On a Wicked Dawn

Chapter 20

By general consensus, they waited until Emily, Anne, Portia, Penelope, and Miss Pink retired at the end of the evening before broaching the topic uppermost in all their minds.

Helena held up a hand the instant the door closed behind Miss Pink. 'You must start at the beginning, if you please. There is no point rambling about any bushes with such a matter, not when we are all family.'

Luc, Amelia, Lucifer, and Phyllida exchanged glances, then Luc complied. He sketched the known actions of the thief within the ton, then Lucifer and Amelia described the pieces of the puzzle they'd stumbled across.

Standing before the hearth, Luc concluded, 'We do not at present have any idea who the thief is. However, whether by design or sheer coincidence, his activities are making it appear that the culprit is…' He paused, then, face hardening, went on, 'One of us. One of the Ashfords.'

Helena, more serious, more disapproving than Amelia had ever seen her, nodded decisively. 'Yes. It will be said it is one of your sisters. But as we have seen today, that is quite impossible.'

Luc studied her, then asked, 'Why do you say it's impossible?'

Helena stared at him, then blinked. 'Ah, I see — you wish me to state it. Very well. It is impossible that Emily or Anne could be the one who has taken the General's thimble because both are jeunes filles ingenues—they are not capable of dissembling to hide such a thing, not before me, and Louise and all here. This is not credible. Also, Amelia has said they did not know anything about the quizzing glass. It must be, I think, Lord Witherley's — I will look at it later. But again, neither their actions nor Amelia's reading of them supports the idea of either being involved. So they are not.'

Helena's expression grew somber. 'But that means we must find who is, and soon, for both Emily and Anne are… susceptible. Their lives can be ruined by suspicion and rumor, if those are allowed to run amok.'

Luc inclined his head. 'Thank you. I agree. That is the situation in a nutshell.'

Martin, seated in an armchair, Amanda perched on its arm, looked at Luc. 'Do we know of anyone who would wish to harm the Ashfords?'

Luc met his gaze; Amelia watched the cousins' silent exchange, but it was Minerva who sighed, and said, 'There's Edward, of course.'

Everyone looked at her, but it was Luc whose gaze she met. 'Neither you nor I ever managed to understand him. Given what he's done in the past, how can we say he wouldn't do this — even this — too?'

Luc grimaced and looked at Martin. 'It won't, however, be Edward himself.'

Martin nodded. 'An agent, or agents. We all know it could be done.'

'Except,' Amelia put in, 'Edward doesn't have much money — not enough to pay agents.' She looked at Luc. 'Does he?'

'He has his allowance, but I doubt it'd stretch that far.'

'Actually, that would fit nicely.' Lucifer stretched out his long legs, crossing his ankles. 'Edward could simply suggest where these friends of his could pick up little items, and in doing so make him happy, too. Of course, that does presuppose Edward has those sorts of friends, and moreover, that they would be willing to consider his wishes.'

Luc shook his head. 'We were never close — indeed, we'd been deliberately distant for more than a decade. I've no idea of Edward's associates.'

Lucifer grimaced. 'If he is behind this, he'll be counting on that.'

Amelia didn't care who was behind the plot as long as it was ended. 'Regardless, we have to expose the thief who's here, on the ground, soon. We can't let things go until the rumors build and people start pointing fingers. The one most likely to be suspected is Anne, and' — her gaze sweeping the circle of faces, she saw comprehension and agreement—'we can't let that happen.'

Arthur, sitting back, calmly watching, stated, 'We need a plan — one to flush the thief out.'

Martin leaned forward. 'We need to strike now, before he gets any inkling we might be after him.'

Luc met his gaze, nodded. 'So — how do we catch a thief?'

'That,' Helena declared, 'is simple.' When they all turned her way, she raised her brows. 'We dangle before his covetous eyes something he will not be able to resist stealing.'

'A trap?' Luc considered, then asked, 'Baited with what?'

Helena calmly answered, 'With my pearls and emeralds, of course.'

The suggestion caused an uproar. Lucifer and Arthur forcefully declared using the Cynster necklace was out of the question.

Helena silenced them with a long, steady look from her pale green eyes. When all was again quiet, she evenly stated, 'The necklace is mine to do with as I please — Sebastian gave it to me all those years ago, and there never were any strings attached to it. There is nothing you can possibly suggest that would be more appealing to a thief. I agree that the necklace is now also a family piece, but as such, it is there, to my thinking, not just as a form of wealth, but to be used as need be for the family. This is one such occasion, when such a thing needs to be used.' Her gaze swept the company, then returned to rest on Lucifer and Arthur. 'It is my decision that it should be.'

Her tone reminded everyone that despite the fact Sebastian, her husband, Devil's father, was long gone, a great deal of power still remained at Helena's back. She was the Cynster matriarch; ultimately, none had the power to gainsay her.

Amelia noted that her mother, Phyllida — all the women — were, at least figuratively, squarely ranged behind Helena. She had taken a stand — declared what should be done; it was now up to the men to handle the rest.

Luc broke the ensuing silence. 'Assuming we decide to bait a trap, how, exactly, are we to construct it?'

Lucifer reluctantly growled, 'We need some event — some occasion — that will appear to the thief to leave the door open.'

'If we're going to use that necklace, or something of the sort,' Martin smoothly said, 'we need to alert the thief to the possibilities, then lure him into a situation where we can catch him.'

'You need the bait and the trap,' Arthur said. 'You need to prime the trap, and then spring it.'

Luc looked at them all. 'So what's our trap?'

The discussions, suggestions, and arguments lasted for more than an hour. Amelia ordered the tea trolley replenished; Luc had the decanters brought in. They sat and argued, tossed ideas in, tossed them out. It was Minerva who finally suggested, 'We could have an open house of some sort.'

Amelia blinked. 'I've only recently joined the family — all the rest of you are here visiting…' She glanced at Luc. 'We could host a celebration of some sort, one for all the surrounding families.'

'And your tenants and the villagers,' Phyllida put in. 'That way, anyone could attend.'

'If you're determined to use the necklace,' Lucifer said, his tone underscoring his disapproval and his resignation, 'then it'll have to be an evening event — you couldn't wear that necklace during the day without being too obvious.' Helena inclined her head. 'That is true.'

'A Summer Ball and Gala,' Amelia said. 'There's no reason we can't organize something like that quickly — an impulsive decision, an impromptu event. Nothing suspicious about that. The weather's been glorious, you're all here visiting, so we decide to take advantage and host a ball for the neighborhood. To include everyone, we'll make it a whole evening, with the gardens open for dancing and fireworks, so there'll be plenty of opportunity for the thief to see the necklace.'

Everyone thought; everyone nodded. 'All right,' Luc said. 'Now for the details.' He fixed Helena with an even glance. 'How do you imagine it will be?' She smiled, and told him. Despite Lucifer's growls, and Simon's, Luc's and Martin's frowns, everyone eventually agreed. Throughout the early evening, before the ball, Helena, flaunting the necklace, would move among the assembled tenants, villagers, and neighbors. At all times, she would be flanked by two of the other ladies, a normal enough situation; from a distance, at least two of the men would be watching her constantly.

Then, just before the ball was due to commence, Luc and Helena would meet on the terrace. Luc would comment on the necklace, suggesting the Dowager hand it to him after the ball for safekeeping — a suggestion Helena would openly dismiss, declaring it would be safe in her room.

'We can organize the fireworks to be lit then, so everyone will gather on the terrace and steps. That way, many people will be near enough to hear.' Amelia looked at Luc, who nodded.