Page 27 of Stolen By the Rogue
George’s blood turned to ice. He hadn’t even got to the point of considering the possibility of one day settling down, let alone starting a family. And here Jane was, already picking out where furniture would go.
Hang on a minute. She was threatening to have me arrested not an hour ago.
“Well, I . . . I . . .” he stammered.
Jane held a hand to her chest and laughed. “Oh, you should have seen your face when I mentioned a baby. Bloody priceless.”
Thank God. Little minx.
“You are enjoying my discomfort, aren’t you?” he replied.
She ceased her mirth and met his gaze. “Only a little. But you might want to think about some of what I have said. There is a saying in the east: ‘for every glance behind us, we have to look twice to the future.’ It means, stop living your old life and start seeing what could be in front of you.”
“You mean give up the trade?”
“I hardly think stealing and lying is a craft. And if it is, it isn’t one to be proud of,” she said.
Jane wasn’t only whip smart. She had his measure.
If she can read me this well, I wonder when she began to see through me. Or did she have me figured out all along?
He pushed the notion firmly away, stuffing it into a dark corner of his mind, along with many of his other unpleasant moments of self-reflection. George Hawkins might well appreciate the beauty in art and jewels, but he hated the ugly man who lurked within him.
His gaze settled on the small window which overlooked the garden. The window was like most other things in the house—old and covered in grime.
“Why do you want to buy this place? I am sure if you gave a little smile or two more to your friend at the shop, he would rent it to you. If not, then wave a few coins under his hook-like nose.”
He didn’t like the man, but if they were going to have to do business with him, George would need to find a way to keep his temper in check.
Jane reached into her satchel and withdrew a book. After setting it onto the nearby kitchen table, she opened it where a bookmark had been placed, and held her finger to a line on the right-hand page. “Armory V. Delamirie. Court of King’s Bench, 1722,” she announced.
George raised an eyebrow. He was the son of a judge, and she was going to quote legal precedent at him? While he may not have managed to become a lawyer, he had studied enough of it at university to know the case. “The famous ruling regarding possession and ownership. Wasn’t that the case where the chimney sweep found a ring and when he took it to a jeweler to be valued, one of the jeweler’s employees tried to steal the stones?”
She nodded. “One and the same. But the main thing about the case is the idea of claiming ownership. And finders keepers. If we do find the treasure, the last thing we need is someone trying to take it away from us.”
“Us?” Hope had the words rushing from George’s lips before he could stop them. The mere thought of her still considering them to be partners of some sort, had him blinking hard.
I am so unworthy of this woman.
Jane nodded. “Yes, us. I think I have made my position clear when it comes to the repercussions of you betraying me. I don’t think you are a dull-witted man, George, so I know you wouldn’t attempt to do it a second time. I want any potential issues of legality settled before we start searching.”
Jane had clearly done her homework. George’s already highly held opinion of her lifted yet again. “So, what you are saying is that if we own the house, then we would have a better claim to Jane Whorwood’s treasure if we happened to find it. But finders keepers rules would still apply, would they not?”
A sense of relief settled when she nodded. “I think so. Lord Harry has been doing some quiet investigating of the legalities involved in making such a claim. The legal opinions he got seem to back our case. If Jane Whorwood hid the treasure here with the intention of coming back and retrieving it, then yes, we would have solid legal grounds to keep what we find.”
“Harry? Why have you involved him?”
She closed the book and sighed. “Because you don’t have the money to buy the house. Whereas he and Alice do. During those first few days when you were pumped full of laudanum and recovering from the surgery on your shoulder, the three of us met and came up with a plan. They will lend you the money, and you will buy the house. In turn, I will rent it from you, so that I can establish legal rights.”
“You could, of course, just have me arrested once you find the treasure,” he replied.
Jane raised an eyebrow. “Yes. That thought has crossed my mind more than once. You should endeavor to remember that, just in case you are ever tempted to do me wrong again.”
George had the sudden uncomfortable feeling that he was arriving partway through the second act of a play, one where he was going to have to pay close attention in order to catch up with the story and successfully take on his appointed role.
The idea of buying the house, even if it was with Harry’s money, made clear sense. “How much does the shopkeeper want for this place?”
“Two hundred pounds.”
