“That’s my girl. Do this one last thing for me and I shall never bother ye again.”
Louisa didn’t dare ask him to give her his word, only because she didn’t trust him to stick to his promise. “How soon do you want me to do this?”
“Tomorrow?”
She shook her head. “That cannot be done. I will not even be at the dowager’s house until week after next for a gathering she is having with her friends and family.”
He nodded. “I suppose that will fit in with my plans.”
“How will I find you to hand over the jewels?”
“I will find a way to be at the dowager’s party. Watch for me.” He winked, turned, and sauntered away as if he owned the world.
Frustration shook every bone in her body, and she didn’t know whether to scream or cry. She’d do neither, since it would draw attention. In order to keep Trevor and the twins safe, she must steal from the dowager. And not tell a single soul.
On shaky legs, she crept back to Trevor and his children. She bumped into people on her way, not having the strength to apologize. Her heavy heart ached, and her head throbbed with indecision. But she couldn’t back out now. Shemustdo as Macgregor wanted.
When Trevor finally looked at her, his smile disappeared, and his face creased in worry. His concern for her welfare was evident in his kind eyes. She fought back the tears, but her fight was useless as she sat beside him.
“Louisa, what’s wrong?”
As much as she wanted to confide in him, she didn’t dare. Macgregor would certainly follow through with his threat. She loved Trevor too much to have any harm come to him—especially the way Macgregor tortured his victims.
“I—I have a headache.”
“Louisa, it’s more than that. I can see it on your pale face. Something is greatly troubling you.”
“I—I—I remembered something.”
His eyes widened. “What?”
“I saw someone I had known when I lived as a thief. Seeing this man brought back memories I had rather not ponder upon.”
He slipped his arm around her shoulders. “Let’s collect our things and we shall return home, posthaste.”
“I would like that, my lord.”
Although she was supposed to be caring for the children, Trevor was the one who helped the twins with their cloaks and led them through the throng of people who stood in their way as they hurried to their vehicle. With each step toward the landau, doom lurked like a dark cloud in Louisa’s mind and heart. Stealing the jewels would turn her back into a thief, and in doing so, her life with Trevor slowly disappeared before her eyes. Things would never be the same again.
*
Trevor paced thefloor in his study, waiting for Louisa to put the children to bed. During the ride home, Louisa had been on the verge of tears. When he urged her to tell him what happened, allshe would say was she recognized someone from her past and remembered a bad experience. She didn’t want to talk about it in front of the children, and he agreed, especially with as upset as Louisa was.
But now as he waited for her to put the children to bed and come to his study, his patience wore thin. Very thin. He could still see her pale face, and especially her eyes void of tender emotion. Fright had consumed her and literally taken over her whole being. She had stared out the window of the landau on the drive home, only a shell of the woman he knew.
The grandfather clock in the hallway chimed ten o’clock.Where is she?
Expelling a pent-up breath, Trevor raked his fingers through his hair and marched to the study’s opened door. The household was turning in for the night, and he surmised only a few servants were awake now.
He couldn’t stand to wait any longer. Louisa should have been down by now. Obviously, she had chosen to stay in her room. Well, he couldn’t rest tonight until he knew what she’d remembered.
Trevor bounded up the stairs two at a time. His long strides ate up the floor until he stood in front of her room. He knocked softly. Behind the door, shuffling feet creaked the floor, moving closer to the wooden barrier between them.
“Louisa, it’s me. Let me in so we can talk.” Just as his knock, he kept his voice quiet.
She didn’t answer, although he knew she stood at the door because of her shadow on the floor from the space underneath. The seconds that ticked by seemed so long.
“Please, Louisa.”
