A Rogue's Secret - Stacy Reid Page 0,44

always treated the matter of client confidentiality of utmost importance. You can trust that any matter you wish to discuss will be kept totally secret.”

“I have some articles I wish you to value for me. This may be a slightly unusual commission. Could you come this way, please?” Rupert led the jeweller to the library where the Major was guarding the chests, holding his rifle, in the direction of the door as it opened.

“It’s all right Major, this is the jeweller Mr Riviere I sent for. Do you want to see what is in the chests?”

“Do I? Yes of course I do, after Cuthbert’s tale and lugging them back to the manor, my curiosity is killing me,” the major admitted.

Rupert shut the library door behind him and turned the key in the lock, then strolled over to the first chest and opened it. There were gasps of surprise from both the jeweller and the major.

“Bloody hell, you’re as rich as Midas!” The major blurted out and then apologized for his language.

“I am staggered, my lord. When you said it was confidential and might be a little unusual, I assumed you were in financial difficulties and needed to sell some family jewels, or possibly sell and have paste copies made…” The jeweller uttered and then covered his mouth as if he had lapsed from his usual diplomatic decorum.

The jeweller bent over the open chest and lifted out a coin.

“Islamic and definitely gold but I will have to test one, to confirm the gold content. Then on a solely gold value, I should give you an estimate of what they are worth. Do all three chests contain the same coins?”

“No; still intrigued, Major?”

“Best show in town, I heard your great-uncle was eccentric and towards the end of his life got a bit miserly, but I never thought he was hiding a treasure of this magnitude.”

Chapter 13

Rupert pulled out three of the small bags at random. He untied the first and tipped it out on the middle of his desk, bright green stones, the size of his thumbnail cascaded out. There was an audible gasp from the jeweller, and he could see that William was trying hard not to react. He untied the second bag, and clear white diamonds of a similar size sparkled as they fell onto the mahogany of his desk. He opened the third bag, this one did not contain stones, instead pearls of great size rolled out and Rupert had to move to prevent a couple from falling on the floor. There was silence until the Major quietly asked, “Do all those bags contain jewels?”

“I assume so, I only opened two bags when I found the treasure,” Rupert said, staring at the gems and pearls.

It took the jeweller all day to examine and itemise the gems and jewellery then to count the coins. He had arrived in a rented carriage from Frome, having caught the Mail from Bath. He was put up for the night and driven to Frome in time to catch the return Mail coach from London on route to Bath.

He had told Rupert, “The gold coins will be no problem to sell as I doubt, they have historical value. But the gems should be sold gradually, so they do not flood the market and lower the price. The jewellery will find a good market, when you decide what you want to keep.”

Mr. Riviere suggested a ten percent commission on the sale of the gold and gems, taking away only one gold coin to assess its gold value, but promising to make arrangements with a bank in London to store the gems and gold coins until sale could be arranged.”

Rupert and the major transferred the chests to the secret room but the major slept on the sofa in the library overnight and the room was kept locked, with one of his men inside when Rupert or the major were not in the room.

A letter from Lord Hansard arrived on the following day together with a note from the vicar, confirming tersely that he would read the banns on Sunday, which would be the last Sunday in Advent. That morning Cooper had reported to the major that he had found footsteps in the mud in the grounds behind the house, which he was certain were not caused by any of the employees. He had followed the tracks to the road and would continue to keep watch for interlopers.

Rupert was driven around to Verity’s that day and took the