The Dashing Thief of Her Dreams

by Alice Kirks

  Geoffrey smiled happily and nodded. He put out his arm for Bridget to take, and when she did, they walked out into the bright sunlight.

  Once they were outside, Bridget and Geoffrey walked around the perimeter of the garden and continued to look at the guests. “I’ve never seen such an assortment of people from different classes,” Geoffrey remarked as they passed by the game of lawn bowling, where Uncle Elliot was excitedly shouting that he and Aunt Esther had won.

  Bridget looked at the people playing lawn bowling, and pleasantly discovered that it was a nice mixture of upper- and lower-class. “Perhaps Deborah invited these people to show us all that there doesn’t need to be as great a divide as there currently is between classes?” she ventured.

  Geoffrey nodded, but remained distracted by people watching. “That is a good point to bring to our attention, but I have a feeling that Deborah may have done something more directly related to the difficulties that my family has been having recently. Do you think...” Geoffrey trailed off though, and stopped the walking that he and Bridget were doing.

  “What is it?” Bridget asked inquisitively. “Did you discover something?”

  Geoffrey continued looking off into the distance, but he nodded. “Would you follow me for a moment, Lady Bridget?” he asked, finally turning to her to acquire her approval.

  Bridget nodded, and they set off across the lawn. Bridget soon saw where they were going: Deborah and Miles were off in the corner sitting under a tree. As they got closer to them, Deborah looked up and smiled.

  “Hello you two,” she said pleasantly, and Bridget was happy to see that the harried sister that had made an appearance this morning had disappeared.

  “Good afternoon, Lady Deborah,” Geoffrey said politely. “Are you enjoying the party that you brought together?”

  Deborah looked to Miles, and they both nodded. “We certainly are,” she responded, smoothing out her dress as she spoke. “And how are the two of you enjoying it?”

  “Quite well,” Bridget responded, “but there has been something on our minds since we began greeting guests in the front hall.”

  The look on Deborah’s face changed slightly, but she continued to try and look as though she had no idea what her sister meant. “Whatever is bothering you, sister?” she asked, concerned.

  “Lady Deborah,” Geoffrey interjected. “Why are you not socialising with your guests more? I know that my brother is very interesting, but I would have thought if you invited everyone, you would have enjoyed speaking with all of these guests who you presumably know so well.”

  Bridget looked to Geoffrey, puzzled. She could not understand where he was taking this line of questioning, but she assumed that he knew what he was doing and so she allowed him to continue without her interjecting.

  “As you said, Lord Geoffrey,” Deborah explained, “I am enjoying Lord Miles’ company right now. He and I have not had any trouble-free time together in quite a while, and so I am enjoying being with him while the party goes on. That is all.” Deborah crossed her arms in front of her chest, and gave Geoffrey a satisfied smile.

  “Did you just invite a random assortment of people so that we would have an excuse to spend time with these two in public?” Bridget suddenly blurted out. When the words were out of her mouth, she could not believe she had said them. She wanted to crawl inside of her dress and disappear.

  But Deborah, Miles and Geoffrey just laughed. “No, I did not,” Deborah said truthfully. “Do you think there could be another reason why I invited such a strange assortment of people?”

  Deborah had a glint in her eye that told Bridget that there certainly was another reason why she had invited the guests that she had. And then when Bridget looked over at Geoffrey, she knew that he had figured out what they reason was.

  “I believe I might know why,” Geoffrey started.

  “All right then,” Deborah said confidently, “explain it to us all.”

  Geoffrey sat down in the grass beside his brother, and motioned for Bridget to do the same. When she did, Geoffrey said, “It took me a few minutes to figure it out. I could not put together why you would have invited such specific people to a picnic. At first, I thought much like Bridget and pondered if perhaps you hadn’t invited specific people and had just brought strangers here so that we all could have an excuse to congregate.”

  “But then,” he continued, “as I looked closer at the guests, I realised that I recognised a few of them. The Mayfairs, for example, run the orphanage in town, the Fulsoms have been struggling to keep their wool business afloat since the death of their son, and the Quincys have never had good luck with money. That is when I put everything together. Well done, Lady Deborah, I applaud you for this idea.”

  Deborah looked very pleased with herself, and Miles looked so proud he could burst. Bridget, however, was quite annoyed as she had not yet figured out what it seemed that everyone else had.

  Geoffrey looked back at her and asked, “Have you discovered what the connection is between all these guests yet, Lady Bridget?”

  Bridget looked once more out into the crowd of assembled guests. She saw that the rich and poor families were not segregated as they usually were, and were talking, playing, and dancing together as though there were no dissimilarities between them. However, she could not find one single connection that linked all of them together.

  “I have not, and I would appreciate someone telling me so that I could be in on the joke!” Bridget said, half-annoyed, half-joking.

  Geoffrey chuckled. “I should have said it earlier, for Miles and I truly have an unfair advantage because we know all the details of our cousin’s thefts,” he informed her, and then pointed out towards the guests again. “Lady Bridget, all of these guests were either hurt or helped by Henry’s stealing.”

  Chapter 37

  Bridget’s eyes widened. “There were this many people that Henry either helped or stole from?” she cried a little too loudly, and Deborah had to shush her.

  “Yes,” Deborah explained, “and I invited them all here today so that Father could see the good that Henry had done even though he should have done it without stealing. And look at the way everyone is getting along so nicely! I hadn’t expected this part of it, but I am overjoyed that these people have put aside their social differences to enjoy today together.”

  “I also hoped that if all of us saw these people together, we would remember to be more generous with our money when we hear of hard times that have befallen anyone. We all have more money than we will ever know what to do with, and so I think something that we could do together is ensure that no one in town has to shoulder all of their struggles alone,” Deborah explained.

  Bridget turned to her sister, and could have sworn that for a moment there was an almost ethereal glow coming off her. Deborah had put so much work into making today come together, and now that Bridget knew it was for such a good reason, she could not have been prouder of her sister.

  “That’s brilliant, Deb,” Bridget said, awestruck. “I can’t imagine how you managed to not only think of this idea, but you also brought everything together on your own and never expected any thanks for it. Mother would be so proud of you.” Bridget reached out and took her sister’s hand, giving it a squeeze.

  “My sentiments exactly,” Miles chimed in, smiling at Deborah.

  “Thank you all,” Deborah said gratefully, “You’re really far too kind. But another reason why I wanted to do all of this was so that Father would see the kind motives behind Henry’s actions, and, in turn, your actions, Lord Geoffrey. But I haven’t seen hide nor hair of Father since the picnic started - have you, Bridget?”

  Bridget looked around the lawn and did not see her father anywhere. “That’s very peculiar, I wonder where he could have gone?” she wondered to the group.

  Deborah suddenly stood up, turned to the three of them and said, “I’ll go have another look for him inside - could the three of you see if you can locate him out here?”

 
; Bridget, Lord Miles and Lord Geoffrey all nodded and set off across the grass in different directions to look for Lord Alymer. Deborah headed into the house, past the game of lawn bowling and the band that was playing a merry tune. When she reached the top of the patio stairs, she turned right and followed the patio along to the other end of the estate where she entered in through a small door.

  This was not an entrance that many people knew about, for it led down into a cramped cellar where Deborah had often found their father in the wake of their mother’s death. It was cool, quiet and calm, and it seemed that Lord Alymer had chosen this cellar to be his place of refuge.

  As Deborah descended the tiny, dimly lit stairs into the cellar, she wondered why she hadn’t thought of this place sooner. She heard the bottom of a chair scraping against the stone floor as her feet came into view, and when she was able to see the room finally, she saw her father looking rather startled, standing in front of a rickety wooden chair.

  “Goodness, Deborah,” Lord Alymer said, placing a hand on his chest and sitting back down in the chair. “You startled me. What made you think to look for me down here?”

  “Mother did,” Deborah explained, and Lord Alymer gave her a resigned smile.

  “Ah yes, I did take to this clammy cupboard quite often back then too, didn’t I?” he asked, and Deborah nodded.

  “It’s your secret lair that you go to whenever you’re distressed but do not want to concern us,” Deborah said. “Which is why I’ve come to ask you what it is that is bothering you, and then bring you out to partake in the company of our assembled guests.”

  Lord Alymer chuckled. “You always were the more... direct one of you and your sister, weren’t you?” he asked, and Deborah laughed.

  “I suppose I got that from you, now, didn’t I?” Deborah asked her father.

  “I would say so,” Lord Alymer responded. He pulled up another old chair beside his, patted the wooden seat and said, “Take a seat beside me, my dear.”

  Deborah hesitantly sat down on the chair and then looked around the room. It was nothing more than a wine cellar, but because the Stanhopes did not drink very much wine, there were only a select few dusty bottles sitting on the shelves. Each shelf looked as though it would collapse if someone were to even so much as sneeze around them. There was nothing else in the cellar, except for the two chairs that Deborah and Lord Alymer were currently sitting on.

  Deborah then turned to her father. “Tell me what’s on your mind, Papa. Did something about the picnic upset you?” she asked him, placing a hand on her father’s knee.

  Lord Alymer gave his daughter a half-smile. “In a way, yes,” he illuminated, placing his hand on top of his daughter’s. “I noticed something rather strange about the assortment of people that you invited.”

  “Oh did you,” Deborah said innocently. “And what was it that you noticed?”

  Lord Alymer took his daughter’s hand off his knee and crossed his legs. “That the guests who are out on my lawn seem to be connected in some way... am I correct in making this assumption, dearest daughter?”

  Deborah rolled her eyes and chuckled. “You might be, go on,” she encouraged him.

  “Well,” he said, “from what I could discern, all of these people are either of lower-class or upper-class origins, except for Uncle Elliot and Aunt Esther, who I believe you solely invited for my benefit. And to that end I am very happy that you invited them, for I have not seen them in quite some time.”

  Deborah laughed. “I am glad that you were happy they were invited, Father,” she said delightedly.

  “It took me longer than I care to admit to realise that everyone in the upper-class who is here, I had read about in Lord Philip’s reports of the string of robberies that had been taking place over the last year. And then I recognised quite a few of the lower-class guests as those who had been going through hard times recently... and I put two and two together,” Lord Alymer said, sounding impressed. “You did well to find everyone and invite them, for I do not know how you were able to do that.

  “Thank you, Father,” Deborah said proudly, “but what I really had hoped was that now that you’re aware of who all of these people are, you might discover why I invited them all here.”

  Lord Alymer nodded. “I believe I do, and that is why I came down to the cellar,” he said dejectedly.

  Deborah was taken aback. “But if you understood why I did it... what about that makes you upset? Do you believe that Lords Geoffrey and Miles are not good men, and that Lord Geoffrey was not acting out of the kindness of his heart to help his cousin accomplish his good deed?” she asked.

  “It would have been a far better deed if no one had been stolen from in the first place,” Lord Alymer said, suddenly upset. He rose from his chair and began pacing the cellar. “But no, I was not upset because I think the Nott brothers are unfit for you and Bridget. Quite the opposite, in fact.”

  Deborah looked at her father, puzzled. “If you think that Bridget and I are well matched to Lords Geoffrey and Miles, and they aided their cousin well, then why are you down here?”

  Lord Alymer finally stopped pacing and put his head in his hands. “It is because I have nothing to give you,” he mumbled.

  Deborah was not sure that she had heard her father correctly. “Sorry, could you repeat that, Father? Did you say-”

  “I have nothing to give you,” Lord Alymer said more clearly with his head now out of his hands. “The jewels that were your mother’s were never found after Henry sold them, and so I have nothing to give to you and Bridget on the occasions of your weddings. I know that I have enough money to purchase you replacements, but nothing will ever compare to the sentimental value that those jewels held for me.”

  Deborah blinked at her father, and then smiled. “I’m ever so sorry, Papa,” she said, reaching into the pocket of her dress. “If I had known that was all that was keeping you from giving Bridget and I your blessing to be with Lord Miles and Lord Geoffrey, then I would have given these to you much sooner.”

  Deborah withdrew her hand from her pocket, and showed her father what she had been concealing: her mother’s jewels.

  Lord Alymer’s eyes widened. “Where did you acquire those?” he cried, taking the jewels out of his daughter’s hands and holding them up to the dim light. “They’re replacements, they must be replacements - how else could you have found them?”

  Deborah’s eyes lit up. “There are a few things that I think would surprise you to know about me, Father,” Deborah said mischievously.

  Lord Alymer looked crestfallen. “Oh no,” he said, “don’t tell me that you’ve been sneaking out in the middle of the night like your sister has been? I thought we raised the two of you better than that!”

  Deborah gave her father’s shoulder a reassuring rub. “If that type of thing worries you, then I won’t tell you all the details, I will just tell you how I came upon the jewels,” she suggested.

  Lord Alymer looked as if he might faint. “All right, I suppose if I am to be as shocked as this, then we might as well get the rest of it over with!” he said rather frantically.

  “Well,” Deborah explained calmly, “when I heard that the jewels had been stolen, I went right to the place where I thought the thief, whoever he was, would have sold them. It was a shop owned by a man named Rook. When I inquired about the jewels he said that he had them, and I purchased them for a tidy sum. I’ve kept them hidden away all of this time because I did not want anyone to think that I was involved in the theft in any way, but I did want to get them back. And now we have them! And so all is well.”

  Lord Alymer took a deep breath. “I suppose that if you say all is well, then it must be!” he said, throwing up his hands. He then looked at Deborah, and when their eyes met, they both began laughing. “Wouldn’t your mother have got a kick out of all of this?” he asked, taking Deborah’s hand.