Page 11 of The Scholar's Key
“Might as well,” Mrs. Compton responded. “I do love showing them off and it has been some time since I have worn them. They will be around my neck, if you don’t mind.”
That might be a problem.
“I do hope Gideon didn’t send you here to ask for them back,” she called out as she walked out of the room. “I have heard of the family’s financial troubles, but I will not part with these. They were my grandmother’s, you know!”
When she was out of earshot, Percy turned to Mr. Rowley, who looked as troubled as she felt. “How are we going to inspect the necklace if she is wearing it?”
“I don’t know. We’ll have to think of something.”
“Your ideas haven’t exactly been useful so far.”
“Subterfuge is not my strong suit,” he muttered.
“So it seems.”
He opened his mouth, and Percy found that she was rather anticipating his retort when they heard a scream from overhead. They exchanged a glance once more before hurrying to the doorway of the drawing room in time to see Mrs. Compton flying down the stairs in a rainbow of color, resembling an exotic bird.
“My necklace!” she exclaimed with horror on her face. “It’s gone!”
* * *
Noah forgothimself for a moment in his concern, rushing toward the stairs, although he had the wherewithal to stop at the bottom.
“What do you mean, it’s gone?” Lady Percy asked, running into him when he came to a sudden stop. When he turned around, she was rubbing her nose but appeared otherwise unaffected. “As in, misplaced?”
Mrs. Compton shook her head, pacing back and forth across the landing at the bottom of the stairs. “I keep them in a locked case in my wardrobe. The case is still there, the lock untampered, and yet, when I opened it, the necklace was gone.”
“Where is the key to the case?” Noah asked.
“I keep it around my neck,” she said, before smiling ironically. “Isn’t that something? It takes the place of where the necklace should be. Some bloody good that did.”
In any other circumstance, Noah would have been amused by her cursing.
“There is no other key?” he asked instead.
“There is, but it is hidden in my room,” she said. “No one else knows where it is.”
“Perhaps a lady’s maid?” he persisted, but she shook her head again, although Noah knew that servants often knew more than their masters could ever imagine.
Mrs. Compton’s hand fluttered to her forehead. “I will do a thorough search of the house, but I do not believe it will come to anything. I know in my heart it is gone.”
“I can imagine the necklace is quite valuable,” Noah said, and her lips formed a straight line, dejection covering her gaze.
“Their value to me is the meaning behind them and what they signify to my family. They were a gift from my grandfather to my grandmother, purchased from her homeland.”
“I understand.”
Little did she know that there was far more to it – that if the necklace was lost, the path to the treasure might be as well. Noah exchanged a glance with Lady Percy, knowing she was likely thinking what he was – that they didn’t want to have to share this news with Gideon or Lady Covington.
“Is it worth hiring an investigator?” Noah asked, and she nodded.
“I will try, although I know better than to raise my hopes,” she said, just as Lady Percy’s mother, Lady Fairfax, was shown into the house by the butler.
“Mrs. Compton,” she said with some hesitation, as she read the tension in the room. “Is all well?”
“Not entirely,” Mrs. Compton said with a sigh. “You best come in and I will explain everything. I am sorry, Lady Persephone, that you are not able to see the rubies as you wished.”
“It’s fine,” Lady Percy said with a forced smile. “I am happy to spend time with you and make your acquaintance.”
