fell. Instead she made her way up the pipe with the ease of a young boy climbing a tree and reached over to ease open the window.

His heart remained in his mouth the entire time as she leaned out to pull it open. After three tries, he was ready to call this whole debacle off but the window finally popped open. She shimmied in and vanished.

Nate had to resist the desire to pace. What if someone caught her? What if she got hurt?

"Nate."

He peered up to see Patience leaning out of the window. She threw something down to him and it took him a moment to realize she'd flung down a silken rope. He scowled and tugged on it. It felt secure but where the devil had she found a rope?

"If I fall on my arse, I'll throttle her," he muttered, before using the rope to pull himself up to the window.

Patience helped haul him in and he paused once he was on his feet to gather his breath.

"Where the hell did you find this?" He lifted the rope.

"From the bed." She motioned to the heavy curtains around it and he noted several other long lengths of silk rope holding back the fabric. Patience had tied two together and looped it around the heavy bed.

"A fine job I'm not heavier."

"I knew it would hold you," she whispered.

"A good thing this wasn't Magnus' room either," he grumbled.

"Just because I could climb up and you could not does not mean you need to be grumpy with me." She grabbed his hand. "Come, let us find the documents and be gone before we are found."

He nodded and used the grip on her hand to force her back behind him. He was done with watching Patience take risks. "I'll take the lead."

She rolled her eyes but complied. Nate eased open the bedroom door and peered up and down the dark hallway. They slipped out, observed only by the portraits of ancient and not-so-ancient ancestors. Nate had already visited the library twice for brandy so he knew the way well enough, even if it was not so easy to find in the dark. He led Patience downstairs and through the drawing room. The embers in the fire still lingered, and for that he uttered up a prayer of thanks. It meant navigating the room that was crowded with furniture was not too difficult.

He opened one door, then closed it, realizing his mistake. "This one."

Motioning to the other door, he hastened over, Patience still in hand. Keen to get to the shadows of the library, they slipped in swiftly and she shut the door with caution.

For a townhouse, Magnus' abode boasted a decent sized library. Bookshelves touched the ceilings and the room occupied nearly half of the ground floor. A large window at one end released a gentle glow from the lit lanterns outside and the fire had not been put out in here either so it was not too hard to find their way around. How easy it would be to find the book, however, was another matter.

"Voltaire," he reminded Patience.

She peered up at the books. "Where do we start?"

"Maybe they are alphabetized."

She moved to the first bookcase and peered at the title. "No, it looks like it might be by subject matter." She traced the spine of one of the books with a finger. "This looks to be the geography section."

"He must have a fiction section somewhere."

"You start there." She pointed to the opposite wall. "We'll meet in the middle."

Nate nodded and squinted at the titles in the first book case. "History," he murmured.

"Philosophy here."

He scanned several more titles and moved onto the next bookcase. The man had far too much non-fiction if you asked him. Where were all the exciting tales of action and adventure? Although, after tonight, he did not know if he wanted any more action and adventures. A relaxing cup of tea would be nice. He glanced at Patience. With a wonderful woman at his side, perhaps?

He shook his head. Age really was catching up with him.

"Nate," she hissed. "Over here."

He hurried over. She motioned to the books. "Look, Chaucer, Defoe…oh Gulliver's Travels . They're not in alphabetical order though."

Grimacing, he nodded. "You start at the bottom." On tiptoes, he scanned the titles. He must have looked at fifty or so before Patience let out a squeak.

"Shh."

"I've found it." She pulled out the book and stood.

He yanked open the bound leather and let the air in his lungs release.

"It's the documents, is it not?" she asked, pressing herself against him in anticipation.

"I think so." He pulled out the first letter—orders, he suspected, and a list of French names. The second was a map. "This must be it. Pauline wasn't lying."

"Come on, just take the book and we can check the rest later."

"Let us slip out the rear door. I don't much fancy any more climbing for the day."

"Coward." She jabbed him with an elbow.

"Ow." Nate rubbed his ribs. "It's more to do with not wishing to see you climb again. It was the most terrifying thing I have ever witnessed."

"Why should me climbing be terrifying?"

"Because I thought you were going to break your neck," he declared. "I do not know what I would have done if you had."

"Oh."

At that moment, he wished for more light. Or for them to be elsewhere. To see her expression properly and understand fully what that one syllable had meant. Did she like that he cared for her welfare?

He took her hand again and tried not to marvel at how perfectly her fingers slipped into his. If there was ever a time not to marvel over such trivial things, it was certainly when one was breaking into a house like a thief.