Page 97 of The Duke and Lady Scandal
Lord Holcroft’s calling card was hard to miss with its bright crimson-red paper. She lifted it out and tucked it into her coat pocket.
“My goal today is to go and speak to Lord Holcroft about his lost stone. We need to know hisvaluation and then we can determine how to recompense him.”
“I take it Inspector Drake expressed no hope of recovering the gems?”
“I don’t think we can rely on that.” Allie had rarely heard of stolen jewels being recovered. They were simply too easy to recut or place in new settings and resell. “We can hope, of course. And I’ll say as much to Lord Holcroft, but it will be a matter of whether he’s willing to wait for the resolution of the case.”
Mr. Gibson looked pensive. “If I’d lost a gem so valuable, I’m not sure I would be willing to.” He chafed his hands as if ready to set himself a task. “Right, then if you’re going to Holcroft, I should visit Lady Dalrymple. Divide and conquer, so to speak.”
Allie smiled. “Yes, though in this case, it’s divide and smooth over. Which I’m not always good at.”
“You’ll do well, Miss Prince. I have every faith in you.”
“I truly appreciate that you do.”
Allie hadn’t yet taken off her coat, so she slid her gloves on and prepared to depart.
“Oh, just so you know, Constable Collier has been assigned to accompany me, so you may notice him lurking outside at times. At least until the case has been resolved.”
Mr. Gibson craned his neck to catch a glimpse of the young man who stood on the pavement outside.
“And Lady Josephine will stop by after she’sfinished Christmas shopping. If I haven’t returned, will you ask her to wait?”
“Of course, miss. Good luck with Lord Holcroft.”
Trepidation about the meeting had already begun to steal a bit of her pleasure at being back at Princes.
“Thank you. I suspect I’ll need it.”
Demming was proving as wily as a fox. Every time Ben thought he had a solid lead on where to find the man, he went to ground and disappeared.
So Ben focused on the other avenues of investigation. Via a partial watermark, the stationery in the Princes safe had been linked to a stationer not far from the shop itself. Ben had a constable go there to retrieve a list of all those who’d purchased the particular bond and shade of paper in the last year. It had arrived in his office an hour ago, and it contained five M names.
He considered calling on each of them until Riley rushed into his office.
“Sir, I’ve found what you’ve been looking for.”
Ben knew he didn’t mean M himself, but he flicked his hand to bid the young man to come forward and explain himself.
He immediately pulled a folded document from his pocket.
“The previous constable was onto the wrong house agent. This is the right one. He says the Bedford Square property isn’t let. It was sold threeyears ago, along with two other properties on the same square to the same man.”
“One man bought three London townhouses all in one go? What’s his name?” Ben stuck out his hand, impatient to see the document.
Riley handed the crumpled sheet over, and Ben realized it was just the young man’s rather haphazardly written notes. He didn’t like straight lines, apparently, and words streaked across the page at various angles.
“What’s the man’s name, Riley?”
“As you see there, sir. Lord Thomas Holcroft.”
Ben dug in his pocket for a key, twisted it in the lock of his desk drawer, and pulled out his revolver from the dark recesses where he kept it unloaded and secured. He scooped up a box of bullets and shoved both in his pocket.
“Go. Take three constables, or as many as you can get. Surround the houses on Bedford Square, but don’t approach.” He shot the young man a hard look. “Do you hear me? Don’t approach until you hear my signal.”
“Yes, sir.” Riley stood ready, anxious.
“Now, Riley.”
