The Gentleman and the Thief (The Dread Penny Society #2) - Sarah M. Eden Page 0,95
he doesn’t even have to climb in windows on cold days.”
The room was a little chilly. He stood and crossed to the fireplace. He stoked the embers with the poker.
“Is there evidence enough for the Raven to be put away?” Ana asked from the sofa.
“One never knows. But I think there might be.”
She joined him at the fireplace. “I am glad Four-Finger Mike was apprehended.”
“He has escaped before; I cannot guarantee he won’t again.”
Ana leaned into him, resting her head against his chest. “That was him, you know. The man we fought.”
“I noticed the missing finger.” Hollis held her, feeling the peace and completeness that came from having her close. “And I further noticed he was determined to hurt you.” He whispered against her hair. “If he’d done you any harm—”
“But he didn’t.” She pressed her open palm against his heart as she leaned back and looked up at him. “We quelled him quite expertly.”
“That we did, my darling, Ana.” He kissed the tip of her nose, then touched his forehead to hers. “We make a good team, you and I.”
“An astoundingly good team.”
He slipped his hands up her back and shoulders and cupped her neck and head. Her eyes fluttered shut. He pressed his lips lightly to hers. A breath shuddered from her. He deepened the kiss, holding her as gently and firmly as one would a delicate and priceless treasure. Ana’s fingers folded over his jacket lapel.
“I love you, my Ana.” He trailed kisses along her jaw. “My darling, wonderful Ana.”
She whispered against his lips what sounded like his name as her arms wrapped around his neck. He’d dreamed of this moment again and again over the months he’d known her. She’d claimed his heart from the beginning, and every day it became more irrevocably hers.
by Mr. King
Installment VIII,
in which our brave Couple finds their Happiness!
Having procured a cart and pony at the coaching inn in Ipsley after waiting out the storm in a private dining room, Wellington made the drive back to Summerworth with an exhausted but joyful Tillie at his side.
“I am a bit disappointed.” Her amused smile contradicted her declaration.
“What has disappointed you?”
“Our thief proved to be none of the things on m’original list.” She shook her head and clicked her tongue.
He laughed. “You were hoping for ill-mannered dogs and well-coordinated magpies?”
“Oh, mercy, that would have been a lark to sort out.”
He grinned at her. “I believe we had quite a lark regardless.”
She sighed and leaned her head against his shoulder. “Chasing mythical creatures out onto the moors. What greater lark could there be?”
He pondered that for the length of a breath. “Mere weeks ago, I would not have thought racing over the moor was a worthy pursuit. I fear I was every bit the pompous bore you accused me of being.”
“I really did call you that, didn’t I?”
“You did, indeed.” He led the cart around a bend in the path. “And you were utterly correct. I’ve spent too many years alone. The only company I’d kept with any degree of regularity was that of . . . well, people not unlike Mr. Alsop and Miss Fairbanks and their ilk. I’d lost sight of the Wellington I was when we were children.”
“I loved that Wellington,” she said. “He was my dearest friend.”
“What do you think of this Wellington?”
She wrapped her arm around his. “I think he’s wonderful.”
“And I think this Tillie is rather remarkable as well.”
They reached the front portico of Summerworth. His unwelcome guests would still be inside, likely moaning and groaning over Miss Fairbanks’s missing jewelry. Wellington would do his best to settle the matter, offering to replace what was stolen and subtly pushing them out the door.
Mrs. Smith met them in the front entryway, her expression frantic. “What a scene!” She fanned herself with a dishrag. “You’d not believe what’s happening.”
Oh, mercy. Wellington met Tillie’s eye. She clearly expected as much theatrics as he was anticipating.
“We’d best go face it,” he said.
“And if they lob accusations at me again?”
Wellington set his shoulders. “Then I will toss them out with none of the civility I’ve been silently rehearsing.”
She lifted an eyebrow and popped a fist on one hip. “I’m not afraid of a horde of creatures. We’ve faced down a number of them today already.”
He took her hand in his, the lightness in his heart entirely at odds with the discomfort of the coming confrontation. On the first-floor landing, Pip found them. He bounced and jumped, grabbing for their hands.