To Catch A Thief (Saved By Desire 2) by Rebecca King Page B

don’t know how her father can allow it.”
    “Ladies’ what can I get you?” The butcher interrupted. He threw a rueful look at Sophia.
    Sophia smiled and turned her attention to the road outside while she tried to remember who Tabitha was. Once the ladies had left, she found that she was the only customer in the shop and took the opportunity to speak with the butcher; a kindly man who, just like the Harvell ladies, had a tendency to gossip.
    “Tabitha?” Sophia murmured with a frown. “I am sorry. I couldn’t help but overhear them. Why does that name sound familiar to me?”
    “It is Tabitha Lester, from the tavern. She is one of the barmaids who work there at night. She also works as a milk maid over at the farm during the day as well. You have probably seen her rushing here and there. She is always rushing, that one, with nary a moment to spare. Not in the tavern, of course.” He smiled at her. “But probably on her way back from the dairy in the morning. She is about your size with yellow hair, and talks with a bit of a lisp.”
    Sophia nodded when she suddenly remembered who Tabitha was. “Has she run away?”
    “No. Well, we are not sure.” The butcher looked solemn for a moment. “She left the tavern last night and hasn’t been seen since. She didn’t turn up at home like she should have. Her father waited up for her but when she didn’t return on time, he went to the tavern to look for her. Mr Morley told him she had left on time. She just vanished somewhere between the tavern and home. Nobody has seen her since. It is a mystery.”
    “Good heavens,” Sophia whispered.
    “I can’t see that she would have run away,” the butcher confided. “She is a good girl. I know women like those two tend to gossip, but it is best not to pay them too much attention. It is what they do, I am afraid, but they are wrong. Tabitha lives for her family. Why, I don’t think she has been out of the village since the day she was born. She is too busy working. You can set your timepiece by her. She always leaves the tavern on the button because she knows her father is waiting up for her, and always sets out for the farm just after dawn because she knows the cows are waiting for her. It’s highly unusual for her to vanish like this. Now, if it were Megan McGuire who vanished I wouldn’t be surprised in the least. She is flighty. Tabitha?” He shook his head. “No. You mark my words. This will end with sorry news, I don’t mind saying. She isn’t the kind to run off.”
    “Are people looking for her?”
    “Yes, half of the village are out, along with the labourers at the farm and the Lord’s men.”
    “Let’s hope they find her,” Sophia whispered, disturbed by the morning’s revelations.
    She accepted the bundle of meat off the butcher with an absent nod, paid him, and made her way out into the morning sunshine. This time, though, Sophia didn’t absorb any of its warmth with a grateful smile. She shivered, especially so when the sun was briefly obliterated by increasingly darker clouds. When she looked toward the sky, a sense of foreboding swept through her.
    You are fanciful Sophia, stop it, she mused as she forced her mind to more thankless tasks like getting the rest of the shopping.
    As she went on her way, though, she found herself searching for the reassuring sight of Jeb. It was only when she entered the grocer’s shop and found it completely empty that she realised just how quiet the village was.
    “Good morning, Miss Carney. How may I help you today? The usual is it?” the grocer asked as he hurried toward her.
    Sophia nodded absently and rattled the order off. While she waited for the items to be selected and placed in her basket, her gaze wandered to the empty street outside.
    It was then that she saw him. Tallish, dressed in ordinary labourer’s clothing, at first glance there was nothing extraordinary about him. She would have dismissed him entirely if it hadn’t been for Tabitha’s