Lady Thief by Kay Hooper

could be right, but I have never heard him mention it.” He stiffened suddenly, and Jenny had the unwelcome impression that he had been struck with a thought. “When I first noticed that he had something on his mind,” Brummell said slowly, “I also noticed that he had begun asking questions about the Cat.”
    “Indeed?” Jenny silently cursed the Beau’s mental abilities; they were far too acute for her peace of mind.
    “Yes. He was coming to every ton party and searching the faces of all the young ladies as if he were looking for some particular feature. I wonder . . .”
    Jenny knew that she was courting disaster, that she should encourage him to drop the subject, but she had to know what he was thinking. “You wonder, sir?”
    “I wonder if Nick knows more about the Cat than the rest of us do,” Brummell said thoughtfully.
    “Could he?” Jenny knew that she would have to tread very carefully. If she wasn’t careful, Brummell would begin to connect her reaction to Spencer’s name with the duke’s apparent search for the Cat.
    “If he had been held up by the Cat, and had become interested in her,” Brummell answered, “he certainly could. He would leave no stone unturned to find out as much as he could about her.”
    “You think that happened? That he was interested?”
    “It is possible. From all accounts, the Cat seems to be ladylike in voice and manner. Nick could have taken a fancy to her.” After a moment, he went on slowly, “I wonder if Nick believes that the Cat takes off her mask and dons a ballgown? Lord, wouldn’t London be in an uproar if that were the case?”
    The amusement in his voice did nothing for Jenny’s peace of mind.
    Noticing her silence, Brummell tried to read her expression. He was unsuccessful; the carriage was too dim. “Miss Courtenay? Are you perfectly all right?”
    Jenny was thankful for the darkness of the carriage. When she could command her voice, she murmured, “I beg your pardon, sir, but I feel rather faint. I cannot imagine what has come over me. I do not, in general, faint at the least provocation.”
    “That I can well believe.”
    Brummell’s remark was perfectly innocent, but to Jenny’s overworked imagination it seemed to have a decidedly sinister tone. If Brummell, of all people, should suspect—
    The Beau reached to lower a window. “Perhaps some fresh air will help. I do believe,” he continued in a demure tone intended to cheer her, “that you require rest, Miss Courtenay.”
    She uttered a somewhat shaken laugh. “You could be right, Mr. Brummell.” A sudden thought occurred to her. “Mr. Brummell—I have just realized that by tomorrow morning all of the ton will know that you escorted me home. That will never do, sir! They will be expecting an announcement, and I shall be horribly pitied when you do not come up to scratch.”
    As he began to chuckle, she went on sternly, “And do not tell me that you make a habit of escorting young ladies home; you have not that reputation.”
    He inclined his upper body in a half-bow. “Since you are so brutally honest, Miss Courtenay, I shall be frank and say that I do not care one jot for what people may say. I may not wish to marry you, but I do enjoy your company very much, and I mean to make the most of it before some young buck snatches you away and teaches you to be a lady.” He shook his head sorrowfully. “It would ruin you.”
    Jenny gave a gasp and burst out laughing. When she could control her voice, she said in mock offense, “Mr. Brummell! Are you saying that I am not a lady?”
    He appeared to consider the matter. “I would not go so far as to say that —however, you are decidedly unlike any other lady of my acquaintance.”
    The carriage drew up at Lady Beddington’s town house just then, and Jenny silently congratulated herself on having survived an extremely difficult evening. Now, if she could only reach the door without betraying her secret. . . .
    Brummell escorted her from