Page 18 of The Earl's Error
Considering this, Theodore bunched his lips for a moment, only to then shrug. “There is no need for me to pursue it. The heirlooms are now safe and I must make sure they are protected from my mother. She is not to have them again and I will make certain of it.”
With a wry smile, Lord Castleton gestured to the emerald necklace. “I think that is wise. If she is to live in the dower house, then you will have no difficulty whatsoever in keeping the heirlooms from her and making sure they belong solely to your future bride.” Reaching out one hand, he brushed it across one of the emeralds, the largest one in the necklace, holding it in his hand for a moment. “Though...” A frown rippled across his forehead and he leaned closer to the jewel, giving Theodore pause as he watched his friend’s expression darken. Silence fell between them for some minutes, but Lord Castletown continued to study the emeralds. In fact, he took them directly out of Theodore's hands and brought them closer to his face, looking at each one in turn. Unable to bear the silence any longer, Theodore gestured to the necklace.
“What is it? Is there something wrong?”
Lord Castleton glanced, his face a little pale now. “I do not want to say unequivocally that there is, but my eyes tell me these jewels may not be...” He trailed off, leaving Theodore in no doubt as to what his friend was trying to say. With a gasp, he lurched forward, grasping a hold of the necklace and pulling the jewels into his hands. Fear ran through him, going cold all over as he recognised what it was his friend had been trying to say. With a shake of his head, he gazed down at the jewels again, trying to ascertain how such a thing could have happened. “That cannot be... it cannot be.” Whispering those words over and over, half to himself, he began to see the truth clearly, his heart tumblingover upon itself. This was not the family heirloom. This was not the real emeralds. Yes, they sparkled and glittered as emeralds ought, but they werenotthe emeralds. They were paste. They were fake. They had every appearance of the emeralds, but they were not, in fact, the original jewels. Somehow, in some way, the necklace itself had been stolen and replaced instead with a fake.
“How did I not see?” Rubbing one hand over his eyes, his face hot, he gazed down at the jewels again. “How is it that I did not see these were paste? I know the emeralds very well indeed and yet...” He mumbled to himself, trying to ascertain how he could have missed such an important detail. It was only when Lord Castleton put one hand on his shoulder that Theodore started and looked up at his friend.
“You are not to blame for this.” Lord Castleton spoke decisively. “It is not as though you had time to sit and study the jewels, is it? It is not as if you even suspected that they might be fake! All you thought was that the jewels had been lost and then found again. There was no reason for you to expect that they had been stolen.”
Handing the necklace back to his friend, Theodore pushed both hands through his hair, panic gripping him. “I was so relieved that the jewels had been found, and in truth, delighted I was able to then take them and keep them on my person instead of returning them to my mother, that it did not give them more than a cursory glance. Even now, as they sit in that box, I was preparing to place them back in the safe, believing them to be real! I should have made certain all was well. I should have looked to make sure that everything was just as it ought to be.”
“You are not responsible,” Lord Castleton gripped Theodore’s shoulder, his gaze steady, “It is not as though you have done anything wrong.” There was a slight pause, his fingers gripping a little more tightly. “This must have been planned wellin advance, my friend. Somebody knew that your mother was to wear these jewels last evening.”
Slowly, Theodore tried to gather himself, his mind screaming at him, his heart pounding furiously as wave after wave of anger, upset and embarrassment crashed into him, one after the other. He had no thought as to what he was to do, no consideration of what steps he ought now to take. There was nothing but buzzing in his ears, his eyes seeing nothing but fog all around him. The family heirlooms, the jewels which had been passed on from generation to generation, were gone.
And he was the one responsible.
“I shall be known as the gentleman who lost the emerald heirlooms,” he whispered, as Lord Castleton thrust a brandy into his hand. “All the generations after me will know that I was the one who brought shame to our family name.”
“Nonsense.”
Lord Castleton’s clear, calm voice broke through Theodore’s confusion, making him stare back at his friend.
“You do not truly think that you will not recover them, do you?” Lord Castleton’s eyebrows lifted. “Of course you shall! It is only a matter of time. I am quite certain you will be able to discover the truth in the end.”
“Alas, I do not have the same confidence.”
“And why not?” Lord Castleton demanded, his eyebrows lifting high. “You know every guest present last evening. You know where they were found, you know whose home we were in.”
A dark thought struck Theodore. “And I know that my mother was there. “
Lord Castleton’s eyes rounded just a little. “Again, you think that she might have done this?”
“It is as you said,” Theodore answered, quickly. “Someone must have known that she would be wearing these jewels to thesoiree. Someone must have prepared this necklace in advance, knowing the heirlooms well enough to make a near identical copy.”
“And that person would be your mother,” Lord Castleton finished, his tone steady.
“I might well be wrong, however,” Theodore admitted, though inwardly he felt himself convinced that it would be so. “I shall go and speak to her at this very moment, and from her reaction I hope to ascertain the truth.” Striding out of the room – and leaving Lord Castleton to follow him with the necklace in his hands, Theodore made his way directly to the drawing room, expecting to find his mother there. Pushing the door open, he narrowed his eyes at her, seeing her eyes widen as she took them both in.
“Mother.” Theodore stopped directly in front of her, his eyes holding tight to hers. “Did you know about this?”
Lady Albury blinked, her gaze going from Theodore to Lord Castleton and back again.
“If you did, then I shall discover it,” Theodore told her, anger thudding through his veins with every heartbeat. “I will know if it was you, Mother, so do not think that you can hide it from me.”
Lady Albury pushed herself up in her chair, lifting her chin a fraction. “Albury, I do not know what it is you are talking about. Might you be a little clearer with me, if you please?”
“The necklace.” Theodore pointed to it as Lord Castleton held it up, as if it were some sort of exhibit requiring her study. “Did you do this? Were you a part of it? I know that you wanted the heirlooms but I never expected –”
“Theodore!”
His mother’s voice ripped through the room, stopping Theodore in his tracks.
“You will explain to me what it is you are demanding to know and desist from pressing things upon me that I simply cannotknow,” she said, loudly enough so that her voice filled the room. “Tell me clearly, Theodore. Now.”
The way that she spoke told Theodore that she was not, in fact, aware of what he was speaking of. He had not discerned any flicker of awareness in her eyes nor a hint of a quirk about her mouth as she pretended not to understand. Though she had used anything and everything she could to coerce him into doing as she wanted, Theodore had always been able to see through her feigned emotions… though that had not exactly prevented him from being compelled all the same. Now, however, she did not appear to have any true understanding as to what he was saying, making him begin to question whether she truly had been behind the necklace theft.
