“Yes. The strangest thing happened,” Pearl gushed on before Sophia could speak. “You will never guess.” She laughed gaily and nudged her sister. “Shall we tell her?”
“Please do,” Sophia interjected before the ladies lost themselves in their ribaldry.
“Well, those brushes we thought had been stolen, well they were found,” Pearl declared, nodding enthusiastically. “I mean, they were right there in the sitting room. Pearl found them the very same day we held the tea. Isn’t that wonderful? It means that we don’t have to go out and purchase new ones now. It is the strangest thing though because we had coal in that scuttle before people came for tea, but once everyone had gone, there they were, sitting there in plain sight for the world to see. Weren’t they, Mabel?”
“Oh, well, isn’t that lovely?” Sophia replied, feeling slightly sick at having to deceive the ladies.
Their delight was humbling to see. In spite of the risks she had taken, Sophia was glad she had returned the hairbrushes to the sweet old ladies. The Harvells were innocent in all of this and although they had their eccentricities and annoyances, as everyone was wont to have, were harmless elderly ladies who didn’t deserve to be targeted by Delilah’s ruthlessness.
Her aunt’s only saving grace over the past week was the fact that she hadn’t gone to the dressmaker’s to purchase yet another outfit. Instead, she had rummaged through the clothing filled room again and found a ball gown she could adjust. But, as far as Sophia was concerned, it was too little too late because Delilah still refused to return any of the goods she had stolen.
“Yes, I know. I know. We were both shocked, weren’t we dear?” Pearl asked of Mabel.
“Yes, shocked I tell you. It is excellent news.”
“Well, let’s hope that everything else can be found in time,” Sophia murmured absently.
She scoured the room’s guests but wasn’t looking for Delilah, who kept popping into view as she was swung around the dance floor. Jeb had yet to make an appearance, and he was late. She hoped he was alright. Was he planning to attend at all?
“Please excuse me,” she murmured when the ladies had launched into a discourse on the fact that the thefts appeared to have temporarily stopped.
Panic began to build when she realised that sometime over the past couple of minutes, Delilah had left the dance floor. There was no sign of her in the ballroom at all now. Her grateful dance partner was quickly refilling his goblet and gulping the contents down like he had a raging thirst, but Delilah hadn’t moved on to another victim. She had disappeared.
Hoping she wasn’t stealing, Sophia went to find her. En route, she saw Jeb.
Her heart crumbled when she caught sight of him smiling down at a beautiful young woman as they danced around the ballroom. Battling hurt, she struggled to contain the sense of betrayal that swept through her at the sight of him looking at the young woman in the very same way he had smiled at her. An unfamiliar feeling of jealousy swept through Sophia, and that irked her. Jeb had made her no promises and, apart from a kiss or two, had not really shown her any affiliation whatsoever. It wasn’t really for her to feel too downcast that he hadn’t sought her out or asked her to dance. He had no idea how she felt about him, or how much pain she felt at the sight of him with someone else.
With that in mind, she forced her attention back to locating her aunt. She quickly left the ballroom and made her way to the ladies’ retiring room. Once there she took a seat and caught her breath while she tried to mask her hurt and focus on the task at hand. At the moment, she didn’t care where Delilah had gone. If Delilah did steal anything tonight then Sophia would have no choice but to go to the magistrate, right before she caught the next mail coach out of the village.
Glancing down at her bag, she risked a peek inside and heaved a reluctant sigh before she pushed to her feet and went in search of somewhere to leave them.
“No time like the present,” she murmured.
Once in the corridor, she studied the directions she could take. She could turn to the left and head straight back to the bright lights and laughter of the ballroom, or she could turn to the right and find somewhere to put the stolen goods. When movement at the end of the corridor heralded the imminent arrival of someone, she quickly scurried in the opposite direction and went in search of one of the private rooms.
While she doubted any of the host’s items had been stolen, if she placed them all together in his private quarters he would know they weren’t his. Hopefully, he would raise issue with their appearance, possibly hand them over to the magistrate, and their real owners could then be found. It was the best she could hope for.
Jeb turned the corner and came to a complete stop when he spied Sophia rushing in the opposite direction. The quick way she walked, and the furtive way she glanced about the darkened hallway, away from everyone else, raised alarm bells. He knew immediately that she was up to something and felt a horrifying sinking sensation as he followed. He had to warn himself not to jump to conclusions as he tracked her into the depths of the house. This could all be very innocent. He shouldn’t judge just yet until he had all of the facts. Still, he rather suspected he knew what she was up to. There was only one reason why any of the guests would be scurrying secretively around the host’s private quarters, and it had nothing to do with a secret assignation. At least, he hoped not.
Thankfully, at the end of the corridor Sophia hurried down, a door stood slightly ajar. She poked her head inside and sent a silent prayer of thanks heavenward when she found it empty. Once inside, she closed the door behind her and quickly placed three of the snuff boxes and the Lord’s trinket boxes on desk in the
study.
“Ow,” she gasped when she tried to find her way across the darkened room, and her thigh bumped painfully into a chaise she had forgotten was there. She rubbed the sore spot for a moment before side-stepping around it.
Sophia was so busy thinking of getting out of the room that at first she didn’t realise someone else was there. Not until she bumped into a solid wall of a very masculine chest, and found her arms captured in a firm hold that refused to allow her to go anywhere.
“Sophia,” Jeb drawled. He glanced at her leg before his gaze slid gently over her until he looked her square in the eye. He had never felt such a strong wave of anger before in his life. “Care to tell me what you are doing in here?” He struggled to keep his voice neutral.
“I just needed a moment to myself,” Sophia replied, unable to come up with a better excuse.
“Yes, I can see that.” Jeb suddenly released her and wandered over the side table.
“What happened to your face?” She frowned at the myriad bruises and small cuts that covered his chiselled jaw.
Jeb looked at her. “I was walking around a darkened house at night. It is surprising what you can find.” His gaze slid to her leg. “And what you can bump into.”
“I was just leaving,” she murmured, and threw a desperate glance at the door.