Behold the Thief (Rich Man Poor Man Book 4)

by Laura Landon

  “How would he know that?”

  “By the process of elimination. He’s had enough time to visit Lady Margaret’s entire family, plus all her friends and acquaintances, and none of them have indicated that they were even aware that you were gone. In fact, your father became irate when Russell told him that he hadn’t seen you for several days. He even suggested there was foul play involved and Russell was the guilty party and was trying to act concerned to keep the authorities from considering him.”

  “Oh, my,” Lady Margaret said as she wrung her hands in her lap. “What should I do?”

  “You should stay right here for the moment. You’re safe here. Matthew Cleary is watching the house to make sure your husband can’t reach you, even if he knows you’re here. But Lily, I wonder if you should bring Lady Margaret’s children here, as well?”

  Lily nodded. She didn’t miss the fact that he didn’t take charge but merely made the suggestion. He could easily have taken control, as she could tell he wanted to. And yet he continued to defer to her, and she loved him for it.

  “Do you think Russell knows Margaret is here?”

  Jack nodded. “Possibly. That’s why I came to let Cleary know.”

  “Is that all Russell wanted?”

  “I’m afraid not. He wanted to inform me that he had discovered your history. He threatened to tell all of Society that I was associating with someone born and raised in Whitechapel.”

  “That devil!” Lady Margaret rose. “You have more honor in your little finger than he has in his entire body, Lily. I cannot abide by his wickedness!” She turned abruptly and looked as if she might flee.

  Lily rose to intercept her and put an arm around her shoulder. “Words, Margaret, words. They can’t hurt me. And neither can Russell.”

  But Lady Margaret wasn’t ready to shed speculation as to Russell’s next move quite so easily, and with a hug she brushed past Lily and fled into the garden.

  “The poor woman,” Lily sighed. Her heart went out to the woman, even though if Jack’s words were true, Russell would bring more pain down on Lily.

  She had known this day would come. She had only hoped it wouldn’t be this soon. She had hoped she’d have more time with Jack before their worlds collided. She wasn’t ready for her heart to break just yet.

  “What would you like me to do? I can stay home tonight and not come to your auction.”

  “No, Lily. We will face the lions together. We will show them that we aren’t afraid of them.”

  “And if they turn on us?”

  Jack smiled at her, then lifted his hand and cupped her cheek. “Haven’t I told you that I love you? How can I prove how desperately I love you if I abandon you at the first sign of trouble?”

  Jack pulled Lily about and wrapped his arms around her. “I meant it when I said I loved you. For better and for worse, I will always love you.”

  Lily felt the tears spill from her eyes. How had she been so lucky to find a man this honorable and this courageous? She knew she’d been blessed beyond measure when she first met Jack Broadmoore and she would do everything in her power to make him proud of her.

  “I love you, too,” she whispered as he held her. She should be embarrassed that Lady Margaret might witness their emotional display but she wasn’t. Lily wanted the world to know how desperately she loved Jack. So much that she would give her life for him.

  “Come early tonight. I want to show you off. And let everyone know that you’re mine.”

  BEHOLD THE THIEF by Laura Landon

  Chapter Nineteen

  Jack watched the door to catch a glimpse of Lily when she entered. If rumors were true, she wouldn’t just come to face the cowardly lions who considered themselves better than she was because of where they were born and the title they bore. She would come to show them she did not consider them her betters—but her equal.

  Finally, the door opened and Lily entered.

  Jack’s heart skipped a beat. Ideals of perfection were going to be revised in every drawing room once London met Lily McGregor. She broke every rule by which beauty was judged.

  Jack moved to close the distance between himself and Lily, but stopped short when the first couple Lily passed gave her the cut direct. The next couple she passed turned their backs, as well.

  Lily pretended she hadn’t noticed, but it was obvious that she had. The color drained from her face and the smile she wore seemed frozen in place.

  “Good evening, Jack,” she said when she reached him.

  Jack was suddenly horrified that he’d encouraged her to come.

  “Good evening, Lily. Are you going to be all right?”

  Her smile broadened. “That remains to be seen. It’s obvious Russell has begun his miserable work of poisoning as many of the nobility as possible.”

  Jack let his gaze move over the crowd that had gathered for the auction. Lily couldn’t see a majority of the people who had come to take part in the bidding since they were behind her, but Jack saw them. And he knew she was right.

  Tonight of all nights he needed his patrons in good spirits. The crowning piece of the auction had been rumored to have come from a royal house. There would be a bidding frenzy, judging from the talk all week at the gaming hells. Wives had warned their husbands to bid whatever it took and not come home without it or heads would roll. Tonight of all nights he needed the champagne to flow freely and the wallets to open gladly.

  But already the mood was being dampened by those not inclined to consort with the likes of Lily McGregor.

  He saw the dagger-like glares aimed at Lily’s back. He saw the bitter distaste focused upon her, and the looks of abhorrence in all the members there who laid claim to a title. They were appalled because someone unworthy had dared to place herself in their midst.

  Jack could barely contain his anger.

  Even as he hoped emotions would not escalate, the Earl of Chartland loudly expressed his displeasure to Viscount Rodbury that “a charlatan” dared to show her face where only members of the ton were invited.

  “Do you want me to say something, Lily? I will. I’ll even ask them to leave if you wish.”

  He tried desperately to keep his conflicted emotions from his face. The disgruntled could leave and take Jack’s business down with them, or they could stay and he would confront them.

  Or they could stay and Lily could leave.

  There was no comfortable answer.

  Lily shook her head, then gave him an appreciative smile that reached her glistening eyes.

  “Isn’t it time to begin the auction?” she asked keeping her smile firmly in place.

  So. She was going to stay and face the ton.

  “Yes. It’s past time.”

  Jack took his place in the center of the room and began by welcoming each and every one of the hostile group to his event. He invoked every ounce of charm he could muster as he listed the rules to which the bidders would adhere. Jack’s final detail was to draw the crowd’s attention to the clock and inform the bidders that they had exactly thirty minutes to circulate about the tables to make certain their bid remained the highest.

  Then, as he had at every auction, he waved his white handkerchief aloft and pronounced heartily, “May the bidding commence!”

  Before the last word was out of his mouth, the Duchess of Rallings—one of the stuffiest women in all of London—stepped forward and in a commanding voice asked, “Is that…person going to be permitted to remain in our midst?”

  “She is,” Jack answered with equal command.

  The woman made a scornful noise and whipped her jeweled fan madly back and forth.

  “I shan’t have her bidding on my piece, then,” she sneered, pointing to a rather gaudy candlestick displayed nearby.

  “That’s a pity, Your Grace, although perhaps your piece would not appeal to her…selective tastes.”

  A gasp whispered through the crowd as they repeated his effrontery behind sheltering hands.

  “The gall of him!”


  Lady Rallings appeared to swoon.

  “Then, I fear we must take our leave.” She swept her hand wide, including the entirety of the crowd in her imperious command.

  With that, the Duchess of Rallings gave a haughty nod to her husband and they turned to leave. One by one, other members of the ton followed suit until nearly half those in attendance were moving toward the exit. Some followed with agreement clearly etched across their faces. But some grumbled disappointment at not being able to remain and join the bidding fray.

  “Stop!” Lily exclaimed, her voice strong with authority. “Mr. Jackson Broadmoore is a man of integrity, as well as impeccable taste. He has conducted his business in a most professional manner, as each and every one of you can attest. His reputation has always been beyond reproach. I, therefore, refuse to allow my presence to mar what has always been an exemplary event.”

  Lily turned with her head held high and her gaze focused on the crowd in front of her. She did not move an inch toward the door while she locked her censuring glare on the duchess’s face. With a slightly higher lift to her chin, she spoke again, in a voice loud enough that no one could miss even one word.

  “I shall leave. Not because you have driven me out or because I do not have the courage to stay here and face you down,” Lily lifted the corners of her mouth to form a sarcastic grin, “because I would enjoy nothing more. I leave so that this good man may continue his trade unfettered by…by priggish hypocrisy.” Lily shook her head. “Though how he can stomach it is a mystery to me,” she muttered.

  Lily turned her back on the crowd and walked regally away from them. Carter swept the door wide and bowed as if he were holding the door for Queen Victoria herself.

  Jack watched Lily’s retreating figure and experienced a flood of respect and admiration for the woman he loved. It pulsed through his veins, clearing his vision and burgeoning his heart. They could all go to hell after the way they’d treated her, but if he threw them out he’d be drummed out of business. How could he marry her knowing their livelihood depended on her because as a businessman he had failed miserably?

  No, he had to salvage his business, then win her heart all over again.

  The room behind him was eerily silent. He was glad. He wasn’t sure how he would have reacted if there had been anything but silence.

  When Lily had been gone several long moments, Jack slowly turned to face her accusers. He started on the left side of the room and slowly, cautiously let his gaze travel the crowd that was gathered. If their purpose in attending tonight had been to humiliate and annihilate a woman who dared to enter their circles, he would see it in their eyes.

  As his angry glare passed over the crowd, some of the patrons dropped their gaze to the floor, or turned their shamed faces to the side. Others lifted their chins in defiance. Few had the courage to look him in the eyes.

  He continued his riveting movement until he reached the far side of the room. They showed so little remorse that it fairly turned his stomach. He paused to glare at each guest as if committing to memory every person who’d been a part of the exile of a woman they considered far beneath them.

  That did it.

  In long, angry steps, Jack walked to the podium where he always stood and paused to compose himself. He took several huge breaths, then, thrusting the white handkerchief aloft with more angry vigor than he intended, made his announcement.

  “This auction is closed.”

  No one moved for a long moment. That reaction gave Jack a small sense of satisfaction. He wanted the Society that he was a part of to feel ashamed for what they’d done.

  “Leave,” he bellowed. “Leave. Now!”

  He squared himself against the rich mob that still littered his show room.

  “But the auction,” a voice said from the back of the room.

  “There will be no auction. Not tonight. Perhaps not ever.”

  A rude rustling broke the silence as Russell lunged forward from the shadows.

  “You can’t do this!”

  He was screaming, his voice brutalizing every ear. His face bloomed red and spittle flew from his contorted mouth. People shrank from his side, appalled by his fury.

  But Jack calmly folded the white handkerchief and replaced it in his pocket.

  “I just did.”

  BEHOLD THE THIEF by Laura Landon

  Chapter Twenty

  Lily sat in an overstuffed floral chair before the hearth and stared at the waning fire. The flames had roared with abundant energy when they were first lit. Their fury mirrored the erupting rage inside of her. But, just as the flames had died to sputtering embers, her fuming anger had simmered from a full boil to a scalding heat to a simmering warmth.

  She tried to place all the blame for what had happened tonight on the pompous hypocrites who considered themselves so far above anyone else that they refused to lower their noses enough to put anyone beneath them in their view.

  But after much soul-searching, and two or three large glasses of brandy, she realized that the people who turned their backs on her and did everything in their power to belittle her, were only doing what had been ingrained in them from birth on. They were protecting their status in the world. They were doing what they’d been schooled to do to prevent an invasion of the working class into their exclusive midst.

  She wasn’t angry any longer, nor did she feel sorry for herself. All she felt was loss and regret. It was an aching loss that tore at her heart because she realized how devastating it was that her association with Jack had to end.

  From her vantage point outside their circle, Lily had witnessed any number of rebellious young men and guileless young women whose futures had been destroyed by the vicious wags who populated the ton. Paris was practically overrun with despondent expatriates who had fled the toxic atmosphere of London ballrooms.

  Lily had no doubt they’d do the same to Jack. The pampered elite were capable of destroying everything he’d worked so hard to achieve if she was so foolhardy as to insert herself into his business again.

  She was left with no choice. She had to give up the only man she would ever love. She’d have to walk out of his life and his world and never look back.

  It pained her more than she dared to admit.

  The brandy swirled in her glass as she lifted it from the table. At the same moment, a sound from beyond the door halted her breathing.

  Jack was here.

  Each instant was magnified as she heard his knock on the door, then his deep, rich voice as he called out from the front stoop. Lily had left orders that he was not to be admitted.

  Now regret, shame, loss, and all their attendant emotions poked at her, accusing her. How could she lock him out?

  But hadn’t he locked her out? Yes, he’d offered to send the auction patrons away, but it was she who had left. She who had been barred from attending.

  And Jack had done nothing. He hadn’t followed her. He hadn’t thrown himself between her and the sneering mob.

  “What’s going on?”

  Lily heard his muffled voice coming from beyond the front door, heard the startled worry in his tone that filtered in as she walked through the foyer. She reached out a hand and laid her palm against the door’s cold wood. Then her forehead. Then her cheek.

  “Jack,” she called quietly. “Go away.”

  “Lily? You don’t mean it. Let me in.”

  “No, Jack. Go away.”

  “What the devil?”

  “Leave, Jack. I won’t stand between you and the people you need. You deserve better. So go.”

  “Lily, I don’t care about that. It’s already done.”

  “But I left. I made everything all right.”

  “Lily, open the door. Let me in.”

  “Go back to your people, Jack.”

  “I can’t.”

  “You have to.”

  Silence. Then, “I can’t. I sent them away, Lily.”

  Lily’s breath caught. “You what?”

&n
bsp; “I sent them away. I cancelled the auction.”

  “But—”

  “Lily. Open the door.”

  Lily’s heart raced. She turned her back to the door, searching for the courage to resist his pleas. Twilight filtered through the side glass, casting the foyer in hopeful shadow.

  Twilight.

  Lily risked a glance through the side glass. The streetlamps weren’t lit yet. She’d heard no cry from the lamplighter.

  It was too early for Jack to be back from the auction. Unless—

  Lily threw the door open.

  “You cancelled the auction?”

  He nodded.

  “You sent them away? All of them?”

  He nodded, and a smile began to creep across his face.

  “But, what will you do?”

  “I’ll figure it out, Lily. After you say yes.”

  “Say yes—”

  “Say you’ll marry me.”

  “I—”

  Jack took a step toward her. “Say yes, Lily. That’s all I want to hear.”

  Lily saw the earnestness on his face, felt the pent-up joy in her own heart that might explode if she didn’t answer him now.

  “Yes!” She flung herself through the door and into his arms. “Yes, Jack! I’ll marry you!”

  He picked her up and right there on the front stoop twirled her around.

  They laughed as tears trickled down both their faces.

  “We’ll figure it out, Lily. Together. You know we can.”

  He leaned in to capture her lips, and she sighed. “Yes, my love. We’ll figure it out. Together.”

  As he turned her into his arms, Lily saw beyond his shoulder something that seemed out of place. And then the terror struck.

  “Jack! Get inside!”

  She pushed him hard, then turned toward the danger lurking at the gate. She tried to lunge away, but she was too late.

  With a loud retort, the bullet slammed into her shoulder and Lily fell into Jack’s arms in black oblivion.

  Jack’s emotions were at a fevered pitch. The love of his life had just said yes to his proposal, and now she lay in his arms, covered in blood. The sound of gunfire still echoed in the air as a rapid barrage of bullets followed, one after another.