“It isn’t terrible,” he admitted. “Given its unfortunate location.”
“High praise,” she said, her eyes twinkling. “Perhaps you should become a Cressmouth tour guide yourself.”
Of course she was teasing. He was the last man for the job. Noelle, on the other hand, was perfect here. Everyone they passed clearly adored her. And why wouldn’t they? She was selfless and friendly, cheerful and outgoing…
Benjamin’s complete opposite.
“You’re not coming back, are you?” she asked, her voice quiet. “When you leave.”
He shook his head. “I have no family here. Why doyoustay?”
“Because I do have family here,” she gestured around the crowded amphitheater. “Everyone you see is my family.”
“You know what I mean.”
“I don’t think you know what I mean,” she returned, her dark gaze intense. “Family isn’t limited to blood. It’s who you make it. Family is achoice.” Her voice cracked. “Homeis a choice.”
“I am sure this village is perfect for those who have chosen to make it their home,” he admitted grudgingly. “I cannot be one of them. I am needed in the House of Lords and on my own properties. The aviary needs to open as soon as possible.”
“We have an appointment with the partridge expert in the morning,” she said, her eyes on the empty stage rather than on him. “Will you be leaving as soon as the bottle breaks?”
He swallowed the words he wished he could say and forced himself to be practical. “Almost. I’m not leaving without my mother’s locket.”
Her gaze snapped to his. “It is very important?”
“The most important thing in my life.” He cleared his throat. “Next to my country, of course.”
“Of course,” she murmured.
But he didn’t expect her to understand. Noelle still believed his grandfather a maker of miracles, not a breaker of dreams. She didn’t know the whole truth.
Benjamin wasn’t even convinced playing the fool’s game with the wine and the partridge would result in success. For all he knew, Grandfather might have been buried with the locket. If only the solicitor had been willing to tell Benjamin where to find it! Just to prove to himself that he wasn’t fighting for nothing. That all his years of anger and hurt and waiting had not been in vain.
Noelle’s voice softened. “What’s wrong?”
An idea caught him. His heart raced. In this town, Noelle knew everything and everyone. She had perhaps entered the fee for guarding the locket into one of her journals.
His words tumbled out faster than he meant. “Do you know where the items in escrow are being held?”
“Your locket, specifically?” she asked.
“Mylocket, specifically,” he agreed with more emotion than he intended.
She nodded. “All jewelry is being held by Angelica Parker.”
Of course. The artist of the jewel-encrusted tiaras. Thanks to the tour he just witnessed, Benjamin knew exactly where to find her.
It was all he could do not to leap up from the stone bench, tear off through the crowd, and keep running until he arrived out of breath at the jeweler’s door. He needed to see the locket. To ensure it still existed, to verify the condition it had been kept in, to feast his eyes on the beloved portrait.
He forced himself to remain seated. Not for the impending play or even the scandal such a departure would cause, but for Noelle. This play meant something special to her. He wanted this evening to be special for both of them.
It was all they would have. He would not ruin it.
“Silkridge, as I live and breathe!” shouted a jolly male voice from right behind him.
Benjamin twisted in his seat and stared in disbelief at two dapper London gentlemen that looked for all the world as if they had been dropped into the most delightful soirée they’d ever seen.
“Do you know them?” Noelle whispered.
