Page 11 of Stolen By the Rogue
“And what of you, Miss Scott? Will you be leaving England with the crown or are you the one jewel that will be left behind?”
Jane narrowed her eyes at him. He had been quiet for most of the time, but George Hawkins had suddenly revealed himself to have quite the silver tongue. His easy smile set her on edge. “I shall be remaining in England for the foreseeable future, Mister Hawkins. But I am not certain of anything. I have learned through bitter experience that life doesn’t wait for us to finish making plans.”
He stepped closer; his gaze still fixed firmly on her. She caught a hint of his cologne. It was spicy. She liked it.
“Who knows, perhaps you and I may find ourselves travelling together somewhere on the road ahead.” He gave one last brief glance at the crown before following his friends out of the room.
Jane remained behind; her heart slightly aflutter at how near he had come to her.
It had been a long time since a man had stood that close and made promises to Jane. Whispered sweet words that she had been a fool to believe. A life that should have been hers was now being lived by another woman.
What is done is done.
She wiped away a sudden tear and headed toward the entrance. There was no time for grieving or regretting the past; she had more visitors to greet, a sultan to serve.
Reaching the front of the embassy, George’s parting words slipped back into her mind.You and I together somewhere on the road ahead.
Jane frowned at the thought.
Could I ever trust a man again?
After Malta, she had been resolute that the days of placing her hopes and future in the hands of a man were behind her. But being all alone in the world made it a cold place for a young woman.
Even a friend would be a welcome respite from this lonely existence.
Chapter Five
George dropped into the overstuffed leather chair of his father’s sitting room later that evening and let out a tired sigh. The night had not gone anywhere near according to plan. Instead of spending his time at the exhibition checking the embassy and its surrounds for likely ways to break in and steal the crown, he had made a fool of himself by staring all doe-eyed at Miss Jane Scott.
He pulled his notebook out of his jacket pocket and flipped it open. The scant notes sadly confirmed that he had indeed achieved little in the way of new knowledge of his intended goal.
“I didn’t even write down the number of windows in the place. What is wrong with me?”
He was a professional thief. Someone held in high regard by his fellow criminals, yet here he had fallen under the spell of a woman. He ought to be ashamed of himself, but he couldn’t muster up that emotion; especially not while his mind was focused almost completely on her.
You’ve met dozens of women, so what is it about Jane Scott that has you all flustered?
“I am flustered. I can’t believe it,” he muttered.
She was intriguing. Interesting. A breath of fresh air. All the things that most women of his acquaintance were not. He was drawn to her. The primal attraction unmistakable.
“Is this what Harry felt when he first met Alice? It’s like a magnet, pulling you in.”
George snapped the notebook shut. What a ridiculous notion. He was more than likely just caught off guard by the fact that the curator had turned out to be a female. His plans for bonding with J. Scott Esq. had been thrown for a loop—that was all.
There is not a hope in hell that I would let a woman get in the way of a job. Especially not when I only have ten days to carry it out.
Ten days. He was going to have to double down on his efforts in order to get his hands on the crown and spirit it away. This was a life-changing opportunity he couldn’t afford to miss.
Vital minutes he should have spent making a clear assessment of the place had been wasted tonight. He hadn’t a clue as to where the crown was stored after hours, nor the extent of the security arrangements, which were maintained by the embassy. Such amateur, stumbling missteps were totally foreign to him.
“You are an embarrassment to your craft.”
His scattered thoughts found their way, yet again, to the brown-haired beauty. To those smokey, grey-green eyes.
Perhaps this evening wasn’t a complete loss.
Not only was Jane Scott an attractive, young woman, but she had access to both the embassy and the crown. If he could find a way to strike up a friendship with her, he might be able to sweet-talk Jane into inadvertently revealing valuable information.
