Thom felt a corresponding twitch in her own lips, but quickly regained control of them, schooling them into what she hoped was a stern, forbidding line. “That is, I believe, the correct slang? I read it in the Flash Dictionary. It does mean stolen booty, does it not?”
“It does,” the young man said, giving in and grinning at her again. “I’m just surprised you should be familiar with such a word, let alone the Flash Dictionary.”
“I have a very eclectic reading taste,” Thom told him, momentarily charmed by the amused light in his handsome gray eyes. Really, he was very agreeable for a burglar. He seemed well-spoken despite the obvious wicked nature of his employment. “In addition to the other items, there is the fact that you were attempting to escape via the window.”
He looked behind him to the window, his head tipped on the side as he studied it. “It seems to me that unless you actually caught me in the act, you can’t be sure of whether or not I was opening or closing the window when you arrived.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, your bag is positively bulging with swag and such. It’s quite clear to me that you’ve allowed your lower nature to run amok, and now you are escaping with the fruits of this labor. Can you deny that the bag holds your swag?”
“I could,” the man said, leaning back against the wall, looking just as comfortable as if he had been born there. “But that would take all the enjoyment out of you attempting to sway me from my sinful path. You were going to try to sway me, weren’t you?”
“Oh, yes,” Thom said guiltily, dragging her mind away from the pleasing contemplation of his eyes. “Of course I am. It is my duty. Er…I’m not quite sure how to begin. I’ve never had to sway a burglar before. How would you advise me to proceed?”
He looked thoughtful for a moment. “You might get further if you told me your name. It’s the personal touch, you know.”
“It is? Very well, if you insist. I am Thom.”
“Tom?” He looked a little surprised.
“Thom. It has an H in it.”
“Ah.” He nodded wisely. “That makes a difference.”
“Yes, it does. What is your name?”
“Nick. No Hs in it whatsoever. And your surname?”
“Is none of your concern. We can be personal without it. Now, Nick, it is my duty to lecture you about the sins of your chosen path.”
“You may proceed,” Nick said, his lips curving slightly as if he found something she said amusing. Thom had no idea what that could be, but admitted to herself that she found the young man in front of her a hundred times more pleasing than the dandified fops she had just left. At least this man was real. He had a goal in life, even if that goal was to steal items belonging to others. “Don’t spare me. I am ready and willing to hear your thoughts on the despicable life I have chosen to lead.”
She pursed her lips and tried to think of something to say to him. “The problem is,” she said with a sigh a few moments later, “I don’t really see what’s wrong with your despicable life. Oh, the stealing part isn’t good. You shouldn’t steal something that doesn’t belong to you, you really shouldn’t, but as for the rest of your life, I can’t imagine it’s too despicable. You are free to do whatever you want with your life, are you not?”
“Within reason, yes.”
“And if you don’t want to do something—”
“Then generally I don’t do it.”
“Exactly. That seems to me to be the ideal life, really. Freedom and your own choice to guide you — the burglary aside, of course.”
“Of course,” he said, his eyes laughing.
“Are you a very good thief?” It didn’t seem to be quite a correct thing to ask, but Thom was not so naive as to be blind to the fact that her entire conversation was not quite appropriate, so it didn’t seem to her to matter if she compounded that by asking something she wanted to know.
“Not really, no. I haven’t had much experience at it.”
He looked a bit distressed by that thought, and Thom hurried to reassure him. “You needn’t worry that I will tell anyone that I saw you here. You will, of course, have to replace those items you took, but I can see that you aren’t a terrible person.”
“Thank you,” he said gravely.
Thom gestured to the bag. “May I?”
He handed it to her. She set it on a nearby desk, opening it, extracting from within it a set of gentleman’s evening wear, and a pair of highly glossed shoes. She stared at the clothing for a moment, sympathy for him welling up inside her as she moved her gaze to his laughing gray eyes. “I have ten guineas.”
The laughter within them died as he watched her. “You do?”
“I do.” She nodded and put the clothing back into the bag, handing it to him. “My aunt’s husband gave me a quarterly allowance of twenty guineas. I can only give you ten, though, because I promised the children to treat them to Astley’s and the toy shop.”
“You did.” He still looked a bit surprised.
“Yes, I did, and I would hate to disappoint them. They get very inventive with their revenge if you disappoint them. When it rained two weeks ago and we couldn’t go on a picnic, they filled my bed with slugs. If you give me your direction, you may have the ten guineas.”
Nick considered her for a long moment before replying. “Do you offer money to every burglar you meet?”
“No,” she said, smiling. She couldn’t help herself, he was a very charming burglar, one who seemed to deserve smiles. “Only those who need it. Your direction?”
He looked confused as he slowly said, “A message to The Tart and Seaman will reach me.”
“The Tart and Seaman?”
“It’s an inn near the docks, but Thom, don’t send me your money. I can’t—” Nick’s head snapped up at the sound of voices outside the hallway.
“Go,” she hissed, shoving the bag into his arms and pushing him toward the half-opened window. “I won’t say anything about seeing you. Go now!”
Nick squawked something as she shoved him out the window, but she didn’t wait to hear what it was before slamming the window shut, closing the curtains and spinning around just as the door to the library opened and her aunt peeked in.
“There you are! We’ve been looking everywhere for you. Oh, Thom, you don’t know how worried I was — never mind, it doesn’t matter now, I’ve found you. Harry, I found her!”
Thom allowed herself to be bustled out of the library, casting a quick glance over her shoulder toward the window. What a very interesting evening it turned out to be. She couldn’t help but wonder if she’d ever see the handsome, disreputable burglar again.
She rather hoped she would.
“…and please, in the future, Thom, if you have to disappear, would you have the goodness to tell me first, so I won’t worry?”
“Yes, Aunt Plum.” Thom’s head was bowed. Plum felt a momentary pang of remorse for having to lecture her in this manner, but no one knew better than she just what sort of rakes and rogues lurked in the background, ready to pounce on an innocent young woman.
“You have no idea the pitfalls and traps that lie waiting for an unwary young woman to stumble into them.”
“Yes, Aunt Plum.”
“I don’t wish to seem unreasonable, Thom, but truly, your disappearance worried me half to death.”
“Yes, Aunt Plum. I mean, no Aunt Plum.”
“Even Harry was worried, were you not, my lord?”