Dance of Seduction by Sabrina Jeffries Page B

Johnny tell you that?” He seemed utterly unperturbed by her accusation as he continued to munch on the apple.
    “I overheard him and his friends discussing how he tried to sell it to you. Apparently you didn’t think to mention that during our little talk in the alley.”
    His bland expression betrayed nothing. “I didn’t want to land poor Johnny in more trouble. It’s one thing for a boy to steal a watch—quite another to steal it and then attempt to sell it.”
    “And even another for you to buy it when you knew it was stolen,” she retorted. “As I recall, being a fence is punishable by fourteen years’ transportation.”
    “Ah, my lady, how dramatic you are!” He licked apple juice from his lips, making her think of secluded paths and whiffs of wolf in the woods. “The boy offered to sell me the watch, and I agreed. I thought it was a legitimate transaction. For all I knew, he was selling off his poor dead papa’s lifetime treasure to buy his sainted mama a bit of bread. And I hate to stand in the way of virtue.”
    She snorted. His tales were even more glib than those her rogue uncles had tried to foist on her mother. “I swallowed your lies the first time because I was distracted by worry about what you’d do to Johnny. I’m not distracted now. If you’d truly thought it a legitimate transaction, you would have corrected me when I accused Johnny of stealing it from you in the first place.”

    He shrugged. “You caught me off guard, that’s all.”
    “I’m sure I did. You weren’t about to admit you’re just another of the Specter’s fences, here to wreak havoc and tempt my poor children to—”
    “The Specter? Who is he?”
    She sensed his sudden alertness, though no flick of a muscle or change in expression betrayed it. “You know perfectly well who he is, I’m sure.”
    “Tell me anyway.”
    “He’s the king of the fences. They all work for him. He provides them with protection from the law, from what I understand.”
    “You seem to know a great deal about this Specter fellow,” he said with a frown.
    She glared at him for continuing the pretense. “My pickpockets are a fount of information. Until now, however, he’s pretty much kept to his own part of Spitalfields, and I’ve kept to mine.”
    “Until now?”
    “I assume you work for him like all the others. Before you came along, there were no fences on this end of the street. It made it easier to separate my boys from the life.”
    A strange, almost regretful expression passed over his face before he masked it. “I work for no one but myself.”
    “If that’s true, it won’t last for long. The Specter is very protective of his territory. He’ll either insist you work for him, or he’ll make sure you don’t work at all. He’s been known to dispatch competitors rather ruthlessly.”
    She didn’t know what she expected, but it certainly wasn’t his eruption of laughter. “Are you concerned for my safety, mademoiselle?” He clapped his hand to his breast in a mocking gesture. “I’m touched, truly touched that you care—”
    “Don’t be ridiculous, I don’t care one pin what—” Shebroke off with a curse. “I swear, you’re the most annoying creature I’ve ever had to deal with in my life.”
    Leaning back against the wall behind the counter, he finished the apple, then tossed the core into a slop bucket. “Then you should have stayed away as I asked you to.”
    She ignored his threatening tone, forcing herself to breathe calmly, speak rationally. “I’m only here to retrieve the watch and demand that you stop your illegal activities, at least with regard to my charges.”
    “What ‘illegal activities’? I’m but a humble shopkeeper—”
    “Oh, stuff and nonsense.” His smug confidence sparked her temper. “The one thing you are not, sir, is humble, and if you’re a shopkeeper, I’m the queen. You refuse to accept that I’m not some naive girl foolish enough to believe all your ridiculous