Gail Ranstrom – Unlacing Lilly (страница 6)

“Devlin.” And he gave her that crooked devil-may-care smile she had not been able to forget.

“Mr. Devlin? Very well. I am indebted to you.”

With her nod, the man dropped sixpence into the merchant’s palm. She stuffed the ribbons into her reticule and stepped away from the stall, anxious to disassociate herself from the scene.

“Thank you so much, Mr. Devlin. I fear that man was about to turn me over to the police. I cannot even begin to imagine what my mother would have done. Or Olney.”

He laughed and she had to smile, too. The very thought of Olney trying to explain that the woman he was going to marry in three days’ time had been arrested for theft was completely absurd. He would be certain to cancel the wedding.

“Alas, we shall never know,” he said. “And I swear I shall never breathe a word of this to anyone. Now, tell me. Is your maid really about? And will she stand you the sixpence?”

“She is, sir. She is trying to find a trinket for her sister. She should be along any moment.”

He reached out and brushed the loosened curl back from her face. The gesture was innocent, but somehow so intimate that it left her breathless, and she could not think of anything to say.

“I am not worried over my sixpence, Miss O’Rourke. I was merely wondering if you were trying to stall the merchant.”

“It is true, sir. If Mama had not asked for ribbons, I would be home now.”

“Ah, they are for your mother? I thought the green to be a perfect shade for you.” He took her arm. “Come, let’s stroll along until your maid comes. I’d prefer to be away from that man’s stall.”

“Yes!” She breathed a sigh of relief and did not even glance back as they left the merchant behind. “I promise you, I have never had anything like that happen to me before. I was certain I had a banknote in my reticule. I must have forgotten to put it in before I left the house.”

“Or you put it in and some enterprising street urchin relieved you of it.”

The thought of such a thing made her indignant. “Oh, that cannot be. My reticule has been over my wrist the whole time.”

“Allow me.” He slipped behind her and loosened the drawstrings with a touch so light she couldn’t feel it. In a fluid movement, he dipped two fingers in, withdrew a glove and turned away, all without a single sign that he had violated her property.

She was astonished. “How did you do that?”

“Years and years of experience, Miss O’Rourke. Accomplished thieves are not heavy-handed. Nor do the good ones have to resort to being a cutpurse.”

“You are a thief?”

“Was, Miss O’Rourke, in my misspent youth. I am reformed now.” He tucked the glove back in her reticule and gave her an impudent smile. “Well, from thieving, anyway.”

A thief? Did Olney really invite such people to his fetes? “Then what do you do now?”

“Oh, a number of things. Look after my investments. Manage my employees. Look for new opportunities. But I am a dull subject, Miss O’Rourke. I am more interested, instead, about why you are wandering London streets without a groom or male servant in view of the Queenite disturbances yesterday.”

She shrugged. “Perhaps I am a Queenite.”

He laughed and gave her a friendly nudge. “Now that would surprise me. No respectable young miss with an eye to her reputation and standing in society would admit to being a supporter of the queen. Risk the displeasure of the king? No.”

“You have made the rather sweeping assumption that I am respectable, Mr. Devlin. Perhaps I am not.”

“If you were not, Olney would not be marrying you.”

“Oh, dear. You’ve caught me out.” She gave him a sideways glance and a tingle of pleasure went through her when she saw his wide grin.

“You are a bit of a tease, are you not, Miss O’Rourke? I hope Olney appreciates that.”

She rather doubted he did. He never seemed to know the differences between teasing and serious discourse. But there were worse things in a man than a lack of humor. She shrugged. “He will become accustomed to my little quirks.”

“I shall pray he does.”

Lilly was about to respond when she was distracted by a small dirty child who came running toward them, looked up, saw Mr. Devlin’s face and came to an abrupt halt. His mouth formed an O and his eyes grew wide.

“Sorry, sir. I didn’t mean no ’arm. I didn’t know she was yer lady.” He stuck one grimy hand into his pocket, withdrew a one-pound note and offered it to Mr. Devlin.

Mr. Devlin took the banknote and gave the boy a stern look. “Next time, Ned, keep going. Returning invites recognition and being caught.”

“Aye, sir.” Ned turned and ran back the way he’d come.

Lilly looked at him in amazement. “Is that my banknote? Are you teaching the boy to steal, Mr. Devlin?”

“No. I was teaching him not to get caught.”

“Perhaps he should be, if he is taking other people’s belongings.”

“I might agree with you, Miss O’Rourke, if I did not know that he will not eat tonight if he does not steal. Nor will he have a place to lay his head.”

“Surely his parents—”

“He does not know his father, and his mother…well, shall we say she is not interested in her son?”

“But she is responsible for him.”

“She believes her first responsibility is to her addiction. Blue ruin, Miss O’Rourke. Everything she can manage to scrape together goes to feed that need.”

Blue ruin. Gin. Lilly shuddered. She could not even imagine such a life. “I am sorry for him, but would he not be better off in an orphanage? There, at least, he would be fed and have a place to sleep. Perhaps he would learn his letters and ciphers, and certainly the difference between right and wrong.”

Mr. Devlin gave her such a look of profound disbelief that she began to question her conclusion. “The street is often a better place than an orphanage.” He presented her with her banknote and a small bow. “I pray you do not think less of me for assisting your villain.”

In truth, she didn’t know what to think of him. His physical presence was nearly intoxicating, and she’d never met a man who admitted to having been a thief. Nor one who commanded the respect of a small pickpocket—a very good one, at that.

She took her banknote and pushed it back in her reticule. “The note is all I have. Can you make change for it?”

He shook his head. “You may pay me the next time we meet, Miss O’Rourke. Meantime…” He tossed another coin to a flower vendor they were passing and plucked a dewy pink rose from a bucket with a natural grace that belied his size.

When he presented the rose to her, she knew she should refuse, but she found she couldn’t. The hypnotic hold of his eyes compelled her to accept. Their fingers brushed when she accepted the flower, and the heat of his touch spread up her arm to make her cheeks burn.

“Thank you, Mr. Devlin. If you will give me your address, I shall send payment once I am home.”

He seemed almost as unsettled as she had been. He waved one hand in a gesture of dismissal as he backed away. “Never mind, Miss O’Rourke. I can wait until we meet again.” He turned and wove rapidly through the crowds.

Nancy tapped her shoulder. “I say, Miss Lilly! Who was that? A real looker, he is.”

“His name is Mr. Devlin. I barely know him, Nancy. I met him a few weeks ago at Lord Olney’s ball.”

Nancy gave her guarded look. “We had better get you married soon or ’twill not be the last we see of him, I warrant. He looked at you like you were a cherry tart, miss, and he had a very big spoon.”

Cherry tart? Nancy’s assessment was unnerving. In truth, Lilly did not know what to make of Mr. Devlin. Why, she had recently thought of him as an “odious man,” and mere moments ago she had thought him quite gallant to come to her rescue. But perhaps Nancy was right. She had better marry Olney soon, before her vague misgivings took root.

Chapter Three

Devlin separated his papers into stacks. One for his barkeeper, one for his solicitor, one for his valet and his own private list. Within a day or two he’d be ready to put his plan in action, and just in time.

A soft knock at his study door as the clock chimed eleven drew his attention. This would be Basil Albright, his solicitor, prompt to a fault.

The door opened a crack, and Knowles, his valet, announced, “Mr. Albright, sir.”

Devlin nodded and Knowles widened the gap to allow the solicitor through, then closed them inside. A smallish, balding man, Albright looked meek and ineffectual, but in reality, he was a shark. Nothing got past the man, and he was ruthless in dealing with his opponents.

“Mr. Farrell, what is this nonsense about drawing up a will? Has someone challenged you?”

How interesting that Albright would think in those terms. And yes, it was a very distinct possibility someone would, considering what he was about to do. Nonetheless, Albright’s impertinence should not be indulged. “I am simply trying to tie up loose strings before I turn my attention to other matters.” He gestured to the chair across the desk from him.

Albright gave him a sharp look as he sat down, opened his portfolio and withdrew a lead pencil. “Give me the particulars and I shall have it drawn up immediately. If it is not complicated, I should have it ready for signature tomorrow.”