Lord Stridewell glared at Julia as if this were all her fault. Suddenly, Jasper was beside her, taking her smoothly by the arm and leading her away from the tiff.
“Why are you causing trouble?” were the first words out of his attractive mouth, while in the background, she could hear the Stridewells still arguing.
Julia carefully disengaged her arm from his.
“You should be attending to Lady Violet.” She glanced at his latest quarry, who was staring with obvious curiosity.
“She is none of your concern,” he said coolly, his words slicing her heart.
“No,” she agreed. “You are quite correct. Nor am I any of yours.”
“Only because you won’t allow it. You’ve ignored my missives and shunned my visit.”
He’d come to her home?She tried not to let on that this was news to her. Sarah undoubtedly had thwarted him, and for once, Julia was grateful.
“You must cease this hovering over me and interfering,” she said, knowing his being there was going to make her retrieval of her ring that much harder. And of all the times she’d hoped for success, this was the most important. “It is insulting and draws unwanted attention. I would hate for anyone to think you and I have any sort of connection at all, given your sordid reputation.”
He looked stunned, perhaps thinking how he’d rescued her once or twice and deserved to be treated better. She supposed she ought to forgive him for being who he was and never lying about it, except he wasn’t asking for her forgiveness.
The best she could do was show a kindness to the other woman whose heart might be lost to him already.
“Why, look at how you are causing Lady Violet undue concern,” she added.
As soon as he glanced toward the young woman, Julia slipped away. She could only go as far as the other side of the drawing room in hopes their hosts would stop the loud disagreement and recall they had a duty to make their guests comfortable.
And then, with any luck at all, she would recover her ring before they were sent out into their carriages at the end of the evening.
By the pudding course, however, Julia still wondered how she would get upstairs. While the hosts had recovered themselves enough to sit at opposite ends of their dining table, each carrying on separate conversations, Lord Stridewell hadn’t disclosed anything, and Lady Stridewell made sure to send him a scathing glare every few minutes. The tension during the meal was palpable.
Moreover, with Jasper sending her warning looks every few minutes, Julia hadn’t tried to use the facilities, knowing he would follow her as he had at Lady Rancur’s home.
And then an opportunity presented itself. After dinner when the women left the dining room while the men remained for brandy and cigars, Julia managed to be last through the door, trailing behind the bevy of silk-clad ladies. When the last of them disappeared into the salon for madeira and poetry, she lifted her hem and dashed up the stairs.
It was easy to find the baroness’s bedroom, all overdone with lace and more lace. A smattering of jewelry lay on a mirrored tray upon the chest of drawers, and there, right before her, was her ring. She snatched it up, knowing she couldn’t put it on her finger. Instead, she tucked it into the small, elegant reticule dangling from her wrist, feeling her first sense of peace since it had disappeared.
Not risking detection by pausing — indeed, no longer interested in taking anything after feeling the terrible loss of her own single piece of jewelry — Julia hurried along the hallway to the stairs. She was halfway down when Jasper came into view, making her falter. He stood, looking up, arms crossed and wearing a face of severe judgment.
“I greatly disrelish your behavior,” he said quietly.
She barely hesitated before continuing her descent.After all, what could he do?
“Hand it over,” he ordered, his tone still soft, when they were nose to nose with her one step above him.
Julia made a face and tried to skirt around him. He effectively blocked her.
“The ladies are awaiting me,” she said, but he snagged her arm.
“They are awaiting a guest, not a thief.”
She looked from his hand holding her arm and back to his disapproving face. They were too close should someone discover them.
“If you must know, I had to reclaim something that belongs to me.”
One of his eyebrows rose. “Really? Something ofyourswas in the private rooms of Lord and Lady Stridewell?”
“It’s true.” She didn’t particularly care whether he believed her.
“I bet it sparkles.”
