The year is 1806. Bastard-born jewel thief David Lambert has few rules in his personal life. Never bed the staff, never more than once with the same man, and never, ever, kiss. Attending an aristocratic party and relieving some of the wealthy of their possessions should be easy, but in the space of a weekend, one by one all his rules are shattered by a footman with a secret.<br><br>Jeremy Naylor thought he had found the man of his dreams, the one man who might understand him. Someone passionate, handsome, and respectable. But in one shocking moment his world is destroyed, and he is forced to run for his life.<br><br>Flung together to escape the hangman’s noose, the passion between David and Jeremy burns fiercely. But Jeremy yearns for respectability, and David refuses to admit what lies in his heart. Will they find a way together, or will their differences lead them to the very brink of disaster and the shadow of the gallows?

Thief of Hearts

And what about the man sat downstairs? What about the fact that all the money and lovely things he had been given came from a man who stole money to be able to give them to him? A man whose entire life was a lie.


Head pounding, he stood. He picked up his portmanteau and made a decision. This was a chance at a better life, at respectability. A life filled with soft fabric and colour. He wasn’t going to let it go, and he wasn’t going to become embroiled in the life of a man who could, at any given moment, be caught, flung in Newgate gaol and hung. He wasn’t going to fall for a man who could lie and cheat and steal his way through life. No matter how gorgeous, how kind, or how much he seemed to understand. He needed to leave. Needed to forget all about David Lambert, or Albert Potts, and walk away. Walk towards a new life. A respectable life.


Chapter 29