An Honourable Thief. Anne Gracie

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СКАЧАТЬ through London society with barely a ripple, attracting little notice. Anonymity was vital to the success of her plans. To this end she had tried to ensure that her personality, in public at least, appeared fairly bland and colourless. And she had certainly made no effort to attract male attention; in fact, she had tried very hard to deflect it.

      And yet almost from the date of her arrival in London, she had been solicited to dance, invited to go driving, had flowers sent to her, and so on. Even the ladies had been exceptionally friendly, inviting her to soirees, musical afternoons, for walks in the park, to balls, routs and pleasure expeditions; in short, to all the many social events on the calendar of the London ton.

      All this, for an unknown girl, sponsored into society by her not particularly distinguished “aunt”. Perhaps this was the reason people referred to “polite society”…?

      “He’s just come in and don’t you think, Miss Singleton, that he’s the most elegant-looking man you’ve ever seen?”

      Kit glanced across to where her young friend was looking. A knot of people stood in the entrance, exchanging greetings. Only one man stood out of the crowd, as far as Kit was concerned; a tall dark man in severely cut evening clothes. Elegant would certainly describe the clothes, Kit thought, but as for the man himself…

      He stood out like a battle-scarred tomcat in a sea of well-fed tabbies. Tall, lean, rangy, sombre. Detached. A little wary and yet certain of his prowess. His eyes ranged over the colourful throng. Kit wished she could see the expression in them. His very stance expressed the view that he could not care the snap of his fingers for the lot of them.

      He looked more like a predator than a guest.

      His hair was dark, midnight dark and thick, she thought, though cropped quite brutally close; not quite the Windswept, not quite the Brutus. A style of his own, Kit thought, or perhaps he disdained to follow fashion.

      She wondered who he was. He did not seem to fit in this colourful, pleasure-seeking crowd. He stood, a man apart. Indifferent.

      His face was unfashionably bronzed, the bones beneath the skin sculpted fine and hard. A long aquiline nose, just slightly off centre. A long lean jaw ending in a square, unyielding chin.

      Not elegant: arresting.

      His mouth was firm, resolute, unsmiling. She wondered what it would take to make him smile.

      A woman hastened to greet him: their hostess, Lady Fanny Parsons. Kit watched him bend over her hand. He was not a man accustomed to bowing—oh, he was graceful enough, but there was a certain hesitation, she noticed, a careless indifference.

      Lady Fanny was laughing and flirting. As Kit watched, the man shrugged a pair of very broad shoulders. The hard mouth quirked in a self-deprecatory grimace. She wondered what they were discussing.

      “Miss Singleton?” came the youthful voice at her elbow. “Is he not the most divinely beautiful man you have ever seen?”

      Kit blinked. Elegant she could accept. Striking, certainly. Even a little intimidating. But divinely beautiful? Never.

      She turned to her young friend, only to find her looking at some other, quite different man, a very pretty young fellow in a pale blue velvet coat, striped stockings and pantaloons of the palest primrose. Sir Primrose had been standing beside her man of darkness, Kit realised. She wanted to ask her young friend if she knew who the dark stranger was. Such a distinctive man would surely be well known.

      “Who is—?”

      But he had disappeared.

      Just then, Lord Norwood came to claim his dance with Kit. And soon the music started and Kit was too busy dancing to think of anything except the delightful sensation of being a young girl at a fine London ball.

      She would think about the tall dark man later.

      “Hugo Devenish! How very unexpected,” gushed Lady Fanny Parsons, surging forward in a froth of satin and lace. “I was certain you would ignore my invitation as you usually do, you wicked man.”

      “Ignore you? Never, Lady Fanny.” Hugo bent over the hand she offered him. “’Tis just that I am so rarely in Town.”

      Lady Fanny laughed and rapped him playfully with her fan. “And I hear you have been doing battle with frightfully dangerous criminals, you hero, you! So brave, such a risk you took. I heard the latest fellow was a desperate great ruffian armed to the teeth!”

      Hugo quirked an ironic brow. “Rumour does me too much honour. It was a small, unarmed Chinaman.”

      “A Chinaman! Good Heavens! I hadn’t heard that! What on earth would a Chinaman be doing breaking into the Pennington house—?”

      “Black pearls are highly prized in the far east, I have heard.”

      “Of course, the famous Pennington Black Pearls! Poor Eliza is just devastated, you know, and her husband is furious! An heirloom. Worth an absolute king’s ransom!”

      Hugo nodded. “Yes, I was unable to save them, unfortunately.”

      “Oh, but think how much worse it could have been if you hadn’t disturbed the blackguard!”

      Hugo shrugged, but said nothing. He had already explained to Pennington that he felt the thief had already completed his depredations when Hugo arrived.

      “Oh, you are so wonderfully modest, dear Hugo. I am so glad you are here—you can protect me tonight, in case any nasty Oriental thieves break in.” Lady Fanny giggled girlishly and rapped his arm with her fan again.

      Hugo bowed again, then took his leave of Lady Fanny and made a leisurely way across the crowded room to where a lady had been glaring at him since his arrival.

      “What the devil has brought you to London just now, Hugo?” said Lady Norwood, leading him into a small anteroom.

      Hugo observed her coolly. “I was under the impression that you had written me no fewer than eleven missives, stating in terms of utmost urgency that you required my immediate attendance.”

      “Yes, but I wrote you at least six more after that telling you most expressly not to come!”

      He smiled and raised a glass of champagne to his lips. “Yes, that is what decided me. I arrived this afternoon and when I presented myself in Portland Place, your butler informed me you were attending Fanny Parsons’s ball. And since Fanny had sent me a card…”

      Lady Norwood stamped a foot. “Well, it is most inconvenient of you. I beg you will return to Yorkshire tomorrow morning without delay. Your presence is not needed here any longer, and to be frank, Hugo, you are very much in the way.”

      Her late husband’s half-brother did not seem at all perturbed by her hostility. He shrugged. “You wrote to me that you were in grave distress.”

      “Oh! Yes. Well, I was. I have been so frightfully worried about Thomas, you see.”

      “About Thomas?” He regarded her with faint disbelief.

      “But I have, Hugo, you have no reason to look at me like that.” She pouted winsomely in his direction. “You know what a doting mother I am, and oh! the cares of motherhood.” She sighed СКАЧАТЬ