by Rebecca King
He watched her swallow as she took a sip of her own wine but didn’t notice her place her goblet back onto the table. His gaze was avidly fixated on a tiny droplet of wine that clung to her bottom lip tantalisingly before her tongue popped out to brush it away.
Jeb almost groaned aloud and had to turn his gaze away when his body began to react with startling speed.
Sophia blushed prettily. It was a little unnerving being the subject of his observations, but she couldn’t find a way to raise issue with him without embarrassing herself. Besides, if she was honest with herself she was quite thrilled being the focus of his attention. He was, by far, the most interesting man she had met in a very long time.
I should be shot for the thoughts I am having, Jeb mused wryly as he tried, and failed, to turn his attention back to his food. He glanced down at his plate only to find the footman had removed it and was busy in the process of serving the fish course. He hadn’t even been aware that anyone had approached him.
So much for being an alert and watchful field operative, Jeb mused wryly and took another sip of his wine while the footman served his meal.
Sophia was beginning to find it incredibly difficult to concentrate on anything. Busily trying to think of a way to get some air, she jumped in alarm when Squire Trelawney suddenly boomed a rambling discourse about the quality of the pheasant shooting across the table, and asked Jeb what his opinion was on the latest news in London.
With Jeb’s attention diverted for now, Sophia was, for the first time that evening, able to relax a little. Somewhere deep in the pit of her belly, slow and steady warmth had begun to build. It brought a shiver to her spine, and a tremor to her hand that she had never encountered before. She was at a loss to understand it.
What was it about him that captivated her so? She had seen handsome men before, many of them in fact. Although Jeb was handsome, he was no more attractive than anyone else she had ever met. So what was it about him exactly? Was it that mischievous glint in his eyes that twinkled across the table at her when he smiled, almost daring her to smile back?
Whatever it was about him that had caught her attention, she was ensnared. Captivated even, but had no idea what to do about it.
Before she could find an excuse to leave the table for a few moments, her attention was captured by the rather tedious Mrs Arbuthnot, who proceeded to chastise her for not making an appearance in church last Sunday. It was on the tip of Sophia’s tongue to remind the woman that she didn’t live in the village, but in deference to upsetting the host, murmured her apologies. Inwardly she mentally sighed, especially when her enjoyment of the evening dimmed a little when Jeb suddenly whispered something to his father and left the table.
Jeb made his way into the hallway only to find the trinket boxes still where he had left them.
So far so good, he mused as he searched the rest of the now almost bare house.
If he were a thief, he would take the stolen items just as he was about to leave. It would be a foolhardy thing to do to steal something and keep it with you while you were in the house. That meant he had to bide his time until everyone left, and almost take up sentry duty near to the table so he could keep an eye on the lure.
Rather than return to the dining room, he ignored out the low hum of conversation and took a moment to ease his troubled thoughts.
There was something decidedly odd about the entire group of people seated at that table, if only he could work out what it was. He knew from past experience that each individual’s discomfort when meeting anyone else’s gaze indicated that they each had something to hide. It didn’t help him identify who might be the thief because now they all looked shifty.
All except for Sophia, that is. She was the only one who appeared anywhere near normal, although she was still uneasy about something. That could be down to nothing more than being in the company of veritable strangers, or being the subject of his own somewhat earnest gaze.
“Is everything alright?” Algernon murmured as he came to join him in the hallway.
“Nothing missing as yet,” Jeb replied quietly.
“That’s good, isn’t it?”
“For now.” Jeb nodded toward the dining room. “Anything unusual about them tonight?”
Algernon coughed. It was on the tip of his tongue to declare that his son had been the only one behaving out of character, but he didn’t wish to put a stop to Jeb’s quite obvious interest in the delightful young lady who was like a breath of fresh air at the dinner tonight. As far as Algernon was concerned, she was the only guest who could stay as long as she liked, and it had nothing to do with her innocence of all of the thefts.
Oblivious to his father’s thoughts, Jeb turned his attention to the guests, partly in a desperate attempt to keep his mind off the wondrous temptation of Sophia.
Did the Vicar have something to hide? Vicars were usually the blemish free stalwarts of society; weren’t they? That being the case, he couldn’t possibly be the thief. That led him to Mavis Arbuthnot, who seemed to have made it her personal mission to chastise anyone who didn’t make it to church last week. However, given she was a devout Christian who seemed to consider everything but attending church a sin, she was probably not likely to stray so far from the moral path by stealing anything. That led him onto Delilah Carney, whose tendency to be as loud as she is brash made her a startling contrast to her niece. The marked difference between the women was odd, mostly because there was something quite false about Delilah. Her behaviour wasn’t entirely supported by the somewhat cynical gleam in her eye. Did that make her a thief though? Jeb couldn’t be sure. With that in mind, he left her very firmly on his list of suspects, although hoped she wasn’t guilty of anything because of her association with Sophia.
Now, the Harvells both seemed to know an inordinate amount of gossip for women who couldn’t afford to socialise much. If they couldn’t socialise, they couldn’t shop – right? Were they impoverished enough to steal what they couldn’t afford? Although they appeared innocent enough, Jeb wasn’t about to be fooled by anybody. With that in mind, he had to leave them on his list of suspects too.
Then there was Algernon’s man of business whom Jeb had yet to hear two consecutive words from. His occasional grunts proved that he was still alive. However, once or twice Jeb had actually wondered whether he should jab the man with a knife to see if he was still breathing. How on earth Algernon got Philip to do anything for him was beyond Jeb, who had yet to succeed in eliciting anything more than a grunt. But that didn’t mean he was a thief. Especially when he didn’t attend all of the locations the items were stolen from.
Mrs Banks was the only other relatively normal guest at the table, although she had a tendency to snort when she laughed, and was incredibly loud. However, that wasn’t enough to condemn her as a thief, even if he ignored the way she gazed around the room longingly, studying the portraits and noting the few ornaments that remained.
“Don’t you dare think about leaving me in there with them,” Algernon suddenly announced when Jeb remained motionless in the centre of the hallway.
Jeb jerked and threw his father a rueful look. “I should throw them all in a bag and shake them up and down. How on earth did they get together?”
Algernon shook his head. “Damned if I know. I am going to have a word with cook and ask the woman to get a move on with the food. The faster this meal is over, the better chance I stand of keeping my sanity.”
“Not all of them are that bad,” Jeb remarked with a grin.
Algernon snorted. “I hear anything else about pheasant shooting I am going to fetch my gun, and it won’t be birds I will go hunting for.”
Jeb smirked and shook his head at the mischief in his father’s eye. He knew he shouldn’t encourage it but, once back in his seat found his gaze drawn once again to the woman seated opposite. Something inside him actually seemed to sigh. He certainly felt a strong tug of attraction that he had never felt toward any woman before. It wasn’t just attraction either.
There was genuine masculine interest. For the first time in his life, he didn’t just want to bed a woman. He wanted to find out everything about her.
He didn’t get the chance to converse with her again though because Algernon’s pleas for the cook to hurry the meal along worked. The rest of the evening passed in a blur of courses interspersed with continual observations of hunting, fishing, and London’s finest from the Squire, and twittering gossip from the Harvells that made it virtually impossible for anyone else to get a word in.
Bemused by the constant rumble of noise that came from so few people, Jeb was well aware that Sophia was finding amusement in the debacle as well. Especially when their eyes met across the table, and he watched her lips twitch when Pearl declared herself aghast to find the tavern owner’s wife wearing pearls.
Sophia had no idea whether it was the wine or not, but she suddenly found such nonsensical observations like that funny. Unless she was much mistaken, Jeb, and the host, Algernon, seemed to think them amusing too, and many wry looks and smiles were exchanged while all three remained silent and listened.
Unfortunately, the rather jovial atmosphere swiftly changed when the guests took their leave.
“I don’t believe it,” Jeb muttered in disgust.
As the last guest walked out of the house, he glared at the empty side table beside the front door in disbelief. He hurried to the door just in time to watch several of the guests turn out of the end of the driveway, and swore loudly.
“Do they always leave in a group like that?”
For several moments, it had been chaos in Briggleberry’s vast hallway with people, shawls, and cloaks, everywhere. At some point during the melee, the thief had struck again.
Algernon snorted. “What? Go home you mean? I should say so, and good riddance to them, if you know what I'm saying?”
“No, I don’t mean that,” Jeb snapped in frustration. “Do they always leave together like that?”
There had been so many people in the hallway that it had been impossible to keep an eye on everyone. It had been a perfect opportunity for the thief, who had taken advantage of being surrounded to slip the trinket boxes into their cloak, or pocket, or shawl.
His threw Algernon an apologetic look at the sharpness of his voice, which had been far brisker than he had intended. He was livid, however; furious even. He desperately wanted to race down the drive, stop the whole lot of them, and insist on searching their pockets. He actually rocked on the balls of his feet with the temptation to do just that, but slammed the front door shut with a resounding thud before temptation got the better of him.
“Well, yes. The ladies like to escort themselves home and tend to walk around in bunches, and Squire went in his carriage. You just saw him. Philip couldn’t wait to get out of here, but he left on foot out of the servant’s quarters. Not that I blame him. He is in his cottage if you want to go to see him. He won’t care, although will probably not answer the door unless you are persistent.”
Jeb sighed. He was listening to Algernon, but his gaze remained locked on the spot on the table where he had left the two trinket boxes. Although he had expected it, or else wouldn’t have set the traps, he was still blazingly angry at the utter gall of the thief.
“So, what do we do now?” Algernon asked quietly from the study doorway.
He had never seen his son so coldly furious before. It was a side of Jeb that Algernon never wanted to see. Wary, he decided not to reveal his own anger, mainly for fear of what Jeb might do. His decision proved to be the right one when Jeb looked at him with eyes that were nothing short of merciless.
“Now, I go to work,” Jeb murmured with lethal intent.
CHAPTER FIVE
Sophia fought the dark shadows that threatened to drag her under. Her cry was muted by her clamped lips as her head twisted from side to side. Thankfully, the need to suck in a deep breath woke her up. Her heart thundered in her ears with startling ferocity, and she lay and listened to it as she stared blankly at the ceiling. While she couldn’t remember much about what she had just dreamt, there was one clear memory which still lingered; Jebediah Hutchinson.
While last night had been a most pleasant evening, something about it was disturbing. One of the problems was the way Jeb had studied her. It was as though he sensed she was harbouring a secret and was trying to work out what it was. Those incredible eyes of his had been mesmerising; hypnotic even. While the feminine part of her had been thrilled, she suspected it would be wise to remain wary around him. All was not as it seemed with him. There was something almost too intent about his observations; as though he was harbouring a secret and trying to decide who to tell.
Still, that was not what had given her bad dreams. Something about the evening left her unsettled. Around the table last night, the atmosphere had been rather jovial, but had a tendency to swiftly turn tense and watchful only she couldn’t quite work out who changed it, or why.
Sophia sighed and considered her aunt’s behaviour for a moment. While Delilah had been her usual gregarious self, Sophia had been aware of the rather telling looks exchanged between several of the guests whenever her aunt spoke. It left her to wonder what they knew about Delilah that she didn’t. As the only outsider at the table, she knew people would know things she didn’t, but couldn’t help feeling that she was missing something considerably important.
Did it have something to do with the collection of assorted paraphernalia Delilah had hidden in her bedroom?
A tendril of suspicion filtered through her mind, but she quickly pushed it aside. It couldn’t possibly be that Delilah had stolen everything. No, surely not. Delilah wasn’t a thief. She had a reasonable stipend each month from Hooky. There was no reason for her to want to thieve anything from anyone. Somehow, though, the thought that Delilah might very well have stolen them just wouldn’t go away.
How was she to find out for definite though? Asking Delilah outright was most certainly not going to happen. Her relationship with her aunt was already strained as it was because of the financial issues Delilah ignored. Delilah would almost certainly never speak to her again if she even faintly accused her of stealing from her friends.
“No, it’s a preposterous idea,” Sophia murmured into the darkness.
Still, the suspicion she was right just wouldn’t go away. Delilah had been a little too defensive about the items, and still hadn’t told Sophia where they had come from. If she had nothing to hide then there was no reason not to confide in her – was there?
“I need to write to Hooky. He would know what to do,” she whispered.
Sleep was going to be impossible now that she had started to worry about last night and the items in the drawer. Her frown was deep as she pushed out of bed. It would be best all round if she wrote a missive to Hooky and got her problems off her chest, and then she could at least try to get back to sleep before dawn broke. If not, it was going to be a very long night indeed because the clock had only just chimed two o’clock.
She made her way downstairs to the study to collect everything she needed but decided to write the note in the comfort and warmth of her own bed. Once in the study, she made her way over to the writing bureau and dropped the lid.
Her heart fell to her toes when she saw what was secreted within.
“Oh Delilah, what have you done?” she whispered.
Her fingers trembled as she lifted one of the boxes out of the bureau. She knew immediately where they had come from, and they didn’t belong to Delilah. Even in the darkness, she recognised the two small trinket boxes that had been sitting on a side table in Algernon’s hallway.
“Delilah, you are a disgrace,” Sophia whispered. For the first time in her life, she was actually disgusted with someone, and it galled her for that someone to be a relative. “To steal it from right under their noses is stupid. You are nothing but a thief.”
What Sophia couldn’t immediately understand was why Delilah would take such a risk. There had been so many people in attendance last
night that someone was bound to have seen her. It was almost as though Delilah wanted to get caught, or liked the challenge, or the thrill of snatching something right out from underneath everybody’s noses.
“What should I do now?” she whispered.
She could hardly inform the magistrate and risk the entire Carney family facing ruination. But Delilah was a thief, and a regular one at that. The evidence was right in front of her eyes. The memory of the assorted items in the drawer upstairs warned her that although the items Delilah had stolen were small, they were also expensive. What did she plan to do with them? It was an incredible risk just leaving them in her own house to be found should the magistrate want to search the properties of everyone in attendance at these gatherings. She couldn’t use all of them herself because there were just too many. Putting them out on display would mean being caught. Besides, who would want to use a hairbrush used by somebody else?
That left only one option as far as Sophia could see. Delilah intended to sell them to make some extra money.
“I have to do something,” she whispered, suddenly horrifyingly aware that while these two trinket boxes sat in the house she could be considered as guilty as Delilah.
Sophia glanced at the parchment in her hand and wondered if writing to Hooky would actually do any good. A letter would take several days to get home and, assuming Hooky wrote back immediately, she couldn’t expect to receive a reply for at least a week. Heaven only knew how much Delilah would manage to steal in that amount of time. That meant she had to deal with this situation herself.
A sudden click outside the study door made her jump in alarm. It sounded like the side door in the sitting room. Thankfully there was enough moonlight to guide her across the room without her bumping into anything. She peered cautiously around the edge of the curtain and caught the flicker of movement of someone disappearing toward the woods at the rear of the house. At first, she wondered whether it might be the lover Hooky had mentioned. However, the more she studied the cloaked figure the more she realised it was Delilah.