A storm lashed down upon the city as afternoon turned to evening, on the day that Ephraim had received the letter from Lord Rowntree. He had yet to respond to it, though he knew the villain required urgency. He had not been able to reply, for he did not know if it was plausible. It did not seem so, but his heart refused to surrender. He would not give up his daughter to that devil.

Ephraim ducked into the public house with his collar turned up and the brim of a flat-cap covering his face. He had worn drab clothing, so he might blend in better. No one would expect an Earl to come into an establishment such as this. Indeed, hardly any of the clientele bothered to look at him as he entered.

Moving through the throng of warm, pungent bodies, he made his way to a table in the far corner. A barmaid took his order and brought over a flagon of ale. He drank half before he had even removed his coat. The bitter swill did little to calm his nerves. Instead, it left an even sourer taste in his mouth.

Presently, another figure appeared in the doorway of the Tap and Spile. Red-cheeked and blowing into his hands to chase away the cold, Jasper scoured the room. Ephraim raised his hand in a wave, alerting Jasper to his position.

Retrieving a flagon of ale from the bar, Jasper made his way over and sat opposite. Ephraim had not wanted to drag Jasper into this again, but there had been little choice in the matter. Stealing a golden scepter was not something he could do alone… if at all. Still, he knew he was about to ask something enormous of Jasper. He could not quite find the words, for they stuck in his throat like honey.

“Lady Adelaide told me you were unwell, My Lord,” Jasper rudely broke the silence first.

Ephraim, uncaring, nodded. “A trifling cold.”

“Are you certain it was not something else that kept you to your chambers?”

He sighed. “You can read me like a book, Jasper. I confess, in the aftermath of our endeavor at the Houses of Parliament, I could not face my family.”

“But it is done with, is it not? I received your package of money with the letter you sent.”

“I am ashamed to admit it, Jasper, but… the money was something of a bribe.”

Jasper frowned. “What do you mean?”

“There is one more task we must complete.”

“No… the job is done. Lord Rowntree must be satisfied by now?”

“He is not,” Ephraim replied solemnly. “The trickster desires my daughter for himself. And so, he has set me an impossible task. In order to protect Adelaide, I must seek to fulfil his wishes. If I do not, or I cannot, she shall be ruined… and my wife along with her.”

Jasper gaped at him. “I do not understand, My Lord.”

“Lord Rowntree sent me a letter this morning, detailing my next instructions,” he explained. “There was a credit note attached. He has increased our fee, but at a potentially enormous cost to our reputations. He knows I am not interested in the money he has to offer, which is why he has used alternative means of leverage.”

“Lady Adelaide?”

“Yes.”

“What do you mean, he ‘desires’ her?”

Ephraim sighed and stared into his ale. “He alluded to the possibility of coming to ‘alternative arrangements’ instead of fulfilling this new task. Those arrangements concern my daughter. He wishes to have her for himself. He mentioned that he is in the market for a wife, and I believe he intends to put Adelaide in that role. He has trapped me in a corner, Jasper, and I cannot see another way out.” He clawed in a shaky breath. “We must do as he has asked, and we must do it successfully. If we do not… Adelaide is lost.”

“What is this task?”

“He wishes us to steal a golden scepter from the altar of Westminster Abbey.”

Jasper almost spat out his drink. “This is some jest, surely? He cannot expect you to actually go through with such a thing?”

“No, I do not believe he does. I think he suspects that I will bow out, and allow him to make an offer of marriage to Adelaide.”

“But she is already engaged, is she not? The Duke of Bradford will not permit such a thing.”

Ephraim sighed. “There is enough unscrupulous behavior to warrant a break in the engagement with the Duke. It would not prove too difficult to put an end to it, especially with Lord Rowntree at the helm. He will find every scrap of scandal there is to find, and he will use it against the Duke, to forge his path towards Adelaide.”

“The devil!” Jasper hissed.

“He has planned it to the last detail,” Ephraim admitted. “If we fail, there shall be an outcry and Adelaide shall see her reputation in tatters. The Duke of Bradford will likely break the engagement anyway, if it is discovered that I am a no-good thief, and Lord Rowntree will swoop in. If we refuse, he will seize her by force. He has already threatened as much.”

For a long time, Jasper said nothing. Ephraim could see that the young man was reeling from the revelation. Once again, he found himself wondering why Jasper and Adelaide had never forged an attachment. They might have avoided all of this, if they had done so. In his near-bankruptcy, the Gilletts would have done all they could to set him right again. Indeed, it would have been Jasper’s obligation.

“This is ludicrous,” Jasper whispered, at last.

“I know.”

“Do you really intend to do this—to steal something so valuable from the Abbey?”

“I must.”

Jasper sat back in his seat and ran an anxious hand through his curls. “Do you wish for assistance? Is that why you have called me here? I thought it a somewhat curious place for us to come. I have not frequented a public house in a few years—not in London, anyway.”

“I know that I cannot ask such a thing of you, but I must,” Ephraim replied solemnly. “If you refuse, I will not hold it against you. I will understand completely. You have your own reputation to consider, and I would not jeopardize it.”

“Can you trick Lord Rowntree into believing you have attempted the task?”

Ephraim shook his head. “Do you believe a man such as that would accept failure?”

“No… I suppose not.”

“I am sorry to ask this of you, Jasper. It pains me to do so.”

Jasper offered a sympathetic glance. “I know that it must.”

“Had he not threatened the security and happiness of Adelaide, I might have defied him,” Ephraim continued. “But I cannot risk so much for my own mistakes. It would be cruel of me.”

Jasper’s eyes brightened suddenly. “There is an alternative.”

“There is?” Ephraim sat up in surprise.

“Let us pretend that we are going to steal this item that he has requested,” Jasper said. “When we tell him of our failure, we may gauge his reaction. If it is dangerous, I shall spirit Adelaide away into the countryside, where he cannot find her. I shall send word to the Duke of Bradford of our whereabouts and have them married without delay. As soon as she is wed to him, there can be no threat. The Duke is almost as devilish as Lord Rowntree—he will not cross such a man.”

“And if it is an entrapment? If he has men stationed to apprehend us?” Ephraim had been pondering the possibility on the walk over from Belgravia.

Jasper cast a sad smile in his direction. “I shall linger on the outskirts and allow you to go into the Abbey alone. He will undoubtedly have spies watching the building, even if they are not there for entrapment purposes. If you are apprehended, and your reputation falls into ruin… I will marry Adelaide before Lord Rowntree has the opportunity to swoop in.”

“You would… you would do that?”

He nodded. “I would not see Adelaide ruined by that man. If it meant marrying her, I would do so without complaint. She is my dearest friend—surely, we could find some semblance of happiness together, in the years that might follow.”

“But what of your hopes for Miss Green?”

“There have been some complications in the matter,” he explained sadly. “I adore her, true, but that pales in comparison to the duty I feel towards you and your family. I would protect Lady Adelaide, if you fell from grace. You have my word on that.”

Ephraim felt a rush of gratitude for the fine young man before him. “You are a prince amongst men, Jasper.”

“I thank you for your kind words, My Lord.”

“So, you will help me in this endeavor?”

He nodded. “I will. I confess, I do not want to, but we are in too deep to retreat now. I have made certain promises to you in the past, and I intend to keep them. Besides, I have already involved myself in the blackmail of two members of parliament.”

“Have you seen the newspapers today?”

“I have. I do not think it will be long before we see the Marquess of Tavistock brought to ruin, alongside his fellow member. It looks to me as though Lord Rowntree desires to have both of Bath’s parliamentary seats in the House of Commons. However, he seems to be biding his time. To scandalize them both at once would alert suspicions.”

“I thought the same thing.”

“This way, he can weasel into both seats without anyone casting aspersions upon him. Bath is one of the most important seats in the nation. He has chosen purposefully. So many of us enjoy the high season in Bath. If he is the parliamentary voice there, then he has all the power.”

Ephraim shuddered at the thought. “Well, we cannot stop him on that front. That is already done. Perhaps, he wishes to ingratiate himself within the courts for apprehending the thieves who might steal such a valuable item. Either that, or he wishes to return the item and have himself hailed as a hero.”

Jasper nodded. “Which direction he may take remains to be seen. We will not discover his intentions until you have set foot inside the Abbey. I am sure of that.”

“As am I.”

“Now, do you have a plan in mind? How long has he given you for this task?”

“Six days.”

Jasper whistled through his teeth. “My goodness… a tall order, indeed. The scoundrel.”

“My plan is to go under cover of darkness,” Ephraim said. “I thought Friday may be a good time. We can hide ourselves in one of the chambers within the House of Lords and linger there until midnight. As soon as the buildings empty, I may sneak into the Abbey and pretend to retrieve the scepter. As you say, his spies must see me enter the church. You can remain in the chamber. If I return, you shall know that I was not apprehended. If I do not, you must go to Adelaide immediately and take her far from here. My wife, as well.”

“We shall have to race any messenger he may have,” Jasper warned. “It would be prudent to take horses and leave them outside the parliament walls.”

“Agreed.”

“As soon as I understand what has happened, I will ride like the wind and take your family far away from London,” Jasper promised. “Even if you are not apprehended, I will do so. For Lord Rowntree will target them instantly. If he desires Adelaide, he will stop at nothing to have her. The only thing that may protect her is marriage.”

Ephraim tapped his chin. “Might the Duke of Bradford agree to an earlier ceremony? This week, perhaps?”

“You may write and ask him, though I doubt he will agree.”

“He is at our home as we speak,” Ephraim replied. “I must go and talk with him before he departs. I must know if he is willing. If he is, we may not have to endure any of this.”

Jasper nodded. “Go to him.”

“Thank you for your help, Jasper. I shall send word to you once I have the Duke’s reply.”

After a brief farewell, Ephraim hurried out of the public house and hastened home.