Read Online The Peculiar Case of Lord Finsbury's Diamonds: A Casebook of Barnaby Adair Short Novel (The Casebook of Barnaby Adair) by Stephanie Laurens - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Stephanie Laurens
Tags: Historical Romance
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need, beyond an ineradicable desire to share, reassured by the fundamental rightness of the exchange. Their first kiss. She followed the dictates of instinct, pressed her lips more definitely to his and returned the caress, letting her lips speak in this arena where she had no voice. No simple words could describe what she felt—teetering on the cusp of the greatest delight in life—with the promise of a future shared with him shining like a beacon, not just in her mind but clearly in his, too.
The kiss stretched, lips lingering in a wordless pledge—a troth.
They both felt it; both acknowledged it, not just in their minds, but also in their hearts.
When he lifted his head and looked into her eyes, she looked into his, and saw her own commitment reflected in his dark gaze.
Setting her gently back on her feet, he nodded. “Tomorrow. Tomorrow we’ll hunt for where the foot-trap came from, and see if, at least for all those here, we can’t bring this investigation to a rapid and unthreatening end.”
* * *
“D amn! I forgot.” Lying propped on her pillows, Penelope turned her head toward the large lump in the bed alongside her. “I really hate this, you know. I forget all sorts of important things, and then remember them at the most useless times. I can only hope that my mind returns to its customary incisiveness once this child deigns to put in an appearance.”
They’d been in bed for half an hour. The room was wreathed in the usual nighttime shadows. Pushing back the covers, Barnaby turned onto his back, then shifted so he could see Penelope’s face. “What did you forget?” He refrained from mentioning that she often remembered things, and just as quickly forgot them again.
Indeed, she looked blank for a second before her gaze sharpened. “Mama—I asked her about the Finsburys. She said they were once much more prominent socially, but, over the last generation or so, they’ve drifted to the fringes of the ton. You know what she means.”
Sleepily, Barnaby nodded. “That fits with all I saw at Finsbury Court. They certainly don’t move in the first circles these days. Not quite county only, but sliding that way.”
“Yes, well, Mama said that the family’s main claim to fame was the Finsbury diamonds. They are apparently unique and quite fabulous, bought from some Russian czar by some long-ago Finsbury for his new wife.”
Barnaby’s eyes had closed again, but he felt Penelope’s gaze on his face.
“Did you get a look at the diamonds?”
He shook his head. “They’d already been returned to Finsbury and he’d put them back in his safe. But your mother’s information explains why he was so aghast when the constable brought the diamonds to him and he realized they weren’t where he’d thought they were. Learning that your family’s claim to fame had somehow walked out of your house without you knowing couldn’t have been a welcome surprise.”
“No, indeed!” After a moment, Penelope went on, “I don’t suppose you could find some reason to ask to see the necklace?”
He wondered what was going through her mind, considered anyway, but eventually shook his head. “I can’t see any reason why we might need to see it—at least not at this point.”
She made a disgruntled sound, but then settled back once more on her mound of pillows; she could no longer comfortably lie even vaguely flat. “Well, if matters change and the chance arises, do take a peek.”
“Why?”
He felt her shrug. “No real reason—I’m just curious.”
* * *
G riselda lay beside Stokes in their new bed in their new bedroom, in their new house in Greenbury Street. It was a neat town house standing on its own little plot, three stories with a white-painted stone façade and a small garden running all the way around. Iron railings separated the garden from the street, with a gate in the middle giving access to a simple paved path leading to the front porch. The
The kiss stretched, lips lingering in a wordless pledge—a troth.
They both felt it; both acknowledged it, not just in their minds, but also in their hearts.
When he lifted his head and looked into her eyes, she looked into his, and saw her own commitment reflected in his dark gaze.
Setting her gently back on her feet, he nodded. “Tomorrow. Tomorrow we’ll hunt for where the foot-trap came from, and see if, at least for all those here, we can’t bring this investigation to a rapid and unthreatening end.”
* * *
“D amn! I forgot.” Lying propped on her pillows, Penelope turned her head toward the large lump in the bed alongside her. “I really hate this, you know. I forget all sorts of important things, and then remember them at the most useless times. I can only hope that my mind returns to its customary incisiveness once this child deigns to put in an appearance.”
They’d been in bed for half an hour. The room was wreathed in the usual nighttime shadows. Pushing back the covers, Barnaby turned onto his back, then shifted so he could see Penelope’s face. “What did you forget?” He refrained from mentioning that she often remembered things, and just as quickly forgot them again.
Indeed, she looked blank for a second before her gaze sharpened. “Mama—I asked her about the Finsburys. She said they were once much more prominent socially, but, over the last generation or so, they’ve drifted to the fringes of the ton. You know what she means.”
Sleepily, Barnaby nodded. “That fits with all I saw at Finsbury Court. They certainly don’t move in the first circles these days. Not quite county only, but sliding that way.”
“Yes, well, Mama said that the family’s main claim to fame was the Finsbury diamonds. They are apparently unique and quite fabulous, bought from some Russian czar by some long-ago Finsbury for his new wife.”
Barnaby’s eyes had closed again, but he felt Penelope’s gaze on his face.
“Did you get a look at the diamonds?”
He shook his head. “They’d already been returned to Finsbury and he’d put them back in his safe. But your mother’s information explains why he was so aghast when the constable brought the diamonds to him and he realized they weren’t where he’d thought they were. Learning that your family’s claim to fame had somehow walked out of your house without you knowing couldn’t have been a welcome surprise.”
“No, indeed!” After a moment, Penelope went on, “I don’t suppose you could find some reason to ask to see the necklace?”
He wondered what was going through her mind, considered anyway, but eventually shook his head. “I can’t see any reason why we might need to see it—at least not at this point.”
She made a disgruntled sound, but then settled back once more on her mound of pillows; she could no longer comfortably lie even vaguely flat. “Well, if matters change and the chance arises, do take a peek.”
“Why?”
He felt her shrug. “No real reason—I’m just curious.”
* * *
G riselda lay beside Stokes in their new bed in their new bedroom, in their new house in Greenbury Street. It was a neat town house standing on its own little plot, three stories with a white-painted stone façade and a small garden running all the way around. Iron railings separated the garden from the street, with a gate in the middle giving access to a simple paved path leading to the front porch. The
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