How to Steal a Thief’s Heart

by Wolf, Bree

  Caroline nodded, but refrained from saying anything. Quite obviously, Rebecca had at least some idea what it was that nightly intruder had wanted, and equally obviously, she was determined to keep it to herself.

  When had life become so complicated? Caroline wondered. And so secretive?

  “What shall we do tomorrow?” Rebecca asked, sliding her arm through the crook of her cousin’s.

  “I have my needlepoint circle,” Caroline replied, knowing that it was about time she looked in on Mr. Wolsey. Although the repairs of the roof had gone through without a hitch—fortunately, she’d been able to hold on to the other half she’d owned Mr. Carpenter!—more needed to be done for the children, and Mr. Wolsey was clearly not up to the task. In fact, the man was not to be trusted! There was something about him that made her skin crawl.

  Rebecca pouted. “Even now? I thought everyone had gone to the country.”

  “Not everyone,” Caroline pointed out. “However, you’re right, at least half the ladies in our little circle are wintering in the country.” She squeezed Rebecca’s arm, a devilish thought coming to her mind. “If you’d like, you could join me. I’m certain no one would object.” In truth, some might!

  Rebecca stopped in her tracks, her eyes narrowing as she stared at Caroline. “Do you secretly dislike me, dear cousin? Why else would you suggest such a heinous thing?”

  Caroline laughed, and Rebecca joined in. “We’re quite different people, are we not?”

  Rebecca sighed, her green eyes meeting Caroline’s. “You know, sometimes I don’t think we truly are.”

  Caroline nodded, wondering at the depth in her cousin’s gaze. “Perhaps you’re right. Perhaps one day, we’ll realize we’re not so different after all.”

  Arm in arm, the two cousins walked home, feeling refreshed after an afternoon out in the chilled air. Unfortunately, upon returning home, their butler presented Caroline with a note from Lady Woodward, which had arrived in her absence, saying that some of the ladies had caught a chill and, therefore, their little circle would not meet the following day.

  Caroline’s heart sank, and she quickly tried to hide the note. However, Rebecca was quicker, stealing it from her before she could. “What are you hiding there?” Reading it, her face brightened. “It seems you’ll have time tomorrow after all.”

  Caroline tried to smile. “So it would seem.”

  Chapter Ten

  A Fateful Night

  With time on his hands, Pierce had begun to follow his little mouse. A part of him was worried that she’d place herself in danger again and leave the house in the middle of the night. After all, he was not the only dubious character to roam the streets of London at night. Still, another part of him simply wanted to know where she’d gone that night.

  And why.

  And what the money had been about.

  After all, her father was a wealthy merchant, and Pierce had not heard talk of failed investments or the like. If his daughter desired something, it seemed there would be no sensible reason for him to deny her.

  Frowning, Pierce remembered her odd style, her simple gowns and lack of jewelry. It would seem Miss Caroline Hawkins did not desire much. What need would she have for such a sum? Had it been her father’s money? But then why had she been carrying it about town in the middle of the night?

  Nothing made sense, and Pierce could not deny that it riled him.

  So he followed her, enjoying the few moments she would turn and glimpse him nearby, her blue eyes narrowing in confusion.

  And perhaps a hint of distaste.

  Pierce chuckled at the memory, knowing that she did not know it had been him that night in the hackney coach.

  Dressed in her familiar grey frock, those hideous spectacles back on her face and her hair pulled back so tight it had to hurt, Miss Caroline Hawkins went about town, her maid in tow as she called upon various ladies.

  Or as Pierce liked to call them, conniving harpies.

  After speaking with his butler, Albert, Pierce learned that apparently his little mouse was part of some kind of embroidery circle, which met about three times a week at Lady Brockton’s townhouse. However, since she was wintering in the country, the remaining ladies now met at Lady Woodward’s home instead.

  This news was rather disappointing as Pierce could not deny that he’d expected…more? At least something other than embroidery. However, when Albert let it drop that said circle generally lasted throughout the entire afternoon, Pierce knew that she was hiding something.

  For although Caroline did attend, she always left after about an hour.

  Following her, Pierce had seen her venture across town to a children’s home, where she always remained until shortly before darkness fell. Was this what she was trying to keep hidden? That she was helping out at a children’s home? Perhaps her father would not have allowed her?

  Pierce smiled, knowing that her concern for the welfare of others pleased him and only served to stoke his curiosity.

  After rocking Daphne back to sleep one night after another one of her nightmares, Pierce was stepping from the nursery when one of his young footmen came bounding up the stairs. His face was flushed, his hair disheveled and wet from the rain. “My lord!” he gasped, then drew in a deep breath, the pulse in his neck pounding.

  Closing the door, Pierce put a finger to his lips, then hurried toward the young man. “Jacob, what’s the matter?”

  Swallowing, the young man tried to breathe and speak at the same time, which resulted in a coughing fit. When he’d finally recovered sufficiently, his hands flew through the air in wild gestures accompanying his rushed words. “She left, my lord! She’s left the house.” He gulped down another lungful of air.

  “When?” Pierce gritted out, cursing his little mouse for her foolish behavior. Why on earth would she leave the house in the middle of the night? Again!

  “About an hour ago,” Jacob replied. “She sneaked out the servants’ entrance and then hurried down the street, turned a few corners and then hailed a hackney coach.”

  Pierce scratched his chin in thought. Quite obviously, she didn’t want anyone knowing what she was about! “Where did she go?”

  “A children’s home on the other side of town on—”

  “I know where it is,” Pierce interrupted, already halfway down the stairs. “She was still there when you left?”

  Jacob nodded, rushing to keep up. “Yes, my lord. I came as fast as I could.”

  After thanking the young man and sending him off to find his bed, Pierce saddled Sport and was off immediately, hoping his little mouse would not leave before he got there.

  *

  “That is nonsense!” Mr. Wolsey snapped, his eyes bloodshot and his hair sticking up in all directions. “It’s merely a cold. There’s no need to waste the home’s tight finances on a doctor. It’s ludicrous!”

  Caroline could have throttled the man! After all, the only reason he was still here—in the middle of the night—was because he’d once more gotten foxed and then passed out in front of his office door, which was still locked and the only key in her possession!

  “She’s burning up,” Mary said tentatively, her eyes wide with worry as she sat on the bed beside the little girl, pressing the back of her hand to her little forehead.

  “Shut up!” Mr. Wolsey snapped at her, then swayed on his feet, his face turning from red to white and then to an alarmingly pale green.

  Caroline gritted her teeth, then grabbed Mr. Wolsey’s arm and dragged him out of the room. “You’re far from sober,” she snapped in much the same tone, her patience at an end, “and I will not waste my time trying to talk sense into you.”

  He blinked at her owlishly before balance failed him. He stumbled backward and collided hard with the wall. Then his knees buckled, and he slid down into a pitiful mess.

  Inhaling a fortifying breath, Caroline knelt down beside him, meeting his bloodshot eyes. “I will now fetch a doctor,” she told him, pointing a threatening finger at
his chest, “and if you dare to bother Mary in any way while she’s seeing to the girl, I will personally remove you from these premises, am I understood?”

  His lids began to flicker and, a moment later, he passed out again.

  Exhaling, Caroline pushed to her feet. Once this crisis was taken care of, she needed to find a replacement for Mr. Wolsey. The man was impossible!

  Once more donning her dark cloak, Caroline hastened out into the cold, gritting her teeth against the sharp wind. She knew of a kind doctor nearby and prayed that he was home, would open the door and be in the mood to help!

  Little Dorothy’s life might depend on it!

  *

  Squinting his eyes, Pierce kept his gaze fixed on the children’s home’s large door, praying that his little mouse had not left yet and was somewhere inside and not out on the streets where any number of harms could befall her. Especially on a cold night like this where few ventured out of doors and those that did generally had no good intentions.

  Winter was fast approaching, and the cold had a biting sting to it.

  Pulling his cloak tighter about himself, Pierce moved his fingers, opening and closing his hands before urging Sport farther down the street. They needed to move, at least a little, to stay warm. But he would not let the door out of his sight.

  Minutes ticked by.

  And then some more.

  Finally, Pierce dismounted, concluding that it would do him well to move his legs. He stayed in the shadows, now and then glimpsing another soul farther along the street in the opposite direction. And then something moved near the children’s home. Someone stepped out of a side street and turned around the corner and onto the pavement, which ran alongside the children’s home.

  Two someone’s.

  A man with a heavy-looking bag.

  And a woman, her skirts billowing in the wind.

  Pierce squinted his eyes, but couldn’t be certain from this distance away. Only when they reached the door and the woman turned to speak to the man did he catch a good glimpse of her face.

  Indeed, it was his little mouse.

  Where on earth had she gone?

  Annoyance simmered in his veins that she’d left and he hadn’t even been aware of it. Sometime between Jacob leaving and him arriving, she had to have left to…what? Fetch this elderly gentleman? But why? To the children’s home and at night? Was it some kind of emergency? If not, why not wait until the next morning? What kind of emergency? Perhaps the man was a doctor and seeing to one of the children.

  Indeed, that heavy-looking bag had reminded Pierce instantly of his old childhood doctor. The man had had a lazy eye and always carried a handful of caramels in his pocket and a teasing smile on his face.

  Sighing, Pierce returned to his routine of walking up and down the street, from shadow to shadow, now and then retreating into a side street to stay out of sight. Here, at least, the wind was buffeted by the buildings surrounding him. The problem was he had no view of the front door.

  Unable to stay away long, Pierce returned from one of such retreats to see the doctor walking down the street the way they had come about an hour earlier. Pierce’s little mouse, however, was not at his side.

  His gaze moved to the children’s home. Would she stay until morning? He could not leave unless he knew for certain she would not venture out on her own this night.

  And then the door opened once more, and he saw pillowing skirts flapping in the wind as another lone figure stepped outside and proceeded to the pavement. There she stood, her gaze turning up and down the street as though looking for something, before her shoulders slumped as though in resignation.

  Before Pierce had decided how to proceed, she turned down the street to…what? Walk home? Where was the hackney coach Jacob had seen her hail on her way to the orphanage? In her hurry to get to the sick child, had she forgotten to inform the driver that she needed him to wait for her? And besides, why had she, of all people, been called on in the first place? Didn’t the orphanage have some kind of director who could’ve called for the doctor?

  This was all very odd.

  Slowly, Pierce followed in her wake, making certain to keep far enough behind that she would not sense his presence, let alone see him. More than once, she paused, her head turning from side to side in order to get her bearings. With the harsh wind, it was preferable to walk with one’s face turned to the pavement, which made finding one’s way a bit of a challenge.

  For a while, they continued on like this, step by step, until Pierce felt the little hairs on the back of his neck rise. It might have been the wind but he doubted it very much.

  Pulling the hood tighter around his head, he led Sport closer to a side street they were just passing. Large shadows loomed here, and he pulled the mask from his coat, attaching it securely. All the while, his gaze never once left his little, grey mouse as she pushed onward, completely oblivious that someone was nearby.

  Someone other than him.

  His eyes continued to sweep their surroundings, squinting to see farther ahead, and finally settled on two men lingering on the other side of the street, ahead of Caroline. She was walking straight toward them!

  Pierce frowned, wondering how to proceed. He doubted he’d have any trouble discouraging the two men from their current course, which became clear as they made to shuffle across the street, ready to intercept her. Perhaps they could serve to teach his little, grey mouse a lesson. A distant voice inside his head whispered that he’d tried to frighten her before, and it had backfired. Then and there, Pierce was not in the mood to listen to objections.

  His moment of hesitation lasted for but a second before he jumped on Sport’s back and urged him into a gallop down the side street he’d been hiding in. If he cut across, racing ahead on the street parallel to the one Caroline was on, he could come out of the next side street right in front of her.

  In his mind’s eye, Pierce saw her eyes widening, a startled gasp torn from her lips. What would she do if she came face to face with him again? With his masked self?

  He could not deny that he very much wanted an answer!

  Chapter Eleven

  The Masked Man Returns

  Caroline cursed herself for not telling the driver of the hackney coach to wait for her return, but she’d been beside herself with worry after the message from the children’s home had arrived. Fortunately, little Dorothy would in all likelihood recover. Doctor Warner had seen to her and given specific instructions, including cold compresses and steady fluids to be given. Mary would see to the girl, ensuring that all would be done as ordered.

  Mr. Wolsey had been locked in his office for the night to ensure that he would have no chance to interfere. Caroline grimaced at the thought of what he might do to his office when he woke and found himself locked in. After all, the man had quite a temper!

  But that was a concern she could entertain tomorrow. Right now, she needed to find her way home which, under the present circumstances, was easier said than done.

  Icy wind pulled on her skirts and cloak, pushing the hood from her head again and again. Her eyes burned from the stinging, cold air, and her skin prickled just the same. In turn, her progress was slow for it felt like walking against a wall.

  And then she saw them.

  Two men crossing the street to her side, their gazes fixed on her.

  “Oh, no,” Caroline mumbled as her feet froze, halting her progress. Her pulse spiked and, for a second, she thought to see white spots dance in front of her eyes.

  Or…rather…snowflakes.

  Blinking, Caroline glanced at the tiny crystals as they swirled around her, slowly drifting downward. When had it started to snow?

  Raucous laughter from up ahead drew her attention. After all, there were more pressing concerns at the moment than the weather.

  Glancing over her shoulder, Caroline could no longer make out the children’s home in the distance. The two men walking toward her, slowly revealed specific characteristics as they drew closer.<
br />
  Too close.

  Both looked a bit unsteady on their feet, their clothing disheveled and dirty. One wore a heavy, woolen hat pulled down to his brows while the other constantly scratched his chin. Neither, however, looked confidence-inspiring.

  Of their own accord, her feet began to move backward. Caroline had no idea where to go. Panic slowly seeped into her being, and she had to try several times to swallow the lump in her throat. After all, these two looked nothing like the utterly irritating, but still relatively decent thief she’d made the acquaintance of on her last outing.

  Perhaps this was a sign that she simply ought to stay indoors!

  Out of nowhere, a shadow appeared and moved behind her, his hands settling on her shoulders.

  Caroline could have screamed. She almost did and, by all means, should have. Unfortunately, though, her scream of terror somehow got stuck in her throat. It probably couldn’t make it past that annoying lump that had resettled where it wasn’t wanted!

  Two large hands propelled her from the street and into a dark alley.

  The only good thing about her new situation was that she was finally out of the blasted wind. The bad thing was…well, quite obvious!

  Twisting out of the man’s grasp, Caroline whirled around…and then froze when her gaze fell on his tall, cloaked stature and the familiar black mask. “You?” she exclaimed, not certain if it was mere surprise or an accusation as well.

  A teasing grin came to his lips as he approached her. “You’ve caught someone’s attention,” he told her before briefly glancing over his shoulder. “They’ll be here soon.”

  Caroline swallowed, her mind racing with what to do.

  For a reason she could not name, she had to admit that the masked man’s presence made her feel…better? Of course, he was a thief, and he’d had the audacity to try and steal the money for the orphanage. However, she couldn’t, in all honesty, say that she…feared him.

  He annoyed her. That much was certain.