“Barclay,” she huffed. “And yours?” What’s good for the goose is good for the gander. If she had to tell him who she was, he should have to do the same.
“Malcolm Kennedy, Earl of Cassilis.”
Her eyes rounded. Of course he would be titled. She immediately dropped into a curtsy. “My lord.”
He cocked his head to the side as he looked at her, and her skin heated from his scrutiny. The rays of the moonlight filtering in through the large windows, highlighted the planes of his face. His strong jaw and deep-set eyes. He was most handsome, andif circumstances were different, she might find herself trying to gain the earl’s attention.
But right now she had his attention for all the wrong reasons.
He held his hand out, and she looked at it questioningly.
“The jewelry,” he prompted, wiggling his fingers.
“’Tis mine,” she stated stubbornly.
“So ye’ve said.” He looked toward the door. “It willna be long afore my absence is noticed. If we are caught in here, both of us will pay the price.”
“Ye believe me?” she asked hope blooming in her stomach.
“I am no’ yet ready to say. However, I willna bring ye to the viscount’s attention. But I will hold the pieces until I can be sure ye speak the truth.”
She was grateful that he wasn’t dragging her to the viscount and announcing to all that he’d caught the thief. But she didn’t want to let go of her grandmother’s jewelry. She’d worked so hard to track it down.
“This is what we will do. You will exit this room and ensure the staircase is clear before descending and then will wait in the foyer for me. I need to speak to the viscount.”
“Nay!”
He stopped her with his hand in the air. “I will speak to the viscount to tell him that he has no worries this night and I will take my leave. The party will be ending shortly so it willna seem odd.”
She waited for him to continue. All things considering, he was being much more kind than he needed to be.
“Fix the jewel chest so ’tis in the same condition ye found it,” he ordered.
She scrambled to do just that. When she finished and he held out his hand, she sighed in defeat and dropped the jewelry in his large palm.
He pocketed the pieces and moved to the door, looking outside and then motioned for her to step forward.
“Remember, wait in the foyer. I will be there as soon as I can.”
She nodded and stepped out of the room. His holding her jewelry ensured that she would be waiting for him whenever he returned. She couldn’t very well leave without it. Not after coming all this way.
Descending the stairs quickly, she breathed a sigh of relief when the entryway was empty.
This night had not gone at all as she planned. She watched the earl come down the stairs and enter the ballroom, not sparing her a glance. She rolled her eyes. The earl was most businesslike.
He stopped to talk to a man, but it wasn’t the viscount. They spoke in hushed tones, as if in serious conversation. Was he telling the man he’d caught the Phantom Prowler? Was he going to send him out to drag her to the authorities?
Her heart raced as she wrung her hands together and paced the floor. She was in trouble. Mary had been right. Why, oh why hadn’t she listened to her maid? But Mary was more than that, she was also her friend.
The man the earl was talking to looked out the doors and glanced her way. Bile rose in her throat. The man was big and burly. He looked like he could be a boxer. Was he a jailer? Was he going to come and take her away?
Her breath quickened and she tried to ease them as she began to see black specks dance in her vision. It was suddenly so very hot. Between the heat and her racing heart, she could no longer keep herself standing.
And when the black specks became her whole vision and her world spun, her last thoughts were that she was a failure.
