Vane pressed his dark nose against the narrow gap behind the grandfather clock.
The heavy mahogany casing smelled of old pine oil and brass polish.
Down below in the Great Hall, two strangers walked across the marble floor. Their boots made a sharp clicking sound that resounded up into the rafters.
Vane adjusted his dark-sable fur and kept his black eyes fixed on the intruders.
"The old lord left the manor to his niece," the taller man said, adjusting a leather satchel across his shoulder.
"She will not arrive until Friday," the second man replied in a low voice. "That gives us three nights to find the Blue Star Diamond."
Vane twitched his whiskers in the cool air of the wall cavity.
He knew every inch of Ironwood Manor. He knew the hidden crawlspaces inside the oak wainscoting and the narrow flues behind the stone fireplaces.
The Blue Star Diamond had rested inside the master vault since the manor was built a century ago.
Vane had watched the old lord lock that vault every evening before turning off the brass lamps.
Now the lord was gone, and these two men meant to steal what belonged to the house.
The taller man pulled a silver pocket watch from his coat and glanced at the dial.
"We start in the East Wing tonight," he whispered into the shadows. "Search the library first."
They turned toward the arched doorway leading to the library passage.
Vane backed away into the dark frame of the wall cavity. He turned his long, supple body with silent grace and darted up the interior oak studding.
If the thieves wanted the Blue Star Diamond, they would have to get past the small dark shadow that guarded Ironwood Manor.
He squeezed through a loose ventilation screen and emerged onto the high molding of the library gallery.
The room below was vast and dark. Row upon row of leather-bound volumes rose toward the vaulted ceiling.
Vane scurried along the top ledge, his sharp claws gripping the carved mahogany without making a sound.
He reached the secret door behind the portrait of the first lord.
A small bronze latch held the panel shut from the inside. Vane nudged it open with his snout and slipped into the hidden corridor.
This passage ran between the library walls and the outer stone masonry.
It was his primary highway through the estate, allowing him to traverse the building without being seen.
Vane paused at the junction where three stone shafts met.
The left shaft led down to the kitchen pantries where he gathered dried fruit and walnuts. The right shaft led up to the bell tower.
The center shaft dropped straight into the vault chamber.
Vane crept down the center incline, his tail trailing softly behind him against the smooth stone.
The air grew cooler as he descended into the deep foundation of the house.
He reached a brass inspection grate overlooking the steel vault door.
The heavy door remained shut, its triple locks gleaming under the faint light of a wall sconce.
Vane rested his chin on his front paws and listened carefully to the house above.
Above him, the floorboards groaned as the two intruders stepped into the library.
Their heavy boots moved slowly over the thick wool rug.
"Check the desk drawers first," the taller man ordered from above.
Vane narrowed his eyes in the gloom.
The thieves were searching the wrong room, but they would eventually find the vault blueprints inside the master study.
Vane knew he had to act before they discovered the combination key hidden in the cedar desk.
He turned and trotted back up the stone incline toward the study wall.
His heart beat fast against his ribs, but his footing remained steady and swift.
He reached the secret panel behind the desk in the master study.
Peering through a tiny knot in the cedar paneling, he saw a brass key box sitting open on the desk.
The thieves had not reached this room yet, but their footsteps were growing louder in the corridor outside.
Vane slid through the panel gap and dropped silently onto the velvet armchair.
He leapt across to the polished desk surface and snatched the small iron key from the brass box.
He gripped the cold metal tightly between his teeth, ensuring he did not drop it on the floor.
Springing backward, Vane scrambled back through the cedar gap just as the study door swung open.
"Look around carefully," a voice called out from the doorway.
Vane melted into the dark wall space, the iron key safe in his mouth.
The first move belonged to the shadow of Ironwood Manor, and he intended to win every turn.