“Ah, there you are! I was hoping to see you this evening!” Lord Yarmouth tapped Joy on the shoulder, and she turnedaround, though she did not smile, so many were her thoughts. “Forgive me for my tardiness in greeting you, I was caught up in conversation with Lord Knoxbridge and, as I walked in search of you, I had something of a skirmish with Lady Judith! Something caught my foot and I almost fell directly into her!”
“Lady Judith?” Joy repeated, aware that she sounded a little foolish, but continuing regardless. “Just now? At this very moment?” Recalling how Lord Falconer had pointed out one hand in the direction of the guests, Joy’s stomach dropped to the floor. “Lord Yarmouth, where is your father’s ring?” Lord Yarmouth’s smile fell away as Miss Fairley looked on, her gaze going from one to the next in clear confusion. “Is it on your person?” Joy persisted, taking a small step closer. “Did you take it with you this evening?”
“I – I did.” Lord Yarmouth shrugged. “But it is quite safe, I assure you. After what happened yesterday, I have taken extra precautions.”
“Yesterday?” Joy put one hand on his arm. “Is this what you wished to speak to me about?”
Lord Yarmouth nodded, his light green eyes fixing to hers.
“It is. I came home after calling on you, and found that my butler had been knocked on the head with some implement and that whoever had done such a thing had then rummaged through my study, seeking something out!”
Joy’s heart slammed against her ribs.
“Was it your ring?”
“I believe so, for what else has been taken from me of late?” Lord Yarmouth shook his head and sighed. “Thankfully, my ring was in the locked drawer where I had kept it, but from that moment, as I told Lord Falconer, I intended to keep it on a chain around my neck. I will not permit–”
“Is it still there?” Taking another step closer to him, Joy narrowed her eyes, trying to see the small, slim chain on which the ring might be. “You are quite sure that it is there still?”
Lord Yarmouth nodded.
“Of course. I am certain that no one could have taken it from me. No one knows that I kept it there.”
“Save for Lord Falconer,” Joy said slowly, as Lord Yarmouth began to grope around his neck, his fingers clearly seeking the small chain on which the ring was kept. “You said that you told him of it?”
Lord Yarmouth looked at her.
“Yes, because he had hurried into the house after me.”
Joy frowned.
“He was in your company at the time?”
Dropping his hands to his side, Lord Yarmouth shook his head.
“No, he came in shortly after, stating that he… he did not give any reason as to why he was near my townhouse. All he said was that there was a small crowd outside.”
Watching him, Joy noticed the way that his eyes rounded and then squeezed tightly closed again. Was he beginning to think in the same way as she? Could he see what it was that she had been trying to suggest?
“But no, it could not be!” In a low, dull whisper, Lord Yarmouth looked down at her, shaking his head. “I–”
“Where is the ring, Lord Yarmouth?” Joy asked, quickly. “Is it still on your person?”
Lord Yarmouth stared at her blankly for a few seconds and then, again, began to run his fingers around his shirt collar, clearly in search of the chain on which was his ring.
Nothing was there.
“It is gone.”
There was no surprise in his voice now, no astonishment widening his eyes. Instead, there was a sadness, a heaviness in his face which Joy could hardly bear to see.
“I am sorry.”
Taking a moment, she let her hand find his and squeezed his fingers gently, seeing the sorrowful smile curve around his lips.
“I would never have thought, not even for a moment, that my friend was involved in this.” Lord Yarmouth closed his eyes tightly and let out a hiss of breath, shaking his head again. “I cannot quite believe…”
“There must be a purpose behind it.” Miss Fairley spoke up for what was the first time during Joy and Lord Yarmouth’s exchange and they both looked to her at once. “What is the reason for the theft? Why have they been trying to steal it from you?”
