A Loving Scoundrel Read Online Free PDF Page A

from him, but not before she blushed. Jeremy smiled. He’d known she wouldn’t be an easy conquest, yet that blush spoke volumes. She was no more immune to him than other women were. But he wasn’t going to give away her little secret. He’d let her play her manly role for now—at least until he got her alone.
    For the moment, he addressed her remark, wondering aloud, “Should you have obtained our consent before you robbed us?” That got him another blush, so he merely concluded, “No, I didn’t think that was your habit. So let me just explain what’s needed and why, before you get back to refusing out of hand. My friend here got himself robbed, you see, but in a legal way.”
    “If ye insist on explaining,” she injected, “ye could at least make sense.”
    A mere grumble. Encouraging. Apparently she was going to listen to him.
    “The ‘legal’ way I mention was gambling.”
    A snort. “That ain’t being robbed, that’s being stupid. A big difference there, mate.”
    Jeremy grinned, and the wench became obviously flustered by it, which only made his grin turn knowing. He then explained that John Heddings was the culprit who chose not to play fair and that she was going to exact retribution for them.
    “We’re taking you to Heddings’s house in the country,” Jeremy continued. “It’s rather big, will be filled with servants, and thus, they’ll be confident that no thief in his right mind would ever consider robbing them, and rightly so. Which is to your benefit, lad.”
    “ ’Ow’s that?”
    “The doors might be locked, but the windows will pro’bly be open this time of the year. The fact that they don’t expect to be robbed means they won’t be on their guard for it. And it’s past midnight, so the servants should be asleep and out of the way until morning. So you should have no difficulty entering the house.”
    “And then wot?”
    “You will need to enter the master bedroom undetected. Chances are Heddings will be in it when you do, but you’re quite used to that I’m sure. Like the servants, he should be fast asleep this time of night. Then proceed to do what you do best. Rob the man.”
    “Wot makes ye think ’e won’t ’ave his valuables locked away in a safe?”
    “Because he doesn’t live in London. The gentry feel much more secure on their country estates.”
    “Wot do these ’eirlooms look like then, that I’m s’pose to be nabbing?”
    “Two rings, both very old.”
    “I’m still needing a description, gent, if I’m to pick them out o’ the pot.”
    Jeremy shook his head at her. “It doesn’t matter, since you can’t just take Percy’s two rings. That would leave Heddings knowing right where to point the finger. Your job, dear boy, is no different than you’re accustomed to, to take everything of value you find. Your gain is that you may keep all the rest for yourself, thousands of pounds’ worth of jewelry, I’m sure.”
    “Thousands!” she said, gaping at him.
    He nodded with a chuckle. “Now aren’t you glad we insisted you come along?”
    Those lovely violet eyes narrowed abruptly on him. “Yer a bleedin’ idiot if ye think any trinkets, no matter how costly, makes up for the trouble I’ll be in for not getting permission to do this first.”
    Jeremy frowned, but not over the name-calling. “You’re on that tight a leash?”
    “I’ve rules to abide by, aye, and ye’ve made me break most o’ them.”
    His sigh was long and drawn out. “You could have mentioned this sooner.”
    “I figured the barkeep would’ve stopped ye. Didn’t take ’im for no coward, big as ’e is.”
    “No one likes to get a bullet in their face, lad,” Jeremy said in the barkeep’s defense. “But he can attest that you weren’t given a choice in the matter. So what, really, is the problem?”
    “It’s none o’ yer concern—”
    “Beg to differ, you’ve just made it my concern.”
    “Like ’ell. Figure it out real quick, mate, that ye’ve