Page 24 of A Lovely White Christmastide
“You would too if you had any amount of sense in your head, but somehow you lost that during our march in France.”
“Cannot lose something you never had to begin with. Cold never did bother me, Bingham.”
“I agree with Lord Bingham on this one,” Julianna said through chattering teeth. “I cannot wait to be warm again.” Then she turned to Beth. “Please do not take offense, but you are not near as warm as Mr. Kaye.”
The man laughed. “Now that is a compliment. I think I shall claim it at every elegant event. I can see the exclamations of allthe young ladies now. ‘Mr. Kaye is quite a catch. Not only will you get a relatively poor yet dashing man, but you will also gain a ready-built fire for whatever room he is in.’”
Lord Bingham snorted. “You are not poor.”
“Compared to you, I am.”
A harrumph was all the answer Mr. Kaye got before the coach stopped and the door was ripped open.
“There you are.” Aunt Waverly fairly pulled Beth out of the carriage. “We were so worried.”
Beth stumbled on the step, but her uncle steadied her. “Is all well? What happened?”
“A broken axle on our first conveyance, sir,” Lord Bingham said from within.
“Bingham, is that you, man?”
“It is, General.”
Lord Bingham exited to stand next to Beth. General Waverly slapped him on the back and she worried he’d tumble into dirt on the drive. Her uncle was no small man and had hands nearly the size of dinner plates. But Lord Bingham held his ground.
Mr. Kaye helped Julianna down behind them, and both she and Beth were met with crushing embraces by their aunt.
“Oh, I am so glad you are here. When your companion arrived hours ago, I thought maybe your carriage had overturned or you’d been set upon by highwaymen.”
Their uncle’s booming laugh filled the frigid night air. “Or you’d all run off to Scotland.” He put a hand to the side of his mouth and faux whispered, “Which was probably her hope.”
“Hold your tongue, Henry.” Aunt Waverly glared, but a little twinkle in her eyes belied her words. “Although I must admit it did cross my mind, especially with Mrs. Barker fretting up a storm convinced of its actuality.”
Uncle Waverly continued to chuckle, but the back of Beth’s neck heated with his not-so-subtle comment. What exactly didher aunt hope to accomplish at this house party? Was she as set on matching them with their current companions as Julianna seemed to be?
As they were all rushed into the house to warm up by the fire, Beth began to worry. While a little flirtation was all well and good, five weeks was an awfully short time to overcome years of hurt. She was not ready to be pushed into anything permanent yet, even if one of their companions had made her heart trip over itself.
But what was she to do if her sister and aunt insisted on pushing her into his arms? She supposed she’d have to play oblivious. It had worked before.
Nervously her hand went to her throat to rub her locket, only it was not there. She stopped, her hand searching frantically under the collar of her pelisse. Had it come undone and fallen down into her dress?
“What is the matter, dear?” Aunt Waverly asked.
“My mother’s locket. I was wearing it earlier and now it is gone.”
“Do not trouble yourself, I am sure it is somewhere in all those layers. Why once I lost a string of pearls coming home from the Twelfth Night ball and do you know where I found them?”
Beth shook her head. Aunt Waverly took hold of her arm and pulled her along, creating distance between them and the others. Then lowering her voice, she whispered, “They had fallen down into my stays.” Aunt Waverly’s mouth quirked into a smile and her eyes danced with laughter. “I am sure when you ready yourself for bed your necklace will make its appearance.”
Beth smothered a laugh. She’d forgotten how diverting her mother’s sister could be. “Thank you, Aunt. I am certain you are right.”
But when Beth readied for bed later that evening she was dismayed to find no trace of her prized possession.
“Could you have lost it in the accident?” Julianna asked. “Perhaps it is still in our coach.”
An ache began in Beth’s fingers and traveled all the way to her heart as she rubbed the place the locket should have been. If it was still in the coach, was there any hope of getting it back? Not all people were honest. What if someone at the posting inn found it and decided to take it for their own, or even worse, sell it?
“Oh, Beth. Do not fret. You can write to the inn in the morning. I am sure they will keep it safe until we can retrieve it.”
