The Devil's Thief (37 page)

When he finally had the package unwrapped and the pearl in
the palm of his hand, he was surprised by how relieved he felt. He held the
pearl up between his finger and thumb. “Hello, again,” he whispered.

“Oh, Alasdair,” Julianna said in a teary voice. “At last.”

He looked over at her and suddenly he knew exactly what he
was going to do with the pearl. “Let’s go,” he said, closing his fist around
it. He shoved it into his pocket and reached out for Julianna’s hand. Alasdair
didn’t look back as he pulled her out the door.

Chapter
Twenty-one

“So
I had just removed the pearl and was about to leave the money when Blackman
revealed himself. He knew I was there all along. He’d seen me hiding across the
street and he and Cam waited for me in his office.” Julianna was telling them
all that they’d missed as they sat in Sir Hilary’s carriage on the way back to
her father’s house. So much had happened that Julianna was surprised to find that
it was still the middle of the night when they left the Black Horse. The
streets were deserted. “Blackman caught me red-handed. He ordered Cam, his
brother”—she turned to Alasdair—“the one who tried to shoot you, to
get rid of me. Then there was a thumping downstairs and Cam ran out. Blackman
grabbed me, I screamed, we struggled, Alasdair came running, and, well, you
know the rest of the story.”

Alasdair
had looked decidedly grim through most of her tale, and now he was covering his
face with both hands. She did not take this as a good sign. Alasdair’s cousin, the
Earl of Throckton, looked just as grim, and he seemed slightly sick to his
stomach. The other three men, however, looked quite impressed

“I
never thought you had it in you,” Wiley said in awe. “Amazing.”

Sir
Hilary was nodding. “Amazing, indeed.”

“Well
done, Miss Harte,” Mr. Templeton said warmly.

Alasdair
removed his hand from his face and glared at them all. “ ‘Well done’? ‘
Amazing’?
It was nothing of the sort! What is amazing is
that she wasn’t killed at numerous times in this ill-advised scheme!”

“Really,
Sharp, I think she could only have been killed once. It’s all we’re allotted,”
Sir Hilary said dismissively. “And it sounds as if she planned the entire caper
exceedingly well and was quite thorough.”

Julianna
was tempted to tell Sir Hilary to be quiet because she was relatively sure he
was not helping her cause. “Well, I did get caught. Again,” she said meekly.

“A
‘caper,’ as you put it,” Alasdair addressed Sir Hilary as if she hadn’t spoken,
“that was entirely unnecessary and placed her life in jeopardy! Am I the only
sane man in this coach who understands that?” Alasdair exclaimed
,
his hand flung in the air for emphasis. Or perhaps he was
hoping to hit someone. Julianna wasn’t sure. She scooted a little farther away
from him just in case, even though it pressed her rather too close to the
earl’s side.

“Completely
unnecessary,” the earl said, nodding in agreement.

“Settle
down,
Sharp
,” Wiley said patronizingly, “no harm was
done and you got your pearl back. Isn’t that what you wanted?” He was resting with
his head on the carriage door.

Julianna
sank down on the leather cushion, wishing it would swallow her up. Alasdair’s
face was turning red. “Let me make this perfectly clear,”
Alasdair
said in a low, dangerous tone. “I do not care if I never see that damn pearl
again. I do, however, care if I never see Julianna again.
Very,
very much.
There is no contest between which of them I find more
valuable. Perhaps to the rest of you this was a great lark, but to me it was a
foolhardy, dangerous, idiotic scheme that could have cost me my fiancée.” He
reached into his pocket and pulled out the pearl. He held it out in his open
palm. “I would throw this damn thing in the Thames in a second if it meant
saving Julianna’s life.” His fist closed tightly about the pearl. “Do you
understand?”

Sir
Hilary had a very satisfied smirk on his face. “Yes, well, I don’t think we are
the ones that need to understand that. Are we?”

Julianna’s
heart was full to bursting as she gazed at Alasdair. He meant it. He really did.
He turned to her and she could see the truth of it in his eyes. Without a
second’s hesitation she moved into his arms and kissed him. Kissed him
thoroughly, shamelessly, and with a great deal of passion and relief. And he
kissed her right back, yanking her onto his lap. Before she became completely
lost in him, a throat was cleared loudly.

She
broke the kiss, blinking away tears.

“Well,
it looks like she understands,” Wiley said, and Julianna gave a watery little
laugh.

While
Alasdair fished around in his empty pocket, Mr. Templeton shoved a handkerchief
in front of her.

“One
simply cannot rescue damsels in distress without a handkerchief,
Sharp
,” Mr. Templeton admonished. “It just isn’t done.”

“Duly
noted,” Alasdair said, and he rested his forehead against the side of her head
as she delicately sniffed into the handkerchief and wiped her eyes dry.

“Have
you told her about the rent, Throckton?” Sir Hilary asked innocently.

Julianna
froze in the act of wiping the corner of her eye. “The rent?” she squeaked.

Alasdair
pulled back with a frown and started shaking his head. “Honesty, Julianna,
isn’t that what you were preaching to me the other night? At what point was
that going to become a consideration for you as well?”

Julianna
looked at him askance. “I was certainly honest about what we were doing the
other night,” she replied smartly, stung by the accuracy of his accusation.

A
throat was cleared again. They both ignored it. “Well you can hardly be
dishonest about that,” Alasdair told her smugly. “You cannot hide what . . .” He
paused and glanced at the others. “Pleases you. That kind of honesty does not
signify.”

Julianna
put her hands on her hips, which was rather awkward, considering she was still
sitting on his lap, but it expressed her inner turmoil perfectly. In the
process she may have dug her elbow into Alasdair’s midriff, but she chose to
ignore his “Oof!” of surprise.

“That
is hardly the sort of thing you ought to be mentioning in mixed company,
Alasdair,” she said haughtily.

She
heard a “Hear, hear,” muttered under someone’s breath, and beside her the earl
said, “They are going to be married, correct?” Glancing around, she realized
that all four men were staring out the windows, trying not to look at her and
Alasdair. Well, it was all the privacy they were likely to get here.

“My
apologies,” Alasdair said stiffly. “You are correct. But the sentiment still
applies. Why did you not tell me about the back rent on the foundling home,
Julianna? Why did you not come to me for assistance?” There was a hurt quality
to his voice that made Julianna feel foolish and terribly guilty.

“How
did you find out?” she asked quietly, smoothing a hand down his cheek. “Did
Wiley tell you?”

Alasdair
looked confused. “How does Wiley know about it?”

“She
told me. Remember, got two boys in the home,” Wiley supplied helpfully, and
then he yelped as Mr. Templeton flicked a finger against his skull. “Oops,
sorry, forgot we weren’t supposed to be listening.”

Alasdair
glared at him and Julianna wondered if the two men would ever get along. She
got the distinct impression that Alasdair mistakenly blamed him for this
night’s work. She turned Alasdair’s face back to her with a gentle hand.

“Wiley
didn’t tell me,” Alasdair answered her, swiftly kissing her palm. “Throckton is
your new landlord. When I came over to tell him about the pearl’s loss and our
engagement, he had just received a letter from a young lady concerning a
charity. That was when everything became clear.” He squeezed her gently. “You
needn’t worry, Julianna, he had already decided not to demand the back rent from
you and to pay it himself. Now, of course, he is more determined than ever to
do so. You are going to be family, after all.”

“Absolutely,”
the earl said, turning to give her a pained look. “I never would have evicted
the children, Miss Harte. If only I had admitted my mistake and dealt with the
consequences of my own foolhardy actions instead of trying to lay the blame at
your door, all this could have been avoided.” He sighed. “In truth, the whole
situation was my fault.”

Julianna
gaped at him. “What are the odds that you would own the house? It’s
astonishing!”

Alasdair
laughed. “London is a very small place, Julianna. And I, for one, choose to
believe that fate intended for us to finally meet properly. If you hadn’t
stolen the pearl, we probably still would have crossed paths again and again,
I’d wager.”

“But
not in the same way, I don’t believe,” Julianna teased. Across the coach, Mr.
Templeton had a coughing fit and Julianna saw that he was hiding a smile. She
blushed furiously, remembering too late that he and Sir Hilary were privy to
the details of their relationship.

Julianna
squirmed out of Alasdair’s lap, taking him by surprise. He looked unhappy at
her departure. “I’ve already spoken with my father and my stepmother,
Alasdair,” she told him briskly, effectively ending that line of conversation.
“I didn’t go to them immediately because I thought Lady Linville disapproved of
my patronage of the foundling home. I believed she and father would take the
opportunity to force me to close the home. I now regret that I underestimated
them so.”

Alasdair
reached out to take her hand. “I’ve learned a lesson or two recently about not
underestimating family, myself, Julianna.” He gave his cousin a meaningful
look, which appeared to surprise the earl. “Let us learn from our mistakes and
not judge ourselves too harshly.” He grinned mischievously. “At least, that’s
my plan.”

Julianna
laughed. “And it’s a good one. The important thing is that Father and Lady
Linville have agreed to help me organize and run the home more efficiently. And
that includes moving it to a safer location.”

Wiley
chimed in again, “And that’s a good thing,
Sharp
. Not
too happy with the location, myself, so close to Newgate.” He shivered. “Can’t
stand to be that close to that woman.”

Sir
Hilary opened his mouth to ask, but Julianna firmly shook her head at him and
with a nod he remained silent.

“Good,
then,” Alasdair said decisively. “We shall shop around for a better location
together. Ernest will give us all the time we need at the Ludgate house.”

“Of
course,” the earl agreed immediately. “Although I must say I’m not too pleased
to find out it’s in an undesirable location. How am I to let the house?” he
grumbled. “A shoddy piece of business on my part, to be sure.”

Julianna
felt tears threatening again. “You don’t mind it?” she asked Alasdair. “My
working with the home?”

Alasdair
looked taken aback. “Why would I mind? I find it a very worthwhile cause. Can’t
stand to see orphaned or abandoned children, myself.” He smiled at her and
squeezed the hand he still held. “I’d be proud to say my wife supported such a
noble cause.”

Julianna
couldn’t stop herself. She threw herself into his arms and hugged him tightly.
“Oh, Alasdair, I wasn’t sure. Not after the way you talked at Covent Garden the
other day.”

Alasdair
held her close. “My dear,
children
are
another thing
entirely. They are the future, are they not?”

“I
hope they are our future,” Julianna whispered in his ear, and his arms
tightened around her.

Alasdair
breathed deeply as he held her. “Is that why you didn’t come to me? Because you
thought I’d disapprove?”

 
“Yes and no. I didn’t tell you because I
was trying to protect you, and my father.
And Wiley, of
course.
I was afraid I would have to reveal the location of the pearl
and you would try to recover it and Blackman would hurt you or the others in
the process.”

Alasdair
pulled back and stared at her in disbelief. “And you thought somehow it would
be better if you were injured in an attempt to regain the pearl?”

“I
tried not to think like that. And I wasn’t injured.” She forcefully pushed the terrifying
memory from her mind. “I very nearly had the pearl, you know.” She laughed at
her false bravado. “All right. Thank God you all came barging into Blackman’s
to rescue me.”

Alasdair
didn’t get the chance to chastise her more, as just then the carriage stopped.
He released her and peered out the window. “We’re here.”

Sir
Hilary tapped the roof, and a moment later the coachman opened the door. “And
it looks as if you two still have a great deal to discuss. We shall leave you
both here, Sharp, and I will see you in the morning.”

Julianna
climbed down from the coach and Alasdair followed. He turned back to Sir Hilary
with a grin. “Is that a summons?”

Sir
Hilary waved his hand airily. “Take it as you will. One o’clock promptly,
please.”