My Favorite Thief by Karyn Monk Page B

then she just happens upon the Dark Shadow?” Lord Shelton shook his head, unconvinced. “She was going up to meet him, I say, and help him rob you blind.”
    â€œBut why on earth would she need to steal jewels from Chadwick?” wondered Lord Beckett. “After all, Redmond has money. He takes care of her, just as he does all his children.”
    â€œThe urge to steal is in the blood,” Lord Shelton explained authoritatively, “just like the urge toward violence or depravity. Can’t be helped. That’s why the only answer is to lock criminals up. Miss Kent’s refuge house is just a place for the scum of society to fatten up on beef and cake while they trade tricks amongst each other before going out to take advantage of the rest of us law-abiding citizens. If I ever meet Miss Kent, I’ll damn well tell her so.”
    â€œIt seems you’re going to have your chance,” Lord Reynolds mused. “I believe that’s she on the other side of the ballroom.”
    Harrison raised his gaze in astonishment. A crowd of people was swarming around someone at the opposite end of the room, forming a glittering vortex of jewels and evening wear that prevented him from seeing the object of their attention.
    And then suddenly someone moved, and he found himself staring at the lovely young woman who had saved his life.
    She seemed fragile and uncertain to him amidst the curious crowd, which was showering her with excited questions. Her delicately structured face was pale and grave, although every now and then one of the tall young men standing on either side of her would make some comment that would elicit a forced smile from her. He did not know who her two young escorts were, but it was immediately apparent to him that they were extremely protective of her. One was supporting her by holding her hand upon his arm, while the other was effectively shielding her from the people clamoring around her. There were two women standing close to her as well, a stunningly beautiful blond woman who was answering the group’s questions with easy charm, and a lovely dark-haired woman who smiled and nodded. Thrust into the glare of the enormous ballroom, Charlotte seemed smaller to him, smaller and shyer and afraid. He could almost feel her distress as she stood there, could feel the awkwardness and embarrassment gripping her as she endured the relentless scrutiny of the curious mob around her.
    What the hell was she doing there, when it was so obvious she was finding the attention excruciating?
    â€œCome on, Harry, let’s go talk to her,” suggested Tony eagerly.
    â€œNo.”
    â€œDon’t you want to find out more about her encounter with the Dark Shadow?”
    â€œNot really.”
    Harrison swirled his wine around his glass as he studied her, affecting a cursory, almost bored inspection. She shouldn’t be there, he thought as she valiantly tried to answer a question. Not because he feared she might reveal something about him that would lead to his capture. She had already proven her determination to protect him, even though he could not understand why. She probably assumed he was just another criminal who needed saving. A misguided victim of an unjust society, who only required a hot meal and a few words of wisdom and prayer to realize the error of his ways. And why shouldn’t she think that? He had not given her any reason to think otherwise.
    â€œI’m going out to get some air.” He set his untouched glass down on a table and strode toward the doors leading to the garden, leaving Tony free to join the crowd fawning around the newly renowned Miss Kent.
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    â€œâ€¦AND THAT IS WHY THESE POOR WOMEN AND CHILDREN must be helped, not by sending them to workhouses, which only break their bodies and their spirits, but by creating a safe home for them where they can receive food and shelter and decent clothes, and where they are taught to read and learn a