To Catch A Thief (Saved By Desire 2) by Rebecca King Page A

faster this meal is over, the better chance I stand of keeping my sanity.”
    “Not all of them are that bad,” Jeb remarked with a grin.
    Algernon snorted. “I hear anything else about pheasant shooting I am going to fetch my gun, and it won’t be birds I will go hunting for.”
    Jeb smirked and shook his head at the mischief in his father’s eye. He knew he shouldn’t encourage it but, once back in his seat found his gaze drawn once again to the woman seated opposite. Something inside him actually seemed to sigh. He certainly felt a strong tug of attraction that he had never felt toward any woman before. It wasn’t just attraction either. There was genuine masculine interest. For the first time in his life, he didn’t just want to bed a woman. He wanted to find out everything about her.
    He didn’t get the chance to converse with her again though because Algernon’s pleas for the cook to hurry the meal along worked. The rest of the evening passed in a blur of courses interspersed with continual observations of hunting, fishing, and London’s finest from the Squire, and twittering gossip from the Harvells that made it virtually impossible for anyone else to get a word in.
    Bemused by the constant rumble of noise that came from so few people, Jeb was well aware that Sophia was finding amusement in the debacle as well. Especially when their eyes met across the table, and he watched her lips twitch when Pearl declared herself aghast to find the tavern owner’s wife wearing pearls.
    Sophia had no idea whether it was the wine or not, but she suddenly found such nonsensical observations like that funny. Unless she was much mistaken, Jeb, and the host, Algernon, seemed to think them amusing too, and many wry looks and smiles were exchanged while all three remained silent and listened.
    Unfortunately, the rather jovial atmosphere swiftly changed when the guests took their leave.
    “I don’t believe it,” Jeb muttered in disgust.
    As the last guest walked out of the house, he glared at the empty side table beside the front door in disbelief. He hurried to the door just in time to watch several of the guests turn out of the end of the driveway, and swore loudly.
    “Do they always leave in a group like that?”
    For several moments, it had been chaos in Briggleberry’s vast hallway with people, shawls, and cloaks, everywhere. At some point during the melee, the thief had struck again.
    Algernon snorted. “What? Go home you mean? I should say so, and good riddance to them, if you know what I'm saying?”
    “No, I don’t mean that,” Jeb snapped in frustration. “Do they always leave together like that?”
    There had been so many people in the hallway that it had been impossible to keep an eye on everyone. It had been a perfect opportunity for the thief, who had taken advantage of being surrounded to slip the trinket boxes into their cloak, or pocket, or shawl.
    His threw Algernon an apologetic look at the sharpness of his voice, which had been far brisker than he had intended. He was livid, however; furious even. He desperately wanted to race down the drive, stop the whole lot of them, and insist on searching their pockets. He actually rocked on the balls of his feet with the temptation to do just that, but slammed the front door shut with a resounding thud before temptation got the better of him.
    “Well, yes. The ladies like to escort themselves home and tend to walk around in bunches, and Squire went in his carriage. You just saw him. Philip couldn’t wait to get out of here, but he left on foot out of the servant’s quarters. Not that I blame him. He is in his cottage if you want to go to see him. He won’t care, although will probably not answer the door unless you are persistent.”
    Jeb sighed. He was listening to Algernon, but his gaze remained locked on the spot on the table where he had left the two trinket boxes. Although he had expected it, or else wouldn’t have set the traps, he was still