A Gift for Guile (The Thief-takers) by Alissa Johnson Page B

stodgy, disapproving older brother, you know.” She thought about that. “Worse, you’re like the best friend of an older brother. You assume all the overbearing familiarity without having any right to it.”
    He looked at her with disbelief. “You’d not spend a night at my house, but you would accuse me of being stodgy?”
    “It isn’t the same.”
    “How is that not the same?”
    “Being stodgy and overbearing makes you a bother. Being an unmarried, unchaperoned woman under your roof makes me…less.”
    “Less what?”
    Less respectable. Less of a lady. Less than him. “Just less .”
    He digested this in silence as they made their way back toward the carriage, staying quiet for so long, she began to wonder if he’d heard her at all.
    “It was not my intention to make you feel less,” he said at last. “It is not how I see you.”
    “Isn’t it?” She’d meant to level an accusation, not ask a question, but it had come out all wrong. She sounded uncertain and wary, maybe even a little bit hopeful. Embarrassed, she turned away to stare at the fruit and vegetable vendors across the street as if they were the most fascinating things in the world. “Don’t answer that.”
    Please don’t answer that.
    “I don’t mind answering.”
    She might very well mind the answer, no matter how hard she tried not to care. “It’s not important. I didn’t mean—”
    “You’re not less. Therefore I do not see you as less. Simple as that.”
    She’d not say thank you. It wasn’t really a compliment, no matter how good it felt. “I am trying, you know, to be more.”
    Why, oh why, could she not bite her tongue?
    Samuel looked at her thoughtfully. “I believe you might be.”
    She certainly wasn’t going to thank him for that . Might be, indeed.

Five
    She was not going to Paddington station.
    Samuel understood, even appreciated, that Esther was quick-witted, courageous, and skilled with her blades. He accepted that he couldn’t send her home, or even leave her behind at the hotel. But she was not, under any circumstances, going to meet the strange young man at the station alone. It was ludicrous, and he would not allow it.
    Convincing her of the wisdom of his decision, however, was going to be tricky.
    “You do realize,” he began casually, “that even if I agree to let you go to Paddington—”
    “It is not your decision to make.”
    “Even if you go to Paddington,” which she would not do, “it will be after Gabriel returns. He’ll be back day after tomorrow.”
    She gave a disgruntled sigh. “Yes, I did consider that. I don’t suppose you’d be willing to lie to Gabriel? Keep my presence in London a secret?”
    “No.”
    “I thought not,” she replied without any sign of resentment. “Well, it can’t be helped. I had to give the young man time to make arrangements.”
    “Arrangements?”
    “Yes, of course,” she said, as if all made perfect sense. “If he is a resident of Spitalfields, then it is highly unlikely he is a gentleman of leisure. If he has employment, he’ll need time to make arrangements so as not to lose his position. I assume he wished to meet me on a Wednesday for a reason. It might be because that is the only day he is free of his responsibilities.”
    “If he knows who you are, there is every chance he knew you when you worked for your father. It is doubtful he has reputable employment.”
    “Even thieves have responsibilities.”
    “Certainly,” he drawled. “We wouldn’t want to jeopardize the man’s criminal prospects.”
    “I didn’t do it to help him. I did it to increase the odds of meeting him at Paddington station.”
    Which she was not going to do. “You are not going to meet this man alone. It would be reckless.”
    She sighed again, but this one had a hint of a groan. “I don’t want to meet him alone. I should like you to be there with me.”
    He would be there all right. Alone. “It’s too dangerous.”
    “I’ll be there to protect you.”