Page 57 of The Duke and Lady Scandal
It was one of the reasons he’d truly never considered marrying. His work consumed him and showed him a side of humanity few wished to know about.
“I think we can go in there.” She pointed to a structure with crenelated towers. “It’s where many famous prisoners were held. Supposedly, there are engravings left by them on the walls.”
“Are you certain you’ve never been here before?” he teased.
“I read a great deal as a child,” she said defensively and then turned a curious look his way. “You did say you liked to read as a child too.”
“Yes, but it was nothing as improving as history books.” He found himself yearning to be as open and honest as she was. “We were unable to afford more than a couple of books between us,” he admitted. “We relied mostly on penny dreadfuls for reading material.”
She leaned in and whispered, “I love penny dreadfuls too.” The smile she turned his way wasdelightfully mischievous and conspiratorial. “So you see, my reading wasn’t always of the instructional sort. Actually, I believe I discovered all I know about the Tower from a guidebook my aunt Jocasta left behind after she’d come to visit us in London.”
“A truly voracious reader then.”
She chuckled. “I was. I wish I still had the time to be.”
Once inside the tower, they joined a few other visitors examining the inscriptions of various prisoners, many from the years of the Tudors’ reign. Most seemed to have been imprisoned for personal, political, or religious reasons, and he wondered if anyone had ever been imprisoned within its stone walls for actual crimes.
After the tower, they wandered the fortress, and Alexandra pointed out the area where the royal menagerie of animals had once roamed the grounds. She explained that the animals were removed over fifty years ago, some going to the Zoological Gardens at Regent’s Park.
He’d never visited that zoo either and allowed himself to imagine inviting her there some other day. Imagining other days with her, other outings, was far too enticing.
Finally, as if they’d saved it for dessert, they made their way to the Jewel House. The queue had shortened, and when they finally stepped into the room that housed the regalia, it did indeed look like a dessert—a pile of gold and gems and utter ostentation surrounded by an ornate ironcage. The regalia was arranged in tiers, the long golden bejeweled scepter lying at the bottom and the largest crown at the top.
Alexandra let out a little gasp when the whole assembly came into view.
“Goodness,” she whispered, “now that I see it all laid out, I do begin to understand why there have been so few plots to steal it all.”
“They’d have to get through the glass and this iron grate.” Ben examined the thing, shaped almost like an enormous birdcage, and looked for weaker spots. He noted its curves and one spot where it hinged.
He couldn’t help scanning his gaze over the other onlookers, noting that none of the men were particularly tall. Of course, the coincidence of an attempt on the one day he’d decided to shed his usual work-obsessed nature and have a bit of pleasurable leisure time would be beyond irony.
Stealing the heap of it might be a challenge, but he could see why the sparkling, jewel-laden pieces would appeal to a thief. Hell, popping a single gem out of its setting would satisfy many thieves and certainly every pickpocket he’d known as a child.
“There’s simply too much to carry,” Alexandra said with utter practicality. “Colonel Blood and his conspirators took the crown, orb, and scepter, but they dropped the scepter.”
Ben chuckled deeply, drawing a chastising look from a couple nearby. He bent to whisper in Alexandra’s ear.
“If you were to make the attempt and could only manage one item, what would fetch the most?”
She eyed him with a mischievous smile. “Are we plotting now?”
“Just indulging my curiosity.”
“The obvious choice would be to take one of the crowns. St. Edward’s has the most historic value. Worn at coronations since the thirteenth century. Though it was deemed too heavy for Victoria and thus that crown.” She pointed to one encrusted with so many gems that it sparkled from every angle. “The State Crown is likely the most valuable. Look at all the diamonds. Though I bet they’re both heavy.”
“But you think it the most valuable piece?”
“I’d say so. The most gems, as you see. That sapphire alone must be a hundred carats.”
It was an almost mind-boggling display of excess. Ben imagined that if even one item in the collection were translated into pounds, it could house and feed and provide heat for thousands of Londoners. Though through Alexandra’s eyes, he understood that each piece possessed a story, a meaning, related to England’s history.
“Oh, there it is. I didn’t know if it would be on display. Though...” She leaned in so far to get a better look at an object set with three clear stones that Ben reached out a hand to steady her. “Mr. Gibson would know for sure, but I think those diamonds may be paste.”
“What is it?”
“A diamond armlet. The center one is the Koh-i-Noor from India. I know that one is over a hundred carats. Mr. Gibson is quite fascinated with it and told me of its history.”
“It is indeed a replica, madam,” a lady who’d approached told them. “The diamond itself was recut and is worn by Her Majesty in a brooch.”
