Mr. Bloomington shifted his weight. "No, your grace. Mr. Finch inspected it, but he didn't find anything amiss."
Evelyn nodded. She was in her element now – focused, analytical, energized by the thrill of unraveling a tangle of clues. The suffocating weight of her new title, duties, and husband lifted as her mind set to work on the problem.
Evelyn moved on to the next component, and the next, her brow furrowed in concentration. Then she stilled.
"The counterweight," she breathed. "It's misaligned. Just slightly." Her finger hovered over the piece, not quite touching. "And this catch. The screws have been loosened intentionally. It's subtle, but..."
She whirled toward Asher.
"This catch was altered deliberately, in advance," she said quietly, almost to herself. "The case would have appeared secure...until our thief visited."
Evelyn straightened up and met the duke's gaze. Asher's blue eyes were hard and intent, all hints of humor vanished. He gave her a slow nod, his jaw tight.
Then he turned to Mr. Bloomington, and together, they began throwing questions at him.
Who had access to the display? Who was responsible for its maintenance? Had any unusual work been authorized recently? The man's answers were vague and halting, but they revealed small, damning inconsistencies.
"Who would have the knowledge to alter the mechanism this way?" Asher asked quietly. "And the opportunity to ensure it was done before the spring soiree?"
Evelyn looked at Asher once again, her expression grim. "It had to be someone familiar with the case's design. Someone trusted by the household." She hesitated. "Someone close to Lord Eastclere himself, I fear."
Asher nodded slowly. The list of suspects was narrowing, but the web of implication was tightening around them as well. They needed to tread carefully.
As the attendantexcused himself to consult with the house steward — or, more likely, escape their inquisition — Asher found himself staring at his wife, this woman he had scarcely known a week ago. Who had apparently been in his company on multiple occasions, yet he had missed her.
How?
She was extraordinary. Brilliant, determined, unflappable. In this moment, he trusted her judgment more than he had any other.
"Your eye for detail is... quite remarkable," he said, keeping his voice carefully neutral, trying not to show her just how much admiration was surging through him.
He knew most women were sharper than they let on, not wanting to scare away their suitors. His sister was a fine exampleof a young lady whose brilliance often shone, though few were aware of it.
But Evelyn… she was not only intelligent, but she was proud of it. As she should be.
“Where were you standing when the chandeliers were lit?” he asked, trying to determine how they could prove their innocence.
“Over here,” she said, walking across the room to the small doorway that connected the gallery with the larger ballroom. “Close to the gallery entrance but not within it.”
“And I believe I was just a few steps away,” he said, walking a few feet over, pointing.
“Could we have been close enough to have time to slip away and steal the necklace before anyone noticed?” she asked.
He grimaced. “I suppose if we were very quick and surreptitious. If whoever we were conversing with was sufficiently distracted.”
“Such as by the lighting of the chandeliers?”
“Such as that.”
A guard approached them, and instinctively, Asher and Evelyn stepped closer to one another. Asher started slightly when their shoulders brushed, that feeling rushing through him that this was where he was supposed to be — not in the Marquess of Eastclere’s gallery, but with her.
Which he could not afford to be thinking about.
He cleared his throat and stepped away first, reminding himself of what they were here to do and how they planned to achieve their aim.
“So we have determined that someone who could have accessed the gallery without suspicion tampered with the case before the actual theft, and that we were likely not far enough away from the diamond to avoid suspicion.”
“Agreed,” she said with a sigh. “Not exactly what we were hoping for.”
