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

bumpkins around here have no clue it is me. They just sit at their dinner tables, or in their sitting rooms, tattle-tailing about it and wondering. Nobody actually does anything.”
    It disturbed Sophia to see just how proud her aunt appeared to be of her crimes, and wondered if Delilah would ever stop. It all seemed like a strange game of chance to her, only the stakes were considerably higher than she appeared to realise if she ever got caught.
    “Help me,” Delilah pleaded when Sophia didn’t say anything.
    “I am not putting them back for you,” Sophia snorted disparagingly. “You took them so you can return them. It is as simple as that.”
    “But how? Which ones do I take back? I can’t go back to Briggleberry, because other than when I am invited to one of those dinner things, I don’t move in their circles.”
    Sophia wondered if Delilah was being deliberately obstructive. It didn’t take a genius to work it out, but her arguments warned Sophia that her aunt was reluctant to part with the goods now that she had them.
    “We have been invited to take tea next Friday with the Harvells.”
    Before Delilah could come up with another excuse, she hurried to the cupboard under the stairs and returned moments later with the box. Upending the contents in the middle of the table, she rifled through them and selected three brushes. She shoved them roughly across the table at Delilah.
    “Take these with you. Look at the hair stuck in the bristles. This one looks especially like Pearl’s, does it not? And this one here looks like it is the same shade as Mabel’s. They cannot afford to replace items like these. You know how impoverished they are. How could you, Delilah? Does it not matter to you what hardships you place upon people like that? You may consider them country bumpkins, but they are still people. They still have a right to keep their precious belongings to themselves. After all, they have little in the way of monetary value to most people, yet the Harvells have kept them. Doesn’t that strike you that they have special significance to those two nice, if a little eccentric, old ladies?”
    She shook her head at the indifference on Delilah’s face. She really didn’t care what problems she caused her victims. It was disgraceful.
    “You can, and will, take these back on Friday, Delilah, and I will hear no excuses. After that, there is Hubert Banks’ ball. You can return three more items there. He is honest enough to raise the issue of their appearance and return them to the rightful owners for you. Leave them in the ladies’ retiring room, or the ballroom, or on a drinks table somewhere. I don’t care where you leave them. Just get them out of this house. Take them back to someone who has had something stolen. I don’t expect to pass a pawn shop in Lessington, and find any of these items sitting in the window, do you hear me?”
    Before her aunt could vent the fury evident on her face, Sophia made her way upstairs to fetch her cloak. A nice walk into the village to post her letter to her father was in order, if only to give them both time to calm down before harsh words could be spoken. She didn’t care how angry her aunt was with her right now. It wouldn’t be anywhere near as furious as Hooky would be if Sophia got arrested alongside Delilah for a crime she didn’t commit, or knew about but did nothing to stop.
     
     

CHAPTER SIX
     
    A deep breath of crisp morning air fortified her as she marched down a side street of the village. Sophia willed herself to calm down and steady her pace a little before she drew attention to herself. Such strong feelings of worry and anger were so unfamiliar. So much so that she didn’t recognise herself. It was unnerving to realise just how easily her aunt had upset her, and she resolved to never allow Delilah to do it again.
    Sucking in a huge breath, she forced herself to relax and enjoy the day.
    Minutes later, she turned into the main street, and immediately