by Laura Landon
“Would you care to see the items that have arrived so far for next week’s auction?”
“Why, yes, I should like that very much.”
Jack held out his arm for her to take and once again she suffered unexpected ripples of emotion. She walked with him to an adjoining room and Liam followed with Millie. Lily was glad her brother and his wife were close by. She was discovering that she didn’t trust herself to be alone with Mr. Broadmoore.
The connection she felt baffled her. She’d never experienced something so strange as this compulsion to reach out and touch the man. Never felt so confused and uncertain as to how she should respond. And without knowing why. It wasn’t that she could ever entertain any notion that they might become linked romantically. He was the son of a nobleman, and would never look twice at her. If her early childhood in the slums wasn’t a big enough deterrent, her illegitimacy certainly was.
Lily felt the sudden weight of it all. She had four identities and could call on each of them at will. But none of them could put her on an equal footing with the man who walked beside her.
Not in a million years.
BEHOLD THE THIEF by Laura Landon
Chapter Three
Jack kept his gaze focused on Liam McGregor’s sister as she moved beside him. There was much about her that intrigued him. It was obvious she was well educated. She comported herself as if she were a member of the nobility, and yet Jack knew that Liam had grown up on the darker side of Whitechapel Road.
So, where had his sister been raised?
Was it possible that she, too, had been reared in the slums? Jack told himself it was possible, but the voice inside his head told him there wasn’t a common bone in her body.
He noticed her dress, a gown of the latest fashion. The bonnet on her head was adorned with the most glorious ribbons that could only be found on the finest hand-made couture. Her hair was done up in the latest style and her jewelry chosen with evident care to display modest elegance. Everything about the young woman spoke of good breeding and the finest finishing schools.
Jack made use of the time she was distracted by the display of auction goods to study her. If he had to, he would feel comfortable in saying that she and Liam may have shared the same father—hence the same surname—but the two of them surely had different mothers.
Liam’s coloring was dark, from his dark hair and brown eyes to his bronzed complexion. Lily’s coloring was like that of an angel, her hair a beautiful honey blonde and her eyes the color of a summer sky on a cloudless day. The first impression was of demure chastity, until she spoke and her eyes flooded with curiosity and exuberance and unbridled wisdom.
As he watched her, his heart kept a steady beat inside his chest and his body reacted to her as it seldom did to any female.
Every time she came upon something that interested her, she stopped to study the item with obvious fascination. Then she would look over her shoulder and her gaze would lock with Jack’s, conveying her awe.
She was about to ask a question when Liam hurried in from the gallery.
“I’m so sorry, Lily. Millie isn’t feeling well. Would you like to go with us now, or stay and I’ll send the carriage back?”
Jack watched her try and fail to conceal her thoughts. She wanted to stay.
“Liam, the dowager duchess will be here shortly,” Jack said. “If it’s all the same to you, I’d ask your sister to stay and take tea. We’ll see that she gets home.” He turned to Lily. “What do you say?”
“That would be lovely,” she smiled.
Liam gave her a peck on the cheek and rushed off to look after Lady Millicent. The relief that he’d just bought more time with the beautiful Miss McGregor had Jack’s chest thrumming.
“I do find this idea of a silent auction most fascinating,” she said brightly.
Jack smiled. “I’m glad. It’s certainly catching on.”
“But you really must explain this.”
Liam’s sister raised her eyebrows, tilted her pretty chin, and made her way to two vases that he’d placed in a curio of their own so they would be noticed.
Although the vases weren’t from the Ming dynasty, they were still rare objects that only an art expert would recognize. Jack moved to the cabinet and used the key on his watch fob to unlock it. He opened the doors as wide as they would go and stepped away.
Lily McGregor stepped forward and her eyebrows shot further upward. She leaned close to the nearest vase, then reverently lifted the slender object to examine it.
It was small and perfectly formed, almost sleek without the bulbous base often found on works of the period. Its sapphire blue coloring with embossed gold flourishes was so vibrant that it dominated nearby pieces.
Its twin exuded the same elegance.
Jack realized Miss McGregor didn’t release her breath until she placed the vase back on its shelf with care. When it was safely back in place, she slowly turned to look at him.
Her mouth opened, but it seemed as if she found herself unable to speak.
Jack slowly opened his mouth to a wide grin and answered her unspoken question. “Yes, Miss McGregor. I believe it is.”
“But who would want to part with any Qing Dynasty vases? I mean…they’re not as valuable as Ming, but they are still priceless. Does the seller know what he’s putting up for sale?”
Jack stepped up beside Miss McGregor and felt the attraction that had pulsed through him from the first moment he’d met her. “Yes, I believe she does.”
“She?”
“Yes. She.”
“Then she must be desperate for the money they will bring.”
Jack couldn’t help but laugh out loud. “The seller is my aunt, the dowager Duchess of Camden. If there is one thing the dowager doesn’t need, it’s money. She is one of the wealthiest women in England. She is also my godmother.”
“If she doesn’t need the money, then why is she selling the vases?”
Lily’s question caused Jack to consider an answer and knew he didn’t have one. He made a mental note to ask his aunt the next time he saw her.
Before he finished his thought, one of his salesmen from the floor entered the room.
“You have a visitor, Mr. Broadmoore.”
“Who?” he asked.
“The dowager Duchess of Camden. I showed her to your private salon.”
“What perfect timing. Thank you, Randall.”
Lily leaned toward Jack with a wide-eyed whisper. “The same dowager duchess who is selling the Qing vases?”
“The very same.”
“Oh, I would love to meet—” She stopped with her sentence unfinished. Her chin lifted and she raised her shoulders. “But perhaps she would not approve of meeting me. I do not wish to deceive you, Mr. Broadmoore. I hail from Whitechapel, as you may have guessed. My infamous father was not known for his good deeds. Quite the opposite in fact.”
With effort, Jack managed to cover his surprise at her frank revelation.
“I can guarantee you that my aunt will be most eager to meet you. She doesn’t hold herself above anyone. Not even someone from the East End of London.”
Jack saw the hesitancy in her expression. Although she tried to put on a brave front, he could see how much courage it took for her to come face to face with a member of the ton. And a duchess at that.
“Come,” Jack said, extending his arm for her to take.
She hesitated the fraction of a second, then placed her gloved hand on his forearm. “If you are sure,” she said.
“I am.”
They took their first step toward the stairs that led to his private apartment. He knew the exact moment bravery conquered her fear. She breathed a sigh of resolve, then kept pace as he led her to his private suite.
He’d have sworn she was every inch a lady. Her comportment seemed as regal as the dowager duchess’ ever was. But that wasn’t what had drawn him so swiftly to her. So what was it?
Jack couldn’t explain what he felt for her. He ha
d no answer for how—in just a few moments—Lily McGregor had made inroads into his normally guarded heart.
Of course, he couldn’t allow her to take possession of the traitorous organ inside his chest. Too much was required of him.
Jack escorted Lily through the door his footman opened for him and paused to let her catch her breath before he introduced her to the dowager Duchess of Camden.
If he expected her to show any sign of nervousness upon meeting Her Grace, he was sadly mistaken. The Lily McGregor he’d escorted into the room changed before his eyes into a lady comparable to the most regal English nobility.
Jack’s heart shifted inside his chest as if hoping to get closer to the object of its affection. He seemed to have no control whatsoever over its reaction.
He stepped back as Lily executed a perfect curtsy. And just as she lowered her eyelids in deference to the woman, Jack saw his godmother’s startled smile.
BEHOLD THE THIEF by Laura Landon
Chapter Four
“Your Grace,” Jack said, “may I present Miss Lily McGregor. Lily, my godmother, the dowager Duchess of Camden.”
“Miss McGregor,” the dowager duchess said.
“Your Grace.”
“Please, sit down. You also, Jackson. I hope you don’t mind, but I ordered your staff to serve tea.”
“Of course I don’t mind.”
The duchess no sooner said those words than a young lady wearing a black gown and white apron entered with a tea tray.
“Will you pour, Miss McGregor?”
“Of course,” Lily said, then rose from her chair. She hoped her hands didn’t shake, but when she lifted the pot of tea, she was surprisingly steady.
“How do you take your tea, Your Grace?”
“Free of nuisance, my dear,” the dowager duchess answered. “I find that adding milk and sugar ruins the taste of a fine cup of tea.”
“I quite agree,” Lily answered. She poured a second cup of tea and handed it to Jack Broadmoore, void of any ‘nuisance’.
“This is not the first time you’ve poured,” the dowager duchess said after she’d taken a swallow of her tea.
“No, Your Grace. It is not.”
The dowager duchess lifted her cup as if to take a sip of her tea, then paused. “You’re not going to elaborate on my comment, are you?”
“No, Your Grace. I prefer not to divulge where I learned to pour or who taught me, other than to acknowledge that my childhood was steeped in the basics of fine etiquette.”
“And, you don’t appear to be nervous. I’m glad I don’t affect your nerves.”
Lily took a sip of her tea, then lifted her gaze to study the dowager duchess over the rim of her cup. “Was it your goal to make me nervous, Your Grace?” She infused her voice with friendly mischief.
“Not at all, my dear,” the dowager duchess answered on a laugh. “But I often discover it doesn’t take much effort to rattle innocent young ladies. My title usually has that effect on people who don’t know me. I seem to intimidate young ladies who are not confident of themselves.”
“Since I’ve heard nothing but compliments regarding the dowager Duchess of Camden, and I’m well out of my youth, I doubt you could ever intimidate me, Your Grace. Although, I can understand where those younger and less experienced would be daunted by your regal presence.”
“Regal, indeed. Enough of your flummery.”
The dowager duchess smiled, and if Lily wasn’t mistaken, she thought she even heard her chuckle.
“Your godson was showing me around the items that will be auctioned on Monday, Your Grace.”
“What did you think of them?”
“Quite remarkable. Especially the matching Qing vases. They are exquisite. Are you certain you want to part with them?”
Lily regretted her forwardness as soon as the question was out of her mouth. The expression on the dowager duchess’s face confirmed her error.
“Please, forgive me,” Lily said. “I had no right to question your decision to seek a new home for your treasures.”
“I think, perhaps, you were not questioning my decision to sell the vases as much as you were attempting to protect me from doing something I would regret later on.”
Lily blushed.
“There is no need to be embarrassed,” the dowager duchess said with a sad smile.
But Lily was embarrassed. She’d been probing, more for her own curiosity than in sympathy for the aging matriarch’s sentiments.
So many questions rose to her lips, but Lily had already overstepped her bounds where the dowager duchess was concerned. She didn’t wish to repeat her mistake.
“Have you put a protection bid on the vases, Your Grace?” Jack asked.
“Yes, but I’m sure you will consider it too low. I didn’t want to ask more and risk the vases not selling.”
“Then I will do my best to get the most for them.”
“I know you will, Jackson.” The dowager duchess reached out to pat Jack’s hand. “Now, tell me where you hail from, my dear,” the dowager duchess said to Lily. “One of our northern cities perhaps?”
Lily’s breath caught.
“Come now, Miss McGregor. I’ve already surmised you are not a member of the ton.”
“No, I am not of nobility. In fact, I am the farthest from nobility.” Lily lifted her chin. She might as well get this over with. There was no way she could hide the fact she was a product of the slums. She assumed Mr. Broadmoore already surmised that’s where she came from. She was Liam’s sister, after all.
“As it happens, I was born in Whitechapel.”
“Whitechapel,” the dowager duchess repeated on a whisper.
“Yes, Whitechapel. I never knew my mother who died giving me life. Gunner McGregor was my father. He did his best to give me a proper education. He hired a governess to teach me to be a lady.” Lily intentionally omitted the fact that her governess was also an actress and highly paid courtesan.
“When I was seventeen, he sent me to France so I could accustom myself to the French way of doing things. He considered French customs much less restrictive than English customs.”
Lily focused on the dowager duchess’s face and tried to read what she was thinking, but her closed expression was impossible to interpret. Next, she turned her head to focus on Jackson Broadmoore. His countenance wasn’t that difficult to read. Unfortunately, the pity she saw when he looked at her wasn’t what she wanted anyone to feel for her.
Lily placed her cup and saucer on the table next to her and rose. “It’s getting late. I must return home. Thank you for allowing me to share your tea.”
Jack stood and took a step toward her. “Please, Miss McGregor. Don’t leave yet.”
“No, I—”
“Sit down, Miss McGregor,” the dowager duchess said in a commanding voice. “I should like to hear more of your background.”
Lily paused. She wasn’t sure she wanted the dowager duchess to know more about her. Especially the events of her youth. She especially didn’t want Mr. Broadmoore to know more about her. Yet, she’d never run from a challenge before, and the dowager duchess had definitely issued her a challenge.
Lily sat in her chair and placed her folded hands in her lap.
“I’m sorry if we offended you, Miss McGregor,” Jack Broadmoore said when he was seated.
“You didn’t offend me. I learned long ago not to be offended when speaking of my background. I had no more to do with where I was born and who my parents were than either of you had in being born into a titled family.”
“You’re quite right, Miss McGregor.” A genuine smile softened the duchess’s face. “What you’ve done with your life is infinitely more important than what you were born into.”
Lily searched the kind woman’s face.
“Although I believe that is true, I will understand if you would like me to leave. I am well aware that members of the ton do not associate with my sort.
“That is a sad fact of our society,
Miss McGregor,” the dowager duchess said with a firmness in her voice. “But that doesn’t mean that at least some of us don’t realize how condescending and unforgivable that attitude is. You should be judged by your accomplishments and what you’ve achieved, not according to your place of origin. You are correct when you say that none of us has any control over where we are born.”
Lily felt a small smile lift the corners of her mouth. “If only more of those with a title shared your outlook on the matter.”
“Indeed,” the dowager duchess agreed. “Now, please tell me how a girl from the East End recognized Qing vases.”
“It’s not only the Qing vases Miss McGregor recognized,” Jackson Broadmoore interjected. “She was knowledgeable about most of the objects in my showroom as well as those being readied for auction. I think she has a better knowledge than I do as to what is valuable.”
“Really?” the dowager duchess said. “How did you acquire such a knowledge?”
“I have no explanation other than I have always had an unquenchable thirst for art. Whenever I had the chance, I would visit art galleries and museums. The French people are especially willing to share their love of art. I would be at their doors the minute they opened in the morning, and stay until they told me to leave at night.”
“How extraordinary,” the dowager duchess whispered. “I understand your appreciation for the arts. I share that appreciation, although I don’t have the dedication you obviously have. There is much I do not know that I wish I knew. Even Jackson has far surpassed me.”
“If not for you, Your Grace, I would never have opened Broadmoore’s Treasures. Because of you, I can do something I love to do. Father would never have agreed to let me own an art shop. If you hadn’t taken my side when he refused to listen to me, I would not be here now.”
The dowager Duchess of Camden seized the moment to rise. “But you are here, my boy, and now you have this brilliant lass to help you. It bodes well for Broadmoore’s, Jackson. Very well, indeed.”
The elegant woman turned to Lily. “And now I should be happy if you would allow me to deliver you home,” she said, drawing their pleasant afternoon to a close.