Chapter Three: The plan goes ahead.

The Captain stood, looking out of the window, back straight and hands folded behind him. Byrne and I exchanged glances nervously. We had explained every detail we could think of to him, while he sat listening, absolutely silently. When we were finished, he had risen and walked over to the window, where he had remained for the past five minutes. Byrne and I sat, trying to think of any further flaws we might have missed, and wondered what he was thinking.

Suddenly, he turned and flung himself into his chair in front of his desk, looking excited and eager. We sighed with relief and pleasure- we had wanted the Captain to like it so very much.

"I like it. It's very dangerous for you, Westenra, and only slightly less dangerous for Byrne. That's the only worry- you haven't much experience. Honestly, you say you haven't even fought in battle before, eh? Well, we can teach you a bit in the ten days it will take to get there. We'll need some female clothing, though, that'll be a problem. Lets have a look at a plan of the fort..."

We bent over his much larger and more detailed map, obtained from Marshe, and he laid a delicate finger firmly over a black line. "This is the main gate...and here's the back gate..."

We planned for me to hide the gold I managed to get, if any, in the sand in a cove not far from the town. The idea was for me to get as much of the gold as possible into some leather bags, and for Byrne, dressed as a drunken Spanish guard of some sort, to meet me at the beach where the bags were to be hidden, and escape. I would escape as soon as Byrne was safely away with the girl and I had the gold, over the rooftops or through the back streets, and run, ride or swim as fast as I could across the beach to the next village, where I would be picked up as soon as possible, which could be as fast as possible [Byrne was to organize a signal to the Dominion as soon as he heard of my escape or met up with me] or a few days later, at sunset or sunrise, at a certain beach, by a 'fishing smack' (really a one of the Dominion's boats).

It sounded crazy, and very risky, but the beauty of this plan rested on a few things. (A) nobody expects a maid to try and escape (b) If we got no gold, and the plan failed, another method- namely that of force- could still be tried without much time being wasted (c) the Duchess and maid would be safe whatever happened (d) the only real risks were to myself and Byrne, who were confidant of our capability and (e) If it all went horribly, horribly wrong, and everything went the worst way possible, Captain Wendon could deny all knowledge and claim we were thieves just after the gold. No political repercussions.

The last two, the Captain didn't like at all- it disgusted his sense of gentlemanly honor, and we spent anxious minutes persuading him that a rescue was unnecessary; if we were caught, we were more likely to escape if we were considered normal thieves anyway.

It was true; if we were caught, things could become very tricky, but not in the way they suspected. The Captain allowed his ruffled feathers to be soothed (as he got older, I thought, this was going to become more difficult) and thought for a moment.

"I will inform Captain Marshe, there is no need for you to attend. Get on with the training- you must teach Byrne to be a Spanish guard, and Byrne must teach you to fight, within ten days. You are both off duty until further notice- this takes priority. You may have anything you need- just ask.

Also, we must keep this quiet still, for the moment. Take the empty cabin six door down and use it as a base. We'll pull into a neutral port and get the clothing- you two had best go, get a proper taste of Spanish life. Dismiss, and well done both of you. Excellent."

We knew a polite goodbye when we heard one, and scarpered like boys with new toys, to start planning.

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