Sally James (13 page)

‘I think you should discover exactly who was there. Can you ask one of the older servants?’

‘That might not be very reliable. I’ve a better idea. I’ll go to the lawyers who handled his business. They did not tell me much when the trust ended, but they must have all sorts of records, and statements, and I should be able to get a look at those. I’ll go straight away.’

Susannah encouraged him and said to Amanda after he had left that she needed to do some shopping. Amanda agreed to accompany her, but Susannah left her in Hookham’s while she made her own way to Asprey’s. There she contrived to be served by the youngest, most susceptible-looking assistant.

‘I wonder if the clasps of these earrings could be attended to?’ she asked, producing the emerald sprays. ‘They feel a trifle loose to me.’

As the young man was examining them, Susannah edged further along the counter out of hearing of the other customers.

‘I was told you had a hair ornament which almost exactly matched them,’ she said casually. ‘Do you still have it?’

‘I remember the one, Miss. Unfortunately it was sold a few days ago, to Lord Chalford, I believe.’

‘Was it a good match?’

‘It might have been meant to go with these,’ the man replied and Susannah sighed.

‘What a pity, I would liked to have seen it. How long will the earrings be?’ She favoured him with a brilliant smile.

‘I will ask, if you do not mind waiting a moment,’ the young man, flustered, replied and darted into a room at the back of the shop.

Susannah looked round idly at the displays, then stiffened and moved towards a case of rings. There, in the centre, was another of the pieces described in Julian’s list. It was recognizable because the stones, sapphires and diamonds, were set obliquely instead of in the more usual straight setting. In addition, Susannah recalled, there was the word ‘eternity’ engraved inside the ring.

When the assistant returned, she pointed to it and asked to see it. He took it out of the case and she slipped it on her finger, then examined it, seeing to her excitement that the engraving was there.

‘I saw one like it once,’ she commented. ‘I believe it was Lady Chalford who wore it, but of course I was only a child, for she died some years ago, and I may have been mistaken.’

The assistant was very young and very flustered by this lovely customer who had such an enchanting smile. He forgot his training and gulped it had been Sir William Andrews who had sold the ring to them, only a few days since.

‘Sir William?’ Susannah exclaimed.

‘Oh, Miss, I should not have said!’ the embarrassed young man stuttered and Susannah speedily reassured him she would not betray him for his indiscretion.

‘But I have heard he has been selling many jewels of late,’ she added, smiling confidingly at him.

‘Not to us,’ the assistant replied, too hastily, blushing, and Susannah had to leave it at that.

She was thoughtful as she left the shop. This information revealed other, more acceptable probabilities. Sir William had been friendly with Julian’s parents, indeed, according to her grandmother, had dangled after her mother. It was likely then that he had been one of the hunting party. The fact Lord Chalford possessed some of the missing jewels, which he had averred belonged to his mother, could be explained because Sir William was her brother-in-law and might easily have given them to her or to her husband, or even because Sir William’s dead wife might have left them to her family when she died. The further suspicion that Sir William was desperate for money might explain why, after so many years, he was selling some of the jewels. Only a very inadequate description of them had been produced at the time of the disappearance and none had been traced, and although Susannah realized Sir William might have sold some of them with perfect safety over the years, as he appeared to have given them away openly, it was possible he had hoarded some of them until he was in dire financial difficulties.

By the following morning, when Julian again visited Brook Street, Susannah had determined to repeat her exploit in Grosvenor Square at Sir William’s house in Green Street, and after retailing her discoveries to Amanda and Julian she announced her proposal. They were both aghast.

‘It is too dangerous!’ Amanda cried.

‘It is foolhardy and I will not permit it!’ Julian declared.

‘You have no control over me!’ Susannah retorted, her eyes flashing.

‘They are my jewels and it is none of your affair,’ he replied. ‘If I had known of your idiotic plan to search Everard’s house I would have prevented you, by telling Mr Grant what you planned if necessary, and then he would have sent you back to The Hall!’

Recognizing he could well still carry out this threat, Susannah resorted to cajolery.

‘It almost succeeded at Lord Chalford’s house,’ she pointed out.

‘With him catching you in the very act of searching his room?’ Julian asked scornfully.

Susannah held on to her temper.

‘Well, I was able to explain that,’ she said dismissively. ‘I meant I did discover he had another of the pieces.’

‘Well, if what you heard at Asprey’s yesterday was correct, the fact Everard has two of them means nought.’

‘But we must make a push to search Sir William’s house!’

‘It is far too dangerous,’ Amanda repeated.

‘Not if this time we are absolutely sure Sir William is out of the way. If you asked him to escort you, or drive you somewhere, Amanda, he would accept immediately.’

Amanda shuddered.

‘I could not! I detest him so.’

‘Would you not do so small a thing to help Julian recover his own property? It is for your sake too that I suggest this.’

‘I know, Susannah, and I do appreciate it, but there must be other ways which do not put you into danger.’

‘It would not be practicable, in any event,’ Julian said slowly. ‘Do but consider! Everard’s house is a mansion, but he lives there alone, with only a few servants. It must be easy to move about in it unobserved. Sir William, on the other hand, lives in a much smaller house and in addition to himself there is Augusta and that woman, a distant cousin, I believe, who acts chaperone for her. That means more servants about for a start, and in a much smaller house. You are most unlikely to be able to remain concealed. Besides, contacting one of the maids and winning her confidence as you did before takes time and if he is beginning to sell the jewels we need to move quickly before they are all gone and irrecoverable.’

‘You may be right, but what else is to be done?’ Susannah admitted reluctantly.

‘I have a better plan. Isn’t it the Bancrofts’ ball tomorrow? They will undoubtedly be there. I will set Carter, and I think Jackson, one of my grooms whom I can trust absolutely, to entice as many of the menservants out of the house as possible that night. Carter knows some of them and apparently Sir William is so harsh a master they are not in the least averse to neglecting their duties when the opportunity arises. If Carter has some money, says it is from a lucky bet and invites them to help him spend it, they will need little persuasion.’

‘But how will that aid us?’ Amanda asked.

‘I will go there, on some excuse. I’ll say I have to write a note, and send whoever opens the door away on some pretext, then I can bang the door as though I have left, but instead remain and search Sir William’s room.’

‘If I cannot move about the house, neither can you,’ Susannah objected.

‘You would have to go in the daytime, when the servants would be busy. This way, with the men out drinking with Carter, you can be sure the maids will be taking their ease in the servants’ hall.’

Amanda, fearing Sir William, was even more opposed to this plan than Susannah, but Julian eventually persuaded them there was no more promising alternative and Susannah, reluctantly agreeing with him, firmly told Amanda that if she wanted to be allowed to marry Julian she would have to accept the plan, however distasteful it appeared.

‘I cannot think there is any great danger, provided you ensure Sir William is out of the way,’ she added to Julian.

‘No difficulty about that,’ he said confidently. ‘I will come to the ball early and as soon as Sir William arrives I can slip away and take a hackney to Green Street. I will be back at the ball long before suppertime.’

Chapter Eight

Susannah passed the following day in an anxious, fretful state. Julian, saying he would be busy laying his plans, did not come near them and Amanda was so nervous Susannah feared she might collapse under the strain and confess the plot to her mother. When Richard Grainger appeared to invite Susannah to drive with him she was only too willing to join him in an attempt to forget for a while her problems. She fetched her new pale blue velvet pelisse and the matching bonnet and with the darker blue gloves and half boots of soft kid looked entrancing.

She had received no further word from Lord Chalford and although she had earlier resolved to reject his offer, should he persist with it, the new suspicion of Sir William threw her into a state of indecision. If he were not guilty and if he meant what he said, did she wish to marry him?

She had already accepted she found him exciting and attractive in a way none of the other men she had met in London were. She realized in some astonishment that his behaviour when he had gambled to win her no longer offended her, any more than his somewhat rakish reputation. If he loved her enough to offer marriage, which he had offered to no one else, then she could ignore previous peccadillos. It was her own heart she was unsure of. How much was she intrigued by his unconventional actions, flattered by his singling her out and, although she blushed at the thought, swayed by the emotions he roused in her when he took her in his arms and kissed her so expertly?

To be with Richard, who had visited his aunt in Kensington on the previous day and had news of her acquaintances there, was soothing. Susannah relaxed and in his pleasant and undemanding company forgot some of her perplexities.

‘You are no doubt attending the Bancrofts’ ball?’ Richard asked as he turned to drive them back to Brook Street.

Susannah agreed, reminded of what was to happen that night.

‘Will you save me the first waltz and the supper dance?’ Richard asked and Susannah promised them to him. Briefly she wondered if Lord Chalford would be present and then hastily dismissed the thought that she would have preferred to have him take her to supper. She tried to convince herself he might not have asked her, but, since he had made a point of doing so whenever they had been present at the same ball and reluctantly accepted her refusal only when she had been secured previously by another partner, this was difficult to do.

For the ball Amanda was wearing a gown of white taffeta, with a shimmering gauze overdress embroidered with scattered diamonds. A white lacy fan and silver slippers completed an ensemble which made her look far more fragile than usual. Susannah herself had selected an amber gown of silk and, with amber necklace and earrings, gloves, slippers and fan of the same colour, made a striking picture. Aunt Sarah had at first demurred, saying Susannah ought to wear the more conventional white or pale pink or blue usually chosen for girls in their first season, but she could not forbid Susannah, who had her own dress allowance, to have the gown made up as she wished and had graciously conceded it suited her niece admirably.

They were driven to the ball at a house in Berkeley Square and the girls could barely conceal their impatience as the carriage joined the agonizingly slow line of vehicles approaching the Bancroft mansion. Mr and Mrs Grant smiled indulgently, thinking how refreshingly natural they were still to exhibit their enjoyment of a ball after several weeks of such entertainments. They were not to know the impatience was not for the ball but for the success of Julian’s attempt to search for the jewels. Both girls longed for that hazardous undertaking to be successfully concluded.

‘There is Julian,’ Amanda said in an aside to Susannah as they moved with the line of guests towards their hosts to pay their respects, and Susannah saw her brother standing near the entrance to one of the rooms, obviously waiting for them.

When they could escape the three of them drew into a secluded corner and Susannah demanded to know if all was planned.

‘Of course. Do you expect me to make a mull of it?’ Julian asked loftily and Susannah bit back the retort that she had just considered the possibility. Instead she concentrated on stressing the need for caution.

‘Is Sir William here yet?’ Amanda asked.

‘I have not seen him, but it is early yet. As soon as he arrives I shall slip away. I must stay near the door to watch for him,’ Julian explained and, with an insouciant smile which made Susannah unreasonably worried, left them.

They were soon surrounded by would-be partners and swept off to dance. There was little opportunity for further conversation, although when Susannah noticed Augusta sitting with her meek little chaperone she manoeuvred her partner close to Amanda and under cover of the general buzz of general noise asked if she had seen Sir William arrive.

‘Yes, he went into one of the card rooms almost immediately,’ Amanda replied.

‘That should keep him occupied,’ Susannah commented and Amanda nodded cheerfully. It was apparent to Susannah that her cousin did not doubt Julian’s ability to succeed as she did, but afterwards she realized part of Amanda’s cheerfulness was relief that Sir William, if he were engaged in playing cards, would not be seeking her out to dance with him.

Richard appeared to claim the first waltz and complimented Susannah on her appearance.

‘You look like a golden flame,’ he said admiringly, ‘but since you always look charming you must be bored with such remarks,’ he added and Susannah laughed up at him.

‘Come, Richard, have you ever met a girl who does not drink in all compliments, whether deserved or not, sincerely made or otherwise?’

He smiled, but did not reply, and as the dance ended guided her to a small settee placed in an alcove and offered to fetch her some orgeat.

‘If you please, Richard! It is becoming very hot in here.’