The Devil's Thief by Samantha Kane Read Free Book Online Page A

woman.
Alasdair had refused his offer because he enjoyed taunting his cousin with it,
enjoyed having a treasure that Ernest, with all of his investments and his
properties and his possessions, had no right to. The pearl had come to Alasdair
from his mother’s side of the family.
    Alasdair
pulled his hair and screamed in rage, as a horse whinnied in fright in the
street below. “How could I have been so stupid?” he bellowed.
    He
stalked over to the open door of the balcony and slammed it shut. He punched
his closed fist into the frame and leaned there, his head hanging down. This
was his fault. He could shift the blame to no one. All his life he had taken
the pearl for granted. He’d complained about it, telling everyone what a terrible
burden it was. His family had placed such importance on the pearl that people
gazed upon it with awe. And now it was gone. He’d lost it.
    No,
he raised his head and glared at the wall unseeing. She’d stolen it. She’d
taken it from right under his nose, laughing all the while. She must have known
he hadn’t truly meant to give it to her. That was why she’d snuck out and he’d
awoken alone to an empty box.
    There
was a timid knock on his door. “Mr. Sharp?” He heard his valet inquire tentatively.
“Is everything all right?”
    Alasdair
started to reply, to raise the alarm, but he stopped himself. He couldn’t let
anyone know. He had to find her himself. He did not want his cousin to find out
what he’d done. He would never live it down. He would be the laughing stock of
Great Britain, and the scourge of Scotland.
    “I’m
fine, Evans,” he called out, regulating his voice and breathing. “I just . . . had
a dream and fell out of bed.” Good Lord, as if that didn’t make him appear like
a raving nincompoop. “Bring me some coffee, please, and I should like to get
dressed,” he ordered, a plan forming in his mind. He needed to find her
immediately. After all, how hard could it be to find a lying, deceitful little thief
in London who may be trying to sell a stolen pearl? He shook his head in
despair at the enormity of the task. But, he promised himself, when he found
her, when he had the pearl in his possession again, she would pay, and pay dearly, for her deceit.
    Fortunately,
he knew just the man to help.

 
    Chapter Six
     
     
    “I
need help finding a woman.”
    Sir
Hilary St. John looked up with a curious expression as Alasdair burst into his
study without being announced. Hil was sitting at a table near the window,
sipping his tea and reading the paper. He wore no jacket and the sun glinted
off the red-gold hair that curled onto his neck—too long for fashion but
just right for the eccentric Hil.
    “Do
you? How unusual,” Hil commented blandly, as if frantic men burst into his
study routinely. “I’ve never known you to have difficulties in that area
before.”
    A
bark of laughter sounded from the other corner of the room, and Alasdair
glanced over in surprise to see Roger Templeton draped over a chair, a cup of
tea in hand. “Roger! When did you get back?” Alasdair exclaimed. He walked over
to his old friend with a delighted smile, his hand outstretched. They hadn’t
seen each other in over a year.
    Roger
straightened and took Alasdair’s hand, shaking it warmly. With his height and
muscular build and his dark, curling hair framing his chiseled features, Roger
had the face and form of a Greek god. He’d always had the temperament to match.
“Sharp. I’ve only just gotten back. I’ve been in London for no more than two
days, and most of that was spent sleeping in one of Hil’s beds, which I’ll be
occupying for the foreseeable future.”
    “My
home is yours,” Hil said graciously, and Alasdair knew he meant it.
    “The
continent didn’t change you a bit,” Alasdair told Roger with a laugh.
    Roger
smiled conspiratorially. “Au contraire, my friend. I learned a great deal
there. You’d be amazed.” He accompanied his comment with a wag of his