Page 75 of How to Fall for a Scoundrel
Emberton’s face scrunched up as if he were embarrassed to finish the story.
“And where’s that?” Ellie was already dreading the answer.
“The Tower of London.”
Ellie gaped at the doctor. “You can’t be serious.”
Emberton unscrewed his face and looked at her. “I’m so sorry. I honestly never thought anyone would come back and ask for them. I was just humoring him.”
“Whereexactlydid you hide them?” Daisy asked. “A storage room? An office?”
“They’re in one of the cells that used to house prisoners in years gone by. In the Beauchamp Tower. You used to be able to visit it if you went on a tour. I put them on a ledge, about two feet up inside the chimney breast in the room with the name Arundel scratched into the wall.”
Emberton shrugged. “I’m sorry. I just did as Father asked.”
Harry gave his shoulder a reassuring pat. “You were a dutiful son. I don’t blame you in the slightest. This just makes things that much more interesting.”
Ellie rolled her eyes. Harry used words like “interesting” where other people used “difficult” or “dangerous” or “bloody impossible.” Still, she admired his optimism. No doubt he was delighted to have been presented with yet another challenge.
“Thank you, Doctor. You’ve been extremely helpful. We’ll let you know if we meet with any success.” She crossed to the door and stepped out into the street as Daisy and Harry took their leave.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Tess was waiting for them when they got back to the office, and her brows rose as they told her about the latest development.
“I don’t suppose evenyouknow a way of strolling into the Tower of London unchallenged?” she said to Harry.
His lips twitched. “Afraid not. But I’m fairly sure I could come up with one, given time.”
“It would be easier to get a tour, though, wouldn’t it?” Ellie said.
Daisy wrinkled her nose. “Not necessarily. It used to be easy to get a tour. They’d let in anyone who asked, for a small fee. Devlin went every day for a whole week to study the antique weaponry when he was sixteen. But they increased the security last year after an incident.”
“What happened?”
“A woman viewing the crown jewels reached through the bars, grabbed the state crown, and tried to smash it to bits. Now, the warden only conducts a few tours a week, for a maximum of six people at a time. You have to put your name in a drawing and see if you get picked.”
“It would be hard to look for those documents withother witnesses,” Tess mused. “If it was just the warden, he could be distracted, but having strangers there would make it trickier.”
“Is it possible to get a private tour?” Harry asked.
“Occasionally, if one knows the right people, or has the right leverage.”
“Someone of acriminalbent might suggest bribery or blackmail,” he murmured. “But I know you ladies frown on tactics like that.”
“We do indeed.” Ellie tapped her pen against her lips.
“The Lord Chamberlain’s office is responsible for the upkeep of the crown jewels,” Tess said. “Perhaps that’s a way in?”
Ellie nodded. “Francis Ingram-Seymour-Conway, the Lord Chamberlain, is a friend of my father’s. I’ll write and ask him for a tour. I’ll say I’m researching a family descendent, the Earl of Arundel. That would provide a reason to see inside the cells and look for the name scratched on the wall.”
“Excellent,” Daisy said. “And we might as well apply for a regular tour via the lottery as well. If any of us manage to get a place, we can think of an alternative plan.”
A knock on the front door interrupted them, and Tess stood. “That will be the man from the jewelers. Mr. Rundell said he’d send someone to see if our gemstone is real.”
Ellie pulled the jewel in question from the drawer and placed it in the center of her desk, while Harry slid easily into one of the armchairs by the fire.
Tess returned with a pleasant-looking gentleman of perhaps thirty-five years old named George Fox, who was apparently superintendent of the jewelry workshops at Ludgate Hill.