Page 17 of The Earl's Error
“I am glad that it has been found, though it remains a mystery as to why it was placed in your bed chamber.” Miss Sherwood frowned and then shook her head. “Though that must be something for another time I think.”
“Indeed,” Joceline murmured, still gazing down at the necklace. “Come then, let us bring this entire drama to its happy conclusion.”
Walking into the drawing room with the necklace in her hands, Joceline kept her head held high and allowed a smile to spread across her face. Lady Albury, however, did not appear to be so delighted. In fact, she practically snatched the necklace out of Joceline's hands without so much as a word of thanks. There was thinness about her lips with a sharpness in her eyes, that, to Joceline’s mind, confirmed her own mother's suspicions.
“You found it, then.” It was Lord Albury who came close to his mother and, much to Joceline’s surprise, took the necklace from his mother’s fingers without so much as a glance in her direction. Instead, he kept his eyes pinned to Joceline's, as if there was something he wanted to see in her face but could not quite make out. “My grateful thanks, Miss Trentworth. This necklace is an heirloom, and alas, I think that this will be the last time it will be seen in society for a time. Evidently, I must have the clasp repaired, given that it fell from my mother's neck and was lost.”
Lady Albury drew herself up. “I still think that...” She trailed off as her son sent her a hard look. Clearing her throat lightly instead, she gave Joceline a thin-lipped smile. “I am grateful it has been returned to me, Miss Trentworth.” Tipping her head, a gleam entered her eyes as Lady Melford came to stand beside Joceline. “Might I ask where it was discovered?”
Joceline's heart beat hard, but she put a smile on her face. “It was found in the parlor Lady Albury, near to the door.”
Rather than bring any smile to Lady Albury’s face, there came instead a darkness, casting shadows into her eyes. “That is very strange, for I did not set foot in the parlor this evening.”
A few murmurs from around the room made Joceline's face grow hot. She had not thought what she would say to LadyAlbury should such a question be asked. Her relief on finding the necklace had been so great, it had not even come into her mind.
“My daughter has told you it was found near to the door, Lady Albury.” It was Joceline's mother who spoke now, a briskness to her tone that told everyone listening she was not about to have anything untoward implied about her daughter. “No doubt the necklace slipped from your neck when you were walking in the hallway and mayhap it was inadvertently kicked towards the door. These long gowns of ours can hide so much, can they not?” With what Joseline knew to be a false smile on her face, Lady Melford turned and spread her arms wide to the watching crowd of guests. “Now that the necklace has been discovered and all is well, might I suggest that we continue with the evening? There are still some performers to join us within the hour and I am sure you will all wish to see their entertainments. In the meantime, there are plenty of refreshments and I think the card tables might be opened now. What say you all to that?”
This brought few exclamations of delight and Joceline smiled in relief, linking arms with her mother in a show of solidarity. For a moment, her eyes caught upon Lord Albury’s, a little surprised to see that he was frowning heavily. Did he not believe her? Her foolish mistake about where she had found the necklace had, mayhap, brought him too much doubt. Keeping her smile fixed in place, though she did not truly feel it any longer, Joceline turned alongside her mother and made her way out of the drawing room. She would need to speak with her about the necklace and where it had been found later on in the evening, but for the moment, everything had fallen back into place.
Glancing around the room, however, Joceline’s worry remained. Someone in this room had placed Lady Albury’s necklace in Joceline’s bed chamber, in full view so that it wouldclearly and easily be discovered. She had no clear knowledge as to who it might have been, though her only suspicion lingered solely on Lady Albury. Could the rivalry between Lady Albury and her mother be enough to push Lady Albury into doing something so awful? Would she really seek to ruin Joceline's reputation?
And if she would, Joceline realized how careful she would have to be around her and her son from now on.
8
“So, what is it you have decided to do?”
Theodore let out a slow breath as he sat opposite Lord Castleton in his study. “This morning, I informed my mother that I expected her to remove to the Dower house once we returned from London. I made it quite clear that I have no further interest in being in her company and even though I am not yet wed I expect her to move there as soon as possible. I do not want her in my day-to-day life any longer, not after she showed me such disrespect.”
Lord Castleton frowned. “And yet you do not look pleased.”
“I am not.” Theodore shook his head and looked away. “My mother laughed at me and stated that she would do no such thing. Again, she reiterated that she had every right to these heirlooms; that because my father gave them to her when he was alive, she has every claim to them now. I told her plainly again that I have kept them for my future bride, but she is determined to have them to herself until that day comes.”
His friend’s eyebrows lifted. “Then what are you to do?”
With a small shrug, Theodor spread out his hands. “The only thing I can do. I must show her that I have strength yet. I will notcontinue to permit her to disrespect me as she does. Whether she desires it or not, all of her things will be removed to the dower house once we return, and I will take control of my house again.” His scowl darkened. “However, I am now well aware that my mother will make things very difficult for me in the interim. She will blame me and will continually attempt to push as much guilt onto my shoulders as possible, all in the hopes that I will relent and turn from my intentions.”
“But you will not.” The decisiveness of his friend’s voice surprised Theodore, who silently believed that as yet he had not shown enough strength as regarded his mother and her demands. It lifted his spirits a little to hear that his friend seemingly believed in him.
“I am at the point where everything she says or does in an attempt to make me relent only pushes my will all the harder. No, I shall not give in. Within one month of our return from London, I fully expect her to be living in the Dower House and the matter will be settled.” With a determined nod, Theodore reminded himself of his intentions. “I cannot let her continue just as she pleases.”
His friend nodded. “And the necklace?”
Theodore glanced at the velvet-lined box that sat on his study desk, where the heirlooms were now encased. “I have it here. I did not give it back to her last evening, even though she begged me on more than one occasion to do so. The earrings I made sure I took back from her also. Last night was the last time she shall ever have them in her possession.” Walking towards the desk, he picked up the box and opened it, as though to be sure that everything was there. The emeralds glinted gently up at him, reassuring him that all was well. A sudden thought came and he picked it up carefully, his fingers running over the clasp.
“Is there something that troubles you?” Lord Castleton ambled towards him though he stayed a few steps away. “Are you wondering, mayhap how it fell from your mother's neck?”
Theodore glanced at his friend, then nodded. “That is precisely what I am wondering. I did not take a careful look at it last evening, nor even today, but the clasp to me appears to be quite strong. There is no weakness there. There is nothing that would make it slip from my mother's neck as we now believe it did.” He hesitated. “Might it be that my belief was misplaced?”
“What do you mean?” Lord Castleton frowned and leaned towards the necklace, looking down at the clasp as Theodor held it. “You think there was something untoward in the disappearance of the necklace?” His eyebrows lifted as he looked back at Theodore, who gave a small, slow nod. “Are you suggesting that Lady Melford or her daughter were in some way involved?”
Theodore quickly shook his head. “No, indeed not. I think that mymotherhad something to do with its disappearance, though I cannot say as to what that was, nor what her motivations were.” His lips twisted. “Perhaps it was that the necklace was never meant to be found, though why she would deliberately lose the heirlooms I cannot imagine.”
Lord Castleton grimaced. “Nor can I, though there is still the possibility that the necklace just dropped from her neck. The clasp is strong, yes, but it may not have been fastened properly.”
Theodore sharpened his eyes onto the clasp, silently disagreeing. “That might be, though I would have expected her lady’s maid to have taken the utmost care when it came to placing it around my mother’s neck, no doubt aware of just how valuable it was.” His stomach knotted. “Nor could I imagine that it fell from her without my mother noticing.”
His friend hummed his agreement, rubbing one hand over his chin. “What are you going to do about this mystery, then? Areyou going to pursue it, or are you going to leave things as they are?”
