'What's the matter?' He couldn't hold back the question, started to rise.
She met his gaze, waved him back. He subsided into his chair; she passed the chair before the desk, continued around it. Reaching him, lips tight, she turned, sat on his lap, then leaned into him.
His mind streaked in a dozen different directions; an odd fear clutched his heart. Bad news — that was all he could think. He closed his arms about her, gently, then more firmly; she snuggled closer, deeper into his embrace, her cheek to his chest. He laid his jaw against her curls, feeling them slide like silk against his chin. 'What?'
'I went with Emily and Anne to check through their things — you heard me organizing.'
'You found something.' The vise about his heart slowly closed.
'Yes. This.' She lifted her hand and showed him an ornate quizzing glass. 'It was in one of Anne's reticules.'
His heart grew cold, then colder; he forced himself to take the quizzing glass. He held it up, squinted when he saw the stones flash. 'Diamonds?'
'I think so. And I don't think it's a lady's — it's too heavy.'
'I don't think I've ever seen it before.'
'I haven't either. Nor have Emily and Anne.'
Luc felt cold tension flow through him; it kept him so silent and still, Amelia eventually glanced up.
He met her gaze; her eyes were wide, as blue as the sky. A little shock, and a ton of worry, shadowed the blue. He clung to the contact and forced himself to say, 'So it's Anne, and we have another Ashford scandal.'
He saw the frown flow into Amelia's eyes before her brows drew down.
'No.' She shook her head brusquely. 'Stop leaping to conclusions.'
'Leaping…?' He felt a flash of temper. Knew it was irrational. 'What the hell am I — is
Amelia struggled to sit up, to draw out of his arms.
He immediately tightened his hold. 'No. Sit still.'
She complied — he suspected because she had to — but her accents were clipped when she tersely informed him, 'I'm sure it's not Anne. Or Emily, for that matter.'
He felt a little of the icy tension seep away, felt the vise ease a notch. 'Why? Tell me.'
She hesitated, then said, 'I'm not a mind reader, but I'm not hopeless at judging people and their reactions either. Anne was truly surprised, totally puzzled over the quizzing glass being in her reticule. She hadn't known it was there — I'm sure she didn't recognize it, meaning she literally had never seen it before. Anne's shy — she's not experienced enough to hide her feelings. And the most telling fact of all was that she didn't need to give Emily the reticule — she could easily have said it wasn't there, or she'd look it out later, or… a host of things.'
Luc struggled through her words, then admitted, 'I'm lost — explain.'
She did, sitting in his lap within the circle of his arms.
When she finished, she sat still, waited…
After some moments, he forced himself to take a tight breath. 'Are you sure…?'
'Yes.' She looked into his face, held his gaze. 'I'm quite certain that whoever took that quizzing glass, it wasn't Anne or Emily.'
He tried to find some wavering in the steady blue of her eyes. 'You're not just saying that…?' He gestured with one hand; even though it was behind her back, she understood.
The stubborn set of her chin and lips softened. She laid a hand against his cheek. 'I might' — she paused, then continued—'turn a blind eye to some things if I thought it was in your best interests, that it would help you or our family, but this…' She shook her head; her eyes held his. 'Telling you it wasn't Anne when it was wouldn't help, and might instead lead to a great deal more harm.'
Her words sank into him, slowly eased the vise open, let his blood flow again and warm him, driving away the chill.
He drew a deep breath. 'You're sure.' No question; the answer was in her eyes.
She nodded. 'Not Anne. Not Emily.'
He let the knowledge buoy him for a heartbeat, then asked, 'If not them, then who? How did this' — he lifted the quizzing glass—'get into Anne's reticule?'
Amelia looked at the glass. 'I don't know — and that's what truly worries me.'
The luncheon gong summoned them from the study fifteen minutes later. They left the room together, leaving the quizzing glass in a locked chest.
Amelia checked her reflection in the mirror in the front hall, cast a quick glance around, then tugged her bodice properly into place.
Luc fought to keep his lips straight; the look she shot him as she turned and caught him doing so suggested he hadn't succeeded.
The dining room quickly filled. After seeing Amelia to her chair, Luc strolled the length of the table to his place at its head. The meal passed swiftly; the usual chatter prevailed. He watched Anne; for the most part, she kept her eyes cast down, answering any questions but with a frankly distant air. Her expression was serious, she volunteered nothing, but Lucifer and Phyllida were present; Anne's behavior could simply be due to her shyness.
He wondered if he should speak with her… unfortunately, both she and Emily regarded him with a certain awe, quite different to how Portia and Penelope reacted. Any questions from him might totally undermine Anne's confidence.
On his left, Lucifer sat back. 'If it's convenient, I wouldn't mind going over those investments with you this afternoon.'
Luc hesitated, then nodded. Amelia and Phyllida were making arrangements to visit the village; they'd doubtless take Emily and Anne with them. Portia, Penelope, and Miss Pink were heading off for a ramble to the folly; his mother would, as she usually did, rest through the afternoon.
Setting down his napkin, he pushed back his chair and looked at Lucifer. 'No time like the present.'
Lucifer grinned. Together they rose, strolled up the room, both, entirely independently, putting out a hand to their respective ladies' shoulders as they passed. Both Amelia and Phyllida looked up with identical, confident, wifely smiles, then went back to their arranging.
Luc and Lucifer quietly left the room.
'Where's Anne?' Amelia asked when she and Phyllida met Emily in the stables.
'She's gone to Lyddington Manor to visit Fiona — she'd forgotten she'd said she would.'
Amelia digested that while they mounted. The Manor wasn't far; Anne would be safe there. Remembering Fiona's bubbling presence in London, and how it had helped Anne cope with the
She, Phyllida, and Emily indulged in a quick gallop to shake the fidgets from their mounts, then settled to a more comfortable amble along the lane to Lyddington. The day was fine, the sun warm on their faces. Birds trilled and swooped. All seemed right within their world.
In the village, they left their horses at the inn and wandered the green, then repaired to the bakery to purchase some pastries. They consumed the delicious morsels on the seat in the sun, then simply sat and mused about life. About children. At Amelia's behest, Phyllida brought her up to date on her sons' development; Aidan and Evan were growing apace.
'They're scamps. I know they're quite safe at the Manor, but…' Phyllida gazed down the green, into the distance. 'I do miss them.' Smiling, she glanced at Amelia. 'Mind you, I'm quite sure Papa, Jonas, and Sweetie will have spoiled them dreadfully by the time we get back.'
Her gaze moving past Amelia, Phyllida murmured, 'We've company. Who's this?'
It was Mrs. Tilby; the vicar's wife joined them in a voluble froth of greetings and declarations. She seemed quite keyed up; the pleasantries aside, she told them why.
'Things are going missing. A host of small items — well, you know how it is when you're not quite sure when you last saw something. We only realized when we gathered for the Ladies' Guild meeting yesterday — it's not the sort of thing one worries about until one realizes it's an epidemic. Well, one hardly likes to think what might disappear next.'
Her heart sinking, Amelia asked, 'What things have gone missing?'
'Lady Merrington's small enamel box — it used to sit on the windowsill in her drawing room. An engraved
