AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter One
London, England
June 1822
Graeme Kendrick lurked beneath the giant elm, keeping his prey within sight. After losing the slipperySassenacha few hours ago, he’d spotted the bastard climbing over the wall that separated Kensington Gardens from Hyde Park.
He’d surely earned that bit of luck. Graeme had spent the last month stalking the wiliest criminal gang to hit London in years. The thieves were ripping through thetonlike marauding Norsemen, lifting expensive jewels, fine art, and precious antiques. Normally, this was a job for Bow Street, but when the Duke of York’s gold pocket watch—a royal family heirloom—was filched at a ball, the situation had changed. King George was outraged, Bow Street was embarrassed, and Captain Aden St. George, England’s chief spymaster, was summoned.
Much to Graeme’s surprise, Aden had placed him in charge of the case.
While Graeme had come closer to finding the thieves than the Runners had, success continued to elude him. Each time, they’d dodged his grasp. Yesterday, Aden had made it clear how displeased he was with Graeme’s lack of progress.
Verydispleased.
It was even worse when the chief riding up one’s backside was family. Aden was half brother to Victoria, Countess of Arnprior, who happened to be Graeme’s sister-in-law. To make things even jollier, both Aden and Victoria were illegitimate offspring of the king himself, making old Georgie part of Graeme’s extended family, too.
When it came to the Kendrick clan, familial relations were ridiculously complicated. If Graeme failed to crack this case, he would disappoint every member of his family, including the blastedSassenachking.
Of course, in Graeme’s world, disappointing family was baked into the oatcakes.
Keep your mind on the job, idiot.
He tugged off his rain-soaked cap and pushed back his damp hair with an even damper glove before shoving the cap back on. For some reason, his target had paused behind a tree near the Serpentine, the small lake that wound through the park.
Given the dreary weather and the early hour, Hyde Park was deserted. Locals would often frequent the area on a warm summer’s morning, the more adventurous taking a dip in the Serpentine, but today the park was curtained in a steady drizzle, and a cool morning mist curled up from the wet earth.
“What the hell are you up to?” he muttered.
“Maybe he’s hoping to snaffle a rich nob on his way home, just to round out the night.”
Sighing, Graeme glanced over his shoulder. A sturdy lad of fifteen, clothed like an errand boy, hunkered down behind him.
“Got the jump on you, didn’t I?” Tommy said with a cheeky grin.
“Lad, I haven’t slept in twenty-four hours. I might be a bit off my game.”
Tommy jerked his head in the direction of their quarry. “Good thing you spotted him coming over the wall. The captain would be right frosty if you lost the bastard again.”
“And the captain’s wife would be right frosty to hear you swearing. It’s barely dawn. Does Lady Vivien know you’re wandering about so early?”
“The captain does. He sent me to see if you needed help.”
“Check on me, more like,” Graeme scoffed. “It’ll go down like a treat when Lady Vivien discovers he’s sending you out on missions in the middle of the night. She’s doing her best to make you a proper fellow, you know.”
Tommy rolled his eyes. “I’m plenty proper, guv, and I do my lessons with her ladyship every day. But that don’t mean I can’t help the captain, when needs be. Besides, it ain’t the middle of the night.”
“Doesn’tmean, andisn’tthe middle of the night,” Graeme corrected before refocusing on the thief.
The man was waiting patiently for . . . something.
Graeme also forced himself to wait. But it had been a long night, tailing his prey from one gaming establishment to the next, all over the bloody town. The thief had obviously managed to befriend two wealthy but dim-witted noblemen. Briefly, Graeme had considered finding a way to warn the men they’d been marked. But he knew them, and they were mean-spirited bounders of the first order. If the fools had their pockets rifled by the end of the night, one could argue that Lady Justice had been served, albeit in a roundabout fashion.
Besides, Graeme had a bigger game to play—running the leader of the ring to the ground. To do that, he had to discover where the crime lord holed up. Somewhere in Covent Garden or the rookeries of St. Giles, he and Aden suspected. This morning’s events might answer that question, since it seemed reasonable that the thief would soon be returning to the gang’s lair with his ill-gotten gains.
Graeme would be on his tail.
“Come on, ye son of a whore,” he whispered. “Get yer arse movin’.”
