Page 86 of The Outcast's Redemption
Chapter Twelve
They headed for the chapel, Wolf carrying a lantern to light their way through the heavy darkness that had descended. Grace pulled her cloak more tightly about her while he unlocked the chapel door and she followed him inside. The lantern threw grotesque shadows against the pale walls and she kept close to Wolf, resisting the temptation to clutch at the skirts of his coat. She took the lantern so he could use two hands to lift off the ornately carved wooden lid from the font and she peered in eagerly.
It was dry and empty.
Wolf lowered the heavy cover to the ground and ran his fingers around the rough grey stone of the basin as if he did not believe his eyes.
‘It has been ten years,’ she said gently. ‘Perhaps someone took it.’
‘Perhaps.’
He would not give up. Not yet. There were candles on nearby pricket stands, dusty with age, but once they were lighted he carried them closer and inspected the old stone font, looking for possible hiding places.
‘My great-aunt said the chapel had already been searched, so if the diamonds are here they will not be easily found.’
He bent to inspect the base of the font. There was not so much as a crack where anything might be secreted. The cover itself looked more promising, but there was nothing hidden amongst the intricate carvings of fruit, flowers and cherubs.
‘Nothing.’ He picked up the cover to put it back on the font, twisting it to give a cursory glance to the base as he did so.
‘Wolf!’
He had already seen it. The bottom of the cover had warped badly and split, providing a narrow pocket that stretched across the base. Carefully he reached in with a finger and thumb and tugged at the material tucked inside. It fell into his palm, weighted by something wrapped in its discoloured folds.
‘Wolf, is it...?’ Grace held up the lantern as he gently unfolded the linen.
‘Yes,’ he said, his voice not quite steady. ‘It’s the Sawston necklace.’
Grace reached out. He expected her to touch the diamonds twinkling on his hand, but instead she lifted a corner of the wrapping. It was a handkerchief with initials embroidered on the edge. The same letters and flourishing style he remembered seeing on Urmston’s perfume-soaked handkerchief. From the other side of the font Grace was smiling, hope shining in her eyes.
‘Do you still not believe in miracles? We can surely prove your innocence now.’
We. It was like a shaft of sunlight on a stormy day and it warmed his soul.
* * *
‘I will take that.’
The words echoed around the darkened church. Urmston was standing just inside the door, the light glinting from the barrel of a pistol in his hand.
‘I think not,’ drawled Wolf, ignoring the weapon aimed at his heart. ‘The diamonds are wrapped in your handkerchief. What more proof do we need that you stole them?’
‘You are not a fool, Arrandale. You know I will not let you leave here alive.’
‘Then you must kill us both,’ declared Grace. ‘I will not let you get away with murder.’
Urmston stepped a little further into the chapel.
‘Brave words, my dear, but that is precisely my intention. Only I shall say that Wolfgang killed you, before I shot him. I have already informed the magistrate that the fugitive is here.’
Wolf’s brain was racing. The lighted candles made him and Grace easy targets. He needed to catch Urmston off guard if he was to wrestle that pistol from him, so he must keep him talking and look for his chance.
‘So you admit you took the diamonds?’ he said, playing for time.
‘I did, but I put them back.’
‘Of course.’ Wolf nodded. ‘You did not need to sell them, did you, once you had Thriplow’s money.’
‘The young fool was ripe for the plucking. When I came back from Newmarket I hid the necklace in Florence’s room, behind the loose brick where she used to keep the key to her jewel box. Didn’t want the diamonds turning up again too soon. I wanted everyone to think you a thief as well as a murderer. Once you were hanged I would make sure they were discovered and returned to the Sawstons. After all I shall inherit them, eventually.’
