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

magistrate. I have seen the stolen items right here in this house. You have been to all of the social occasions when items have been stolen. Each person present last night can attest, quite honestly, that they didn’t take a blessed thing that didn’t belong to them. It is a shame that you cannot say the same.”
    Delilah slumped in her seat.
    “You don’t understand what it is like,” she murmured, suddenly the epitome of a beleaguered soul.
    “What? What don’t I understand?” Sophia would have felt sorry for her aunt; who at first glance appeared quite dejected, but on closer inspection had a calculation in her eyes that just didn’t ring true.
    “I have lived in this house ever since my mother passed away. It is quiet here. I like that. It is wonderful to be able to do what I want, go out when I want, and see whomever I please. However, it can get cold and dull at times. It can be tedious just running this place, keeping the fires going, cooking for one all of the time. So I go out. I enjoy talking to others and don’t deny it.” She drew in a deep breath and looked at Sophia with arrogant defiance in her eyes. “I am not going to stop, no matter what you say. I have a reputation to uphold. It would be a scandal if I were seen out wearing the same half a dozen outfits all the time. I would be just like the Harvell ladies, and it will be a long, cold day in Hades before that happens.” 
    It was on the tip of Sophia’s tongue to say, ‘Well, at least, the Miss Harvell are honest,’ but at the last moment kept quiet. At least Delilah was talking now. It wouldn’t do to antagonise her too much or else her aunt wouldn’t be inclined to tell her what she really wanted to know. Like why she was stealing in the first place.
    “You cannot continue to help yourself to items that aren’t yours. As much as you might like to think that you are owed something from someone, you are committing a crime. At some point, someone is going to catch you in the act. What do you intend to do then? You will face a heck of a long time in jail given how much has gone missing.”
    Delilah didn’t argue. Sophia suspected it was because she knew she was right. It was evident to her then that there was no love lost between her and her aunt. In fact, Delilah didn’t seem to like her at all and that, as far as Sophia was concerned, was a testament to just how selfish Delilah could really be. Sophia had never done anything to her aunt to offend her or cause her any upset in any way. There was no reason for her aunt to look on her as scornfully as she was looking at her now. It went some way toward hardening Sophia’s heart against the pretence of solemnity, and continue to probe until she got the answers she needed to make a decision on how best to deal with the matter.
    “So?” Delilah asked after several moments of silence.
    “So, what?” Sophia was bursting with questions, and trying to decide which one to ask first.
    “What do you plan to do now that you know you are sharing the house with a thief? Are you going to scurry off to the magistrate like a dutiful little citizen should? Or are you going to report me to your controlling father?” Although no trace of it showed on Delilah’s face, mockery was evident in her tone.
    “No, I am not going to do anything,” Sophia replied carefully. She mentally shook her head in disgust when Delilah began to smile in triumph. Before her aunt got too confident, Sophia threw her a stern look. “You, however, are.”
    Before Delilah could say anything else, Sophia slid the two trinket boxes across the table.
    “You are going to return them to their rightful owner as soon as possible. I don’t care where you leave them, but they go back. That son of the Lord’s, Jebediah, is far too watchful for his own good. Taking those boxes was a stupid and reckless thing to do right under their noses. It would have served you right if they caught you red-handed. Whatever the risks, you can,