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Long Island, 1889.Selina Steele was a cat burglar extraordinaire. Beautiful, strong-willed, and with a lifelong love of everything feline and sparkling.A master of tracking and stealth she was the most accomplished jewel thief east of the Missouri River.Lithe, well-formed, and as agile as a leopard, the stunning woman was determined and proud.She stepped out of the steam-powered Hansom cab and looked up at the opulent brownstone mansion in front of her. Montague Manor.Located in the Hamptons, part of the East End of Long Island, the Estate sat in old Southampton. A popular place where the wealthy and influential chose to keep a second home away from New York City.”Well, here we are again.”It was an unseasonably warm night for the time of the year as she strolled up to the enormous front doors and entered a great hall.The occasion was the annual Thanksgiving gathering and Theodore Montague, a self-styled playboy, and multi-millionaire had been planning the dinner and dance for months.Selina, an on-again-off-again acquaintance of the eligible bachelor had considered the residence ripe for a break-in for the same period and had decided that it was worth cracking after all.”There he is.”When she entered the ballroom all heads turned in her direction. Just as she intended.The proud woman seemed to glide across the floor as she headed straight toward the host without a glance at anyone else.”Good evening, Ted. It appears that I am the last to arrive.”Just as she had planned, he thought.”Selina. That is quite the most outrageous gown I have ever seen.””Does that mean you like it or not?”The formal floor-length evening dress, if you could call it was a sexy sheer number with floral sequins and long bell sleeves. In the light of the overhead chandelier and gas lamps, the hunter-green dress looked to be almost transparent to the eye.”It catches the eye,” he answered as he drank in her figure with big eyes.Her silver-heeled shoes gave her five feet ten form a couple of extra inches, although the bulky Montague, at over six feet tall still towered over her.He looked into her mesmerising green eyes until she averted her gaze nonchalantly and studied the other guests.Conversation twittered in the background as ladies mingled with the gentlemen.The United States was in the midst of a Gilded Age, and for most Americans, daily life had changed greatly.Transformations in technology had ushered in a modern society. Homes had electricity, for the most part, running water, and citizens rode in horseless carriages powered by steam.The young woman normally shunned these high society bore fests but this evening she had an ulterior motive.Her pale neck showed as he looked at her profile and he delighted at her flowing raven hair that wound around her shoulder.She looked pallid, with almost translucent skin as she turned back and looked at him from head to toe.”You’re not so bad yourself.”He nodded in gratitude and ran a hand through his wavy dark hair. Elegant and refined in his black coat and cloth trousers the only thing white was his crisp shirt and small necktie. On his hands were the most expensive gloves that money could buy.”Drink?”A passing valet offered a glass of champagne from a silver tray and Selina took one. Dancers tripped past them as they stood and watched. One man, in particular, caught her eye.’Who Dikmen Escort is that gentleman dancing with Miss Trotter?” Montague looked across the gas-lit room and spotted his newest friend from England.Thomas J. Rafferty was in a single-breasted dress coat with black kerseymere trousers and a ruffled white shirt as he twirled and spun to the music.He stopped dancing when Theodore beckoned to him and he and Maggie Trotter came over laughing and merry.”Maggie, are you enjoying yourself?” The twenty-year-old daughter of the Chairman of the Bank of North America nodded breathlessly. She had her best gown on, the taffeta one with the fitted bodice and open neckline. The single woman loved to dance and her toned figure was the happy result.”It is the best Thanksgiving I ever had. Thank you for inviting me.””Anytime. Selina, allow me to introduce Mister Rafferty from London. Apart from being a seasoned traveler he is an exceptional sportsman and plays cricket for England. Thomas, please meet Miss Steele, a dear friend of mine.”She shot a look at Montague and then spoke to the handsome Englishman.”Cricket?” “It is a gentlemen’s game with bat and ball between two teams of eleven, played on a green field in the summertime. And may I say that you look absolutely stunning tonight.”Rafferty smiled, took Selina by the hand, and kissed the back of it lightly.His piercing blue eyes bored through hers as she studied his curly dark hair and clean-shaven appearance. He had a strong, unscrupulous mouth and white teeth which captivated the slim woman.”I’ll leave you two to get acquainted. Come, Maggie, let us dance.”Montague took the glowering young woman by the elbow and steered her to the dance floor.”Ted. Did you see what she’s wearing? She’s practically naked!””Maggie Trotter. Do I sense some jealousy?””Jealous? Not I. Why she must be all of thirty!”Maggie huffed as she was whisked up into the arms of the congenial host.He had been the fortunate only son of Henry Montague, one of the founders of Montague Investments, probably the biggest stock brokerage firm in the US. And he lived life to the full. Entertaining some of the most eligible bachelorettes in the country and enjoying his wealth.Selina and Thomas sat by the grand piano and exchanged pleasantries as they watched the guests dance to the orchestra.”So, Mister Rafferty. What brings you to America?””Oh, I’ve always wanted to see the country. The English Cricket season is over until Spring, and I got a good deal on a first-class cabin on an ocean liner airship. BOAC.””BOAC?””British Overseas Airship Corporation. Do keep up, my dear thing.” “You don’t appear so needy that you should want to save money?”He flashed a look at her expensive dress, diamond-studded cat choker, and diamond ring.You seem pretty well off, yourself, he thought. He lit a cigarette which he produced from a silver case and mused for a moment.”Oh, I get by somehow, “he said as he flashed his engaging smile at her again.If she only knew that he rivaled her as a gentleman thief, capable of carrying out ingenious burglaries.Always after that big haul that would mean he could settle down permanently he stole at night and played by day.He was cynical about Victorian England believing that the distribution of wealth left a lot to be desired and chose to steal from those upper-class Dikmen Escort Bayan citizens who could afford some losses.Now in America, he had plundered several wealthy Americans’ homes and had relieved them of their jewelry.He had learned that Montague kept a substantial amount of gems in his safe.Selina saw his glance at her and read his mind.”Believe me, Mister Rafferty. I have known poverty. I was brought up in a New York slum before I was kidnapped and raised by others. I feel for the weak and oppressed, although I myself adore fine clothes and food.””I can see a lot of you in me, my dear Miss Steele.””Indeed?”A young man asked her to dance but she shrugged him off as she waited on the next words of Rafferty.”Yes, indeed. Do you think that because a fellow has fine clothes, plays a sport, attends extravagant parties, and socialises in a wealthy company, he must have a balance in the bank? I exist on my wits, as, I think do you.”Selina was speechless. He DID see something of her in him. Her bosom rose and fell as she digested his words and his eye imperceptibly lowered to look at her enviable cleavage.”Shall we dance?”Rafferty and she stood and he took her by the waist and they waltzed around the room. Selina was an independent creature to be sure, but at the same time was a woman through and through.The English gentleman had a firm hold and was light on his feet too. She closed her eyes and surrendered totally to the music and his arms.Then the music stopped and their faces came within inches of each other and time seemed to stand still.”Thank you, Mister Rafferty. If you would excuse me I suddenly have a blinding headache.”The elegant woman relinquished her hold on his back and glided across the room and was gone.xSelina prowled along the corridor like a big cat stalking its prey. The beautiful thief had waited until the hour of two in the morning until she changed into her professional outfit.She appeared from her room and glanced from left to right. Only when she was certain no one else was abroad did she close her door behind her and venture out.It was absolutely quiet, with no sign of life now that any overnight guests had retired for the night and Montague himself had taken off with young Trotter in tow. Only the security and household servants remained.As she passed a window in the hall on the first floor the moon shone its pale, almost ethereal light onto the athletic figure in black.Each silent foot tread was as if she were walking on paper as she made her way to the private study of Ted Montague.Her jet-black hair was loose about her shoulders and she kept the fine locks out of her face with a pair of night vision goggles that hid her features.”Curse the moon.”Her sleek figure was encased in a tight cinched whale-boned bodice that stopped at the waist and enhanced her cleavage. Elbow-length black gloves ended in special cat claws, perfect for detailed work and defence. With the waist-high tight leather leggings and knee-high black boots, she gave a sexy cat-like silhouette.”There.”She paused in the shadows and inspected the door. Having produced a skeleton key, newly twisted and filed, she opened the lock and turned the doorknob of the study in her left glove which gave way easily and she opened it a crack.As fortune would have it made no sound Escort Dikmen and she slipped inside cautiously and closed the door again silently.The room was dark apart from one moonbeam that shone through the large paned window.A mix of desks and armchairs was the only furniture in the room, and the air had a smell of old books from the many shelves.In the dim gas light, she made for the big portrait of Montague’s father where she expected to find a potted plant to the left of it.Behind this was the wealthy socialite’s not-too-clever hiding place for his safe where he kept untold amounts of valuables.”Aha.”It had been old Finnegan, a sixty-year-old lawbreaker and jailbird from Brooklyn, who took her under his wing when she had been a desperate teen and taught her the finer things of burglary.She soon discovered she had a natural talent for housebreaking and she spent hour upon hour toning up her skinny body and building her strength.Although she relished the capture of the pretty prize on this night, she had actually been employed by a secret patron who desired something within the safe altogether different.Montague had been offered a financial footing in the invention of the first steam-powered ‘difference engine’ or computer.The machine was modeled after a similar engine devised by Charles Babbage and would be an automatic mechanical calculator designed to tabulate polynomial functions.Funded by wealthy supporters such as Montague, the blueprint had been finished and hidden away in this very safe. And would be worth a handsome sum of monies.As her eyes grew accustomed to the low light Selina bent to the tall plant which was exactly where she expected it to be and as slowly as possible moved it to one side.From a back pouch, she produced her safe cracker gizmo. A palm-sized mechanical gadget of brass and copper which had a flat magnetic base.She attached the clever device to the safe next to the handle. With a flip of a finger, she triggered it and the intricate gears inside began to twitch.Two-minute wings sprang up and twittered rapidly as each number of the unknown combination was revealed. A soft click alerted her to the fact that the safe had been unlocked.She turned the handle and opened the heavy door of the safe. She peered inside only to find that the contents had vanished!”What the…”Suddenly she was caught in the light of one gas lamp and she quickly rose to her feet in surprise.There, standing as calm as ever was Rafferty, resplendent in a dark brown frock coat that featured long tails in the back, as well as wide lapels.It had a double-breasted front with gold buttons sitting atop black strips down the length. Around his neck, he wore a white jabot tie and beneath the coat a gold paisley patterned brocade waistcoat.He combined his somber attire with a pair of black slacks and black shoes with black spats. On his head, he had a top hat and a pair of round goggles.”I suppose it’s the challenge as well as the monetary gain that I steal to make a living. I also rather enjoy giving the police the run around as well. They are such a clumsy lot, don’t you agree?””I confess that I agree. So, you had a purpose for attending the dance. To purloin Montague’s jewels.”Selina stole a glance at the burlap bag Rafferty held in his left hand, still open as he had stuffed it with the loot.In the bag were diamonds, pearls, rings, and, a substantial amount of ready cash. A small fortune in a convenient sack. AND the computer blueprint. “Absolutely. As did you by all accounts. Pray to tell, do you always carry out your robberies in your underwear, Miss Steele?”
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