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    “Forgive me, Sophie. That was inexcusable. I’m a complete brute, and I give you leave to pinch me as hard as you can.” A rueful expression lurked in his eyes, dispelling some of her anger. His eyes turned thoughtful as he studied her face.
    “But don’t forget I know you as well as you know yourself. Once you get an idea in your head you can’t help acting on it. Since neither your mother nor Robert is in Bath, it’s my responsibility to keep watch over you. You must promise me you won’t go haring off into the rookeries by yourself.”
    She bit her lip, hating that she might have to lie to him again, but more determined than ever to find the boy. And her bracelet.
    Simon’s hard mouth twitched with a reluctant smile. “And you must promise me that you won’t go down there even if you take a servant with you. It’s simply too dangerous.”
    She blew out an exasperated huff of air. “Oh, all right. If you’re going to be so stuffy about it, I promise I won’t go down there by myself. Or,” she said with a little growl, irrationally annoyed by his suspicion, “with only a servant to accompany me.”
    His smile curled into a grin that made her insides glow with a gentle heat.
    “That’s my good girl.” He gave her hand a quick pat and stood, removing his watch from his waistcoat pocket to check the time.
    “Aunt Eleanor,” he said. “I have a meeting I must attend with my bankers. Is Aunt Jane receiving this morning? I’d like to see her before I take my leave.”
    “Of course. Sophia, please ring the bell for Yates.”
    Sophie rose and crossed slowly to the bellpull in the corner of the drawing room. Another idea popped into her mind.
    “Simon?”
    “Yes, Puck?” He had stowed his watch and extracted a Peacock’s pocket repository from his coat, making notations in it with a small pencil. “What is it?” he asked without looking up.
    “Do you think you could at least check the pawnshops for my reticule? It’s a very nice one, and a broker might find it worth more than a few shillings.”
    She held her breath, hoping he would take the bait. If her reticule was found in one of Bath’s pawnshops, she might be able to question the broker and acquire some information on the boy.
    Simon’s head came up from his notations. He stared at her, a slight frown creasing his forehead. After a moment he nodded, then closed his book and slipped it back inside his coat.
    “All right, Sophie. It’s likely a waste of time, but I suppose there’s no harm done to look.”
    She gritted her teeth at his careless tone of dismissal, but held back the retort that sprang to her lips.
    “But I have your promise that you will not go down to the slums,” he added. “Is that clearly understood?”
    He managed to look both arrogant and paternal as he inspected her. Sophie wondered if he ever looked at his paramours that way, but she suspected he saved that particular scowl just for her.
    She leveled her sweetest smile at him, doing her best to look innocent. “I promise, Simon.”
    His eyes, alight with suspicion, followed her as she hurried over to the bellpull.
    He was right to be suspicious, because she had no intention of keeping her promise. Not in such a dire situation. She had to find the boy, and she had to find her bracelet before anyone knew it was missing. Simon wouldn’t help her, so she needed to find someone who would. Someone she could trust, and who would know where to look. Finding that person might prove to be a challenge, but not an insurmountable one. She just needed time to think about it, after any visitors that called today had departed.
    Especially Simon. She always found it difficult to think rationally when he was about.
    And think hard she must. After all, how exactly did one go about looking for a thief?

Chapter Three
    Simon impatiently shuffled through the papers scattered before him, his mind refusing to focus on the business at hand.
    The little minx will surely drive me