Chapter 28
‘Who’s been in the study?’ Bex marched out, pulse pounding, still in the gown she’d been wearing, just minus the jewellery. The others had gathered in the drawing room, where the teas and coffee were set out, although her group, including Bex and Duncan’s dads, were now on harder stuff.
‘What’s up, Becky Boo?’ her mother asked.
‘Who’s been in the study?’ she repeated.
‘Where you’ve got your clothes?’ Daisy questioned.
‘Yes, someone’s been in there.’
The group of friends looked between each other.
‘What is it, Becky Boo?’ her mum repeated. ‘We’ve been outdoors all day. You know that. We just came in because it was getting a bit chilly.’
‘What about the crew?’ she snapped, spinning around as she looked for one of the half-dozen people that had been following her around like a shadow all day. And yet now, there seemed to be no sight nor sound of them.
‘Is everything all right?’ Amanda asked, strolling in.
‘No, everything is not all right. I need to know who has been in the study.’
‘Hey, what’s happened? What’s wrong?’ Duncan ambled into the room, dressed in trackie bottoms and a T-shirt.
It was normally the type of outfit that made her do a double take, just because of how casually gorgeous he was, but she didn’t have that in her right now.
She had bigger things to deal with. She was struggling to keep breathing steadily.
‘You need to get your crew here now!’ Bex said, glaring straight at Amanda. ‘All of them.’
‘Bex?’ Duncan said, concern creasing his face. ‘What’s happened?’
‘Someone’s been in there. Someone went into the study and stole something,’ Bex said. ‘I want to know who.’
Bex’s eyes were fixed on Amanda.
Rather than replying immediately, the woman pushed her shoulders back and sniffed slightly.
‘You can’t possibly be accusing one of the people I organised—’
‘That’s exactly what I’m doing. Now I need to know. Who went into that room?’
‘No one went into that room,’ she said. ‘Nobody. My team was explicitly told they were allowed nowhere other than here for teas and coffees.’
‘I don’t believe you.’
‘Excuse me?’ Her eyebrows butted high enough to hit her hairline.
‘Somebody went into that room,’ Bex repeated slowly, trying to stop the sweat from slicking on her hand. ‘Somebody stole from me. And the only people I don’t trust in this building right now are the ones you invited here. And you.’
Amanda recoiled as if Bex had slapped her.
‘Says the person who swapped out one of my veils?’ Amanda snapped back, a sneer curling her nose.
‘Oh, you thought I wouldn’t notice. I was looking through everything when you were outside.
The one used at the Earl of Clemford’s wedding had a stain near the hem.
It’s why his wife let me have it. That one didn’t. ’
Bex pouted. ‘We had an accident, and we did the right thing. This is a very different situation. If it wasn’t you, then someone you recommended, who you brought into our house, stole from us.’
‘You are making very serious accusations. These people are highly respected in their fields.’
Bex laughed dryly. ‘You’re telling me the people from Manors and Mansions are respected journalists? Come on. I heard the questions they asked Duncan, remember? And what about those useless girls that were on their phones all day?’
‘Those useless girls, as you called them, are my nieces. They would never dare.’
Did Bex feel guilty that she’d insulted Amanda’s family? Slightly, but it wasn’t without due course.
‘Well, someone stole it.’ The tension was brittle. As if a single pin drop or a dog bark would be enough to send everything into absolute chaos.
‘I don’t have to deal with this,’ Amanda said. ‘It’s been a very long day. I’m sure we’re all very tired—’
Bex moved to block the doorway.
‘You are not going. No one is going until I know who has it. Now, get everyone together.’
Amanda sniffed. ‘That’s not even possible. The journalist’s already gone. And his sound man.’
Bex clenched her jaw. Why would they have left without saying goodbye? she wondered. Because they stole a flipping expensive ring. That seemed like the obvious choice.
As she stood there, another figure stepped through the door. Bex turned around to face him.
Roddy? Did she trust Roddy? A couple of weeks ago she would have said yes without a second’s thought.
After all, he’d seen her in some of her most vulnerable states and never said anything.
But the man she’d seen over the last week – not to mention the behaviour of his fiancée – meant that she wasn’t quite so sure any more.
‘The study. Roddy, have you been in the study today?’
‘Bex, you can’t be serious,’ Duncan said.
‘Oh, I am very serious. Have you been in the study, Roddy?’
His brow pinched. ‘No.’
‘No?’ she pressed.
‘Well… aye. But only for a minute. To get Rosie out. Think Kenna got the door open for her.’
So he had been in? Then why not say that immediately? Unless he’d changed his answer in case someone had seen him coming in and out? Yes, that would make perfect sense. But rather than accusing him again she posed a different question.
‘Why are you so mad at Duncan?’
‘What?’
‘Bex, what are you on about?’ Duncan moved to her side, but Roddy’s face was already colouring, stopping her fiancé in his tracks.
‘I don’t know what you mean,’ Roddy replied, but his shifting gaze was enough for everybody to see. Duncan included.
‘Roddy?’ Duncan asked.
‘Fi went mad at me yesterday,’ Bex said, spinning round to look at Duncan. ‘Called my job a hobby. Said we didn’t get how difficult it was for these two. After Roddy nearly beat up his neighbour.’
‘What?’ Duncan looked back at his friend.
‘It wasn’t like that—’ Roddy tried to object, but he was digging his feet into the carpet. ‘It was… it was the rats.’
‘How come this is the first I’m hearing of it?’ Duncan said.
‘Because I thought I was doing the right thing, for Roddy, by not telling you,’ Bex answered. ‘And now he’s repaid me by doing this. Stealing from us.’
‘What?’ Roddy was shaking his head. ‘No—’
‘So you’re saying you and Fi aren’t angry at Duncan?’
‘No! I didn’t – I just…’ Roddy looked down.
‘Fi’s working two jobs, but now Duncan actually needs you more than Fergus did, you’re not getting to do all the little side hustles you used to.
You thought you had extra money coming in from the beer and then it didn’t happen, right?
You were gonna use that to buy a ring. I know you were.
That’s what Fi said you were working so hard for.
And then those rats meant you lost your chance.
You lost your chance of getting money to buy her a proper engagement ring. ’
Bex narrowed her eyes. ‘Let me guess. You saw the box in the study and thought you could kill two birds with one stone. Get back at Duncan – for whatever reason it is you and Fi are so angry at him – and get a ring at the same time.’
She looked at Duncan.
‘It’s a small one that’s missing. One stone.
Probably the smallest of the lot. Which is why he thought no one would notice.
’ She flicked her gaze back to Roddy. ‘Maybe you thought I wouldn’t even notice when Fi turned up to work wearing one of my rings you’d stolen. Or were you just going to sell it?’
‘Wow.’ Roddy’s voice was low as he shook his head. ‘And there was me trying to convince people you guys wouldn’t change when you got all this cash. Guess I was wrong.’
There it was. The exact same jealousy Fi had displayed the day before.
‘Bex,’ Duncan said quietly. ‘You don’t really believe this, do you?’
She didn’t want to believe it. She really didn’t want to. But it was the only thing that made sense. The ring had gone missing. He was the one who’d had the opportunity. And motive.
‘If you just own up to it…’ she said, her voice almost pleading.
‘Screw this,’ he said, then looked up at Duncan. ‘And screw working for you too. I’m not working for a family that doesn’t trust me. Who doesn’t see what’s right in front of their flipping noses.’
Before Bex could reach out and stop him, he turned and stormed out of the castle, leaving silence in his wake.