Page 50 of Marriage and Murder
The answer didn’t need to be articulated, as all those seated rose, and determination showed in every face.
In short order, they quit the parlor, left the inn, and piled into and onto the coach and also into Henry’s curricle, and with renewed purpose and resurgent hope, set off for Salisbury.
Penelope surveyed Salisbury’s marketplace. They’d clearly arrived at the time when attendance at the weekly market was at its height, which would suit their purpose excellently well.
On Barnaby’s arm, with Madeline and Henry beside them, Penelope kept her eyes peeled as they made their way through the bustling throng of marketgoers toward the central aisle. Inconspicuous in his everyman’s attire, Connor trailed a few yards behind, while Stokes, O’Donnell, Morgan, and Constable Price were farther away, loitering by a lamppost on the edge of the square as if idly watching events from a distance in case any pickpockets or the like attempted to ply their trade.
On reaching the mouth of the central aisle, the couples paused and surveyed the brightly hued stalls lining the way on both sides. “Let’s walk all the way down once,” Barnaby said, “more or less in the middle, as if merely looking around. We can take note of the jewelers’ stalls and get some idea of each jeweler’s work without attracting their attention.”
Penelope nodded. “At the other end, we can turn back and approach the ones we think most likely.”
Henry and Madeline agreed, and together, the four of them moved into the crowded walkway. Salisbury was a prosperous town, and there were plenty of gentry and well-to-do citizens ambling about the stalls, providing camouflage of sorts. The noise that blanketed the area was considerable, made up of myriad conversations, most conducted at volume, combined with the raucous cries of vendors hawking their wares.
With Barnaby, Penelope wended this way and that, moving slowly down the aisle. Henry and Madeline kept pace, but the couples were often separated by other marketgoers moving in the opposite direction.
The first jeweler’s stall they came to bore a sign along the front of the table identifying it as belonging to Kimble Jewelers. Penelope and, a few minutes later, Madeline cast their eyes overKimble’s offerings. After both moved on, their gazes met, and as one, they shook their heads. Kimble’s designs were much heavier, sturdy, and mannish. He wasn’t their target.
They continued down the aisle, and by the time they reached the far end and turned to look back along the twin lines of stalls, Penelope felt confident in stating, “For my money, Jacobs is our best bet.”
Madeline agreed. “His work was the finest, the most like the necklace.”
Henry humphed. “Even I could see that he might have made it.”
“And”—Barnaby looked at Penelope—“correct me if I err, but Jacobs was one of the three jewelers Swithin named as potentially shady.”
Penelope nodded. “He was the one Swithin labeled a longtime bane on his and Carlsbrook’s existence.”
Connor had ambled up and was standing close enough to hear. “Was that the middle stall, the one with the middle-aged man with curly dark hair?”
“That’s the one.” Penelope determinedly looped her arm more firmly in Barnaby’s and glanced at Madeline and Henry. “Shall we?”
Together, the couples moved into the still-considerable throng. Once again, Connor followed a few paces behind. They didn’t hurry, still ambling as if they had no specific destination in mind, but once they reached Jacobs’s stall, Penelope stepped out of the flow of traffic and fronted the counter-like table, and Madeline joined her.
With easy smiles for the stallholder—a pale average-sized man with large, light-brown eyes and a thick mop of black curls crammed beneath a plaid cap—they examined his wares, exclaiming over the delicacy of the work. The jeweler respondedto their praise with a certain amount of charm, and Penelope confirmed that he made pieces on commission.
With apparent reluctance, the ladies moved on, rejoining Barnaby and Henry. The couples continued strolling, but stopped two stalls farther along and, reasonably screened by the passersby, turned to witness what came next.
Doing an excellent job of projecting the image of a put-upon servant taxed with a boring task, Connor walked up to Jacobs’s stall and explained to the man—who they all assumed was Jacobs himself—about Connor’s master’s need of good-quality aquamarines. Straining their ears, they heard Connor improvise, “They’re for a pretty little gift for his ladylove.”
Barnaby made a mental note to pay Connor a bonus. That was exactly the sort of information a shady jeweler would find reassuring.
Even from a distance, the four observers could clearly see Jacobs debating whether or not to take their bait.
Then Jacobs smiled at Connor, said something that made Connor come to attention, and reached beneath the table. Jacobs looked down, drew out a key from his waistcoat pocket, and unlocked what appeared to be a metal lockbox. After opening the box, he rummaged inside, then drew out a small velvet pouch.
Barnaby looked toward where Stokes and the others were—albeit unobtrusively—watching them like hawks. After checking that Jacobs’s attention was elsewhere, Barnaby raised his hand and signaled to Stokes and his men. Once he was sure they were on their way, Barnaby returned his gaze to the action at Jacobs’s stall.
Penelope had kept her eyes fixed on Jacobs, and Barnaby followed her gaze to the black-velvet-covered tray Jacobs set on the table. Then he opened the pouch, tipped and shook it, and a handful of good-sized pale-blue stones slid out onto the tray.
Conner leant forward and studied the stones, using one finger to move them on the tray.
Edging forward with Penelope, Barnaby heard Jacobs explain, “These only recently came into my possession. On commission, they are, so they won’t be going for a song, but when it comes to aquamarines, these are exceptionally fine specimens. I doubt your master will find better, not loose as these are.”
Having completed his examination, Conner smiled and, straightening, nodded, apparently to Jacobs, but in reality, that was their agreed signal indicating that Connor believed the stones were real and also of the right size to be the ones taken from the bracelet.
With a swift glance, Barnaby confirmed Stokes and his men were almost upon them, then with Penelope all but tugging him on, he strode forward, swiftly closing the distance to Jacobs’s stall.
Henry and Madeline moved with them, and in less than a minute, with Connor stepping to the side and keeping his gaze trained on Jacobs, Barnaby, Penelope, Madeline, and Henry fronted the stall, forming a wall between Jacobs and all other marketgoers.
