Page 5 of Beauty and the Thief

“I hope this won’t take too long,” Benton said, pulling out his gold pocket watch and giving it a pointed look.

“Not at all! I don’t have any cards with me, which is too bad as the card tricks are the most impressive, but I can make objects disappear and then reappear in the most unexpected places.”

“Oh, do show us, Mr. Kelly,” Mrs. Benton said.

Cal gave her a benign smile and turned his attention to Mrs. Applewhite. “Do you have anything I might make disappear, madam? Your fan is a bit too large. A hair comb would be perfect, but I wouldn’t want to ruin your coiffure.” He pretended to look her over for another idea, but he didn’t take too long. He didn’t want anyone to make suggestions. “What about your ring?”

“My ring?” She looked at her finger and then at her husband.

Cal held out his hand. “I assure you I will have it back to you in a matter of seconds.”

Mr. Applewhite nodded his approval, and she removed her ring and placed it in his palm. He kept his hand open, resisting the urge to close it on the diamonds and pearls. Patience was essential.

Cal moved a gloved hand over his open palm. Thank God for the gloves or the Bentons and Applewhites would have seen the reddened skin and bruised knuckles and known he was not who he claimed. After one wave, the ring in his hand disappeared, tucked into a secret pocket in the cuff of his coat. With deliberate flourish, he closed both hands and then opened his fingers to display both empty palms. He then lifted his cuffs to show them he had nothing up his sleeve.

Mrs. Applewhite gasped. “But where did it go?” Her eyes were wide as a child’s. Clearly, she had never seen anything like this before. The others were less impressed, but Cal still had the grand finale.

“Why, Mrs. Applewhite, you can’t feel it?” he asked.

She shook her head. “Feel what?”

He reached behind her ear. “It should be right here.” But he drew his hand away empty. He furrowed his brow. “I thought it was behind your ear, but I see now it’s landed somewhere more...intimate.”

Everyone looked from him to Mrs. Applewhite and back again. He gestured to her bodice. “I would collect it, but I fear Charles would object.”

Mrs. Applewhite looked down at her ample cleavage and gasped. The ring lay nestled between her breasts. She extracted and studied it. “But how did you—? Charles, did you see how he did that?”

Charles was frowning, clearly not certain how he felt about the ring having reappeared on his wife’s bosom. Cal gave a curt bow. “And now I think we should adjourn to our seats—”

“Wait!” Mrs. Benton said. “Do it again.”

The words were music to his ears. Only a smattering of theatergoers remained in the grand entrance. If something went wrong, Cal had a good chance of making a run for it.

“At your service, Mrs. Benton,” he said. “That is, if Mr. Benton agrees.”

Benton waved a hand indulgently. “Go ahead. But this time I plan to watch closely and divine how you do it.”

“Do you have a ring, Mrs. Benton?” Cal asked. She nodded and handed hers over without even a second thought. Now for the hard part. He left his hand open, as he had before, then waved a gloved hand over the ring. Once again, the ring went into the secret pocket in his cuffs and once again when he opened his hands everyone gasped with delight. Cal clasped his hands behind his back and turned to Mr. Benton. “Do you know where the ring is, sir? Have you divined the secret?”

Benton looked from Cal to his wife, his gaze lingering on Mrs. Benton’s cleavage, which was far less ample than that of Mrs. Applewhite. No ring gleamed between her breasts.

“I confess I have not, Mr. Kelly.”

“Do you know where it is, Mrs. Benton?”

She shook her head, her fingers checking behind her ears and down the length of her long gloves.

“Open your reticule.”

She glanced down at the flimsy thing, pale blue to match her dress and hanging from her wrist by two delicate silk ribbons. She took it into her hands and parted the cinched top. She peered inside and then gasped with delight, withdrawing her ring and smiling at Cal. “How did you do it, Mr. Kelly?”

“If I told you, that would ruin all the fun.” He gave them both a bow. “And now we really should retire to our seats. I will see you soon, Charles.”

“I look forward to it, Mr. Kelly.”

Cal went on ahead. The other men walked up the grand staircase slowly to assist the women who had to tread carefully so as not to step on their voluminous skirts. Cal made himself move leisurely, made himself walk down the corridor past the boxes until he reached a servant’s door. There he paused, looked to make sure the corridor was clear, and slipped inside, closing the door behind him.

Once inside, he reached into his cuff and removed the ring. Even in the dim light of this back stairwell, the pink diamond gleamed. It was worth a fortune, and he was half tempted to keep it.

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