Ashley Gardner - The Necklace Affair

Lady Breckenridge, who sat with her elegant legs crossed, her cup held daintily, broke in. "Lady Clifford does not understand the captain, then. He is like a bulldog-does not let go once he sinks his teeth in. He will have the answer to the problem, no matter who does not wish him to find it."

I winced a little at her assessment, and she raised her brows at me over her cup.

"I realized that," Mrs. Dale said. "And so I felt you deserved the truth. Please understand, and leave Marguerite be, Captain. She was silly to approach Mr. Grenville in the first place, and now she is paying for her foolishness."

"I understand," I said. "Lady Clifford is a most unhappy woman, and she is lucky she has you to look after her." I leaned forward, resting my arms on my knees. "The necklace was never stolen, was it?"

Mrs. Dale glanced quickly at Lady Breckenridge. "I can hardly answer that."

"I have no interest in telling Lord Clifford," I said. "Neither, I am certain, has Lady Breckenridge. Yesterday, Clifford went so far as to try to assault Mr. Grenville in the park. My loyalty was never to him. It was Lady Clifford who asked for my help, and to Lady Clifford that I answer."

"And I am most discreet," Lady Breckenridge said. "You may tell Lady Clifford that she will remain on my guest list, no matter what happens. Clifford is a brute and a bully, and she deserves more than being her husband's creature." Which was one of the most generous things I'd ever heard Lady Breckenridge say about another woman.

"I am right, am I not?" I asked. "If the necklace truly has been stolen, then I will find it and the culprit. If not, I will leave it alone. But no search of your house, not by you and your servants or by Pomeroy and his patrollers has turned up the necklace. What became of it, Mrs. Dale?"

Mrs. Dale pulled bit more on the handkerchief, and her face burned red. "I threw it into the Thames."

I stared at her. Lady Breckenridge quickly set down her porcelain cup. "Dear heavens," she said. "Why?"

"Marguerite asked me to. She hated the thing. She loves the little strand of diamonds her mother left her, but Lord Clifford has forbidden her to wear them, saying they are not prominent enough. Marguerite decided that if she pretended the large necklace had been stolen, she'd never have to see the bloody thing again. She had no way of knowing things would escalate into such a mess, that her husband would be goaded into hiring a Runner who would arrest poor Waters. Marguerite gave the necklace to me, and asked me to drop it into the river. So I did."

"Good Lord." Lady Breckenridge lifted her cup and took a large swallow of tea.

De la Fontaine's legacy, swimming in mud at the bottom of the Thames. "Mrs. Dale, you do know those diamonds were worth thousands of guineas, do you not?"

Annabelle Dale shrugged. "What is that compared to peace, Captain Lacey? Thousands of guineas well spent, I think."

Her voice was calm, her hands quiet around her handkerchief. Mrs. Dale, stuck in the Clifford household, too poor to live on her own and subject to Lord Clifford's unwanted attentions, could have hidden the necklace, planning to use it to fund her way to freedom. But watching her, I didn't think she had. I saw understanding for Lady Clifford in her eyes, and fierce devotion.

This, in other words, was a gesture of love from Mrs. Dale and one of defiance by Lady Clifford. A gesture they could reveal to no one but themselves. The necklace had become a symbol of victory of two women over the man who held them in thrall.

"And then you quarreled," I said gently. "And in her burst of anger, she accused you of stealing the necklace. No proof, of course. Lady Clifford must not have truly believed you would be arrested, or at least did not think about it too much. Waters would not have been taken either, except that Pomeroy likes to arrest people. You then asked Lord Clifford to use his influence to save Waters."

Mrs. Dale nodded. "Marguerite was so fond of her, was so heartbroken, and of course Waters was entirely innocent. I have some little power with Lord Clifford, and so I used it."

"It was kind of you."

She met my gaze again. "Please leave it alone, Captain. Let her be at peace."

I nodded. How I would explain to de la Fontaine that his beloved family heirloom was at the bottom of the Thames, I did not know. Some waterman would find the necklace in the mud, years hence, and consider himself lucky. He'd either turn it in for a reward or try to keep it.

A strange ending to a strange problem.

"Thank you, Mrs. Dale, for being so candid," I said. "You may assure Lady Clifford that I understand and will cease with the matter altogether."

Mrs. Dale folded back into her seat and pressed her handkerchief to her mouth. "Thank you," she whispered. "Thank you."

When Barnstable had seen Mrs. Dale out, Lady Breckenridge rose and plucked a cigarillo from a box on the mantelpiece. She lit it with a spill from the fireplace and blew out a gray plume of smoke.

"You do like to keep your friends in the dark, Lacey. I had the wrong solution all this time. Why would Mrs. Dale do such an odd thing? She hasn't two coins to rub together-why not tuck the necklace under her cloak and run off with it? Gracious, I would have."

"I would have been tempted to do the same," I said. "But Mrs. Dale is devoted to Lady Clifford. Very much so. She'd never have left her alone to face Lord Clifford."

Lady Breckenridge drew again on the cigarillo, and her brows rose as she released the smoke. "It is like that, is it? I know now why Grenville grows so frustrated with you. You like to keep the most interesting tidbits to yourself."

"If I must."

She gave me a steady look. "Well, I will decide whether to grow offended or to admire your integrity. But in the meantime I will call in another favor for my assistance on this problem. And no, I will not tell you what it is until time."

I saluted her with my teacup. "I will wait with anticipation."

"I highly doubt that." Lady Breckenridge smiled. "I will write when you are to call on me again, and then the balance might be paid. Now I must bid you good afternoon. So many things to do."

I had not thought to leave so soon, but I conceded that a dowager viscountess would have a full schedule during the high season. She softened the dismissal by kissing me again, this time pressing her lips to my mouth.

And that, I thought, was the end of it.

Lord Clifford still hung out a reward for the return of the necklace but made clear he wanted no one else in his household accused. Pomeroy continued to try to hunt down a thief, but because he could turn up no evidence of anyone else having taken the necklace, he soon moved to other, potentially more lucrative cases. I hadn't yet told de la Fontaine that his daughter's legacy had been tossed into the river, trying to decide how to impart this without betraying Lady Clifford.

Not half a week later, James Denis sent me a letter-brief and to the point-instructing me to pay him a visit. He'd send a carriage for me to avoid my excuses of not having enough shillings to pay my way across town.

I disliked obeying commands from Denis, but this time, I was interested in what he had to say. Denis's sumptuous coach carried me to Curzon Street, and once inside the house, I was ushered into his uncluttered study.

Denis waited, his hands folded on the blank surface of his desk while one of his pugilist footmen gestured me to an armchair and poured a glass of brandy for me. As soon as he and a second footmen took up their places-one at the door, one by the window-Denis spoke.

"I have found the diamond necklace belonging to de la Fontaine," he said.

My brows shot up. "Found it? Muddy, was it?"

Denis's eyes flickered, and for the first time since I'd met him, I sensed that I'd puzzled him.