She didn’t get a chance to finish the sentence because in that moment there was a scream from across the room. Both she and Derrick pivoted toward the sound. The Duchess of Roseford stood in the middle of the ballroom floor, one hand clasped to her lips while she held the other shaking one in front of her.
“My bracelet!” she cried out. “Someone has stolen my bracelet!”
The Duke of Roseford raced across the room as the crowd parted even farther from the duchess, as if the theft were somehow contagious. As he reached her, he called out, “Shut those doors! No one comes in or out.”
He wrapped his arms around his wife, clutching her close to his chest. She leaned into him, still trembling as he spoke words of comfort close to her ear.
“Katherine,” Selina breathed.
Her voice shook Derrick from his haze and he rushed forward. He could see Barber approaching from the other side of the room, his face lined with similar concern. They reached the couple at the same time and exchanged a look. Questions flowed between them, but Derrick had no answers.
“Are you harmed, Your Grace?” Barber asked.
“N-No,” Katherine stammered. “But I was wearing a bracelet and someone has slipped it from my wrist. It was an anniversary gift. Priceless to me. Robert!”
Derrick watched as Roseford tucked her even closer. He looked furious, but also deeply protective. As if he could wrap himself around his wife like a cloak and somehow erase the harm that had been done to her. The fear she now felt.
“You are certain you were wearing the piece when you entered the ballroom?” Derrick asked gently. “It couldn’t have fallen off before or even while you were dancing?”
“It couldn’t have,” Katherine said firmly. “I always double check the clasp before I go anywhere wearing it.”
“What does it look like?” Derrick asked.
“Rubies and diamonds, Mr. Huntington,” Roseford said, his voice vibrating with tension.
Derrick flinched. While Selina’s cameo earrings were not the usual type of jewelry the Faceless Fox stole, the bracelet sounded more her speed. And he glanced toward Selina from the corner of his eye to see her reaction.
She was at his elbow, looking just as worried for Katherine’s well-being as everyone else. And he thought a little confused by this turn of events.
Roseford, though, looked nothing resembling confused. He looked increasingly enraged.
“This is enough,” Roseford growled toward Derrick and Barber.
“Your Grace,” Barber said, a warning to his tone.
But Roseford seemed beyond listening. He lifted his voice. “For the past ten days, I have remained silent, but I will do so no longer. There is a criminal within these walls and I will not stand for it. He has already taken from my sister, and now he has slipped the bracelet from my wife’s wrist here in this very ballroom.”
There was a collective gasp from the crowd, which murmured toward each other in concern and excitement. For most of them, this was just a game. Something they would gossip about later. Something they would crow about being a part of.
For Derrick, for Roseford, for Selina…it was something more.
“Your Grace, perhaps this isn’t the time—” Barber began.
“Bollocks!” Roseford interrupted, eliciting another excited ripple through the rapt crowd. “It is the perfect time. Katherine, how long has the bracelet been missing?”
“It couldn’t have been longer than a moment or two,” Katherine said. “Helena was just complimenting me on it.”
The Duchess of Sheffield moved forward in the crowd and caught her friend’s hand. She was pale as paper. “I did. Oh, Katherine, I hope my compliments aren’t what drew the attention of some thief.”
“No,” Robert growled. “You needn’t accept any of the blame for this, Helena, I assure you. This isn’t some common thief, and I’m certain this was part of their plan all along. Ladies and gentlemen, among us is the Faceless Fox.”
That declaration caused even more than a mere ripple, and the crowd erupted in gasps and whispers as they looked at each other.
“The Fox?” came a voice from the crowd. “Here?”
“How thrilling!” This time it was a female voice. “I’ve always heard tales of him.”
“But this time they’ve gone too far,” Roseford continued. “I don’t think they’ve had enough time to escape the ballroom. I want everyone to turn out their pockets and reticules. I’ll search you each myself if you refuse. I will have this villain on shanks before this night is through.”
