Anne Stuart Read Free Page A

wasn’t about to point that out to her. He brought her hand to his mouth and brushed his lips against the large, cold diamond.
    A reasonable man would never have slipped it from her fingers. A good man would never have given in to the original temptation, taken a careless bitch’s discarded jewels, and used the proceeds to keep body and soul together. A good man would have berated himself for his lack of honor if he’d even succumbed to temptation.
    Ah, but then, he’d never made the mistake of considering himself a good man, a reasonable man. The ring slipped from her thin fingers without her even noticing it as she whirled off in search of fresh worlds to conquer. With a faint smile he tucked it into his pocket, and his fate was sealed.
    He’d gotten away with it ever since.
    The past two years had been entertaining ones. He had become more imaginative, rivaling the infamous Jack Shepperd with some of his daring robberies and escapes, and not for one moment had anyone connected the Cat, as the broadsheets had styled him, to his lordship the Earl of Glenshiel.
    And now this quiet little creature with the clear, dangerous eyes had looked at him and managed to stir his latent energies. What had been behind that look? Contempt for an obviously frivolous creature such as he? Supernatural knowledge of his nefarious pastime? Love at first sight?
    The last was almost as unlikely as the second possibility, more’s the pity. The pseudonymous Miss Brown was obviously a young lady of breeding who’d fallen on hard times. His discerning eye had picked out numerous details in a matter of moments. The material of her dress was very fine, but showed signs of wear. It hadn’t been made for a woman with her curves, and it strained across the top just slightly.
    He leaned back in his chair and surveyed Freddie. He’d already lost the bulk of his quarterly allowance, and for some sentimental reason Alistair always chose to leave him with enough to get by on. Besides, he was far more interested in seeing exactly what Miss Brown was doing.
    “ That’s all for now, Freddie. I’ll leave you with your dignity intact.” Alistair rose with his usual indolent grace.
    “ Good of you,” Freddie mumbled. “You going after the Gypsy?”
    “ She hardly seemed like a Gypsy, did she? Much too pale, for one thing.”
    “ All fortunetellers are Gypsies,” Freddie said wisely, well gone into his third bottle. “Wouldn’t trifle with her if I were you. Her eyes were most peculiar. Gave me a decidedly eerie feeling.”
    “ Ah, but you’re not me, are you, Freddie? And I happen to like eerie feelings.”
    “ Your funeral, old man,” Freddie said morosely. And then he brightened. “If you meet your comeuppance, then you won’t be around to clean out my allowance. I’ll be rich.”
    “ No, you won’t, Freddie. Some Captain Sharp will do it for me, and they won’t stop with your allowance. Be lucky I win your allowance and keep you from gambling too deeply.”
    “ I’m all gratitude,” Freddie said, turning back to his claret. “Watch out for the Gypsy. She’ll ferret out all your secrets.”
    “ I have no secrets, Freddie,” Alistair said gently.
    “ Everyone has secrets. And I suspect you have more than your share. Go find the Gypsy before she runs away, old man. But watch your back.”

Two

    Jessamine Maitland was adept at keeping her emotions from displaying themselves. That man had unnerved her, and despite her best efforts, she was unable to put him from her mind. She had any number of reasonable explanations for his effect on her senses. For one thing, he’d caught her attention in the midst of a reading, a time when she was naturally more vulnerable. She’d been so lost in the cards that her customary defenses had abandoned her, leaving her easy prey to marauders.
    She wasn’t quite sure why she thought of him that way. She’d been surrounded by the silken, perfumed peacocks that composed some of the wealthiest of