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“ A note has arrived for you, Miss Trentworth.”

Joceline took the note from the butler, glancing to her mother who was now tapping her foot on the floor impatiently. “Forgive me, Mama.” There came a tiny frisson of excitement as she opened the note, seeing the list of names given to her by Lord Albury. It was, she decided, the anticipation that came with the beginning of her investigations rather than anything else.

“Joceline, we are going to be late for the ball! Do hurry up.”

Joceline chose not to state the obvious, which was that it was quite acceptable to be tardy to a ball and indeed, if they had turned up on time, that would have been the unusual thing. “It is a note from Lord Albury,” she explained, seeing her mother’s eyebrows lift. “I asked him if there are other ladies who have a particular… dislike for Lady Albury and he has written to me with their names.”

“Joceline!” Lady Melford hurried forward and took the note from Joceline’s fingers. “Why ever would you do such a thing?”

“Because,” Joceline said, trying to hide her frustration at her mother snatching the letter in such a way, “because I am doing my utmost to help him find out who switched the necklace.” It had been on Joceline’s mind whether or not to share with her mother all that had taken place, including the Bluestocking Book Club but she had chosen to do so. Yes, her mother had not been particularly pleased about the club itself but Joceline had reminded her of the importance of declaring them both innocent. That had been enough to persuade her.

“Goodness.” Lady Melford’s eyes widened. “There are at least twenty names here!”

With a small sigh, Joceline took the letter back from her mother with gentle fingers, though thankfully, Lady Melford appeared to be quite contented for her to do so. “Yes, there are.”

“It does not surprise me,” Lady Melford stated, with a toss of her head. “I knew very well that Lady Albury is the most disagreeable, contentious lady in all of London! In truth, I am astonished that this list is so short!”

Joceline, choosing not to continue on such a conversation, gestured to the carriage. “Might you be willing to assist me with this perhaps tomorrow morning? I should like to be able to confirm with Lord Albury who was present at our soiree, just as soon as possible.”

Her mother nodded, opened her mouth, closed it again, and then tilted her head. “I think it might be best to do it this evening, Joceline. We can be a little later to the ball, I am sure.”

Joceline stared at her mother for a few moments, though Lady Melford did not see it, given the way she took the letter and marched down the hallway towards the parlor. A little surprised but with a small curve of a smile at her mouth, Joceline made to follow after her, only for a maid to step out of the shadows.

“My lady, might I ask you for a moment?”

“Of course.” Seeing that it was the maid who had found the necklace, Joceline came a little closer, watching as the maid bit at her bottom lip and looked away, her eyes darting this way and that. “Is there something wrong, Bessie?” Recalling what it was that she had said by way of warning Bessie to keep where she had found the necklace to herself, Joceline pressed her lips together for a moment. “Have you said something that you ought not to have done?”

“No, my lady!” Bessie exclaimed, though her voice was only a little louder than a whisper. “I am loyal to you, I swear it.”

“I am glad to hear it and grateful for your devotion,” Joceline answered, hoping that she had not sounded in any way fearsome. “Then please, do tell me what it is that troubles you so.”

The maid nodded but let out a shaking breath, her hands gripping tightly together. “I know that there has been upset about that necklace, my lady. I do not mean to speak out of turn but I overheard something below stairs.”

Joceline’s heart quickened its pace. If Bessie was coming to tell her something she had heard from another servant, then that was astonishing indeed. “What was it?”

Bessie closed her eyes. “Two footmen were speaking, my lady. One said to the other that he was sure he had seen a lady in the house at the time of the soiree who was not dressed in any finery but who certainly was not a servant! They were speaking of the necklace, you see, though it was not to gossip.”

“I do not think that it was,” Joceline reassured her. “Have no concern in that, Bessie. I know that the servants will speak of all that has gone on here.”

Her maid glanced up at her and nodded, seeming now to be a little more reassured. “Thank you, my lady. It seemed strange to me, which is why I thought to come to speak to you.”

“Indeed it is,” Joceline murmured, frowning. “Why would there be a lady in this house if she was not a guest?”

“She might have come in the servants' door,” Bessie said, quickly. “There was so much going on that we might have missed her coming in and going out again.”

In an instant, all that Joceline had thought previously was thrown into disarray. She had thought that one of the guests might have been responsible but now, with this from Bessie, she realized that it could well have been someone else, someone who came into the house when the servants were busy with the soiree and she with the guests.

“I – I hope I have done the right thing in speaking to you.”

Joceline nodded fervently. “Of course you have, Bessie. I shall not speak to the footmen, have no concern in that regard.”

Relief poured into Bessie’s face and she let out a heavy breath. It was clear to Joceline that she had taken a great risk in speaking to her as she had done, for had Joceline chosen to go and speak with the footmen, then the servants as a whole would know that Bessie had come to her. She might have been maligned by the other servants and that was something that Joceline herself certainly did not want.

“There is no need for me to do so,” Joceline continued, in the hope that this would further reassure the maid. “Thank you, Bessie. I shall make sure you are rewarded for this.”

The maid murmured a thank you and then scurried away, leaving Joceline perplexed. With one hand pressed to her forehead, she closed her eyes and tried to think clearly.

It was someone else, she thought to herself, frowning. Not one of the guests. How could they have taken the necklace from Lady Albury’s neck without her awareness?

“I have them all!” Her mother hurried out of the parlor, a piece of paper in her hand. “Look, there are only two who were present at our soiree, one Lady Marselle and another Lady Falkirk. Both were present with their husbands, though Lady Falkirk is wed to a Duke so I am surprised that she would think herself in contention with a mere Countess!”

“I do not think it is one’s standing that matters to Lady Albury,” Joceline answered, taking the piece of paper from her mother and reading over the names again, wondering if any of the others would have stolen into the house. “She thinks only of the wealth she can show to others, the extravagance that must be more than any other.”

Lady Melford drew herself up. “I am glad that you can see that, Joceline. I must confess that I am a little concerned about the time you are spending with Lord Albury. If he is anything like his mother, then he is not good company.”

“He is not like her in the least.”

The surprise that etched itself into her mother’s eyes also pressed into Joceline’s heart, hearing herself speak fervently about Lord Albury without having had any real intention to do so. Swallowing hard, she tried to smile. “What I mean to say is that he is just as frustrated at her behavior as you are,” she said, turning to gesture to the door. “Shall we take our leave now, Mother? We ought not to be too tardy!”

“Indeed,” her mother answered, though this was said slowly and with a long, lingering look upon Joceline, as if she suspected that there was something more to the fervency with which Joceline had spoken. “Come then. Let us go.”

Handing the piece of paper to the ever helpful butler and instructing him to set it in her bedchamber, Joceline hurried after her mother and into the carriage. She had to find her friends, had to tell them what the maid had told her and, thereafter, speak to Lord Albury. Though quite what they were to do now, Joceline did not know. Suddenly, everything appeared to be a little more indistinct rather than becoming clearer, as she had hoped. For the first time, a flicker of doubt came into her mind; doubt that they would be able to find the truth. Sighing, she sat back in the carriage and closed her eyes as it began to pull away from the house.

I cannot give up, she told herself, silently. I have to find the answers. There is nothing else I can do but search until the truth is revealed.

It was the following afternoon before Joceline was able to tell her friends all that she had learned. The ball had been a great success and she had danced every dance, including one with Lord Albury, though they had not had much opportunity to speak. Now, however, she was seated with her friends in St James’ Park, all of them eager to share what they had discovered.

“Do you mean to say that someone else entered your house and stole the necklace?” Lady Rosalyn asked, her eyes widening as Joceline nodded. “Then it does not matter which of the ladies present at your soiree were displeased with Lady Albury, for it could not have been one of them!”

“That might be so, though we cannot say so outright,” Lady Isobella said, slowly, her brows knotting together. “Mayhap there were two of them working together to make sure that the necklace was taken from Lady Albury’s neck and then switched with the paste necklace instead.”

“It is all very confusing,” Joceline answered, with a heavy sigh. “Amelia, did you discover anything?”

Lady Amelia nodded. “I did. I have spoken to a good number of my acquaintances, under the guise of desiring some paste jewellery of my own. I have discovered that, though some differ, the majority of my acquaintances would go to Hamilton and Sons, an establishment here in London.”

This brought Joceline a little relief. “Then we can make our way there.”

“And do what?” Lady Amelia asked, a small frown on her forehead. “Do you think there would be a way to find out the previous customers? I am not sure we could simply ask for a list of them but –”

“If we go together, then we will be able to, yes,” Joceline said, firmly. “We must. If a name there is one of the ladies who is against Lady Albury, then we might have something to pursue!”

“I have found some interesting information about the heirloom,” Lady Rosalyn added, her gaze darting from face to face. “I do not know if Lord Albury himself is aware of this, but the heirlooms were passed from one family to his many decades ago.”

Joceline’s eyes flared. “Who did they belong to originally?”

Lady Rosalyn’s lips twisted. “Alas, it did not say though I intend to keep searching. The story goes that the heirlooms were sold to the Earl of Albury, for the family he bought them from was becoming impoverished.”

“Goodness.” Joceline frowned. “Then there could be a desire to recover them, could there not?”

Her friends all nodded, though there was the same heaviness in the expressions of her friends that Joceline herself felt in her chest. With the news from Bessie, Joceline felt as though she were pushing her way through a thick darkness, seeing only a flicker of light here and there.

“We shall be able to discover more, I am sure,” Miss Sherwood said, gently. “What we have learned thus far is valuable.”

Joceline nodded, trying to garner some encouragement from Miss Sherwood. “You are quite right.”

“And we now know what we must do,” Lady Isobella added, with a smile. “We are to make our way to Hamilton and Sons, are we not?”

A little bolstered, Joceline smiled back at her friend. “Yes, we are.” With a small shake, she spread out her hands. “Let us think of what we know in the hope that it will help us still further.”

Her friends glanced at each other before Miss Sherwood began.

“We know that someone came into the house the night of your soiree, coming in, most likely, through the servants’ entrance and thus, not being noticed by either the servants or by the guests.”

“We know that the necklace was switched and that the person responsible put the paste jewelry into your bed-chamber,” Lady Isobella added, frowning. “Though we do not know why.”

“And we know that the person responsible must have planned all of this well in advance,” Lady Amelia put in. “They must have had every detail about the emerald necklace in their mind and been able to have it made so it appeared identical!”

“Which,” Joceline murmured, “would speak of someone who not only has a connection to Lady Albury, but someone who has known her for a very long time indeed.” As she spoke, her breath caught in her chest, her eyes widening as she looked back at her friends. “Is that not so? It must be someone who has known Lady Albury for a long time, for she would not often have worn the necklace, given the significance and the value of it!”

Miss Sherwood sat forward in her chair. “I think you are right, Joceline! It must be someone who has long been acquainted with Lady Albury – though quite why they would then place the necklace on your bed, I cannot imagine!”

“Nor can I,” Joceline agreed, as her other friends nodded their understanding of all she had said. “But I must now speak to Lord Albury about it all. Mayhap he will be able to help.”

Lady Rosalyn’s eyes widened. “He will know which of her friends – if you can call them that – has known her for the longest time. Goodness, Joceline, it may be that you will find the culprit this very day!”

Joceline nodded slowly, her brow furrowing as she thought of what would become of her if she did find out the truth. Her connection to Lord Albury would be at an end, though he would know for certain that she was innocent, at least. Why did she find that thought troublesome? Why did she seem hesitant to accept that? There could not be a desire to linger on in his company, could there? After all, only some ten days ago, he had been demanding to know what she had done with the necklace, believing her to be the one who had stolen it! But now… now things were beginning to change between them and Joceline had to admit that she found the idea of stepping away from him a trifle unsettling. “I must speak with him,” she said, slowly, looking down at her hands. “And just as soon as I can.”