Radiance (Diamonds of the First Water #3)

Chapter Twenty-Nine

E dward made sure to arrive ten minutes early at the House of Neble. He had a notion Radiance would go inside without him if she got there first. The same clerk greeted him.

“Lady Radiance isn’t here, sir. Not yet, although she is expected.” The clerk paused, appearing uncomfortable, then he blurted, “But you are not. I don’t believe Mr. Neble is prepared to see you today.”

“He doesn’t see much of anyone, does he?” Edward asked, feeling a little tweaguey at possibly being refused admittance. “While we await Lady Radiance, I wish you to ask Mr. Neble if I may accompany her into his office.”

“That’s not necessary,” the clerk said.

“I assure you it is.” Edward didn’t care for his insolence.

“I say it isn’t, sir, because I know he will refuse you entrance.”

“Why do you think that?”

“Because I am the one Mr. Neble asked to write and send the invitation to Lady Radiance. He was adamant only she should come. He will be most irritated to know you are even in the building.”

Edward was about to argue when Radiance entered. He didn’t have to turn to see her to know it was she. He felt it, and then her heady lilac fragrance enveloped him, making his body tense and his loins tighten.

“Mr. Lockwood, you are most punctual,” she declared.

Finally, hoping his loose trousers hid his arousal, he turned. “Sometimes, my lady. Alas, it has done me little good for this clerk informed me I shall not be granted access to Mr. Neble in any case.”

“Truly?” She looked at the clerk.

“I am afraid it is true, my lady. Mr. Neble invited you and only you.”

“I suppose it is his prerogative,” Radiance said. She seemed a little too unconcerned for Edward’s liking.

“I suppose you could tell him you insist,” Edward suggested.

“But I do not insist,” she said, stirring his ire. “However, if I am able, I will tell you what transpires. In any case, there is no need for you to wait here when you have more important work to do at home.”

Edward couldn’t believe she had dismissed him.

Radiance hadn’t meant to sound so imperial. And she didn’t like the expression Edward currently wore. His handsome face was stern, and she half feared he was going to argue or somehow seek to stop her from seeing Mr. Neble.

With that thought, she hurried to the stairs leading to the old jeweler’s office. Sarah, naturally, followed her.

She’d moved so quickly, she had to wait for the clerk to catch up and announce her. Inside his chamber, Mr. Neble and his surroundings were the same.

“Whom have we here?” he asked, leaning forward, peering at her companion.

“My maid, sir. I cannot speak with you alone, as I am sure you understand.”

Mr. Neble made a face. “I wish to speak with you on a personal matter. Can I trust your maid?”

Perplexed, Radiance glanced at Sarah, who stared back at her. Her maid had never gossiped, not that she’d caught her, anyway.

What choice did she have?

Continuing to look at Sarah, she said, “Sir, my maid is absolutely discreet. I promise you. If she ever repeats anything you say today, then I will sack her. Will that suffice?”

Sarah’s eyes widened.

“I suppose it will have to,” Mr. Neble said. Then he rested back in his chair. “I had a good dinner with Mr. Bonwit the other night. He came to my home. Did he tell you?”

Surprised by the initial topic of their chat, she said, “He did not.”

“We spoke about you.”

Radiance’s skin prickled. “About me? Regarding what?”

Mr. Neble remained silent for a few moments. Then he looked down at his hands and spoke softly, “My son died of the grippe. Influenza, if you will.”

“I am dreadfully sorry.” Radiance wished there was something more useful than those trite words.

Mr. Neble nodded. After another long pause, he looked at her again. “You said that the last time I met you, and I appreciated your sympathy then as I do now. My wife is long dead, and I had only Herbert.”

“While I have no children of my own, I have three sisters and a brother,” she told him. “I cannot imagine the pain of losing one of them.”

“Even worse when you have only the one,” he conceded.

“Again, I cannot pretend to know your grief.”

He said nothing more for a moment. Adjusting the lamp on either side of his worktable, he asked, “Would you mind coming closer? I would like to clearly see with whom I am dealing.”

“Not at all, sir.” Radiance rose from her seat and leaned over the table, so the oil lamps lit her features.

Mr. Neble gasped. “Why, you’re beautiful!”

“Thank you,” she said, returning to her seat.

“My eyesight is not as sharp as it was,” he explained.

“I had guessed as much, sir. You have far more lamps than expected for the room.”

“They hardly help anymore.”

“And your failing sight is the reason you do not let customers engage with you directly. Or anyone, for that matter.”

“Correct. I cannot lose my reputation as that will also lose me my business.” He squinted at her as he spoke, then leaned forward. “The necklace you’re wearing. Did you make it?”

“Yes.”

“May I look at it more closely?”

“Of course.” While she unhooked the clasp, he donned his two pairs of glasses. When Radiance dropped the necklace onto his outstretched hand, he immediately pulled it up to his face and spent a few silent moments examining it.

At last, he looked at her. “Bonwit has not misplaced his effusive compliments as to your skill.”

“I am glad you think so.” And she was. The opinion of an older master jeweler like Mr. Neble meant a great deal. He returned her necklace to her.

Finally, Radiance had to ask what had been on her mind since the last visit. “May I ask how you still produce jewelry?”

“With help,” he said vaguely. “ Not using an apprentice, though. My jewelry is all still crafted by a jeweler, here on my premises.”

Her heart pinched, realizing the House of Neble would die with him.

“Bonwit is a lucky man to have you,” Mr. Neble added.

“I consider myself to be the lucky one.”

“You are modest. Even if you only learn from him, he considers you to be a prize. But you are not interested in working for him or being his apprentice, are you?”

“No,” she said. “That is most definitely not my goal.”

“I hope I haven’t insulted you. I know you are an earl’s daughter and have no need to earn a living.”

“I am not offended, sir.” Radiance wondered where this was all going.

“Besides,” Mr. Neble added, “he hopes his apprentice shall marry his daughter, isn’t that right?”

The two men had obviously enjoyed a deeper conversation than merely how well Radiance could polish a gemstone. “I believe that is Mr. Bonwit’s wish.”

“Good for him,” the old jeweler said. “He is lucky to have a daughter and a future son-in-law who has agreed to keep the Bonwit name above his shop.”

The poor man! Radiance wished Mrs. Neble had birthed an entire litter of little Nebles.

“With the help of my two pairs of spectacles,” the man continued, unaware of Radiance’s distress, “I saw the Koh-i-Noor you drew in its famed armlet, but that showed me only the talent of a sketcher. However, Bonwit told me you have the same innate talent as a jewelry-maker.”

She felt her cheeks warm. “That is kind of him.”

“Kindness had nothing to do with it, I assure you. He was simply answering my questions.” He hesitated. “With your necklace, I have seen your skill for myself. Thus, I have a proposition for you, which I hope you will consider.”

She listened carefully and surprised herself by actually considering it a viable option.

“I will let you know after long contemplation, sir.”

“Not too long, I hope. I won’t last forever,” he said gruffly.

“I wish you many more years, sir,” she said before taking her leave with Sarah behind her.

As Radiance walked along the narrow landing toward the staircase, another door opened, and a dark-haired man stepped out. He froze at the sight of her, clearly deciding whether to step back and close the door.

Strangely, although she didn’t believe she had ever met him, he seemed familiar. It might simply be that he wore the thick apron of many jewelers and metalworkers, marked with tripoli stone for polishing gems and removing scratches in brass. She often incurred the same stains herself and glanced at his ungloved hands to see it upon his fingertips, too.

“Does Mr. Neble know you are here?” he asked without a preliminary greeting.

She realized he must be the one who made the jewelry for the House of Neble, toiling in anonymity. He might even be the one who last cleaned the coronet. Which meant, he might be ... the forger.

“Good day,” she said. “He does. I have just left his presence. He is available if you need to speak with him.”

Immediately, the man’s face clouded over. “I can think of no reason I would need to speak to him ,” he stated, his tone disparaging.

“Is he not your employer?” she asked mildly. Simply because Mr. Neble was old and losing his sight, it didn’t mean he had lost either his design skill or his hard-gained knowledge. Nor should he be spoken of disrespectfully. “Do you not craft jewelry for him, under his direction?”

The assistant looked surprised. After all, no one was supposed to know the older jeweler no longer fashioned the creations that carried his name.

“Is that what he tells people?” the man asked. “I save his aging hide every day, and he lords it over me as if I’m merely his unskilled lackey. Is that right?”

Radiance hadn’t meant to cause a problem, and she hastened to smooth it out.

“He didn’t speak disparagingly of you at all. I merely assumed, since you wore the garb of a jeweler, that you are one. If you are not, then I apologize for any offense.”

He looked her up and down, then his gaze slid to Sarah. Understanding dawned on him that he was dealing with a wealthy lady.

“I am a jeweler and a highly skilled one at that,” he boasted. “Are you here to order jewelry? Mr. Neble doesn’t normally see his customers upstairs. But then he doesn’t see much of anything anymore.”

His laughter at his own joke struck Radiance as loathsome and petty. Moreover, the fact that she thought she’d met him before was greatly bothersome.

“I might be,” she prevaricated, feeling even sorrier for Mr. Neble in losing his only son. “If you create the exquisite jewelry I saw downstairs in the shop, then may I know your name? No artisan of your talent should work in obscurity.”

His expression soured. “I have an arrangement with Mr. Neble, a regrettable one. My name cannot be used here. The jewelry I make is to be considered as his own. For this, he doesn’t pay me well enough, I assure you.”

His bitter tone indicated his dissatisfaction, and Radiance thought it clear why they kept this man hidden away from customers. He seemed eager to disclose the irksome arrangement and destroy Mr. Neble’s reputation.

Perhaps he felt himself so slighted that he had decided to forge a few royal jewels to puff himself up. Maybe he thought no one would ever know. And if he had, then he truly was a talented lapidary.

Then she had an idea. “If you made something for me privately,” she suggested, “then it would be truly one of a kind. The price is unimportant if you can make me something truly spectacular, and you would benefit by gaining additional clients amongst my friends.”

His eyes bulged. He probably had to weigh the potential income she might bring him against the steady work he had at the House of Neble as its only jeweler. And then there was the pride of an artist to add to the scales — something she well understood.

Watching his interest grow, she added the final bait. “Then all you need do is let your name and your reputation grow upon your own merits. Why, within a few months, you could quit working here and have your own name emblazoned over a doorway.”

It seemed the promise of fame piqued his interest.

“I shall not tell you today, not here. But I am at your service, my lady.” He even sketched a low bow, going from his earlier unpleasant demeanor to excessive obsequiousness, like a newly hired butler in his first position as head of household.

“I am, in fact, in need of a large tiara for a special occasion,” Radiance quickly invented, “and I would like some impressive gems to go into it. Unusual, large precious stones if you understand. Cost is of no concern, naturally. I hope you can help me.”

He nodded. “I would be pleased to do so. I can get anything you need.”

Anything she needed. How convenient!

“Then I am exceedingly fortunate to have run into you. I was going to give Mr. Neble my business, but I would rather work directly with you now that I know you are the talent behind the House of Neble.” She handed him her card. “Please let me know when you can come by.”

She was so excited by the discovery of this unknown jeweler, who had the means and perhaps the motive, she hurried downstairs hoping to find Edward still there.

He hadn’t left, for which Radiance was grateful. Perhaps it was merely curiosity that had kept him in the shop waiting for her. Or maybe he’d become so engrossed in being surrounded by gems, he’d lost all track of time. Holding a stone in his hand and deep in discussion with the shop clerk, he didn’t notice when she returned.

“You see it’s the trace amounts of chromium that cause the alexandrite to be grass green,” Edward explained.

“It is assuredly red, sir,” said the clerk.

“Take it to the window,” Edward instructed, returning the gem to the clerk.

The man did as instructed, holding it out to the sun’s rays. Luckily, the London sky was cooperating and cloudless. Radiance smiled when the clerk gasped.

“Truly,” he said, lifting the alexandrite into the air and holding it toward the window. “Yes, it changes in the blink of an eye, as if the stone is winking at me.”

“I am ready to leave,” Radiance said, and both men looked up.

Edward had that expression upon his face, as if he were far away in his thoughts. He was a scientist at heart who became engrossed in whatever interested him. Some would say he was absent-minded, but she considered him to be the opposite — overly concentrating on one thing to the detriment of all other things, especially if the other thing happened to be a female who adored him.

“Will you tell me why Mr. Neble wished to speak with you?” Edward asked after they’d stepped outside.

Radiance hesitated. “I cannot break his confidence.” The old jeweler had opened his heart and confided in her. Moreover, it wouldn’t be a good example to disclose anything with Sarah close by.

In the end, she didn’t want to tell Edward about Mr. Neble’s proposition, at least not until she had made a decision. And even then, it didn’t involve him in the least.

As to her discovery of the jeweler upstairs, she could not recall conversing with an oilier individual, although she was still unsure why the man seemed familiar. Regardless, Edward would become protective again, even though she intended to meet the suspicious jeweler only in the safety of her home.

“Would you like us to drop you at your home?” she asked.

Edward stiffened before glancing at Sarah, who was all eyes and ears after her unusual adventure.

“No, thank you. I may not keep a carriage in Town, but I do not need to beg a ride in your father’s conveyance. I am sure he doesn’t lend it to you in order that you take on passengers. I shall make my own way. Thank you.”

With that, he offered a quick, shallow bow before turning from her.

“I am sorry you wasted a trip here and an hour of your day,” she said to his ramrod straight back.

Glancing over his shoulder, he said, “It wasn’t wasted, I assure you.”