Romance of a Robbery: Thieves of Desire Book 5, page 1
ROMANCE OF A ROBBERY
THIEVES OF DESIRE BOOK 5
ELLIE ST. CLAIR
CONTENTS
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Epilogue
An excerpt from Designs on a Duke
Also by Ellie St. Clair
About the Author
♥ Copyright 2022 Ellie St Clair
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Also By Ellie St. Clair
Thieves of Desire
The Art of Stealing a Duke’s Heart
A Jewel for the Taking
A Prize Worth Fighting For
Gambling for the Lost Lord’s Love
Romance of a Robbery
For a full list of all of Ellie’s books, please see
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CHAPTER 1
Arie slowly eased himself down into his chair, curling his hands around the edges of the hand-carved scrolled arms as he surveyed the people before him.
The people who were his family – chosen or subjected upon him.
He gripped the Louis VI chair, which had been the first item of luxury he had bought for himself once he could afford it. It filled him with the power he needed to lead this group in their quest – one that had been in his sights for years now. That dominance was momentarily interrupted when the orange and black cat that had recently adopted them, much to Arie’s chagrin, stepped over his feet.
“Well, Arie?” Xander said, quirking up an eyebrow. Xander, who had been part of their family since Arie had discovered him and his sister Calli picking pockets – badly – as children, had never been a particularly patient man. “What have you called us all here for?”
“It’s time.” Arie never used any additional words than were necessary to get his point across. It gave more power to the words he actually spoke.
“Time for…?” Xander’s wife, Juliet, prompted.
Arie looked over at her, his annoyance undisguised. While he and Juliet had come to an understanding after their rather rocky relationship, they had initially done so for Xander’s sake, a fact of which they were both well aware. It was not that Arie didn’t love Juliet – for he did, as much as he loved anyone. He had since she had practically joined their family as a girl. It was that he had always thought she would do better away from a family that made their living through crime, and he had worried she and Xander had been far too wrapped up in one another to place their attention where it was needed to keep from getting caught – or worse.
But it had been her choice to return, when she and Xander had decided that they couldn’t live without one another, so Arie had finally determined that it wasn’t his place to deny what the two of them had together.
“It is time,” he said slowly, his gaze trained on Juliet so she was aware he was displeased at having to repeat himself, though she seemed unfazed, “for us to relieve the British Museum of their Greek artifacts.”
The room went silent as the significance of his words weighed upon them all – and for good reason.
For years, Arie’s personal vendetta had been righting the wrongs he believed the English had perpetrated against him, his family, and his home country. After travelling to England from Greece as a boy and then eventually building his empire in St. Giles, he now felt was the time for the grandest scheme they had ever attempted. Had someone told Arie this plan, he would have told them that it was impossible.
But he knew better now. For he had looked into every possibility, had spent years making sure that nothing could go wrong. He had but one obstacle left, one that he had realized he could not solve on his own. Like it or not – and he really didn’t like it – he was going to have to ask for help.
“We have the perfect plan in place. As you know, it has been years in the making. We are ready. There’s just one problem.”
“What’s that?” Xander asked.
“We need one more person.”
“Edward could help,” Wade offered, but Arie was already shaking his head at his sister Diana’s husband.
“No. The role I need help with was supposed to be Calli’s.”
He could no longer ask the woman he saw as his youngest sister to play her role. Not after the agreement he had made with her husband, a duke, to never again involve her in their plans or even provide her with knowledge of any criminal activity.
“We need a woman. And not just any woman, but someone who seems trustworthy, who can put on an act of being bright, happy, polished. A woman who would believably spend a day of leisure at the museum, who would be credible as the wife of a man who would have the opportunity to collect an artifact the museum would be interested in adding to their collection. Someone who wouldn’t broker any suspicion. Better yet, a woman who is creative. Calli was going to take her sketchbook and paint while observing the security of the building. We need someone with a talent like that, who can have a reason for visiting the museum again and again for more than just taking in the wonders of it.”
They were all silent for a moment, deep in thought.
Arie’s sister, Diana, turned to her husband, Wade, a man Arie had known since they were children. He and Wade had been quite distrustful of one another upon Diana’s marriage, but the walls between them were slowly coming down. “Wade, does Bridget have any talents?”
Wade smiled grimly as he thought of the woman in his employ, one who had, before his time in charge, worked as a prostitute but had since proven her talents in managing what was going to become a safe haven for women and children. “Nothing that would be appropriate for a museum.”
Diana nodded in agreement before Juliet leaned forward, her face twisted in confusion, as though she had an idea but wasn’t entirely sure if she should share it.
“I know who would be perfect.”
“Who?”
“It’s just…” Juliet hedged, “I’m not sure if she would agree. Or if I would want her to be involved in this.”
“Who is it, Juliet?” Arie said tersely through clenched teeth, trying to keep his patience in check.
“Annabelle.”
“Annabelle?” Xander repeated in surprise. “You mean the woman who hates Arie for what he did to keep us apart all those years ago? Who, more recently, Arie tried to steal from?”
“I did no such thing,” Arie said indignantly. “I was only trying to claim what was ours first before giving any of the takings to a woman I didn’t even know.”
“Despite the fact that I knew her better than anyone, and she put her life on the line for you—” Juliet began, the argument threatening to become heated all over again, but Arie held up one hand as he squeezed the bridge of his nose between his thumb and his index finger before the headache began.
“Enough. It’s done,” he said. “She got her money, she got her jewellery shop, so it’s no longer an issue.”
“Except she likely won’t want anything to do with a plan that involves you benefitting, Arie,” Xander said unhelpfully.
“That is true,” Arie said, accepting the fact without any displeasure as he contemplated the proposal.
The truth was, Arie was not particularly pleased at the suggestion either, but he had to admit that Juliet had a point. Annabelle came from a family with enough means to have provided her a basic education. She knew proper manners for when she was around polite company. She had artistic talents that were unmatched, at least as far as jewellery was concerned. He was sure that she could replicate those talents among other disciplines. And she was beautiful, sure to capture the attention of any man.
She had captured his, after all. A feat that had never been accomplished before.
It irked Arie to no end that the bright, cheery woman had gotten under his skin. He knew it must just be a physical reaction, that he couldn’t help the desire that reared its head every time she was near. He became a fool around her, which was unacceptable.
For if there was one thing Arie would not tolerate, it was a fool.
And then of course, there was the fact that she did not disguise how much she absolutely hated him.
He, however, was man enough to put it behind them, to overcome the ridiculous notions that the woman aroused within him. But could she get over the past?
Juliet chewed on her lip as she crossed her arms over her chest, exchanging a look with Grace, another of Arie’s sisters–in–law.
“What do you think?” she asked, her question directed at the other woman.
“I’m not sure,” Grace said in that soft, thoughtful way of hers. “Annabelle does have a tendency to put the needs of others in front of her own.”
Arie snorted before Juliet could respond.
“I can assure you that she would greatly benefit from this.”
“Oh, are you planning on making money off this scheme, Arie?” Juliet asked with innocent sarcasm. “I thought you were doing this out of your great generous spirit for your home country.”
“You know that is part of it,” he growled, not appreciating the fact that Juliet didn’t seem to appreciate what he was trying to accomplish. “Greece will see their artifacts returned and there are people willing to pay to see it done. I see no harm in stealing a few additional items that are of no consequence to anyone but will make all of this worth it. Annabelle would see her share.”
“You won’t try to cut her out at the end?”
“Juliet,” Xander murmured, placing a hand over hers, “I think Arie sees your point.”
“I am a fair man,” Arie said, not allowing Juliet to evoke any of the anger that was beginning to simmer within. “She will get all that she deserves.”
“Do you really need her?” Damien asked. Arie turned toward the man he trusted more than anyone else in the world, besides, perhaps, Diana. Damien had been the first one to join him, orphaned on the ship to England. Arie had cared for him when he was but a boy himself, and Damien had remained loyal to Arie for the rest of his life – although he had been willing to put Grace before his family. “Could not Juliet, Grace, or Diana take on Calli’s role?”
“Diana could, if Wade would allow it,” he said, turning to the other man. “While it would be nothing but a ruse, and one that would require no action whatsoever besides taking my arm, the woman would be posing as my wife.”
Wade’s face lost all expression for a moment as he stared at Arie, but he was shaking his head before anyone could say anything.
“No. Absolutely not.”
Arie smirked. “I didn’t think so.”
“I’ll talk to Annabelle,” Juliet said with a sigh. “The worst she can say is no.”
Which was something that Arie was not going to allow.
* * *
“Welcome to A Jewel for the Taking!” Annabelle said, a smile on her face as the customers entered.
When she, Juliet, and Xander had first opened their jewellery shop – one that was completely legitimate, unlike the prior careers of her closest friend and her husband – Annabelle had been reluctant to come out to the front of the shop, too nervous to face the customers’ scrutiny of the jewels she had so painstakingly created, instilling her very heart and soul as she did so.
After a time, she had been shocked to discover, however, that they liked what they saw, with nothing but praise for her work. And so, slowly, she had been convinced to come out from the back room and take her place behind the counter when she was needed.
She was glad she had done so, for she found that she actually enjoyed conversing with the customers as much as she did creating the jewellery. She loved the puzzle of discovering what the customer was looking for, and then trying to determine the perfect piece to fit their needs.
“Thank you,” said the couple who browsed the selection on the counters in front of them.
Annabelle saw them hover over a piece that she was particularly fond of, even though she felt guilty for playing favorites to her own creation. But this one was an amethyst in a beautiful shade of violet that she had insisted Xander purchase. He was the one who sourced the materials she worked with, while Juliet was usually at the counter, working with the customers. Today, however, they had both been required for a meeting with Xander’s brother, Arie, which never boded good news.
The bell tinkled above the door as it opened, and Annabelle’s stomach churned slightly at Juliet’s troubled expression.
First, however, Annabelle had to see to this purchase. The couple looked particularly wealthy, and if Annabelle could ensure they left with what they were looking for, they would likely be repeat customers.
“I find this necklace particularly lovely,” the woman said, and Annabelle agreed that it would be beautiful with her coloring and her honey–gold hair. “I know it is likely far too extravagant, but—”
The gentleman beside her chuckled. “You are the Duchess of Stowe, my love. You can have any jewel you would like.”
Annabelle inclined her head, dipping into a curtsey as she learned of the couple’s status. “Your Grace,” she said, “my apologies.”
The woman reached out and placed a hand upon hers. “Thank you, but not to worry. I’m not one to particularly care much for that sort of thing. I only recently acquired a title and have spent most of my life creating as well.”
“You have?” Annabelle asked, intrigued but hesitant to pry.
“Yes,” the duchess said. “I was a hatmaker when I met my husband.”
She looked over at the duke, and the smile they exchanged was one of pure love – which, Annabelle supposed, was required to overcome the difference in station between them.
“Are you the jeweller?” the woman asked, and Annabelle’s mouth fell open. She was rarely ever asked that, for most assumed it was a man’s job.
“I am, actually.”
“And do you like this piece?” the duchess asked, reaching out and lifting the jewel, which was surrounded by intricate gold, upon its delicate gold chain.
“I love it,” Annabelle said softly. “It reminds me of violets, just beginning to flower in spring.”
“Then I believe it is perfect,” the duchess said. “We shall take it.”
“We were to browse, darling,” the duke said with a frown. “Then I was going to return and buy a gift you might like.”
“Well, then I shall pretend to be surprised when I open it,” the duchess said with an impish smile as Annabelle began to wrap it for them.
She bade them farewell with genuine surprise at how lovely they had been before turning to the side of the room, where Juliet and Xander were standing side by side as they waited for her to finish.
“Well?” she said, raising a brow, “What has Arie done now?”
CHAPTER 2
Juliet and Xander exchanged a look before turning to regard her pointedly.
“This involves me, doesn’t it?”
“Potentially,” Juliet said slowly. “It’s just… well, Arie has a plan. One that he needs help with.”
“And I am to provide that help?” Annabelle said wryly, one corner of her lips lifting. For she was wont to help even when it wasn’t asked for, required, or accepted. She knew she often overstepped, but she couldn’t help herself. She loved nothing more than improving the lives of others, and she was willing to help anyone in need – anyone at all.
Except for Arie Hondros.
“It is for our family,” Xander said earnestly. “And for an entire country, if I am being honest.”
“For Greece?” Annabelle said, lifting a brow. She knew of the origins of the Hondros family.
“Yes,” Xander confirmed. “Arie has always been strongly against England holding artifacts that belong to other countries. He has… reasons for feeling so, reasons that I completely understand. In this, Arie has honorable intentions, that I can assure you. He has been planning this robbery for years now.”
Annabelle mulled over Xander’s explanation. She supposed she understood part of it, although she also knew that there were two sides to every story.
