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

Jeremy nodded, but David could feel him shaking. He felt warm. Too warm. David’s heart sank.22


Jeremy kept his head down as the small crowd of people from the exercise yard were escorted out of the prison and onto Newgate Street. He couldn’t believe it. Couldn’t believe he was out. They hadn’t recognised him, hadn’t questioned him…He was free!


The scene he was met with was sobering. Hundreds of people still wandered about, dazed. Many were weeping as the dead and injured were put onto carts. The road was strewn with hats, odd shoes, ladies’ reticules. Jeremy spotted a child’s rag doll and couldn’t stop staring at it.


“What happened?” he whispered to David, horrified.


“Too many turned up to watch and from what I can gather got caught in a crush. Those that fell were trampled it seems.”


“It was that bloody pie seller,” grumbled Kendrick. Fell over and it all went to pot after that.


Chapter 71