Rip and Blair walked into a conference room at RVS Headquarters, sent there by the receptionist this morning when they arrived. As they settled down around the table, the Veraz sisters walked in, giving Rip sad smiles and ignoring Blair.

Privately, he wondered how long they were going to mope about his marriage to Blair. Surely this would pass before too much longer, he hoped.

A few moments later, Twig walked in.

“What’s this about?” the infiltrator asked.

In reply, Rip handed him a copy of that morning’s edition of the Standard Trumpet.

The headlines read, “Ransacked! American Colonies’ Gold Shipment Waylaid. Armored Steam Truck Destroyed. Guards Gunned Down.”

Twig scratched his head while taking a seat and skimming the top fold of the paper.

“Oi! Did we do this?”

Rip said, “No. But that’s probably what we’re meeting about, if I had to make a guess.”

“Where’s Chance? He still infiltratin’ the Luddiots?”

Blair smiled at Twig and said, “Luddiots? That’s a new one. I like it.”

Rip said, “Again, that’s probably what this meeting is about. If anybody could be caught up in the theft of a million pound gold shipment, I’ve no doubt Bobby would be the one.”

A hidden panel in the wall slid open and everyone stood up as Sir Prescott walked in from a secret passage, the gold slash of his office draped across diagonally over his chest.

Following him, King Allo stepped into the room, nodding as everyone bowed formally at the waist. He moved to the chair at the head of the table and sat down, Prescott taking up position slightly behind him.

Last, Sir Percival Hedgefield stepped through, the director of RVS. The door slid shut behind him. He moved to another chair at the table and sat down with everyone else.

Allo spied the newspaper on the table in front of Twig and said, “Good, you’ve read the Trumpet. That’s why I’ve called this meeting. Percy, tell them what you told me.”

Hedgefield cleared his throat and all eyes turned toward him.

“Quite right. Last night, shortly after this heinous act, the driver of the armored truck that was robbed called into the Royal Venture Society headquarters. He informed the receptionist that he was admonished by one of the brigands attacking him to report the incident to the Society before speaking with the Metropolitan Police. He said he was to tell us that the Luddites were responsible for the gold theft.”

“Aha! So, Chance did do this,” Twig said, smiling. “I’m going to have to up my game.”

Blair frowned at him while Hedgefield cleared his throat.

“Next, he informed us the man bade him play dead while the gold was absconded. He could not tell us much more, but under further questioning, the description of his initial assailant indeed matches that of Mr. Chance. I presume, based on all your facial expressions, that you are aware of Mr. Chance’s activities, and that he is on some pursuit or other for the Rangers.”

“We were not aware of this in particular,” Rip said. “Not about the gold robbery. If we had known about it ahead of time, we would have tried to help thwart it. But yes, we knew Bobby infiltrated the Luddites.”

“I helped,” Twig said, proudly. “It was my contacts, what got him in.”

The king and Hedgefield traded glances. Hedgefield cleared his throat again, a little more nervously this time.

“We do not currently have any ventures or missions arranged against the Luddites, Your Majesty.”

Blair said, “This one was on our own, Your Majesty. As you know, the Luddites are responsible for gunning down my father in cold blood.”

The king nodded, his lips tightening in a scowl.

“Quite so, Lady Coulter. I am aware. And I certainly understand your desire to move against them. This gold came all the way from California, which is still a relatively new territory for us. Spain and Portugal have been mining the New World for centuries, but the American Wild West is finally providing Umbria with a share of the mineral wealth those two kingdoms have long enjoyed. The shipment came from San Francisco, sailing around Cape Horn and up to Boston before the Umbrian Bank branch there sent home our share on the Potomac. Now, two men are dead and a million pounds are in the hands of villains.”

He paused, tapping his nose in thought as he stared down at the table. The silence dragged on for several seconds.

“This might be a fortuitous thing, Your Majesty,” Prescott said.

Allo looked up and said, “How so?”

Prescott shrugged.

“We have a man on the inside. Hopefully, he will be able to let us know what they are planning on doing with your gold.”

“Our gold, you mean. It’s Umbrian gold, belonging to all of us. But yes, I see your point. Perhaps Providence is playing a role here, previously unbeknownst to us.”

Allo stood, and everyone else stood up with him. He addressed Rip.

“If we can be of any assistance, know that you have the full imprimatur of the crown behind your efforts to take down the Luddites. I’ll also offer a ten percent reward for the return of the Bank of Umbria’s gold.”

Rip raised his eyebrows.

“Thank you, Your Majesty. That is very generous.”

“It’s appropriate,” the king said, glancing at Blair. She bowed politely.

“Draw up the paperwork, Percy,” Allo said, turning to Hedgefield. “Make it an official RVS mission with the requisite rewards and file it for us.”

“Right away, Your Majesty.”

“Let’s get this settled. Top priority.”

Everyone gave the king a final bow as he walked back through the secret doorway, Prescott and Hedgefield following.

At the door, Hedgefield glanced back and said, “Godspeed to you all. Needless to say, this mission should supersede all else for the moment.”

Rip nodded as they locked eyes. Then Hedgefield walked through the door and it slid shut behind him, the wall appearing solid and featureless.

“Well,” Rip said as everybody sat back down around the table, “that certainly adds to the pressure, doesn’t it?”

“High pressure, high reward,” Twig said, rubbing his hands in glee. “And that’s a big reward. A hundred thousand quid!”

The vampires grinned, too. Rip noticed it, the first truly positive expressions they had made since his marriage.

He said, “Why are you two so happy?”

“Oh, we like gold,” Hilda said, drawling out with her Hungarian accent.

“Yes,” Liza said. “It is oh so much nicer than silver, Ripley. We can hold gold.”

“We can touch it and caress it, pull it close to our bosom and lick—”

“Right,” Blair interrupted. “We get the point.”

But even Blair’s rudeness could not disrupt the vampire sisters’ good mood. They continued smiling for the rest of the meeting.