Bronwyn Scott's Sexy Regency Bundle (38 page)

Brandon found that, throughout their brief business association, Witherspoon was ruthless and utterly lacking in compassion for his fellow humans. Witherspoon was cold blooded now as he laid out his plan for capturing The Cat.

John and I have tracked The

circuit of break ins

and we believe we have cracked the pattern. We feel confident that The Cat will stage a robbery of St John's place next. We also have divined that the robberies take place on evenings the home's residents are out at social functions.

'This means The Cat will target St John's home for a Wednesday night when he and his wife are regularly out playing cards at Squire Bradley's Wither spoon gestured pompously to St John, his crony in crime. 'Magnus, take it from here.'

St John, dark, bearded and bluff of manner, coughed and began. 'I propose we all meet at my home for a dinner, during which The Cat will show up and be mightily surprised by our presence.'

That was his brilliant plan? Brandon almost laughed out loud. Even more ridiculous was the blind acceptance of the other men in the room, who were nodding their heads sagely and chortling over the planned surprise.

'My lord, is something amiss?' Witherspoon gave him a cold stare. Apparently, he hadn't disguised his amusement well enough.

'Do you think The Cat will simply walk into a dining room

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blazing with lights or will you spend all night sitting in the dark waiting for the thief to show and then shout "surprise"?'

Brandon said. Surely that much was an obvious flaw?

'We won't light the chandelier. We'll use candles. They wouldn't be visible until it was too late,' St John said staunchly and far too seriously for Brandon to mistake his answer for a humorous j

'And the

part?' Brandon pressed.

Witherspoon suppressed a condescending sigh as if it was his lot in life to work with less intelligent persons. He tolerated the question only because it came from the Earl. It was no secret that Witherspoon had invested heavily because of Brandon's involvement. Wither spoon was grasping for acceptance into high society. Brandon suspected he would pay any price to ingratiate himself to an Earl of good standing.

'My lord, the trap is that The Cat is expecting no one to be home, but this time we'll all be there, waiting to drag the insufferable bastard off to jail.'

Brandon left it at that. If they wanted to try their plan, they were welcome to it. Still, a trap was a trap and the element of surprise could not be underestimated. There was also the issue of numbers. One lone thief against five men was not the most favourable of situations.

Brandon gave him a thin smile. 'I will be anxious to hear about your results

'Oh, my lord, you must be present. You'll dine with us that evening, of course,' St John interjected. The man was no better than Witherspoon. St John would dine out for months among his Cit companions in London on the tale that he entertained an Earl.

'Well, that's settled then.' Brandon inclined his head with a graciousness he did not feel. What was not settled was what he would do with his information. He could tell The Cat of the trap, assuming he could find her or that she would find

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Pickpocket Countess

him. His other choice was to say nothing and let events take their own natural courses.

Therein lay the rub. There were two possible 'natural'

outcomes: first, The Cat made fools out of them all, or, second; The Cat was caught. That outcome did not sit well with him.

'Quite right, that's settled,' said Livingston, brushing his hands against his thighs. 'The plan has got to succeed. I didn't count on this type of interference when I paid into this scheme.

My wife can't sleep at night for fear of The Cat. She's already about returning to London.'

'Here, here,' concurred Flack, a weak-chinned man with little in the way of looks to recommend him, but possessed of a financial acumen that more than compensated. 'It isn't prudent for any of us to put up more cash for the venture. We need two new members and I say they will not come if The Cat is on the loose.'

Witherspoon smiled coldly. 'It seems we are all in accord, gentlemen. I propose a toast.'

The gentlemen all lifted their glasses in toast to their venture. Brandon joined in reluctantly, not missing for a moment the murderous gleam in Witherspoon's eyes. His toast was chilling. 'To The Cat. May the trip to the gibbet be swift.'

The game The Cat played had just grown more dangerous.

Brandon wondered if she knew. Did she understand the peril posed by a man like Witherspoon, who would stop at nothing?

Brandon set his glass down and made his excuses, quickly leaving the room before he said something rash to Witherspoon.

He was suddenly desperate to see how Jack was faring with Miss Habersham. It was more imperative than ever that Miss Habersham admit to her connection with The Cat. The spinster was the only link he had. If he didn't succeed in winning her trust, he had no guarantee of being able to warn The Cat in time.

Brandon stopped in the dimly lit corridor leading back to

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the party and drew a deep breath, taking time to contemplate his decision.
He
was
going to tell The Cat.
How quickly he reached that conclusion! Just like that, Brandon knew it was true. He was going to tell her just as soon as he could, Jack's aspersions on her character aside.

'It's not fair,' Jack moaned,

back against the squabs

of Brandon's well-sprung coach. 'You get to match wits with a tempting seductress who ties you up and I'm left wooing the ugly spinster.'

Brandon set his fingers to his temples in an attempt to massage away a growing headache. 'There is
no
spinster.

Eleanor Habersham is a fiction,' he said in a weary voice as if he'd explained it a dozen times already. It was nearly dawn of the first day of the year and his head hurt from too much champagne and too much knowledge. He fervently hoped it was not a sign of how the year would evolve.

'She didn't feel fictitious when she was stepping on my toes,' Jack groused. 'I thought you told me she was a divine dancer. Your standards have changed drastically.' Jack flexed his foot. 'Damn, the lengths I go to for a friend. I may have done myself a permanent injury.'

Brandon gave a short laugh at his friend's exaggeration.

sure it wasn't as bad as all that.'

one else danced with her twice. The whole town will be waiting for me to call on her and declare my intentions.'

'If it's any consolation, your efforts were not without results

'I don't understand what was gained from the sacrifice of my toes

'Confirmation. Eleanor dances deplorably. The Cat dances very well. Everything The Cat does, Eleanor does the opposite.

It's a case of the lady doth protest too much.'

'What you're saying is that there's no chance Eleanor