1

Stray sunbeams slipped through the wooden shutters and illuminated the specks of dust that hung in the air. Mary followed them with her eyes, watching as they danced towards the dirt covered stone.

Mary slept in the east wing of the female servant’s quarters, in the third bed on the leftmost wall. From beneath her blanket, she could hear the other girls stirring and grumbling to themselves; some dreamed quietly, while others would spontaneously twitch or mumble to themselves. After a quick survey of the room, she stretched her arms and rubbed the strain from her eyes.

The time had come.

She sat herself up and slid out from under the blankets. A tingling rushed through her body as her bare feet touched the chilled stone floor. Making quick steps on the balls of her feet, Mary scurried over to the trunk that sat at the foot of her bed. She silently drew up the lid and reached inside, grabbing for the familiar feel of her leather armor. She smiled as she pulled it out; but her smile faded when she held the armor up to the sunlight. There was something dark and brown smeared in various places. Even though it had dried, she could tell what it was by the smell.

The other girls had been rifling through her belongings again.

Mary felt a twinge of anger, but she pushed it deep down and blinked away the tears. She continued to gather her things and, with it all tucked away under her arms, she ran quickly down the aisle and out the back door.

After looking around, Mary ran behind a nearby shed and threw down her things onto the grass. When she was sure no one was watching, she quickly changed— carefully dressing herself in her leather armor so as to avoid touching the brown smearing. Once she was ready, she crumpled up her sleeping gown and held it in her hands, unsure of what to do with it. She dared not go back inside and risk the other girls waking to see her, dressed as she was. She decided, finally, to run as fast as she could to the well. No one had arrived yet, and so she was free to do as she pleased. She brought up some water as fast as she could, wet the end of the sleeping gown and began to wipe her armor clean. It took longer than expected to scrub it all away, and, just as she finished, she could see figures moving in the distance.

“Shit!”

Mary threw the gown onto the grass and ran toward the dirt paths which led around the back of the manor.

It had rained last night, and the ground was still wet. As the summer sun climbed higher, the air began to heat up, and the moisture stuck to her face and hair. Drawing closer to the gate, she could see the outline of someone standing just beneath the overhang of the watch tower steps.

“Ready?” Mary asked him between panting breaths.

Ellis stood there, tapping his foot on the ground.

“Where were you!?”

“Sorry,” she said, “It took longer than I thought.” She approached Ellis more closely, until she was just within earshot. Then, she whispered. “Do you have it?”

Ellis patted his front pocket nervously.

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“I do.”

“Good. Let’s go—”

“Wait!”

“What?”

“Where is he?”

Mary gasped, suddenly realizing what she had forgotten.

“I don’t know!?”

“You told him didn’t you!?”

“Course I did!”

“Ellis? Mary?”

They both spun around looking for the source of the voice. There, roughly a dozen feet in the distance, they could see Hector’s head poking out from behind a tree.

Ellis sighed in relief.

“There you are, Hector. Hurry up!”

“I…I can’t.”

“What do you mean you can’t!?”

“I feel…wrong! If anyone sees, I’ll be flogged!”

“It’s alright, Hector, I promise. If anyone asks, I will say I stole them.”

“But if he notices—”

“He won’t. I promise.”

Hector waited a few moments, silently mustering up the courage to reveal himself. Finally, he waded out from behind the tree, dressed from head to toe in fine clothing.

“Hector! You look amazing!”

“She’s right! You could pass for a burgher, easy!”

Ellis waved Hector over to them. Once free from the embrace of the tree, Hector felt his nervousness return and he rushed over to the two of them, trying his best to stay hidden.

“Let us hurry. I don’t want anyone to see.”

“Hector’s right,” Mary agreed, “We should go.”

“Wait! Hector, take it now.”

Ellis reached into his front pocket and pulled out the necklace Perry had given him. He held it in his hands a moment before he offered it to Hector.

“Are you sure?”

Ellis nodded in response.

“It’s the only thing we have that’ll work.”

Hector took the necklace and placed it in a purple silk pouch. He pulled on the golden drawstring and tucked it away in the pocket of his dress pants.

Without another word, the three of them ran down the road towards the market district.

2

“Are you sure that your plan will work?”

“Yes, mister Byles.”

“It’ll work.”

Byles didn’t seem convinced.

“It’ll slow up everything! I’ll lose business.”

“It won’t be too long, I promise!”

Byles raised his eyebrows at Ellis and Mary.

“And you?”

Hector flinched.

“You think you can do it?” Byles asked him with a critical look.

Ellis gave Hector a big smile and clapped him on the back.

“’Course he can.”

“Mhmm. Alright!” Byles said, throwing his hands in the air. “Let’s get on with it then.”

Byles immediately shoved Mary and Ellis inside the shop. He then gave instructions to Hector, which Mary and Ellis could not hear. With a dismissive hand motion from Byles, Hector left the front porch and disappeared down the street.

Ellis gave Mary a final nod of approval before making his way to the backyard. Mary, now alone in the shop, looked around uncertainly before heading up the ladder to the balcony to begin checking inventory.

Their plan to catch the thief had finally been set into motion.