Cursed by Bandits (Once Upon A Curse)

11. Chapter Eleven

Chapter Eleven

I hid in the shadows watching the Sheriff of Nottinghamshire go door to door collecting coin the people of Lockersley didn’t have to spare. Each person who answered the door was weighed down from the exhaustion of struggling day after day. I wished I could have stopped Montfort from collecting the taxes, but taking the money back was the only way we could figure out how to make this work.

Last night, we’d stayed up late discussing what would happen today. I was to follow Montfort until he finished collecting, then, acting like I’m a highwayman, hold him up in the woods. Will and Milo would be in the woods, ready to back me up if I needed assistance.

It was a hastily put together plan, which happened to be my favorite kind.

Montfort rapped firmly on the door of the last residence Tuck had mentioned. Behind that door lived a mother and her three children left to fend for themselves after the passing of her husband and their father some time ago. Because of the family’s hardship, my father had adamantly declined to collect anything from them until the eldest son reached an age suitable for employment. However, Uncle Jonathan held a very different perspective, insisting they repay every last farthing owed.

I stood by the window of the widow’s home, eavesdropping.

“Fresh apples.” Jocelin grabbed an apple and tossed it in the air before catching it and taking a bite. “How can you claim to have no money when you’re buying fresh fruit?”

“We didn’t buy it. The food was a gift from the church.” The widow’s voice quivered as she spoke. “Everyone in town knows we have no money, not even for food. The church makes sure we don’t starve. At least someone cares about our well-being.”

Jane whistled, soft but persistent, letting me know someone was coming. I cast my gaze down the road and observed my uncle’s carriage rumbling steadily towards us. The carriage halted in front of the widow’s humble cottage, its tired flower boxes adorned with dried foliage. As the carriage window curtains parted, my uncle’s figure emerged, casting a shadow against the dimming light of the day.

“Ride with me, Montfort, bring the gold with you.”

I watched as Montfort followed my uncle’s orders, weighed down by multiple bags of coin as he climbed into the splendid vehicle.

“Crap,” I muttered. This changed everything. I couldn’t hold them up now, not when my uncle was in there. But I didn’t want to wait for another opportunity. The town needed the money now, not the next time Montfort came around to collect.

I moved with stealth from one house to the next, silently trailing the lumbering vehicle as it made its gradual progress through the town. Its leisurely pace allowed me to easily maintain my pursuit, so it came as no surprise when Jane caught up with me.

“What are you going to do now?” Jane asked through grated teeth.

I glanced back at her. “I’m going to steal the gold, of course. I need to find Milo and you have to stall them. ”

“I don’t think so.” Jane shook her head. “We need to wait until next week. There was no plan in place for this situation.”

I shrugged. “That’s why we need to improvise. I have an idea. It’s risky and the probability of success isn’t great, but I think I can make it work.”

“Rowan, no . . .”

I felt Jane’s eyes bore into my back as I ran into the forest.

As the sun dipped below the horizon, casting the forest into a dim twilight, I meticulously scanned the wooded surroundings, searching for any sign of Milo in the dwindling light. The moon’s gentle glow filtered through the canopy, casting faint shadows amidst the trees, causing me to strain my senses, determined to locate him.

“Milo . . . Where are you?” I hissed.

With lightning reflexes I reacted to the sudden grasp around my waist. Instinctively seizing my dagger, I countered the attack. With a forceful push, I propelled my assailant backward until they collided with a nearby tree, emitting a startled grunt upon impact. Whirling around, adrenaline coursing through my veins, I leveled my dagger at the individual’s throat.

“Rowan, it’s me,” Milo said with very little movement.

My dagger fell to the dirt. “Don’t surprise me like that.” The dagger was gone, but I was still pressed up against his body, holding him up against the tree. “I could have killed you.”

“I’ll take that into consideration next time I attempt to get your attention.” Milo’s hands settled on my waist. “Do you have any more daggers I should be worried about?”

“Daggers—” I paused, my brain seemed to slow when his hands settled on me. I cleared my throat. “Of course I have more daggers. I always come prepared.”

“Maybe you can resist the urge to stab me, at least for a few moments.” He raised his hand, his touch gentle as he brushed my bangs aside, his eyes meeting mine.

I chewed on my lower lip as my eyes met his. My gaze filled with questions I knew I didn’t have the answers to yet. When he angled his head into a kissing position, panic set in.

I looked away before anything happened. “I could use a tool that could cut a hole into the bottom of a carriage. Got anything like that on you?”

“What are you planning?” Milo searched my face as if that would give him a clue to what I was thinking, feeling. Even if he could sense those things, it wouldn’t do him any good this time. My thoughts were cascading one after another, so fast I couldn’t keep up with them, and as for my feelings, those were even more jumbled than my thoughts .

“Well . . .” I took a step away from him in an attempt to focus my thoughts. “I was thinking I could stowaway underneath the carriage, cut a hole in the floor, and steal the money through the hole.”

Milo pushed himself off the tree and ran his hand through his hair. He stood in front of me, hand on one hip, the other massaging his temple, his exasperation emanating from his body.

“That’s not a plan, Rowan—let me rephrase: that’s a surefire plan to get caught. It’s too dangerous. We need to call the whole thing off.”

“Not a chance.”

I started to walk away when Milo grabbed my wrist.

“Fine, I might have something that will help you.” He knelt on the ground and went through his satchel. He pulled out a few items. “You’re going to need a decent distraction, but if you hook these into the doorframe and connect this, it will support you under the carriage so you’ll have use of your hands.” He dug around some more. “There it is. This should drill through the bottom of the carriage, and this powder can be used to blow the rest of it away.”

He held out a corkscrew contraption with a handle and a small sack of powder .

“What do you mean, blow a hole?” I took the items with hesitation.

“It’s an explosive. Hopefully, the road noise will be loud enough to hide what you’re doing.” He looked at me like he expected me to screw up.

I stared back with false bravado. “How am I supposed to light the powder while hanging from the bottom of a carriage?”

“I almost forgot.” He pulled a vial out of one of his pockets. “Mix a grain or two of this with the powder. It should do the trick. Too much and you’ll blow up everything.”

“Good to know. Wouldn’t want to do anything like that.” I stood up on my tiptoes to kiss Milo on the cheek, then ran off to find Jane. I had a heist to carry out.

I sprinted through the trees, my surroundings bathed in the moonlight, which illuminated the forest just enough to guide my path. Trees blurred past as I deftly navigated over roots and around fallen branches.

Suddenly, I skidded to a stop just inches from Jane, narrowly avoiding a collision.

“Follow me. I need you to stop my uncle and the sheriff. Ride back with them. But delay long enough for me to get in position.” I grabbed her arm. “How far down the road are they? ”

“Not far. If we cut through the forest, it won’t take long to overtake them. I’ve never seen a carriage move so slow. Why is it so slow?” Jane hiked up her skirts and traipsed through the forest.

She pointed to a spot where two roads crossed. I nodded, agreeing with her unspoken words: that’s where Jane would distract my uncle.

She brushed her skirts down and unpinned her braid, creating the look of a damsel in distress. The grinding of wooden wheels caused us to look down the road. Jane stepped out and limped towards my uncle’s golden transportation with one hand pressed to her back.

I heard the driver stop the horses and Jane’s murmurs. The trees blocked me from being seen as I made my way to the carriage sitting and glistening in the pale light. I scurried across the road, ducked down, and rolled under the carriage. I hooked the sling-like item Milo had given me, then using the footman’s perch on the back to balance, slid my feet over, and I lifted my weight until my butt settled into the fabric.

The carriage lurched forward, causing me to fumble with my tool. Thankfully, I caught it. I was about to drill the holes when I noticed a latch. This might be easier than I had planned. I unlatched the bottom, peeked through the opening. A rug blocked me from view. I pushed the rug up and felt around, grabbing a foot.

“What was that?” my uncle asked.

I quickly pulled my hand down, so the rug lay flat.

“I’m so sorry, milord. I slipped on that last bump. It was an accident. I would never do anything to intentionally cause you discomfort. Let me just move over to the left so I can prevent it from happening again,” Jane said loud enough for me to hear her over the clopping of the horses’ hooves and grinding of the wheels on the road.

She said to the left. Was that her left or mine? I ran my fingers along the opening of the carriage under the rug towards my left. A foot stomped on my hand, then pushed it the other way. Jane was directing me. I followed her clues until I felt a burlap sack. My fingers tightened around the sack and dragged it through the opening. I let the bag fall to the ground. I repeated this until Jane nudged my hand again. After grabbing the last bag, I closed the floor hatch and slipped out of the fabric. I rolled out of the road to remain out of sight, not standing until I was in the trees.

I popped up and took off down the street, grabbing the bags as I came across them, and made my way to Tuck’s so we could figure out the best way to distribute the coins.