The Gentleman Thief. Deborah Simmons

was an odd comment for a vicar, and Georgiana felt her wits return with the realization. “Perhaps the gentleman is extending comfort to her,” she said.

      Mr. Hawkins’s only response was an unchurchmanlike snort.

      “Who is he?” Georgiana asked, eyeing the fellow with interest now. He was tall and handsome and dressed in an elegant but understated way.

      “Only one of the richest and most arrogant men in the country,” Mr. Hawkins said in a derisive voice. “He’s related to half the peerage, but has more money than nearly all of them.”

      “Oh, perhaps he’s a relative of Lady Culpepper, then?”

      “So they say. Supposedly he’s brought someone from London just to try to recover her necklace, as if he could care! Pocket change for him, no doubt. Odd business, if you ask me.”

      Georgiana’s head turned so swiftly toward her companion that a curl landed smack in her eye. Impatiently she blew it away while her heart took up a furious rhythm. “And just whom has he brought from London?” she asked.

      “A Bow Street Runner,” Mr. Hawkins said. “Though I imagine the fellow will soon be sorry he came when he has to deal with the likes of those two,” he added in his most pompous tone.

      But Georgiana was no longer paying attention. All she could think about was the Bow Street Runner and the expectation that, after years of following their exploits, she would finally meet one of the elite criminal investigators in the flesh! She glanced around for Ashdowne, but he was nowhere to be seen, and she spared a moment’s annoyance at the man’s frequent disappearances.

      Perhaps he was off to Lord Whalsey’s, she thought, and not a moment too soon. She would like to have spoken with the Bow Street Runner tonight, but knowing Ashdowne was keeping watch on her prime suspect gave her ease. And first thing tomorrow, she would set off to find the investigator. If all went well, she could lay her case before him and hand over the culprits by noon. Hopefully, the jewels were still in Whalsey’s possession, and, if so, she might be able to personally return them to Lady Culpepper.

      Then, the rather ungracious noblewoman would have to change her opinion of Miss Georgiana Bellewether. Indeed, everyone would have to take her seriously, Georgiana thought with giddy anticipation. And her long-awaited career as a renowned mystery solver could, at last, begin!