“No,” Morgan said with a grin. “You look old and tired.”
And with that, Gibby threw a hard punch that landed on Morgan’s chin and knocked him out of his chair onto the floor.
Race and Blake shook their heads and laughed as Morgan got up, rubbing his chin.
“You bloody bruiser, you really hit me,” Morgan said as his eyes widened.
“Of course I did. Sorry about that.” Gibby grinned. “I guess I forgot for a moment that I was old and tired.”
Morgan straightened his coat and sat back down in his chair. “If you were twenty years younger, old man, you’d be lying flat on the floor right now.”
Gibby made fists once again and struck a fighting pose. “Prove it to me. I can take it. Come on, I’m ready. It’s all in courage and skill, not age. Danger Jim said I need a practice round. Which of you guardian fools is up for it?”
They all shook their heads and slid their chairs away from the table as they mumbled, “Not me.”
“That’s what I thought.”
Gibby smiled, picked up his glass of milk, and drained it.
Fifteen
My Dearest Grandson Alexander,
What do you think of these words from Lord Chesterfield? “There is a certain dignity of manners absolutely necessary to make even the most valuable character either respected or respectable. A joker is near akin to a buffoon, and neither of them is the least related to wit. There are many avenues to every man, and when you cannot get at him through the great one, try the serpentine ones, and you will arrive at last.”
Your loving Grandmother,
Lady Elder
The night was unseasonably warm and the velvet night sky was filled with twinkling stars as Susannah and Mrs. Princeton walked toward the front door of Lord Kendrickson’s home. Susannah was eager for the night to begin. She had many things she wanted to accomplish.
Now that she had, for the time being at least, marked Mr. Smith off her list of possible suspects, Susannah’s main objective at the party was to meet Mr. Harold Winston and gain an opinion of him, and to see Captain Spyglass again. She wanted to talk to them both, and in some context mention pearls. She wanted to watch each man closely and see if either man acted nervous, wary, guilty, or in any other way suspect.
She knew that sometimes a person could find out what they wanted to know just by observing how someone reacted to whatever was said. As far as she knew, neither man knew that she wanted the necklace too, or that it was now missing—unless of course one of them had it.
One of the other things she intended to do tonight was to stay away from the Marquis of Raceworth should he be in attendance at the party. She had received another maddening note from him earlier in the day that simply said:
You owe me a dance.
Race
How dare he think she owed him anything after the way he had treated her? He thought her capable of conspiring with someone to steal from him. Still, her heartbeat quickened and her breath shortened just thinking about him. Her head told her to crumple the note and throw it in the fire, but her heart wouldn’t let her. She had quickly folded it and tucked it in the secret part of her jewelry chest with the other two notes from him.
Their night together in her bed still filled her thoughts during the day and haunted her dreams at night. But he had treated her abominably, and she was determined to have nothing to do with him, no matter how heavy it made her heart.
After Susannah and Mrs. Princeton greeted their host and hostess for the evening, they left their outerwear with the servants and followed the sound of the music and loud chatter coming from a room nearby.
Susannah wore a wide-strapped, high-waisted forest green under-dress with a heart-shaped neckline cut lower than most of her modest gowns. Over the green sheath, she wore a scooped-neck, long-sleeved, ivory tulle gossamer-thin gown that flowed like a gentle breeze every time she moved. Around her neck, threaded on a piece of ivory satin ribbon, lay an emerald large enough to cover the hollow of her throat. She wore no earrings or any other jewelry. The emerald spoke for itself.
“Your Grace.” Lord Snellingly bowed. “I’ve been watching the door, hoping you might be here tonight.” He stepped back and admired her from head to toe with a dreamy gaze. “You look absolutely exquisite tonight.”
“Thank you, and good evening, Lord Snellingly.”
“After I met you the other night, I was inspired to write a poem for you.” He sniffed and pulled a piece of paper from his coat pocket. “I’d be honored if you would allow me to read it to you.”
Susannah glanced over at Mrs. Princeton as if to say “you did this to me” before smiling at the man. “Perhaps another time would be better, my lord. I just arrived, and there’s someone I must see right away. Please excuse me.” Susannah quickly turned away, not wanting to give the man time to persist.
“Would you like me to stay by your side tonight?” Mrs. Princeton asked as they hurried away.
