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“It doesn’t matter,” Graeme firmly replied, “except to say she has a knack for stumbling into unfortunate situations. Needs a damn keeper, she does.”
Vivien flashed him a cheeky grin. “Any ideas on who might like to take on the position, laddie boy?”
“No.”
Aden joined them, interrupting the embarrassing discussion. He hooked an empty chair from the corner and pulled it over to sit next to Vivien.
“Anything?” Dominic asked.
“I almost caught the bounder out front before he dodged between two carriages.” Aden snorted. “One all but knocked me flat on my arse.”
Vivien squeaked and clutched his sleeve. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine, love. Just annoyed.”
“Better annoyed than dead,” she scolded. “You’re not supposed to take risks like that anymore. That’s why you have Graeme.”
“Exactly,” Graeme said. “Unfortunately, I was ordered to escort Lady Sabrina back to her box.”
“Aden probably wished to avoid Lord Musgrave’s wrath,” Chloe said with a twinkle.
“Lucky bastard,” Graeme muttered.
Aden actually grimaced in sympathy. “That bad?”
“Worse, and he all but tore a strip off his daughter. The poor girl was already upset. She didn’t need that old pinhead barking at her.”
“Lord Musgrave is devoted to Sabrina,” Vivien said, “but he is a trial, one must admit. I’ve always admired her patience with him.”
“Too much patience, I’d say,” Graeme replied. “She needs to stand up to him, or he’ll run her ragged.”
Chloe smiled at him. “That is a very astute observation, dear boy.”
“I believe we are wandering away from the point,” Dominic observed. “Which is that we have another failure on our hands.”
“And still not a clue how to correct it.” Graeme was ready to snarl with frustration.
Aden shook his head. “Not true, actually. I recognized the lout.”
Graeme jerked upright. “Who is he?”
“He goes by the name of Russell. I first encountered him when he was with the Neale gang, out of Bethnal Green. They were running a similar rig back then, but on a smaller scale.”
Graeme frowned. “The Neale gang? Everything up to this point suggested Covent Garden, not Bethnal Green.”
“They’ve obviously expanded their territory.” Dominic arched an eyebrow at Aden. “Anything else?”
“Russell had a partner working with him. Cooper was stationed in the lobby, and apparently saw Russell hand something off to a young woman who slipped out to the street.”
“Sabrina’s pearls,” Graeme said.
“One imagines. Cooper told one of the Runners that he would follow the young woman. Since he has yet to return, I’m fairly confident he’ll be able to track her to wherever she’s headed.”
Graeme felt a new energy surge through his muscles. If he could recover Sabrina’s pearls . . .
“So, once Cooper gets back, we’ll need to start organizing a raid,” he said.
“I will organize the raid,” Aden said. “You’re taking on a new assignment.”
