“Very well.” He would not press her for details—he hadn’t the time. There was much on his mind, least of which was his female relations’ whereabouts every minute of the day. Besides, Theo was the one person in his life that he could trust above all others. He watched over her and showered her with as much attention as possible—and in return, she adored him.
Cart tried to refocus, but Theo’s unnatural stillness before him drew his attention once more. She neither blinked nor fussed.
“What plagues you, puppet?” he asked. It was a name his father had used—not in an affectionate way, but more to do with the babe who used to hang all over him.
She kept her eyes focused on the floor and Cart realized she was far more upset than he’d thought. Gauging another’s emotional responses and cues had never been Cart’s strong suit.
“May I ask you a question?” Her voice was timid, something he’d never wish for her. The meek were often taken advantage of. As Cart had discovered long ago.
“You may ask me anything,” he said with more force than he’d intended. “Theodora, please, you know that no subject is prohibited with us.” They’d become so close since his return to London—he’d left a mere child, but had returned to find his only sibling had grown to the cusp of womanhood—a beauty with an intellect rivalled by no other woman in his acquaintance, but one... “I am your brother. I care for you and your happiness above all else. You do not appear happy at the moment, which vexes me greatly.”
“I am not unhappy, only concerned.” Theo’s forehead scrunched with unease as she continued to wring her hands. “However, I do not want to upset you by prying into your personal affairs. As you have repeated over and over, they are none of my or Momma’s concern.”
Cart had requested his mother stay far away from his personal life, but never had he said the same to Theo. “I am certain your concerns will not be seen as prying.” He removed his spectacles and set them aside, allowing him better focus on her across the large expanse of his desk.
“Was it Miss Judith you met with at the library?”
“Yes, why?” The question puzzled him. He hadn’t remembered speaking her name to anyone, though he knew his sister’s tendency for listening in on his meetings, especially when it had anything to do with antiquities.
“May I ask where you met her?” Theo glanced down at her hands, sensing she had, indeed, overstepped her boundaries. “It is only…I do not…”
“We met at a garden party not long ago,” he answered. “We had a mutual fondness for all things historical and collectible.”
“Oh.” She stood, keeping her gaze on the floor. “I will leave you to your work.”
“Theo, come back,” he called when she turned to depart. “Please, sit. Miss Judith and I are only acquaintances, nothing more.” Most assuredly nothing more; their relationship moving from acquaintances to little more than a woman he’d thought he knew at some point in the past. Though watching her traverse the exhibit at the British Museum earlier in the day had shown him a new side to her. At least, she hadn’t lied about her interest in history.
“But you like her? Enjoy her company?” Theo persisted, still behind the chair she’d vacated.
“Of course, she is an educated person, and you know I am drawn to people of an enlightened nature.” He’d thought Jude educated in academia, but it turned out she was only refined in the art of thievery.
The wound from her duplicity was still too new and too raw for Cart to discuss without his chest seizing in pain and regret—pain due to the loss of someone he’d cared for and regret that it was so simple for others to fool him.
“You risked her encountering Momma when she visited not long ago.”
“Come out and ask what you truly seek to know, Theo.” Cart sighed, folding his hands on his desk, covering the letter he’d been attempting to write to Lord Gunther—wishing all conversation of Jude to cease.
“I should be going.” Theo shuffled her feet and looked at the open door behind her. He’d never witnessed his sister so apprehensive.
“Sit.” His command boomed loudly and Cart’s first instinct was to apologize for his forceful tone, but he would not. Something was wrong in his household—with his dear sister—and he would find out exactly what it was. So many things appeared out of his control lately—namely, Miss Judith’s behavior—but members of his family were not. “Explain your troubles.”
Theo drug her feet as she rounded the chair once more, sitting heavily, the chair sliding back a few inches and scraping the polished wood floor. “Do you care for her?”
“That is none of your concern.”
“But it is,” Theo argued.
“It is not, I assure you.” He paused, massaging the bridge of his nose to calm himself. “She will not come between you and me.” That was Cart’s only guess as to why Theo had taken an interest in Jude—a negative interest that he’d have said was unfounded only a few short days before. “Besides, ours is not a friendship that will endure.”
“That is sad to hear, dear brother.”
“And why is that?” Cart understood why he would see Jude only once more and then remove the woman and any thoughts of her from his life, but Theo’s interest baffled him.
“It is unimportant if you say your association will not last,” she said matter-of-factly, even nodding her head with the final word.
It never ceased to amaze Cart at how adult-like Theo was at only twelve years of age. She spoke with the grace and manners of a woman twice her years.
“And if our association is extended?” Not that Cart was ready to overlook or forgive Jude her thievery. In reality, he’d pondered his options for turning her in to the magistrate to stand charges for her crime, but he’d quickly discarded the idea. No matter her deplorable actions, he would not see her sent to the tower, nor jailed among other common lawbreakers. He hadn’t even the gall to ask her point blank if she were the one to actually steal the vase from Gunther’s home. “Not that I am saying it will, but enlighten me as to how that would affect you.”
“I had no intention of telling you after she visited the other day.” Theo paused, making eye contact with him before continuing. “It’s evident that you care very much for her—and she in return.” It wasn’t a question but a statement—one he would not refute. Mainly because he was unsure how he felt about Jude.
And what Theo knew of Jude’s feelings for him.
The rational part of him knew he should cut his ties with her, walk away before he became embroiled in whatever plot was underway. However, the part of him that had been awakened by her—their conversations and their kiss—pled with him to hold fast to her, keep her close.
Cart had never been at such odds with himself.
Decisions—and the path that followed—had always been clear to him. It was not as simple or uncomplicated with Jude.
And if he were honest, Cart wanted nothing less than for Jude to be uncomplicated. It was her complexity that drew him—and held his attention, whether good or bad.
“She is the one who broke into our home,” Theo mumbled.
Cart sat up straighter and shook his head. He must have heard her incorrectly—after everything he’d witnessed with her thus far, and now this? “Please, say that again.”
“It was Miss Judith whom I saw flee through the drawing room that night.”
“You must be mistaken,” Cart hissed. “Never once did you tell me a woman broke into our home.”
“What would the point have been?” Theo asked, pained at the hurt she knew she’d caused her brother. “Momma ordered me to keep silent on the matter—that nothing good would come from word spreading that we had been victimized once again. She fears we are already the laughing stock of London and that this news would prove the gossips correct in calling us that.”
“Then why tell me now?” he heard himself ask, but his temper was flared to such a severe degree, that he had little control over his words.
“I think there ma
y be more to her than that…though I didn’t know at first.”
Cart counted to ten in his head, beseeching his anger to subside before he said something that would damage his close relationship with Theo. “You allow me to worry about the gossips, you are just a child.” It was extremely disheartening to hear his sister agonize over society’s opinion of the Montgomery family. “Now, let us revisit your thoughts on Jude…err, Miss Judith being the woman who entered our home—which is a horrible thing to do, by the way.”
“It is more than just a thought, dear brother,” she said, slumping into her chair. “I have verified my first assumption and found my original notion to be true and correct.”
Cart wanted to smile at her ploy of using the scientific method and basic hypothetical construct to convince him of her statement. “And how did you double check your hypothesis?”
At his question, Theo did not hold back her grin. “I convinced you to allow me to tag along when you went to the library to meet her again.”
“You little minx.” He’d thought he’d been the one to come up with the notion of her accompanying him. Yet another example of how easily he was manipulated. The thought stung, knowing he was no wiser to people’s tricks than five years ago.
“It is far worse than that,” Theo admitted.
“How could it be any worse?”
“I visited her home today.”
“Theo.” Cart felt his anger increase further. “Why would you do that?”
“That is not the important part, Simon,” she rushed to say. “There was a man there as I arrived. He thought I was a member of Jude’s family and handed me a note meant for someone in her household.”
“Why should this diminish my fury over her actions?” Deep down, Cart hoped Theo could offer some valid excuse for Jude’s actions.
“I certainly did not open private correspondence meant for another.”
“Of course, you refrained from such actions,” he said. “But what did you see?”
“The letter was clearly marked with the words Final Notice: Delinquency. Debts due immediately. I do not know who the missive was from but it is certainly of an important nature, is it not?”
Cart nodded.
“Simon,” Theo continued, “I know you have plans for me to go away for a proper schooling.”
“I do.”
“And I also heard Momma speak of her intent to travel.”
“Yes,” Cart confirmed. “I was taken aback by her decision to refrain from society for a time. It was not something I thought she ever wanted.”
“With Momma away—and me at school—I fear what you will do.” She stared at him intently for the first time since entering the room, taking in his reactions to her concerns. “I care for you and I worry about your future.”
“You are sounding more and more like our mother each day, puppet.”
“You cannot base your entire future around inanimate objects when there are so many living, breathing things in the world,” Theo said.
Cart wanted to push her concerns to the wayside, convince her they were not valid concerns at all. But he knew his tendency to surround himself with unmoving things—for those things could never hurt him.
“Tell me I will not have to worry about you while I’m gone, because, if I do, then I will refuse to go.”
“You cannot do that, I will not allow it, Theo,” he retorted. “Besides, it is I who will worry over your future, not the other way around. I am your elder brother—it is my task to secure your future—and Mother’s.”
“But not at the expense of your own.” Theo shook her head as if he’d shared the saddest news she’d yet heard. “Promise me you will listen to Miss Judith—truly hear her words and try to understand her actions.”
“I am undecided on that at this moment.” Cart didn’t want to hear what that woman had to say—he could not think of one valid reason she could put forth to justify her stealing into his home.
“But if she comes to you…”
“I will hear her out, puppet.” Cart massaged the back of his neck, a headache threatening to take over.
“Maybe not wait for her to come to you.”
“I appreciate your sisterly concern, Theo.” It was the one aspect of their relationship he cherished the most. They wanted the best for one another, with no reservations.
“So, what do you plan to do?” Theo raised her brow as if challenging Cart to make a decision on his course of action.
Little did she know Cart had been debating his next move for the past several days—and her confession did not make his choice any easier. Or clearer.
After Theo had departed his study, Cart tore up the letter he’d been drafting to Lord Gunther, deciding to deliver the news by servant.
It had taken him approximately twenty-nine minutes to collect his nerve, his overcoat, and hail a hackney to deliver him to Lord Gunther’s stoop.
It had taken him exactly twenty-nine seconds to regret his actions, but it was far too late for a change of course as he paced Lord Gunther’s private receiving room, awaiting the lord’s arrival. Cart counted his footfalls as he walked from one side of the room to the furthest edge, close to the windows overlooking the rear gardens. It took him fourteen strides to cross the span of the area, though normally it would be closer to eighteen. But with his increased agitation, his normal gait was widened considerably.
His tension stemmed from his wild notion of how to retrieve Lord Gunther’s vase—and keep Jude’s hand in it all secret, taking away any risk she’d be detained and punished for the theft, and giving her the pounds she clearly needed so badly. There was no possible way he could gather the fifty pounds she requested to purchase the vase, especially with the coin he’d handed to his mother only days before. He needed Gunther’s wealth…there was no other option that he could deduce.
He was still reeling from Theo’s revelation. He was unsure if he could bring himself to accept the dire nature of his purported association with Jude—she’d lied to him, she’d used him, and he’d allowed her to do it. And even with all that, he’d set out to help her.
She was to blame for his inability to reason a solution to his current problem—a problem that was also, conveniently, caused by her.
“Lord Cartwright,” Lord Gunther’s voice boomed behind him. “Did we have a meeting scheduled for today? I was not expecting you.”
Cart swallowed the urge to tell Gunther everything—where to find his precious vase and who was to blame for this entire debacle. Instead, he pulled a folded note from his inside coat pocket and presented it to the man.
“What is this?” Gunther asked as he took hold of it, turning it over in is hand as if he had no intention of reading it.
“Forgive my intrusion, but I received this missive only a short time ago and thought it urgent enough to come straight away,” Cart lied, the deception rolling easily off his tongue. That was a fact he would need to analyze later. At length. “It is known I have been searching for the vase and someone has come forth with information.”
“Who is it?” Gunther grunted, unfolding the note. “I will send for the magistrate immediately.” Before Cart could dissuade him, Gunther pulled the bell cord to summon a servant.
“My lord—“ Cart attempted to stop Lord Gunther as he read the note.
“This note is not signed.” He waved the paper in the air. “This tells us nothing except that someone claims to have my vase—no name, no directions, nothing of use. What is going on, Cartwright?”
Cart focused on holding eye contact, refusing to look away and confirming the man’s suspicions. “I am as puzzled as you, my lord,” said Cart, shaking his head to further solidify his words. Inside, Cart was angrier than he’d ever remembered being, even directly after his uncle’s misdeeds were exposed, but he could not allow Jude and her family to suffer. Jude was a liar, a deceitful woman, but what kind of gentleman would Cart be to allow a woman in need to go without help? “It arrived this morning. My butler tells
me it was delivered by a hired messenger, who knew nothing of import and was directed not to await a reply to the letter.”
Startled, Cart realized even if his uncle had come to him after all he’d done, Cart would have accepted him and done what he could to help the man.
“And this person only requests fifty pounds for the return of it?” When Cart nodded in confirmation, Gunther took to pacing the same path Cart had only moments before. “How do we know this person has the vase? Or that once they have the funds, it will be returned?”
“We do not know,” Cart replied with all honesty, except he did know the person who held the vase, and did not doubt she would hand it over when she received payment. He refused to believe she’d duped him without good reason. “If you so desire, I will handle the transaction and take all the responsibility. I will take the ransom and exchange it for the vase—if there is no vase, then we are back to where we were before I arrived today, your fifty pounds still in hand.”
He hoped his confident demeanor was enough to convince Gunther to trust that all would be as it should.
Cart waited in silence as the man continued to pace back and forth. Cart longing to do the same. Instead, he focused on the decorative paper covering the wall on each side of the hearth, counting the many swirls and committing the complex pattern to memory. It was useless information to retain but brought a form of tranquility to him—something he could control, the numbers, the speed of his counting, and the consistency of the pattern. After several minutes, he was certain he could close his eyes and draw the swirling pattern from memory.
“I will have my man of business send the banknotes by tomorrow morning.” He handed the letter back to Cart, who slipped it into his pocket, knowing it would be tossed in his own hearth as soon as he returned to his townhouse. “Please inform me when things are done.” The man clasped Cart’s shoulder and squeezed. “I do thank you for all you are doing.”
Thief Steals Her Earl Page 18
