Touch of a Thief Read Online Free PDF

faith,” Quinn had said.
    “One of the diamonds would have shown more good faith,” she muttered as she left her hired hansom by the corner after telling the driver to wait. She darted down a narrow alley to Willie’s shop.
    A veil covered her face, but not because she worried that any fashionable member of society would recognize her there. It wasn’t the sort of place frequented by the high-in-the-instep crowd.
    The veil was for her. It helped her pretend she couldn’t see herself doing those lowering things.
    She pushed open the shop door and a little bell tinkled overhead. Willie appeared from the back room, his good-natured, ugly face split in a smile.
    “Good day to you, milady,” his gravelly voice rasped. He had agreed never to call her by name.
    “Hello, Willie.” She had never learned his full one. The less she knew about him, the better she slept. The shop was empty so she pulled a handkerchief from her reticule and undid the knot she’d tied around the pearl. “Not much to show for last night, I’m afraid.”
    She kept on her kid gloves as she nudged the pearl toward him. The last thing she needed was a vision-trance in that seedy little shop. Willie knew she was an accomplished thief, but she resisted letting him learn about her other gift as well. “This pearl is all I have.”
    “What about that lot of uncut stones the lieutenant was bragging about?”
    “Men love to exaggerate.” It wasn’t exactly a lie. Viola was careful not to add to her list of sins if she could help it. Let Willie make of it what he would. “This pearl is quite unique—very old and very rare.”
    “And that makes it very hard to move.” He named an insultingly low offer for it.
    They haggled over the price for a few minutes, but in the end Viola accepted much less than it was worth. Sometimes she was tempted to seek out another fence for her jewels, but the more people who knew about her activities, the more dangerous it became. For better or worse, she was stuck with Willie.
    “Don’t fret yourself, ducks,” he said as he counted out the payment. “You’ll see more when you pinch those emeralds.”
    “I won’t be doing that for a while.” Or ever , she amended silently. She folded the banknotes and stashed the coin in her reticule. She’d deposit it all in her mother’s account with the Bank of England on her way to the wharf to meet Lieutenant Quinn. Her mother would need the funds while she was gone. The Blood of the Tiger theft was his plan. He could pay her bills while she was in France. “You won’t be seeing me for a bit. I’ll be out of . . . town.”
    “Oh? Anything I should know about?”
    “No, this journey is unrelated to our partnership.”
    “Hmmm.” His face broke into a quick, slightly smarmy smile. “God keep ye safe then, yer ladyship.”
    “Thank you.” She hoped it would be the last time she’d ever see him. Once she had the jewels Lieutenant Quinn promised her, she wouldn’t have to use Willie’s services. She’d make Quinn give her a bill of sale, so she could prove she owned them legitimately. Then she’d take them to a reputable jeweler where she’d receive full value for them.
    She’d deposit the money with a venerable man of business and live as she was meant to. Her mother would never have to grate another carrot. They’d find a doctor to cure Ophelia’s troubled mind. No more worries about keeping Portia’s pudgy growing feet in a pair of shoes that fit her. No fretting over the unpaid butcher’s bill. There’d be endless soirees, nights at the theatre, and as many new gowns as she wished. Viola could even fund her own dowry if she wanted to marry.
    No , she decided. Men are far more trouble than they are worth.
    The important thing was she could put this sordid little shop and all her thefts behind her. Her life would be back to normal.
    And she’d never see Willie’s tobacco-stained smile again.
    “Good day.” She pushed out of the shop, eager to