Last Dance in London (Rakes on the Run #1) - Sydney Jane Baily Page 0,83

other ladies streamed out to witness the evening’s latest entertainment.

Thinking quickly, while he still shielded her, she tucked the ring between her breasts, hoping her stays would hold it against her skin. And then Jasper turned to greet their audience.

At the same moment, Lord Stridewell came from the other direction, having apparently just vacated the dining room with the other male guests following behind him.

Julia swallowed. It dawned on her that instead of being her savior, perhaps Jasper was the most infernal bad luck she’d ever had. For when he wasn’t around, she never got caught and definitely never ended up surrounded by onlookers.

Even Lady Violet’s eyes had grown large, staring at the man who was supposed to be her escort for the night.

“Miss Sudbury has just come from using the facilities,” Jasper intoned. “And I was waiting to escort her to the drawing room.”

Lady Stridewell stared pointedly toward her husband and the hallway behind him, from which Julia would have had to come if the Earl of Marshfield spoke the truth.

“Is that so?” the baroness asked, her tone dripping disapproval, obviously believing she’d caught them in a moment’s inappropriate behavior, sullying her stairwell and staining the honor of her dinner party.

Julia wrenched her reticule from his grasp and took the last step off the stairs, thinking if they weren’t practically touching, they would look slightly less guilty.

Then she felt it. The ring slipped past the satin cord that cinched the high-waist of her gown, down through the space between the front of her bodice and her stays. With nothing to catch the ring, it slid between her petticoat and her gown before hitting the tiled floor at her feet.

In the absolute silence that followed, her ring rolled in a slow arc toward Lady Stridewell’s kid-leather slippers.

Chapter Twenty-Four

“Lord M__ returned to Lord S__’s home the following day. Perhaps he was looking for Lady V__ whom he left at the party the night before. A singular occurrence, as our favorite rake is known for attracting females, not for losing them.”

-The Sun

“Gracious me!” the baroness exclaimed, putting the back of her hand to her forehead in dramatic fashion usually reserved for the stage. “My ring!”

Julia nearly dove for it, but Lady Violet reached the ring first, bending to retrieve it. Holding the ruby ring between her thumb and forefinger, her gaze swung from Julia, who’d taken a single step forward, to the baroness who held out her pudgy hand.

“A thief!” Lord Stridewell exclaimed.

“I am not,” Julia said. “The ring is mine!”

“Then why were you asking where my husband bought it?” Lady Stridewell demanded. “You said you wanted one exactly like it for your sister.”

With those words, the baroness snatched it from Lady Violet and shoved it onto her own smallest finger.

Julia closed her eyes a moment. She was back where she started, only worse!

With nothing to lose, she turned to the baron. “Won’t you please explain where you got it? It was not from a jewelry shop. I promise I won’t press charges.”

He laughed as did the men around him. “You? Press charges? It is I who shall prosecute you to the full extent of His Majesty’s law. I knew better than to have someone like you to dinner.”

Julia felt her cheeks flame, but she would not be intimidated by the likes of him.

“My sister, the Countess of Worthington, will show you the ring’s match. She wears the necklace that was paired with it. They have the same workmanship, made by the same jeweler.”

At last, Jasper spoke up. “I have seen the ruby ring on Miss Sudbury’s hand before.”

While she appreciated it, all eyes again turned to him standing so close to her, making them both look guilty of one thing or the other.

“You would say such,” the baron sneered. “For all we know, you’ve got a pocket of my wife’s jewels.”

“Whatever can you mean?” Jasper demanded, sounding indignant.

“Word at the club is you’re in a bit of financial trouble. You were seen pawning jewelry at Rundell and Bridge. Then we find you assisting this woman to steal from us.”

Another man, Lord Jeggins if Julia recalled correctly, piped up, “Some overheard him say that he cannot afford a rum horse at present.”

Lady Stridewell clucked her tongue. “I’ve heard from a few people how their jewels have gone missing after they’ve held balls or dinners in their homes, which was why my staff was instructed not to allow anyone onto the upper floors.” She pierced Julia with a hard stare. “I would bet