A Scandal By Any Other Name-Chapter 200 - Two Hundred

Delaney stood in her bedroom, a cold, satisfied smile touching her lips as the memory faded.

She walked over to the tall grandfather clock ticking quietly in the corner of her room. She remembered the apothecary’s strict words in the shop.

The effect takes place slowly over two hours, Miss. it mimics normal sleep patterns to avoid any suspicion from a physician. The slumber will be incredibly deep. They might snore, talk in their sleep or even change their sleeping position. Don’t be afraid, it’s completely normal as this drug does not knock them out completely and it will wear off exactly in five hours.

She checked the time on the clock face. The brass hands pointed straight up.

It was twelve. Midnight.

Exactly two hours had passed since Cole Kingsley had finished his dinner and stumbled groggily into his private bedchamber, complaining of a terrible, sudden exhaustion.

The drug had fully taken hold. He would not wake up if a cannon fired next to his bed.

It was time.

Delaney moved quickly

She wore her soft, silent cloth slippers and picked up a small, unlit candle and a box of matches. She did not light the wick yet. A glowing light moving through the dark house would attract the attention of any restless servant. She had to navigate the manor by the pale moonlight filtering through the windows.

She walked to the door of her bedroom. She pressed her ear against the wood, listening intently for any sound of footsteps.

The house was completely dead. Not a single floorboard creaked.

Delaney turned the brass key slowly, suppressing the loud click with her thumb. She pulled the door open just enough to slip through.

The grand hallway of the first floor was incredibly dark and cold. The shadows stretched long and menacing against the wallpaper.

Delaney stepped out into the hallway and closed her door silently behind her.

Cole’s master bedchamber was located at the very end of the hall, far away from the guest rooms and the stairs. It was a large, imposing room with double doors.

Delaney walked slowly down the corridor. Her soft slippers made absolutely no sound on the thick, patterned carpet. She glided past the closed doors of the empty guest rooms. She glided past the door where her aunt Eunice was currently locked inside, sleeping fitfully after her violent tantrum.

She reached the end of the hallway.

She stood before the double doors of Cole’s room. She reached out and placed her hand flat against the cold wood. She pushed gently.

The door was not locked. Cole was an arrogant man who believed he was completely safe in his own home. He never locked his bedroom door from the inside.

The heavy door swung open silently on its well-oiled hinges.

Delaney stepped inside the master bedchamber.

The room was pitch black, save for a single sliver of moonlight slicing through a gap in the heavy velvet curtains.

From the center of the room, coming from the massive four-poster bed, she heard a loud, heavy sound.

Snore.

It was a deep, rattling, incredibly slow snore.

Delaney let out a tiny breath of relief. The apothecary had spoken the absolute truth. The sleeping tonic was working perfectly. Cole Kingsley was completely unconscious, trapped in a heavy, unnatural sleep.

She crept quietly across the large room, moving away from the door and closer to the bed. Her eyes slowly adjusted to the deep darkness.

She could see the large, lumpy shape of her uncle lying flat on his back beneath the heavy quilts. His mouth was hanging open, and his chest rose and fell in a slow, rhythmic motion.

Delaney did not look at him for long. She turned her attention to the small

bedside table sitting right next to his head.

"He even sleeps with it on his bedside table," Mary, the kitchen maid, had whispered.

Delaney squinted in the dark. She took a tiny, careful step closer to the table. She held her breath, praying the floorboards near the bed would not creak under her weight.

There it was.

Resting on the smooth wood of the table, gleaming faintly in the sliver of moonlight, was Cole’s gold pocket watch. And attached to the gold chain of the watch was a thick, worn brass key.

The key to her father’s locked study.

Delaney’s heart hammered a frantic rhythm against her ribs. She was only inches away from the truth.

She reached out her right hand. Her fingers were trembling slightly with anticipation.

She hovered her hand over the bedside table. She had to be incredibly careful. If the heavy gold watch dragged against the wood, it would make a loud scraping sound and alert someone else.

Very, very slowly, Delaney lowered her fingers.

She pinched the thick brass key between her thumb and forefinger. With her other hand, she carefully lifted the heavy gold pocket watch at the exact same time. She lifted them both smoothly into the air, completely avoiding any scraping sound against the table.

She held the watch and the key suspended in the dark.

Cole let out a sudden, loud snort.

Delaney froze completely. Her blood ran completely cold. She stopped breathing. She stood perfectly still, her hands hovering in the air over the sleeping man.

Cole shifted his heavy weight on the mattress. He rolled his head slightly to the side, muttering something incoherent in his drug-induced sleep.

He settled back into his heavy, rattling snores.

Delaney closed her eyes for a brief second, thanking God for the apothecary’s brilliant work.

She carefully detached the thick brass key from the small metal hook on the gold chain. The lock mechanism gave a tiny, almost silent click.

She gently lowered the gold pocket watch back down onto the mahogany table, resting it exactly where she had found it so Cole would not suspect a thing when he eventually woke.

Delaney curled her fingers tightly around the cold brass key. She pulled her hand back, pressing the key firmly against her chest.

She had it.

She turned around and crept silently back across the large room. She slipped through the double doors and pulled them softly shut behind her, leaving her uncle trapped in his deep slumber.