How to Steal a Thief's Heart - Bree Wolf Page 0,47
yet, Pierce thought he saw a hint of interest lingering in his butler’s pale eyes. Sensing the man’s distress, Pierce told him to take a few days and think things through.
Grateful, Albert shuffled off, paler than Pierce had ever seen him.
Unfortunately, only a few hours later, Pierce found his own face drained of all color when Jacob all but burst into his study. Darkness had long since fallen, and a fierce wind howled through the streets. “My lord,” the young man gasped, his cheeks flushed. “She left the house again.”
Cursing, Pierce shot to his feet. “Where is she?”
“At the children’s home, my lord.” Jacob gulped down another lungful of air. “She left the house a little before midnight.”
Raking his hands through his hair, Pierce paused to stare at his footman for a long moment. “Go and hail a hackney coach.” He turned to rummage through a drawer of his desk. “Tell the driver we need to borrow it for the night.” He tossed a bag of coins at Jacob, who caught it swiftly. “Don’t tell him anything. Only ask where to return the coach.”
“Yes, my lord,” Jacob exclaimed, a sense of duty and importance tightening his features before he darted off.
Dressing quickly, Pierce tucked his black mask into his coat before hurrying outside where a hackney coach was waiting at the curb, Jacob up on the box, his face masked by a large hat. “Well done,” Pierce told him, proud to see the young man’s intuitive grasp of the situation. “You know where to go.”
Without delay, they made their way across town to the children’s home where they found another hackney coach waiting at the curb. Pierce grinned, stepping out onto the pavement, then approached the other driver. “How much is she paying you to wait?” he asked the driver without preamble.
A rather toothless grin completed the greedy gleam in the man’s eyes. Only a minute later, the hackney coach rumbled away down the street, the man’s pockets heavy with coin.
“What now?” Jacob asked as he glanced up at the boarded-up window from which a faint light shone out into the dark.
“Now, we wait,” Pierce told him after Jacob had pulled the horse to a halt in the very spot the other hackney coach had just vacated. “Keep your hat down and your face turned.”
Jacob nodded.
Casting another glance over his shoulder at the illuminated window, Pierce drew up the hood of his cloak. Then he stepped back inside the coach and donned his mask.
At least an hour passed before Jacob rapped on the roof of the coach, signaling that Miss Hawkins was leaving the orphanage. Lifting the edge of the curtain covering the window, Pierce peeked outside. He only caught a faint glimpse of her before he dropped the curtain back in place, then retreated to the far corner of the coach, his heart thudding wildly in anticipation.
He had, indeed, missed her.
Missed the heated exchange she allowed when no one was looking.
The muffled sound of her voice drifted to his ears before the door was opened and she stepped inside, sinking onto the bench opposite him with an exhausted sigh. Her eyes closed as her head leaned back against the seat, her arms limp as they all but hung at her sides.
The coach pulled out into the street, its soft swaying drawing another sigh from her lips.
“You look exhausted,” Pierce commented dryly.
With a shriek, his little mouse shot upright, her eyes flying open in panic, searching the dark interior before settling on him. “You again?” she gasped, anger mingling with the flutter in her voice. “Have you made it your life’s mission to frighten me half to death?” She breathed heavily, one hand pressed to her chest, as she glared at him.
Pierce chuckled behind his mask. “You must admit there’s a simple solution to that.” His gaze raked over her face, and his heart rejoiced at the change in her appearance.
The rose blush of her cheeks.
The dark glow of her curls.
The unhindered look into her blue eyes.
“Why are you here?” she demanded as her breathing calmed. “As you can see, I’m not walking the streets of London alone.”
He crossed his arms over his chest. “Still, you’re out about town on your own. That is not wise.”
His little mouse scoffed. “Says the man who robs people for a living.”
Pierce could not deny that her low opinion of him was irritating. “I only ever rob those who do not deserve what they possess.”