Read Online To Catch A Thief (Saved By Desire 2) by Rebecca King - Free Book Online
Authors: Rebecca King
Tags: Fiction, Suspense, Romance, Historical, Adult, series, Regency, England, romantic suspense, 19th century, fear, Bachelor, Victorian, Investigation, Deception, Britain, Mysteries, dangerous, deceit, Forever Love, Single Woman, Hearts Desire, London Society, Saved By Desire, Star Elite, Summons, Harrowing Ordeal, Hertfordshire, Sleepy Village, Killer Revealed
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o’clock.
She made her way downstairs to the study to collect everything she needed but decided to write the note in the comfort and warmth of her own bed. Once in the study, she made her way over to the writing bureau and dropped the lid.
Her heart fell to her toes when she saw what was secreted within.
“Oh Delilah, what have you done?” she whispered.
Her fingers trembled as she lifted one of the boxes out of the bureau. She knew immediately where they had come from, and they didn’t belong to Delilah. Even in the darkness, she recognised the two small trinket boxes that had been sitting on a side table in Algernon’s hallway.
“Delilah, you are a disgrace,” Sophia whispered. For the first time in her life, she was actually disgusted with someone, and it galled her for that someone to be a relative. “To steal it from right under their noses is stupid. You are nothing but a thief.”
What Sophia couldn’t immediately understand was why Delilah would take such a risk. There had been so many people in attendance last night that someone was bound to have seen her. It was almost as though Delilah wanted to get caught, or liked the challenge, or the thrill of snatching something right out from underneath everybody’s noses.
“What should I do now?” she whispered.
She could hardly inform the magistrate and risk the entire Carney family facing ruination. But Delilah was a thief, and a regular one at that. The evidence was right in front of her eyes. The memory of the assorted items in the drawer upstairs warned her that although the items Delilah had stolen were small, they were also expensive. What did she plan to do with them? It was an incredible risk just leaving them in her own house to be found should the magistrate want to search the properties of everyone in attendance at these gatherings. She couldn’t use all of them herself because there were just too many. Putting them out on display would mean being caught. Besides, who would want to use a hairbrush used by somebody else?
That left only one option as far as Sophia could see. Delilah intended to sell them to make some extra money.
“I have to do something,” she whispered, suddenly horrifyingly aware that while these two trinket boxes sat in the house she could be considered as guilty as Delilah.
Sophia glanced at the parchment in her hand and wondered if writing to Hooky would actually do any good. A letter would take several days to get home and, assuming Hooky wrote back immediately, she couldn’t expect to receive a reply for at least a week. Heaven only knew how much Delilah would manage to steal in that amount of time. That meant she had to deal with this situation herself.
A sudden click outside the study door made her jump in alarm. It sounded like the side door in the sitting room. Thankfully there was enough moonlight to guide her across the room without her bumping into anything. She peered cautiously around the edge of the curtain and caught the flicker of movement of someone disappearing toward the woods at the rear of the house. At first, she wondered whether it might be the lover Hooky had mentioned. However, the more she studied the cloaked figure the more she realised it was Delilah.
“Where are you going at two o’clock in the morning?” she whispered aloud, knowing there was now nobody in the house to hear her.
Hurrying through to the kitchen, she stood on tiptoe to peer out of the back window and watched Delilah disappear into the trees at the back of the house.
“What do you have there then?” Sophia asked, eyeing the dark, neatly wrapped bundle her aunt carried.
To begin with, she was tempted to follow, but knew she wouldn’t be able to come up with an explanation if she stumbled upon her aunt outside so remained where she was. Eager to see if Delilah had taken the stolen items with her, Sophia raced upstairs to her aunt’s room. It didn’t come as any surprise when she opened the drawer to Delilah’s
She made her way downstairs to the study to collect everything she needed but decided to write the note in the comfort and warmth of her own bed. Once in the study, she made her way over to the writing bureau and dropped the lid.
Her heart fell to her toes when she saw what was secreted within.
“Oh Delilah, what have you done?” she whispered.
Her fingers trembled as she lifted one of the boxes out of the bureau. She knew immediately where they had come from, and they didn’t belong to Delilah. Even in the darkness, she recognised the two small trinket boxes that had been sitting on a side table in Algernon’s hallway.
“Delilah, you are a disgrace,” Sophia whispered. For the first time in her life, she was actually disgusted with someone, and it galled her for that someone to be a relative. “To steal it from right under their noses is stupid. You are nothing but a thief.”
What Sophia couldn’t immediately understand was why Delilah would take such a risk. There had been so many people in attendance last night that someone was bound to have seen her. It was almost as though Delilah wanted to get caught, or liked the challenge, or the thrill of snatching something right out from underneath everybody’s noses.
“What should I do now?” she whispered.
She could hardly inform the magistrate and risk the entire Carney family facing ruination. But Delilah was a thief, and a regular one at that. The evidence was right in front of her eyes. The memory of the assorted items in the drawer upstairs warned her that although the items Delilah had stolen were small, they were also expensive. What did she plan to do with them? It was an incredible risk just leaving them in her own house to be found should the magistrate want to search the properties of everyone in attendance at these gatherings. She couldn’t use all of them herself because there were just too many. Putting them out on display would mean being caught. Besides, who would want to use a hairbrush used by somebody else?
That left only one option as far as Sophia could see. Delilah intended to sell them to make some extra money.
“I have to do something,” she whispered, suddenly horrifyingly aware that while these two trinket boxes sat in the house she could be considered as guilty as Delilah.
Sophia glanced at the parchment in her hand and wondered if writing to Hooky would actually do any good. A letter would take several days to get home and, assuming Hooky wrote back immediately, she couldn’t expect to receive a reply for at least a week. Heaven only knew how much Delilah would manage to steal in that amount of time. That meant she had to deal with this situation herself.
A sudden click outside the study door made her jump in alarm. It sounded like the side door in the sitting room. Thankfully there was enough moonlight to guide her across the room without her bumping into anything. She peered cautiously around the edge of the curtain and caught the flicker of movement of someone disappearing toward the woods at the rear of the house. At first, she wondered whether it might be the lover Hooky had mentioned. However, the more she studied the cloaked figure the more she realised it was Delilah.
“Where are you going at two o’clock in the morning?” she whispered aloud, knowing there was now nobody in the house to hear her.
Hurrying through to the kitchen, she stood on tiptoe to peer out of the back window and watched Delilah disappear into the trees at the back of the house.
“What do you have there then?” Sophia asked, eyeing the dark, neatly wrapped bundle her aunt carried.
To begin with, she was tempted to follow, but knew she wouldn’t be able to come up with an explanation if she stumbled upon her aunt outside so remained where she was. Eager to see if Delilah had taken the stolen items with her, Sophia raced upstairs to her aunt’s room. It didn’t come as any surprise when she opened the drawer to Delilah’s
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