Page 23 of The Earl's Error
“Your concern?” Theodore asked, frowning. “I do not understand.”
Her smile lifted only a little, then faded. “You shall. You see, I – ah, Miss Sherwood. Thank you for joining us.” The color in her cheeks rose just a fraction and then faded. “I know, Lord Albury, that you said to me before that you did not think you could trust Miss Sherwood’s word given that she was my friend but I think it wise that she is here, all the same.”
Theodore practically felt Lord Castleton’s eyes boring a hole into him, though he only cleared his throat and nodded. Yes, he realized that he ought not to have mayhapstatedsuch a thing, outright. He could think it, certainly, but to have said it aloud might not have been the best idea.
“As I have told you, the maid was the one who found your necklace.” Miss Trentworth gestured to Miss Sherwood. “In turn, she handed it to Miss Sherwood.”
“And I took it directly to Miss Trentworth, who was in another room altogether,” Miss Sherwood stated, plainly. “That is all that took place.”
Theodore frowned. “I am already aware of this.”
Miss Trentworth’s eyes closed briefly. “Yes, Lord Albury, but what you do not know is that we did not find the necklace in the parlor, as was said.”
Theodore’s eyebrows shot upwards.
“To my great distress and confusion, it was found in my bedchamber,” she continued, speaking clearly and calmly though there was a flicker of something in her eyes. Fear, mayhap? “Laid on my bed, in actuality. Though quite what it was doing there and who put it there, I cannot imagine.”
At that moment, Theodore wanted to raise his hand, shake one finger and Lord Castleton, and whisper, ‘I told you so’ into his ear. He had been right, it seemed! He had a lingering suspicion that Lady Melford and her daughter had, in some way, been involved with the disappearance of the necklace and now he knew it for certain!
Though why would she admit to it now?
The quiet thought in his mind grasped a hold of him, making Theodore scowl. He wanted to rail at the lady, wanted to tell her that he knew she had been involved, that he had not had any cause to feel guilty or upset by his behavior, but that nudge to his heart silenced him.
“This will be upsetting for you to hear, I am sure,” Miss Trentworth finished, with a glance to Miss Sherwood, who nodded. “But I did not tell the truth because, quite frankly, I did not see a need to do so.”
Because you had stolen the necklace,Theodore thought to himself, fiercely,and then the exchange has been discovered, meaning you now must absolve yourself of blame!
“Of course you did not!” Lord Castleton remarked, making Theodore’s heart slam hard into his chest at his friend’s clear trust in Miss Trentworth and her words. “To your mind, the necklace had been found and there was no need to state where it had been discovered.”
Relief poured into Miss Trentworth’s face, her shoulders dropping, her eyes widening just a little and a quick breath escaping from her as she nodded.
“I was present when the maid found the necklace.” Miss Sherwood spoke directly to Theodore. “I can assure you that Miss Trentworth was nowhere near her bedchamber at that time.”
Theodore’ jaw jutted forward. “That does not mean –”
“There seems very little reason for Miss Trentworth to have told you about this if she was not entirely innocent,” Lord Castleton interrupted before Theodore could say more as if he were trying to protect Theodore from saying anything he would regret. “I can well understand why a young lady would desire to save her reputation! Especially if she considered that the necklace had, in fact, already been found.”
“Andit was Miss Trentworth herself who told the servants to searchallthe rooms in the house,” Miss Sherwood put in, her eyes narrowing a fraction as though she knew that Theodore did not truly believe Miss Trentworth innocent. “It would be very strange indeed for a lady to do so when she knew that the necklace was not only placed in her room but sitting on her bed!”
A streak of what felt like lightning ran up Theodore’s spine. “On your bed?” he repeated, as Miss Trentworth nodded. “Are you telling me the truth, here?”
“I am indeed.” Miss Trentworth’s lips pulled to one side and she flung out both hands either side of her. “For whatever reason, the necklace was found on my bed, placed there as though whoever it was that had taken it wanted for it to be easily seen!” She swallowed again, her eyes still away from his. “I did not tell you of this, Lord Albury, for I have been somewhat afraid that the reason it was placed there was because the person responsible wanted me to be ruined. They wanted my reputation quite pulled away from me, wanted me to be shamed in frontof all theton. I was afraid.” Her eyes pulled back to his. “I was terrified, in fact. What if someone discovered the truth of where the necklace had been found? There would have been many people blaming me, thinking that I was a thief! I could not let that be known.”
“And yet,” Theodore muttered, half talking to himself, half to the lady, “you told me about it.”
Miss Trentworth nodded. “I had no choice. In coming to offer you my help, Lord Albury, I am doing so with as much determination to aid myself as to help you but I was all too aware that I needed to be honest. Though whether you choose to believe me is entirely your own decision.”
Lord Castleton shifted his stance a little and, in doing so, nudged Theodore heavily. “You are very wise, I think. And you have great courage in coming to speak to us as you have done. Little wonder that you are offering your help, Miss Trentworth! The worry as to who might have sought to ruin your reputation must be a difficult one to bear.”
Theodore, all too aware that his friend had nudged him to force a response from him, grimaced. Yes, he could see the sense in what Lord Castleton said; he could understand why his friend was so willing to believe Miss Trentworth but, at the very same time, he did not give her the same belief. Not fully, at least. He did not know if she could be trusted! He did not know if these explanations were all that they appeared to be. What if the lady was merely seeking to defend herself from his suspicions and, using her wiles, her lies, and her green, sparkling eyes to have him believe her?
“I will think on all that you have said, Miss Trentworth,” he said, a little curtly. “Including the offer of help from you all.”
Miss Trentworth’s shoulders lowered instantly, her brows pulling together and her gaze, after a moment, tumbling to the floor. Guilt tried to press its way into Theodore’s heart but heignored it, telling himself that he was quite right to be thinking of her in this way. He had to be careful and cautious, did he not? Just as his mother was so very tricky and deceitful, could not Miss Trentworth be the very same? The guilt he had been trying to press back roared upon him as he let his mind turn to this and he swallowed hard, disliking what he had thought but yet still refusing to let go of it. Yes, Miss Trentworth gave the appearance of being considerate, kind, and certainly at times, a somewhat outspoken bluestocking, but he did not know her well enough to be fully aware of her character. As she lifted her gaze to his, Theodore ‘s heart leaped up in his chest but he hurriedly turned his head away… though Lord Castleton was scowling at him.
“We should take our leave,” Theodore continued, as Lord Castleton’s eyes grew darker with every word that left Theodore’s mouth. “We shall speak again very soon, Miss Trentworth. Good evening.”
The murmurs of ‘good evening’’ followed after Theodore as he made his way from them all without another word. Lord Castleton, seemingly a little reluctant, came with him, though Theodore could not help but overhear the incredibly heavy sigh that followed.
