“That’s…that’s incredible,” Claire said once Joanna had finished. Sliding off her mattress, she hurried barefoot across the small bedroom and squeezed into bed between her two sisters. “I cannot believe Grandmother didn’t tell us—didn’t tellyou—sooner. Or Father, for that matter.”
Out of habit, Joanna began to comb the tangles from Claire’s golden locks with her fingers. “I can only assume they were trying to protect me.”
She’d come to that realization in the middle of the night, while sleep danced elusively in a cloud of black and the stars flashed like diamonds in the sky. It made it better, just a little bit better, to acknowledge that her parents and her grandmother had acted out of love. But they’d still deceived her. They’d still lied to her.
And it still hurt.
“I cannot dwell on it, though.” She began to twist Claire’s hair together to form a long braid down the center of her back. “Not when I have a ring to find.”
Claire blinked in astonishment. “But…you can’t mean toreallygo to England.”
“Why not?”
“Because…because it’s England. It’s an entire ocean away!”
“Exactly.” Right now, an entire ocean away sounded perfect to Joanna. “Weneedthat ring. It belonged to our mother, and now it belongs to us, and someone stole it. They stole it, and if I don’t get it back, who will?”
“We couldn’t afford to hire a hackney to take us to Boston,” Evie pointed out. “How are we to come up with passage across the pond, let alone room and board once we’re there?”
“We?” Joanna repeated, lifting a brow. “I never said anyone would accompany me.”
“As if I’d let you go alone,” Evie scoffed. “Do you know what they have in England that they haven’t here?”
“Crumpets?” Claire ventured.
“Dukes.” Evie’s blue eyes gleamed. “They’ve dukes. Dozens of them, so I hear. Practically dangling out of trees just waiting for a beautiful woman of impeccable manners and fashion to cross their paths.”
Claire frowned. “I don’t know if that’s how it works.”
“Have you evermeta duke?” asked Evie.
“Haveyou?” Joanna countered.
“No, which is exactly why I’m coming with you.” Climbing off the bed, Evie opened the closet and began to yank out dresses. “What do you think the weather is like there this time of year? I’ve been told it rains a lot.”
“Haven’t you heard? The tree dukes hold out parasols.” Despite the seriousness of the situation and the heaviness in her heart, Joanna couldn’t help but snicker. “You needn’t worry about the rain at all.”
Holding up her prettiest gown, an elaborate concoction of bows and bustle and green silk, Evie whirled around. “Thatisn’tfunny.”
“Maybe not, but I’ve just had an idea on how we can afford to travel to London,” said Joanna as her gaze lingered on Evie’s ball gown.
Following the direction of her sister’s stare, Evie immediately bristled. “No. Absolutely not. I won’t sell it. I refuse.”
“Dukes,” Joanna reminded her.
“And crumpets,” Claire put in brightly.
Evie wrapped her arms protectively around her gown. “But if I sell my best dress, what duke will bother to look at me?”
“I guess you’ll have to win him over with your charm and wit. I wish there was another way,” said Joanna, and she genuinely meant it. “But that dress is the only thing of value we’ve left in the entire house. Once we get the ring back, you’ll have enough money to buytengreen frilly dresses.”
“It’s not green,” Evie sniffed. “It’s chartreuse. And how, exactly, are you planning to find Mother’s ring in the first place? The thief isn’t going to be waiting for us with a sign saying, here I am.”
“We’ll hire a private investigator. The ring is very unique. With the inscription, it’s one of a kind.” Joanna finished plaiting Claire’s hair and looked around for a piece of ribbon to hold it in place. “Whoever JW is, he went to great pains to steal the ring. I’m sure a trail was left. All we need to is go to England, pick up the trail, find the ring, and steal it back.”
“Oh, is that all?” Evie said dryly.
“It does seem rather daunting,” Claire admitted.
