When they returned to Nile Street the Mercers had the ladder set up in the drawing room. Betty was steadying it while Miss Mercer applied a cloth dampened with ammonia water to the crystals of the chandelier. The ammonia fumes were sharp in the air.
Coffen, who was averse to speaking aloud in company since beginning the masquerade as a lady, gave Corinne’s elbow a twitch and whispered, “Tell them not to bother with that. That’s where Bolger took his tumble and broke his neck.”
“Oh dear,” Corinne said. “And Betty is doing a poor job of steadying that ladder. Only look how she is jiggling it.” She rushed forward to steady the ladder and called to Miss Mercer. “You don’t have to bother with that, Miss Mercer. Please come down.”
“I’m nearly done, your ladyship. Only see how it shines. You wouldn’t believe the dirt on it. My cloth is brown.”
“Yes, it looks very nice, but please come down.”
Betty pointed up at the sparkling crystals with one of her simple smiles and said, “Pretty.” As her hand left the ladder to point her elbow gave the top edge of the ladder a jerk that knocked Miss Mercer off balance. Corinne tried to steady the ladder but Miss Mercer had lost her footing. In her alarm she automatically reached for the closest thing to hold on to, the chandelier. Seeing the problem, Luten leapt forward to catch her as she tumbled down, bringing a shower of crystals down with her.
Her chagrin at having broken a valuable chandelier belonging to a client and annoyance at Betty’s incompetence was overcome by embarrassment at finding herself in his lordship’s arms, with her ladyship hovering over her, asking her if she was all right, and Lady Carter telling her in a kindly way not to mind. It was only a rubbishy old bit of glass.
“So foolish of me,” she gasped, her hand on her wildly thumping heart. “I am dreadfully sorry, your ladyship.”
“I do hope you haven’t hurt yourself,” Lady Luten said.
“It knocked the wind out of me, but I’m not hurt.”
“Is there any brandy in the place, Coffen?” In the excitement Corinne forgot to use his new name, but no one appeared to notice.
“A keg in the cellar,” Black said, and darted to the kitchen to get a jug to bring some up. They could all do with a nip.
Miss Mercer disentangled herself from Luten’s grasp with unseemly haste but he insisted on helping her to the sofa to recover. Betty began picking up the fallen crystals and playing with them.
“Really I’m not hurt in the least, your lordship,” Miss Mercer insisted. “Just shaken up a little, but I do feel bad about the chandelier. I’d finished up with the cleaning in here, you see, and thought before going abovestairs I’d just tackle the chandelier.” When Black brought her a glass of brandy she said, “Plenty of water in mine, and none for Betty. She has no head for strong drink.”
Corinne decided they could all do with a bracer and brought glasses and water from the kitchen. Prance followed her and said, “Shall we slide the necklace into the mattress, or are the women finished working for today?”
“I think we’d better send the Mercers home. They can come back and do the upstairs tomorrow.”
When they turned back to the group, Miss Mercer was scolding her sister. “Put that down, Betty,” she said. “She’s gone and linked the fallen crystals together to make a necklace,” she explained to Lady Luten. “She likes shiny things. I do hope she hasn’t broken the wires. Here, give it to me, Betty.”
Corinne felt a stab of pity for the poor woman. She hadn’t realized Betty’s mind was as simple as a child’s. What a life, having to earn a living by scrubbing and cleaning, and look after her simple sister as well. At least Betty did what she was told. She pouted, but handed the crystals over to Miss Mercer, who began trying to unfasten the wires. She held the chain up and said, “I don’t believe Betty did this after all. They’re all joined together with heavy links. Oh dear, I’ve pulled down a whole strand. Only a small one, the crystals are all small.” One larger than the others hung down from the centre of the loop.
Luten and Corinne exchanged a look of disbelief and advanced to Miss Mercer. Prance beat them to her and reached out to take the necklace. “Good God!” he cried.
“Is it the necklace?” Corinne asked, and took it from him.
“It is certainly a diamond necklace, but whether it is the Czarina’s -- well of course it is. The diamonds look genuine. Yes, and the large pear-shaped pendant in front. It’s the one, not a doubt of it.”
“That’s the very spot where Bolger fell with the ladder,” Black added. “Weir showed us, you remember, Mr. — Lady Carter?”
Luten spoke up quickly to cover this little slip. “Yes, I remember your telling us so, Black. Bolger must have been attaching — or detaching — the necklace when he fell from the ladder.”
Miss Mercer listened in confused wonder. “You never mean the whole chandelier’s made up of diamonds!” she gasped.
“No, not at all,” Corinne told her. “We believe Mr. Bolger was hiding the necklace amidst the crystals for safekeeping.”
“I hadn’t got round to cleaning it yet,” Miss Mercer said. “It was sort of hitched up behind the outer row of crystals. I though it odd at the time, those smaller ones inside where you could hardly see them, rather than on the outside.” She turned a sharp eye on Prance. “Did I hear you mention the Czarina’s necklace, sir? You never mean this is the necklace Mad Jack stole from that Duchess?”
“We believe it is, yes.”
“Ah, and Bolger was to sell it for him,” she said, nodding. It seemed the arrangement was no secret in town.
“We don’t know exactly how it came to be here,” Luten said. “We’ll have it examined by a jeweler to confirm it’s the Czarina’s necklace, and put it in a safe place until we can return it to the proper owner.”
“Well I never! Who’d have believed it?” Miss Mercer said, shaking her head in wonder. “Betty playing with the empress’s necklace. And me using it to stop from falling off the ladder.”
“I think we should take the Mercers home, Luten,” Corinne said. “Miss Mercer is too upset to work. She needs a good rest.”
“Yes, certainly,” he agreed at once. “I’ll have my groom take you home and see that your cart is delivered, Miss Mercer.”
In the normal way Miss Mercer would not have given up a half day’s work only for a little tumble, but this was no ordinary occasion. She was bursting to tell her friends all about it. Betty playing with diamonds, her falling and being caught by Lord Luten, who had his name in the journals ten times a week. Being driven home in his crested carriage. She had never imagined such crimson glory, not in her wildest daydreams. And all because that poor knock-in-the-cradle of a Betty had jiggled the ladder. The Lord worked in strange ways indeed. And to top it off, Lord Luten would probably give her a hefty pourboire, he was such a kindly gentleman.
The Mercers were sent home in style in Luten’s carriage and enjoyed a day of unparalleled excitement. The need for rest was entirely forgotten. Their little front room could scarcely hold the crowd of neighbours who came to hear the fabulous tale, as soon as Miss Gray came over to find out why they were brought home in a crested carriage and passed the word along.
The story had to be retold to each new arrival. They never tired of hearing it, and Miss Mercer never tired of repeating it. They used up a week’s supply of tea in one afternoon. Mr. Harper, the night watchman at the bank, brought over a keg of ale and Miss Mercer took two glasses, something she rarely did. She even let Betty have a few sips, which fortunately put her to sleep, for she couldn’t handle crowds, poor thing.
At Nile Street, Corinne said, “Should we notify the constable? The necklace was stolen after all.”
“He’d take it for evidence,” Luten said.
“Aye, and call in the press,” Black added. “Why let him get the glory? He had nothing to do with finding it.”
“I agree,” Prance said, “but when the journals write it up, he’ll be after you to turn it over, Luten.”
“This is a job for Bow Street. I’ll send for Townsend,” Luten said. “He’s more reasonable.”
Prance gave a knowing grin. “In other words you can wind him round your thumb.”
“That too,” Luten allowed with an answering smile. “But this is too important a case to be entrusted to a minor constable from Brighton. Prinney would have it from him within hours.”
“You plan to put it to some political use,” his wife said.
“Why should the Tories get the glory? I plan to notify deLieven this very day. The Russian ambassador should certainly be told. He was very distressed that the famous Russian parure was lost, even if it no longer belonged to Russia.”
“Lady deLieven will be your slave forever,” Corinne said.
“Oh she’s my slave already,” he replied, to annoy her. “She tells me all Prinney’s secrets, and tries to worm our secrets from me.”
“Meanwhile, what are you going to do with the necklace?” Coffen asked. “Who it was stolen from is the Duchess of Brampton.”
“I shall take it home and put it in the safe,” Luten said. “The sooner we get it to London, the better, but we don’t want that known. It is to be our bait to trap Mad Jack. Plenty of publicity, but no notice that it’s already safe in London.”
“Then I take it that you still want to use Boo’s paste necklace as bait,” Prance said. “He’ll be so happy to have a part in one of our cases.”
“But don’t tell him till after it’s all over,” Luten cautioned.
Prance considered being angry at this slur, but he was too excited at the contemplation of telling Boo and Tony of this afternoon’s doings. They’d be green with envy. “What is the first step?” he asked, thinking of how he might work up something clever to say for the journals.
“Sending a footman off to London to get Townsend down here, as soon as he’s notified the London journals of the find. That’ll alert Lloyds Insurance. A note to deLieven, then a round of champagne to reward ourselves.”
Coffen slid his fingers under his wig and said, “Do I still have to be Lady Carter? I mean to say, Mad Jack will know the diamonds ain’t here now.”
“But the tunnel is still here,” Luten pointed out. “I believe that is his major interest in your house.”
Corinne gave a tsk of annoyance. “Why the deuce don’t you sell the house to him, Coffen?”
Luten stared. “And abet the highwayman?”
“Oh, I forgot about that,” she said.
“I see my carriage has returned. We’d best get this necklace home before Mad Jack learns we have it,” Luten said, and put it in his pocket. “You know, on second thought, I believe I shall put it in a safety box at the bank. We might very well have a visit from a house-breaker tonight. I wager the curtains were twitching at the neighbours’ houses when the Mercers arrived home. That means the whole town will know by nightfall.”
“I’m certainly glad we’re having this lovely, quiet holiday,” Corinne said. “I’ll be happy to get back to the hurly-burly of London.”
She took Luten’s arm and they all went out to their carriages. Luten deposited the necklace in a safety box at the bank and continued on home to tell Evans to put three bottles of champagne on ice.
‘‘Three bottles!” Partridge said to his wife when she relayed the message. “I wonder what’s afoot.”
“And them all grinning like monkeys,” his wife added. “Whatever it is, Mr. Pattle is still wearing my gown, so it’s not over yet.”