The Dashing Thief of Her Dreams

by Alice Kirks

  The warden turned his attention to Lord Alymer. “Of course it does, My Lord, which is why I allowed you to be here this morning. I wanted you to see the sort of punishment that would be coming to Mr. Partridge for his crimes,” the warden responded. That seemed to quiet Lord Alymer for the time being, but Geoffrey knew that it would not last long.

  After a second, Geoffrey became very aware of a set of eyes boring into him. He slowly turned his head and saw that Miles was staring at him, utterly confused and yet infuriated. Geoffrey realized that while Miles had known about Geoffrey’s involvement in the intrusion, he had not known about Henry’s involvement. And now that he was sitting in front of the warden and the judge, he knew that he had better get out the truth before he found himself in the same position as Henry.

  But then, unfortunately, Miles began to talk. “Before we go any further, Judge Inglewood, there is something that has been weighing on me that I feel I need to get off of my chest.” Miles flicked his eyes in Geoffrey’s direction, and Geoffrey knew that if ever there was a time to say something the time was now, before Miles soiled his reputation. This was, of course, because Miles did not have the full understanding of the case that Geoffrey did. There was one key part that Geoffrey now felt he should reveal.

  And so, Geoffrey opened his mouth to speak with his heart pounding and his palms sweating profusely. The judge, however, cut him off, saying, “Would this have anything to do with you admitting to having committed the crime in order to protect your cousin, Lord Miles? Because if you are to remind me of that fact too much, I might have to take you into custody myself and ask you further questions.”

  Miles closed his mouth and shook his head, demurely putting his hands on his lap. Geoffrey could have snorted with laughter in that moment, had he not been about to reveal what he felt he needed to.

  “Judge Inglewood, I apologize for my brother’s interruption, but I believe he was about to tell you what he understood to be true about the night of the intrusion at the Stanhope Estate,” Geoffrey began.

  The judge looked upon him and nodded, “And as I said, if he wishes to try and take the fall for what his cousin did, I would be happy to give him the same sentence as Henry.”

  “I do not believe that is what he was going to say, Warden, I apologise,” Geoffrey said confidently. He looked at Miles very hard, and then looked apologetically to Lord Alymer.

  “Well, what was it then that he was about to tell us?” Judge Inglewood asked.

  Geoffrey took a deep breath, looked unblinkingly at the judge and said, “It was I who Bridget Stanhope caught in the dining room of Stanhope Manor that night. I was the intruder.”

  Chapter 23

  A stunned silence followed Geoffrey’s admission. Geoffrey looked around at all the faces in the room and saw that each one held a different expression. The judge looked unimpressed, the warden looked disappointed, Miles looked angrily hurt, Henry looked taken aback and Lord Alymer looked downright enraged.

  “YOU BROKE INTO MY HOUSE AND STOLE MY SILVER FROM ME?” Lord Alymer roared at him.

  Geoffrey shook his head fervently. “I was not finished explaining myself, Lord Alymer, please allow me the chance to-”

  “YOU TOOK RATHER A LONG PAUSE FOR A MAN WHO HAD MORE TO SAY; DO NOT CHASTISE ME FOR ‘INTERRUPTING’ YOU WHEN YOU GAVE ME PAUSE TO RESPOND.” Lord Alymer was so angry that his whole face was beet red and there was a vein bulging out of his forehead. If this had been any other situation, Geoffrey would have laughed at his response and at the way he was looking, but now was certainly not the time for that.

  “I do apologize, Lord Alymer. I was allowing everyone a moment to take in what I had said. I shall continue.” Geoffrey clasped his hands together in his lap and addressed the judge only. “I became aware of my cousin’s doings the very night of the Stanhope intrusion. I was taking a walk around the grounds because I could not sleep, when I came upon Henry in the stables with his stolen goods from the Stanhope Estate. I was furious at first, of course, but then Henry explained to me that he had been stealing from others in order to aid the less fortunate. Nothing that he stole he kept for himself; it all went to helping someone who was in financial trouble.” Geoffrey took a pause to breathe, and then continued.

  “After he explained that to me, I understood a bit more of why he was doing what he was doing. However, I said that I could not condone his continuing to steal, especially if it was from Lord Alymer who had been such a dear friend of our father’s.” Geoffrey looked to Lord Alymer, and momentarily saw a flicker of fond reminiscence cross his face. Then it returned to the furious look it had held before that. “Henry was too nervous to return to the estate to return the jewels and tankards, and so I offered to do it. I broke in through one of the windows, went into the dining room and was trying to find where in the room the stolen goods went so that no one would be any the wiser about the theft... and that, of course, is when Lady Bridget stumbled upon me.”

  “I knew that I could not explain anything to her in that moment, and I will admit that my actions were poorly governed right then by my panic at having been discovered. And so, in my hurry, I accidentally kept the bag filled with the tankards and the jewels and brought them home with me. The next morning, I asked Henry to return everything to you: I suggested that he place them somewhere near your grounds where they would be found by someone else. That way you would have everything that was stolen from you back, and neither myself nor Henry would face blame for our actions.” Geoffrey felt as though he had been talking for a long time, but knew that he had to continue. However, Lord Alymer once again interrupted him.

  “But my jewels were never returned to me. What sort of plan involves returning only half of the stolen goods to a man and then expecting him to think nothing of the more valuable things that are still missing?” Lord Alymer asked him with an eyebrow raised.

  “That, unfortunately, was my cousin’s mistake,” Geoffrey said, turning to Henry. “I had given him explicit instructions to return everything, and yet he still insisted on trying to pawn the jewels because he needed to get money for an orphanage in town.” Geoffrey gave his cousin a small smile, for it was truly quite thoughtful of him to get the money for the orphanage. He just wished that Henry had asked him for the money outright, for he would have gladly given it to him.

  Geoffrey continued to explain. “Henry and I returned to the shop where he had sold the jewels, but he said they had already been bought by a lady. We requested that the shop owner get in touch with the woman to see if she would be interested in selling the jewels back to us, but we have yet to hear back from them. I am sincerely sorry that your jewels have not yet been returned to you, Lord Alymer, but I can assure you that I am doing everything in my power to get them back.”

  When Geoffrey finished explaining everything, no one quite knew what to say. The judge’s expression kept changing as he went over the events that Geoffrey had informed them of in his head, and Lord Alymer’s expression had finally softened slightly. He still looked angry, but his face was no longer the colour of blood. Miles looked genuinely disappointed. It seemed that his whole plan had gone up in smoke right before his eyes.

  “I am still appalled by all of this,” Lord Alymer said. “This man not only stole into my house, but reassured me time and time again that he would catch the person who did this when the truth was that it was him! And he was aware of his cousin’s deeds all along and never said anything about them or tried to stop him!”

  Geoffrey quickly turned to Lord Alymer. “If you’ll remember, Lord Alymer, as soon as I discovered what my cousin was doing, I tried to set it right and stopped him from stealing once again. Have any more intrusions happened in Surrey since that time?” Geoffrey asked. Lord Alymer did not reply, and so Geoffrey continued.

  “When my brother falsely admitted to you that it was he who had committed the crime, you immediately and steadfastly believed that he could only be admitting that because he was trying to protect someone else. You were w
illing to forgive Miles of the same crime that my cousin committed, and yet you will not see the good that my cousin was trying to do solely because he is not a gentleman. I feel that reveals a great deal more about you than it does about either him or me.”

  “I will not be blamed for anything that you erroneously try to pin to me, Lord Geoffrey!” Lord Alymer shouted at him defensively. “You have cheated me, lied to me, stolen from me, and now you are trying to take my daughter out from under me. I shall never let you see Bridget ever again as long as I live!”

  “Gentlemen, gentlemen,” the warden said calmly, “I feel that we may be getting ahead of ourselves. Should we not let the judge speak about how he feels we should proceed before you make any rash decisions?”

  Geoffrey nodded, but Lord Alymer suddenly looked like a sullen child who had been chastised by their mother. Geoffrey turned his attention to the judge, dreading what would be coming for him for he knew that the judge was not likely to look upon their activity kindly.

  “I am not sure where to begin,” the judge said. He put his hands on the table and looked at all the men in the room. “There is a great deal to consider when thinking about all of the facts of this case. For the time being I shall release Lord Geoffrey, but ask that he does not leave Surrey. As for Mr. Partridge, we shall hold him here until we discuss his sentencing further. Lord Alymer, we shall do all that we can to return your jewels to you, but ask that in the meantime you do not have any further interactions with the Nott family or their estate.”

  Lord Alymer scoffed. “You can rest assured that I shall not associate with the Nott family in any way, your honour. That would be the last thing I would want to do right now.” With that, Lord Alymer got up and left the room in a hurry. Geoffrey thanked the judge for his discretion and said that he understood the conditions of his release. He and Miles left the room after they bid Henry farewell. In spite of his current state Henry seemed to be in relatively good spirits, which did Geoffrey’s heart good.

  As the two Nott brothers descended the steps outside, Miles ran up beside Geoffrey. “In spite of the fact that you just dug your own grave back there by admitting to your crime, brother, I hope you know that the agreement we made was binding. There is no way that I shall not continue to pursue Lady Bridget, and I will still inherit what you promised me, or else I shall-”

  “You shall what, brother?” Geoffrey sneered, whipping around to face his little brother. “I have already confessed to the most grievous crime I have ever committed, and so there is nothing more that you can hold over my head. While I understand that I have not always been charitable to you, I beg of you to consider the wrongs that you have not only done to me but also to our family. For the time being I shall grant you that inheritance that I promised, but I urge you to consider your reasons for wanting to court Lady Bridget. To the best of my understanding, for some reason Lady Deborah still thinks that you are an honourable man. I should think you would prefer to be with a woman who loves you.”

  Without waiting to see what his brother said in response, Geoffrey turned on his heel and left the jail, bound for home.

  Chapter 24

  That evening, Bridget sat in the parlour, reading another one of her favourite books. She had discovered her father’s whereabouts that morning from her sister, and when their father returned, he was in quite a state. She thought back to the morning’s encounter after her father had returned from the prison.

  “No matter what I said about Lord Miles Nott earlier, neither of you is to ever encounter another member of that family for as long as I am master of this house. Is that understood?” Lord Alymer had shouted at them when he encountered them in the dining room at lunch time. The girls looked to each other, baffled, but said nothing.

  After the harsh words he had given Bridget a few days earlier, Bridget knew that there was no point in trying to reason with him. She had now seen him for what he truly was, and she had yet to forgive him for his initial rude words. These ones came as no surprise.

  “Whatever happened, Father?” Deborah asked innocently.

  Lord Alymer flared his nostrils and made fists with his hands. “While it was Henry Partridge who was arrested and Lord Miles who confessed to the crime that befell us, it was truthfully Lord Geoffrey who was the intruder the other night,” he growled.

  Bridget’s heart began beating faster at the mention of Lord Geoffrey and the intrusion. So she had been right in thinking that Lord Geoffrey had been confessing to her in a way on the night that he came into her room! This was so terribly exciting for her!

  “That can’t be!” Deborah protested.

  “And yet it is. It seems that Henry Partridge was the one who came up with the idea to rob us, and initially took the silver tankards and the jewels. Apparently, he did it because he wanted to raise more funds for an orphanage in town, but I am not certain I believe that reason,” Lord Alymer said angrily. “Lord Geoffrey caught Mr. Partridge in the act, and then returned to our home to put the stolen items back. That is what Lord Geoffrey says that he was doing when you walked in on him in the dining room, Bridget.”

  Bridget’s brow furrowed. What? She thought. I was led to believe that Geoffrey was a dashing thief, when the truth was that he was merely returning goods that his cousin had stolen? Bridget could hardly believe her ears. She was not looking forward to when she saw Lord Geoffrey next, for she knew that their encounter would not be a pleasant one.

  “Then Lord Geoffrey was not a thief like you said, Father,” Deborah reminded him, looking at her sister out of the corner of her eye. “It is not fair to start off explaining things to us in such a way if that is not the truth.”

  Unfortunately for Deborah, Lord Alymer was not in any sort of mood to be tested. He exploded at his daughter, shouting, “IF I SAY THAT LORD GEOFFREY IS A THIEF, THEN HE IS A THIEF. DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?”

  “You will not speak to her in that manner, Father!” Bridget found herself suddenly saying. Both her father and her sister, whose lip was currently quivering, turned to look at her, and Bridget rose from her seat. “I have had quite enough of you telling us what is and isn’t true, and what we can and cannot do. I have found your actions over the last few days to be unacceptable, and I will not stand by as you berate Deborah because you are upset that this morning did not go the way you expected it to. Mother would never have tolerated you speaking to us in this way, and I think that you should be ashamed of what you have said to the two people who love you most in this world!”

  Bridget’s father stared at her, stunned. Bridget glared back at him, unblinking. Finally, Lord Alymer’s face crumbled, and he took his head in his hands. He began weeping, and Bridget watched as his whole body began shaking. She was surprised by this strong reaction coming from her father: she had only intended to stop him yelling at Deborah, but now it seemed that she had struck something much deeper within him.

  “Oh Papa...” Bridget said, her anger falling away. She had never seen him cry like this before, and so she knew that he was not doing it to elicit sympathy from his daughters. She walked over to him and stroked his back and brushed the hair that was falling in his face away from it.

  “My girls... my girls, I am so sorry,” Lord Alymer said between sobs. “I should never have spoken to you like that, or said those awful things to you. You are absolutely right - your mother would not stand for me acting like this, and either way, you two did not deserve any of what I have thrown at you in the past few days.”

  Bridget continued stroking his back, and soon Deborah rose to embrace her father. The three Stanhopes stood together for a moment, taking in each other’s presence in silence. And then, Lord Alymer spoke once again.

  “I don’t think I ever took the proper time to grieve your mother’s loss,” he explained, drawing himself out of Deborah’s embrace but taking each daughter by the hand. “I thought that I needed to be strong and not show how much it affected me so that it would be easier on the two of you... but now I see that it is both of
you who are the strong ones.”

  “Papa, you know you don’t have to ‘be’ anything around us,” Deborah said with understanding in her voice. “You can take whatever time you need to process Mother’s death and feel what you need to feel... as long as that doesn’t involve repeating the incident we just had.”

  Lord Alymer chuckled. “I believe I shall be embarrassed by that incident for quite some time, won’t I?” Both of his daughters nodded and laughed themselves. Then, Lord Alymer turned to Bridget and said, “Thank you for making me see how awful I have been. I also regret what I said to you in the parlour the other day in the presence of Lord Miles. You know I believe that you should be allowed to marry a man that you choose; not one that I force you to. And of course, please do not stop reading the books that your mother fostered your love of. I believe that they have helped shape you into the astonishing young woman that you are today, and I wouldn’t change that for the world.”