“Of course, my dear, but why...”
“I will explain everything later. But we are in danger right now and we must stop a murderer.”
“Very well. Leave this to me.” Grace tossed her head, a little stiffly on account of her age, and stepped in front of Adelia as Lady Purfleet descended upon them. Adelia could see Lady Purfleet’s face as she was significantly taller than Grace, and the lady flared her nostrils in annoyance, looking past Grace to make eye contact with Adelia.
It was but the briefest of eye contacts. Adelia spun around and said hastily to the others, “Let us get to the back room where this jewellery is being kept. We will catch her in the act; we will station ourselves around the room and hide, lying in wait for her if we have to.”
Theodore and Robert were already forging a path through the throng and Charlotte took hold of Adelia’s hand to pull her along. She heard Lady Purfleet speaking her name, and pretended not to hear it.
Grace was saying, “Oh, Lady Purfleet, those slippers are exquisite! I am glad I have caught you because Madame Lafontaine was wearing the exact same pair last season and I always meant to ask her who did the embroidery.”
Adelia winced and smiled at the same time. Part of her wanted to stay behind and listen to the politely restrained verbal fight which was now brewing, especially as Grace had spoken loudly enough for a dozen people to have overheard her barbed remark.
They elbowed their way along, their rapid movement in contrast to the general air of lazy milling that pervaded the gallery. People lingered, people dawdled, people stood in great knots to prevent other people getting through doors or past screens. Waiters with trays of champagne spun around, murmuring apologies, taking care to avoid whirling too close to the precious artworks themselves. Adelia held her breath on more than one occasion as near disasters were averted by the last-minute skill of servants with the graceful airs of dancers.
She looked back at some comment about Lord H – “He will already be here, right among us!” someone was saying. And Adelia realised with a sudden jolt that no, Bamfylde was no longer with them. At some point he had peeled away from the four of them.
She wondered why. But she had no time to think about it because Mr Wiseman was there in front of them and he wasn’t moving an inch.
Behind him was a little passageway made into a maze by angled screens displaying paintings, and beyond that, the galleries for jewellery and porcelain and other precious items.
But of course, he didn’t know their purpose that night.
“Have you seen Mrs Dymchurch?” Theodore demanded.
Mr Wiseman frowned. “I’ve seen Lady Purfleet and after some consideration I am determined that I will not be frightened out of my own city.” Yet he looked a little wary. He was grey and pink in the face and Adelia could see he’d applied powder and paint, like an actor, to hide his bruises.
“I thought you were going to get out of the art business?” Adelia asked.
“I might. I will. Yes, yes. But there is something so very galling about being chased away. I’ve come here tonight to make the point that I am not scared. I have come here to be seen. I have dignity even still, you know.” He was scared, of course, in spite of his bravado. But she could see why he was making this last hurrah. It was a matter of pride.
So she smiled kindly at him, in spite of his scowling features. “I understand completely,” she said. “You are right to be here. Now, do excuse us. We must get to the room where the jewellery is on display.”
“What? Everyone is here for the paintings.”
“We are here to stop Mrs Dymchurch stealing the diamond necklace,” Theodore said.
Mr Wiseman burst out laughing. And Adelia could sympathise. Hearing it said out loud like that, so baldly and flatly, was the most ridiculous thing anyone could utter.
“Believe us,” Adelia said, while Robert and Charlotte nodded alongside them. “She has mentioned the jewellery before; she believes she has a claim to it. Tonight is perfect as the rooms are not usually open like this, and everyone’s attention is elsewhere. Furthermore, she knows we are onto her, and she needs to get funds to flee at the earliest opportunity. She cannot risk waiting any longer.”
Mr Wiseman continued to shake his head, almost pitying them for their stupidity it seemed. “She wouldn’t even attempt such a thing. She’d have to bribe half the staff, first; there is a guard, and others besides. She’d have to plan it, plan how she’d sell it ...” He trailed to a halt, and thought about his words. “Good heavens. She really could do all that, could she not? She actually does know how to. She’s seen Nettles do it a thousand times.” His face grew panicked. “Come on! She must be stopped!”
The five of them now ran to the room at the back of the building. The door was closed, and there was no guard where there ought to have been one. Adelia looked around gingerly just in case he had been poisoned or coshed over the head but there were no signs of any bodies; clearly he had merely been paid off. That was a relief, in a way.
Robert seized the door handle and flung it open before anyone could counsel caution. He burst into the room, followed by Theodore and Mr Wiseman. Adelia hung back, with Charlotte clinging close to her side.
The lights were low, too low to show off the precious artefacts properly.
That hardly mattered, however.
The cases were empty.
They were too late – of course they were too late – delay after delay had beset
