<div align="center"><strong>Lady Catherine Montrose</strong></div><br/>Catherine turned sharply towards the thief, her face a blend of astonishment and relief. He seemed satisfied with his spoils and was content to simply grope her ass as he passed in his rush to escape before he was detected. She followed his fading footsteps on the deck above and then silence.<br/><br/>"Thank you," she breathed. "I'm so pleased you knew about those jewels." She watched the confusion in Mary's eyes and laughed. "So it was a bluff."<br/><br/>She looked down at her torn dress and exposed breasts "But we're no better off," she continued, adding to herself 'though I may have found a friend and ally'. She looked across at the splintered lock on the gaping cabinet, imagining how the captain would react on her return, before turning her gaze back to the frightened girl. "It would be best if the captain thought that I'd told him where to look; there's no telling what she'd do to you if she discovered the truth."<br/><br/>