Chapter Five
“L et’s find out where you came from, shall we?” Adeline said to the diadem in front of her, nestled in its velvet-lined box on the library table. She opened her book about ancient Greece and flipped to the section on the Hellenistic period, which she suspected was the best place to start.
“Aha,” Adeline exclaimed into the empty library a few minutes later. A sketch of an ancient queen of Macedonia wearing an identical crown caught her attention. “That’s it—243 BC . Eurydice, you look beautiful in this diadem.”
Adeline propped her chin in one hand and studied the diadem. It wasn’t too showy. Beautiful in its simple design, a mixture of leaves and flowers climbed to a point at its center. The garnet at the apex was quite large, perhaps the size of her mother’s favorite cameo brooch. It must be the great age of the piece, which had chemically altered the metal alloy mixed in with the gold to a dull, burnished surface. It would be nice if she could have taken it to get the crown properly assessed, but George had forbidden it. He said that if they wanted to set up a proper auction, the pieces must be kept under wraps and only advertised to the right buyers.
She had overheard them talk about how the authorities seized the tea on the boat. She only hoped that not everything that came in on that ship was contraband. George said they had invested in an expedition that led to this crate of treasures being found. It was just bad luck that unsavory types would use the ship to smuggle in tea. Despite her rationalizations, Adeline’s instincts screamed at her to see the truth that these artifacts most likely were also smuggled goods.
Her father was chronically out of money, losing whatever he gained to the gaming tables. According to George, Father always sought new opportunities to make money. Adeline scrunched her nose. Even if she could envision her father being duped, George would never be a party to something illegal. He was the one to see that the rent on the house here in town and the salaries for the staff got paid. He was the one to manage the estate in Wiltshire so that there was income to pay for their father’s lavish lifestyle. No, she wouldn’t believe George would be party to stolen priceless objects.
She was glad her brother was in town this season. He always managed to be friends with everyone and brought her to any number of events to introduce her to the most possible suitors. Too bad she was too awkward to flirt properly. She ran a finger across the base of the diadem where a string of polished garnet gemstones adorned it. Was garnet local to Greece? Adeline reached for another book, one on the geography of the Mediterranean Sea. Tugging it across the table’s polished wood surface, she pushed her glasses up her nose. She really needed to have the earpieces tightened.
Flipping through to the index, she looked for rock and mineral deposits. Hmmm, yes, page three hundred and forty-five. The clouds outside shifted, and a pool of sunshine fell upon the pages of her book through the window. She smiled; this was her favorite spot in the whole world. Life made sense here at her library table. Answers could always be found with a bit of research.
Perhaps she would be able to find a suitor who had a house with a large library. She simply wished to be settled in a quiet marriage with someone not too old and not too demanding. She was so tired of being under her father’s thumb. Years of barely acknowledging her and now he wanted her to find a wealthy husband just so he could have someone fresh to ask for money.
She sighed. All this effort to find someone was taxing, especially since her experience in the last two seasons had shown that she was no diamond; hell, she was no garnet. Adeline chuckled at her own joke as she read down the page about minerals indigenous to the Peloponnese.
A little later, Adeline looked down at her neatly written notes. She had confirmed the time periods for all the items in the crate. The items were varied. The earthenware jars and painted vases certainly had historical value, but she doubted they were terribly valuable. The gold crosses and diadem were all very old and very valuable pieces. Overall, it was clear the collection of items had been highly curated. Adeline frowned; these were not items randomly unearthed. She rose and straightened her skirts. It was time to talk with her father.
She descended the front stairs to where her father’s office was tucked into the back corner of the main level. The door to his office was slightly ajar and the rough voices from inside made a shiver run down her spine. Adeline froze a few feet from the door.
“My man Ollie said you didn’t pay him when he got your stuff off the ship. That’s bad form, Lord Rawlings.”
“I don’t have the payment, but I will shortly. The crate was filled with valuables that will fetch a pretty penny.” Her father’s voice sounded thin and reedy.
“Now you know that’s not how it works. You have a problem, and you pay us to solve it. Just like last year when you needed two toffs silenced. You paid us, and we took care of it.”
“You mean you bungled it,” her father retorted. “Hartwick survived.”
Adeline clapped a hand over her mouth to stifle her gasp of shock. No!
“My man did what he was paid for. Not our problem if the duke is a survivor. Listen good, Rawlings. Your debts have grown past the point where my boss is willing to give you any more leeway. Pay up by the end of the week, or we will hurt what’s most precious to you. Hear?”
Adeline didn’t hear her father respond. Perhaps he was as frightened as she by the malice that laced the man’s raspy voice. She turned and raced down the hallway, sliding around the corner as she gained the bottom of the staircase.
“We’ll see ourselves out, guv.” The voice echoed from down the hallway.
Adeline flattened herself against the thick newel post. She held her breath as heavy footsteps approached the front foyer. Three heavyset men dressed in plain black wool pants and jackets headed for the front door. Two wore identical gray caps, and the man in front wore a black woolen hat. He glanced up toward the stairs briefly, but if he noticed her standing there, his expression didn’t reveal it. She had never been more grateful to be invisible than at this moment. After the front door shut behind the thugs, she slid down the post until her bottom hit the stair.
Her father had hired the men who had attacked Lord Galey and Lord Hartwick. She knew very little of what had happened to Lucy’s husband, only that the attack he suffered had left him terribly injured. He still bore scars across his face. And the other man in the carriage, Lord Galey, had died.
But her father had been good friends with the Duke of Hartwick’s father. She remembered the old Duke and Duchess of Hartwick and their two sons had always attended the annual summer gathering at her family’s estate. From her favorite climbing tree, she would watch as her brother and all the older boys ran amok in the orchard. Her father’s friend had been killed in an accident of some sort five years ago. Why would her father pay to have the man’s son murdered? Dear Lord, how could her father have hired anyone to kill…
Adeline choked on the lump that formed in her throat. She stared ahead, feeling light-headed. Then, the knocker at the front door sounded, making her jump. Their butler, Mr. Boone, came scurrying across the foyer to answer. She should get up and go upstairs. She should go check on her mother. She should… Shock had her rooted to the spot.