Page 19 of Lady in Ruby
The guests had once again gathered in the parlor prior to dinner being announced. Caroline wore her rubies once more, this time with a lovely white silk gown that contrasted nicely with the stones. Long white gloves and a woolen wrap in a pink paisley pattern completed the look. She sat near the fire, opposite Aunt Juniper, looking sprightly despite her black gown. Perhaps it was the white lace mantle she wore. Or perhaps it was the way her eyes sparkled in the candlelight, like she could see all Christmases past in the flames.
Francis said, “Would be a shame to let a roast get cold. Why don’t they ring?”
“Papa is not here,” Caroline explained. No meal would be served without the master of the house.
Just then, her father came in, dressed for dinner but in a state of nervous abstraction. “Caroline, did you take anything from the lab today?”
“No,” she said. “Why?”
“I can’t account for it. The notes for my formula are missing!”
Snowdon overheard the exchange and looked up sharply, but didn’t say anything. Francis also heard and immediately moved over to Caroline. He said, “What’s this? Something’s gone? How do you know?”
“I know because it’s not there,” her father explained with more patience than Caroline would have. “All my notes about the details of my latest formula are gone.”
“Are there not notes in the London laboratory, Mr Garland? We could write and have them sent up by coach.” That advice came from Timothy Stockan, who had also come over now. His expression was concerned, though not unduly so.
“The notes from London are now outdated,” her father said. “I’m afraid there would no point in retrieving them to bring here.”
Snowdon joined the group. He said, “Those notes may not be of use to you, but someone else could still want them. It could save months or years of research.”
“Oh.” Mr Garland’s expression was chagrined. “I hadn’t thought of that.”
“Are the notes in London secure?” Snowdon went on.
Caroline didn’t like the lord’s tone, as if he were chastising her father for negligence. “Papa is always very careful! I’m sure he didn’t leave them lying around.”
“Like the notes in this laboratory?” Snowdon asked, giving her a level look.
I can’t believe I kissed him, she thought, anger rising.
“We don’t know what happened yet,” she shot back.
“We know they’re missing,” he said coolly.
Francis cleared his throat. “Don’t like to say it, but our American lad seems the most likely suspect. He may be an agent of their government, out to steal any secrets he can.”
“Francis!” Caroline gasped.
Timothy looked stricken, but said to her father, “I am quite willing to have someone search my room, sir. They will find nothing that doesn’t belong to me.”
“That’s not necessary, Stockan,” her father said, raising his hands up to stop the very idea.
“But the notes have gone somewhere,” Snowdon pointed out. “Papers don’t vanish on their own.”
Neither do snowmen, Caroline couldn’t stop from thinking. She said, “Don’t be absurd. Mr Stockan had access to the London lab for months. Why wait till Christmas, at a house party, to take something?”
Snowdon said quietly, “By your father’s own words, the other notes are less useful now than the more recent ones from the house.”
“No one can accuse anyone of theft without evidence!” Caroline insisted hotly. “We have no justification for calling Mr Stockan a thief, or anyone else, for that matter.”
“Perhaps it was a mistake,” Estelle offered, her expression nervous and her voice shaking. “Mr Garland is, after all, sometimes a little absent-minded. Maybe the papers simply got mislaid and will turn up.”
“Certainly…in an American laboratory,” Francis muttered.
“Francis!” Caroline hissed. “Stop it.”
Her mother stepped in. “There’s little we can do about it now, and our guests are hungry. Come, let’s have dinner. You gentlemen can discuss the matter later, after the ladies go to the drawing room.”
