Radiance (Diamonds of the First Water #3)

Chapter Twenty-Five

A s expected, there wasn’t anyone standing outside St. James’s Palace holding a gun. Still, Edward searched the area in front of the courtyard along Pall Mall Street and then back the other way, along Cleveland Row.

Nothing and no one looked suspicious.

As sure as he breathed, the shooting was because of their investigation. Moreover, he suspected the prior assault, when Radiance was shoved to the ground, was also related.

After a few minutes, he returned to St. James’s and found his way to the infirmary where Radiance was chatting with Sarah who, for once, was not reading.

“How do you feel?” he asked, relief pouring over him for the second time — first when he felt her warm and breathing under him on the floor and now, seeing her perfectly healthy-looking visage. Yet he wouldn’t forget that it could have been a fatal shot to her back.

“I am fine. A poorer marksman could not be found. I’m as lucky as the Queen in that regard,” she added, making a poorly timed reference to the many failed assassination attempts. “Only think how Her Majesty has been kept safe through six attempts upon her life. In her case, it must be divine intervention. In my case, plain, old-fashioned good fortune.”

“I am not sure that nutter-pate who smacked the Queen’s forehead with his cane should be lumped in with those who shot at her, but I take your meaning. She has kept up a brave face through it all, as are you at this very minute.”

She smiled, then gave a little shrug. “It really was nothing. My second scrape in a fortnight. Imagine that.”

Edward was imagining it, and he didn’t like where his thoughts were taking him. Eventually, the luck that Radiance was toting so cheerily would run out.

“Did the Queen’s physician take care of you?”

“Of course not.” She looked embarrassed. “A nurse was very kind, however.”

Radiance held up her arm to show him the wrapping just above her elbow. “She cleaned it, which stung, and then dressed it. But truly, it was little more than a scratch, as if I had been too eagerly picking amongst raspberry brambles.”

“I did not find the gunman,” he confessed.

“I didn’t expect you would. Did you?”

“No.” He had failed her, and she had expected him to. He wished he had been successful so they could put this behind them.

Radiance rose to her feet. “Regardless, we are here at St. James’s, and thus we may as well meet with the Master of the Household.”

“No,” he blurted before thinking.

She narrowed her eyes. “Mr. Lockwood, do not presume to quell my interest in this, nor exclude me from the search, not after all we’ve done together.”

Stopping abruptly, she glanced at her wide-eyed maid. “I mean, of course, after all that we’ve investigated together.”

“But you’ve been shot, m’lady,” the maid pointed out.

Edward nodded at Sarah’s sensible words. However, Radiance would have none of them.

“I was shot at , perhaps, and merely grazed, for goodness’ sake. No harm done at all.”

“What do you think your parents will say to that small distinction? Will they be so cavalier with your safety? I think not. I am taking you home at once.”

Her gloved hands balled into fists. “This is ludicrous. You, sir, are being overprotective, and I must remind you that it is not your place. Furthermore, we are already securely in the Palace, and I am not bleeding to death. Therefore, it would be entirely remiss of us to give up the opportunity to at least speak with the Master of the Household and, hopefully, discover the footman or footmen in question.”

“We are leaving,” he insisted.

“No, we are not.”

To his amazement, Radiance brushed past him and sailed out the open door. When he hurried to follow, she was striding along the wide hall with her skirts billowing behind her.

He growled in frustration. And then the lady’s maid passed him and joined her mistress.

What could he do?

“Hold on, my lady,” he called to Radiance’s retreating form as she disappeared around a corner.

As it turned out, people were not allowed to simply meander St. James’s Palace unaccompanied, and a footman soon corralled them.

“The Lord Chamberlain was expecting us. In his absence, please take us to the Master of the House,” she ordered before giving Edward a long, satisfied look and following the footman to the correct office.

“Come in, come in,” said a stranger as soon as the footman had mentioned their names.

They were met by a balding man with a thick mustache. Already standing before his polished desk, he moved forward to offer Lady Radiance a deep bow.

“I am Sir Biddulph, my lady.”

Then he reached out a hand to shake Edward’s.

“I apologize for the Lord Chamberlain’s absence, but I hope I may be of assistance. Please take a seat.” He was taking Radiance’s measure a little more closely than Edward would expect.

Radiance sat where directed. “I had hoped to offer Lord Exeter congratulations from my family on his new appointment.”

Edward was surprised at her words, realizing the titled folk knew one another’s lateral movements far better than he. Of the latest Lord Chamberlain, he knew only that the man had become a marquess at a frightfully young age due to his father’s death, and he was an enthusiastic cricketeer in his younger days.

“But you also have not been in this position long,” Radiance continued to the Queen’s Master of the House. “Congratulations are in order for you, too, sir.”

Sir Biddulph’s expression lit up. “The appointment was unforeseen but welcome, my lady.” He beamed and then seemed to recall the seriousness of his position. “Before you go into why you wished to speak with the Lord Chamberlain, I understand you met with some mishap when you entered St. James’s. A footman told me while you were in our infirmary.”

Edward let Radiance explain it, except she didn’t. It was all roses and gooseberry jam rather than criminals and bullets. In any case, she soon went back to the question at hand, like a dog gnawing a bone.

“We simply wondered whether you could tell us which footman was entrusted with collecting the Queen’s engagement brooch from the Crown Jeweler, Mr. Garrard, and who would have brought the Queen’s coronet back from the House of Neble. Or perhaps, they are one and the same.”

Even before she finished her long query, the Master of the Household was shaking his head.

“I don’t know the answer, I’m afraid. I believe the Crown Jeweler assigns the courier.”

Edward exchanged a glance with Radiance. No matter how unintentional, they were being batted from man to man like a shuttlecock. Garrard would have told them if he knew.

He was about to thank the Master of the Household for his time when Radiance leaned forward. Edward’s eyes nearly protruded from his head as her décolletage could scarcely contain her fulsome breasts.

“Sir Biddulph,” she said, her tone soft and imploring, “we have already spoken with the Crown Jeweler. Would it take up a dreadful amount of your time to find out the identity of those we seek?”

The Master of the Household cleared his throat. “My predecessor, Sir Bowles, was a meticulous record-keeper as well as a man of orderly systems. Why, some people think he is still in this position due to the smooth organization that he left.” He shook his head.

“When I took over, I strove to be as scrupulous. I shall peruse the records and, if necessary, speak with the Lord Chamberlain myself. In any case, I shall endeavor to discover the information. What shall I do with it when I find it?”

Edward noticed the man was still looking at Radiance. Probably he was hoping for a return visit from the pretty red-haired lady.

“Please send the information to my address,” Edward said. Taking his silver card case from his pocket, he flipped open the lid and withdrew one card. “I would most appreciate it.”

As he handed this to Sir Biddulph, Radiance turned an arched eyebrow his way. He didn’t care. It would be unsafe for her to have the information sent to her parents’ home. Next thing he knew, she would try to meet with the footmen without him.

And one thing Edward had decided after this frightening day — she was no longer going to be part of any investigation.

Edward wasn’t sure how best to go about dissolving their tightly knit association. Nonetheless, he intended to do it forthwith. Radiance’s safety was of utmost importance, infinitely more so than discovering who was skilled enough to create a near-perfect replica of a gemstone and clever enough to do it without getting caught.

In any case, they might never know the answer, nor was it as crucial compared to protecting the Koh-i-Noor from suffering a similar fate. For if it was discovered to be a fake stone sometime after the re-cutting, Edward was certain the blame would fall upon him. After all, he’d been tasked by the Queen herself not only with finding the forger but with keeping the diamond safe.

Yet even above that was his intent to keep Radiance from any further physical harm.

If only she hadn’t practically declared herself in love with him at her sister’s home. Him! He was so blasted ordinary. It pained Edward to think she might feel an ounce of heartache due to the necessity of him cutting her out of his life.

All in all, her recent confession was terrible timing. Undoubtedly, she would consider any distance he put between them being due to how earnestly she’d spoken and conclude that he didn’t feel the same way.

To his way of thinking, however, parting company during the foreseeable future was a necessity, despite how his heart had nearly exploded in his chest at her unexpected, wondrous words. At the time, he’d been more intent on kissing her than talking. But afterward, when he’d left the party early to avoid any damage to her reputation, he’d reminded himself that she was an innocent.

In all likelihood, Lady Radiance had simply been caught up in the intense moment or in the general excitement since she’d discovered the fake Hope diamond. Suddenly, she’d been thrust into an adventure and undoubtedly saw him as the crux.

Yet if he understood pretty females at all, having grown up with a sister, then Radiance would recover quickly enough and set her cap at someone else, a far more suitable man, before the week’s end.

At least he hoped so. He didn’t want her anywhere near him, not at one of his lectures, nor seated across while riding in a cab, nor even at a ball. Not until the shooter was caught.

What if he was never caught? Later that night, Edward couldn’t help thinking about such a real possibility as he downed the last of the claret in his glass and gently pushed Monty off his lap before heading up to bed.

If she was no longer associated with him in any way, then Radiance would stay safe.

And he would finally know what it was to be heartbroken.

In a few days, Edward received a missive from the Queen’s Master of the Household with the name of the footman who had picked up the coronet from Mr. Neble. Sir Biddulph had not as yet tracked down the other one who’d gone to Garrard’s and collected the brooch from Mr. Minton.

In the interim, Edward had made no contact with Radiance and half convinced himself she’d gone back to whatever she was doing before she looked at the Hope Diamond in the lecture hall and saw the inexplicable flaw.

More realistically, knowing she was probably awaiting word from him, Edward wrote her the briefest of notes:

Dear Lady Radiance,

I have received a name and will speak with the footman shortly.

He could imagine her head exploding like fireworks on Guy Fawkes' night, so he added:

I will let you know if he has anything of import to add to what we have already learned.

Yours sincerely,

Lockwood