Unless . . .
The blonde on the street came crashing back into his mind. Her innocent smile, her strange manners, the way she appeared from nowhere—and yet, he couldn’t make himself believe it was possible. What lady of means—for she had clearly appeared to be one—would go about stealing jewelry from random gentlemen? And how would she have known he had it? The facts simply didn’t add up. And yet, he couldn’t imagine what else had happened to it.
Muttering a low, distracted farewell to the owner, Leonard exited the shop and stood on the sidewalk, his mind numb and clueless. He glanced about, hoping . . . hoping what exactly? Even if he saw the young woman window shopping, completely innocent and unaware of his plight, that did not change the fact that his great-grandmother’s ring was still missing. He paced thesidewalk, peering at the ground and hoping for a glimmer from a diamond.
As if he had possibly been mistaken earlier, he put a hand to his jacket. But it was still mystifyingly empty. And the young lady from earlier was nowhere to be seen.
Chapter Four
Her heart raced within her chest, skin prickling with the familiar sensation of having pulled off the impossible. And yet, even with the exhilaration, something else settled within her. But much like herself, she chose to ignore that feeling for the time being.
Honora slipped into a hat shop, blending in with the other ladies as she made her way straight to a table brimming with different feathered monstrosities. She picked one up, turning it over in her hand and pretending to admire the many peacock plumes adorning it before she spied another table with more modest bonnets. Lifting her eyes, she allowed herself a quick survey of the room. A woman across from her appeared to be shopping with her daughter. They had the same dark hair and blue eyes, and the same dimple in their left cheek. The mother lifted two different hats in the air and held them beside the younger woman’s face. The elder of the two, with dark curls peeking out from beneath her own hat, shook her head. Apparently she was not satisfied with either choice, for she set them back down and picked up two more. The young womaneyed the table across the room with the more sensible bonnets, and her eyes seemed to be begging her to go there. Instead, she stood still as her mother outfitted her with every hat the table had to offer.
“No,” the older woman said. “I’m afraid none of these will do.”
The daughter appeared to be clenching her jaw, but finally relaxed it enough to reply, “We have gone to three shops now. Surely there must be something here that’s acceptable.”
“Nothing that I have seen.” The mother gestured to the table before them. “It is as if milliners have lost the ability to create something new.”
Honora stepped away from the table, heading toward the bonnets.
“I’m sure it is difficult to find new styles—”
The young woman’s words faded as Honora drew further away. Part of her pitied the poor girl. She clearly did not wish to be shopping for so long. But another part of Honora envied her. For while the activity appeared to be mundane, she at least had someone to share it with.
Arriving at the bonnets, Honora took another opportunity to glance about.
Her mind practically buzzed as she took in the scene: A young boy sneezed as he trailed after his mother. Then, dutifully, she quickly reached into her reticule and withdrew a handkerchief. Unfortunately, before she could assist him, the lad wiped his nose on his sleeve.
Honora’s eyes moved on to two ladies in the corner, who glared at one another as they reached for the same hat.
Paper crackled, drawing Honora’s gaze to the counter where a shop girl wrapped up a purchase, and just behind her a boy of about thirteen entered through a back room with an armload of boxes. Then, to assure herself she was not being followed, Honora looked out the window to the street where women andmen of all shapes and sizes walked by in their afternoon best. Luckily, there appeared to be no young man with deep brown eyes and enticingly wavy hair.
A pity, really. For while she did not wish to be caught, she wouldn’t have minded seeing him again.
Assured that she was not being hunted down by her victim, Honora picked up a bonnet. But then the young man’s face appeared in her mind again, seemingly pestering her. He hadn’t been like most men who aimed to please and flatter. Instead, he had seemed quite put out by her clumsiness.
A smile slipped onto her lips at the thought. She liked to be caught by surprise every now and again. It added a bit of intrigue to her boring life. Though, she couldn’t say she had been surprised in the least to find an object of value within the man’s jacket. He had been about as subtle as a gun, going so far as to lay a hand on his coat to be sure his ring was safe. And on the same street as Mr. Notley’s. It didn’t take a genius to fill in the rest of the details.
Honora’s father would have been so proud.
Though, she really shouldn’t be aiming to please him at all. Not only was he gone from this world, but the things that made him proud were not activities that were ethical. That life seemed to be ingrained in Honora’s very being. She wasn’t sure how to separate that from herself without building an entirely new way of looking at the world.
Like today.
She hadn’t seen Laura, her only friend, in weeks. And when Honora wasn’t sure what to do with herself, she had found herself on the walk beside Mr. Notley’s shop. And now she had this ring, with which she had no idea what to do. She didn’t need the money from what a sale would bring, but neither did she wish to keep it. Doing so would only be proof of her thievery.
Finally, she made her way home, weaving through the streets and keeping her demeanor relaxed. Wilson opened the door for her, and as soon as he shut it behind her, Honora’s eyes caught on a folded piece of paper with a familiar seal sitting on the sideboard.
It was the second one in a week. She couldn’t postpone things much longer.
Chapter Five
Leonard leaned forward in his chair, his back stiff. “She took it, Andrew. I know it sounds impossible, but there is no other explanation.”
Chair creaking, Andrew stood up and walked to the unlit fireplace along the wall, turning and leaning against the mantel with one leg crossed in front of the other. “While I find that incredibly difficult to believe, let us follow the thought through. What if she did? Do you know this young woman? And if you found her, could you prove she took it?”
“No.” Leonard tipped his head back until it clunked against the chair. “So now I have no choice but to remove my investments after all. I get to lose moneytwice. How very lucky for me.”
