One Penny Surprise (Saved By Desire 1)

Poppy looked down at the mention of the young pick-pocket and fought a smile. “You need to make sure you get it back off him.”

“What?”

She nodded to his empty vest. “It’s gone.”

Luke stared down at the spot where he knew his fob watch had still been resting when he had entered the house earlier. “What the devil?” he frowned and began to search the kitchen.

“He must have taken it as he left,” she murmured.

“He can’t have done,” Luke grumbled. “I touched it as I came through the door so I know it was there. I would have felt him tug at my waistcoat.”

Her smile grew when a jaunty series of knocks rapped on the door. Luke yanked it open and growled when he saw the young boy on the doorstep, his fob watch swinging from one fist.

“Heaven’s above boy, you really are something,” Luke growled as he snatched it off him.

Toby handed it over with a grin. “You just don’t learn boss,” he declared holding his hand out.

“What?”

“One penny please, I have a surprise for you,” Toby replied obliquely.

Luke sighed and handed him a penny. “What do you have?”

“The watcher went to a house in Canary Wharf. Its lodgings mainly but he went into number five, Tobacco Road. He is there with some woman.”

“Did they see you?” Luke asked, clapping the boy on the shoulder in delight. He handed the lad another shilling to go with the monetary prize and shook his head in disbelief at the speed the lad could work.

“Nah. He is an amateur. I’ve gotta go. I’ve got work to do.”

Before Luke could say anything else, the youngster raced off down the side of the house and disappeared from sight.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

A week later, Poppy was going quietly out of her mind with boredom. Everyone seemed to have something to do but her and the lack of things to hold her interest left her feeling fretful and restless. She had nothing to do with her day except worry about Luke’s safety. While his bruises had almost healed completely, the dark shadows on his skin were a constant reminder of the dangers he faced. She worried about him from the moment he left the house to the second he returned. While it was nice to be able to spend some time with Luke, and get to know him, he was in and out of the house just as frequently as everyone else. On the occasions when they were able to spend some time together all he had to do was smile at her and draw her into his arms, and his kisses swiftly turned into considerably more. They had yet to have a full conversation outside of the bedroom.

A secret smile curved her lips. She wasn’t worried about it. She rather liked the fact that neither of them seemed able to keep their hands off each other. In fact, the desperation in their love making always left her stunned, well loved, and blissfully happy. He was always just as eager as she was to make the most of their time alone. Unfortunately, he had his investigation with his colleagues to focus on as well whereas she didn’t.

She folded the wiping cloth and placed it on the freshly scrubbed kitchen table. The entire house had been cleaned, the laundry washed, cooking done, and she was still bored. She was contemplating whether to scrub the kitchen floor again when Luke suddenly walked in.

“Hello,” he murmured with a grin.

“You look tired,” she murmured gently as she eyed the dark smudges beneath his eyes. She settled into his arms and kissed his chin.

“I am,” he replied but didn’t look in the least bit regretful about it. “No regrets?”

“Other than the fact that I am bored out of my mind?” she groused with a frown.

“You need something to do?” he asked teasingly. Before she could reply he dropped a teasing kiss on her lips that rendered her helpless to do anything except cling to his broad shoulders and return the caress.

An hour later, they lay replete beneath the covers in Poppy’s room. Luke held her close while their bodies cooled, and absently played with the gentle curls of her hair while he considered the last several days. It never ceased to amaze him just how right she felt beside him and, as far as he was concerned, making her his wife was just a matter of time. However, he was also aware that there was the issue of Peter’s news to deal with first, because that had an effect on how Poppy saw her relationship with him.

“Have you had any thoughts about going to visit my house in Hertfordshire once Clarence has been dealt with?” he drawled. Although he tried to remain relaxed, he tensed as he waited for her to reply.

“I would love to,” she replied with a smile. “Although I don’t know how we can go about dealing with Clarence. I have to say that the last few days have gone terribly quiet. I cannot help wondering why.”

“I don’t doubt he will appear at some point. We will be ready when he does.” Luke rolled over until he was facing her. He didn’t want to talk about Clarence right now and looked deep into her eyes while he searched for a way to change the subject. In the end he realised that a more direct route was the best way of resolving the doubts that were now starting to plague him.

“Clarence calling by again is just a matter of time. Then we will get this matter dealt with so we can move on with our lives. However, after what we have shared over the last several days, I fully expect our futures to lie together. I won’t stand for you trying to go back to Cumbria. The house belonged to your mother, according to Peter. That made it Clarence’s upon their marriage. It is therefore his house to sell and means that even if you go all the way back there; the house is no longer there for you to go back to. It is just my opinion you understand, but I think you may be just opening up old wounds by returning. I think it would be best if we just started completely afresh and visited Hertfordshire. If you like it, then we can call that our home.”