Lady Ellingham and the Theft of the Stansfield Necklace: A Regency Romance (6 page)

      Most of the
females he met in the homes and ballrooms of the London ton were like Venus fly
traps, out to catch a rich husband in their grasping claws, but this woman
beside him wanted nothing to do with him.  The knowledge irked him but it only
made her more alluring.  He wanted her. She was spirited and lively and nothing
much seemed to daunt her.  

     He wondered what
had occurred to give her such a poor opinion of him and made it his resolution
to find the underlying cause.  It could not be his reputation alone for
although he was outspoken and candid, he had not stepped beyond the bounds of
decency.  If the truth were known his bark was worse than his bite. He enjoyed
his reputation however, which in reality was undeserved but he did nothing to
refute it. It protected him a little from scheming tabbies that would snare him
for their daughters.  One thing he knew for certain, the Lady sitting beside
him had branded him a thief, and he could not for the life of him fathom why. 
The accusation had hurt him and all the more so, as he realised with
exasperation that he cared about her opinion. He wanted this woman beside him
to think well of him and the whole affair had him baffled.

      Thorndale reached
his destination only ten minutes late, which under the circumstances was a
miracle.  Giles had informed Richard of the incident and when they arrived, he
stepped forward to the carriage to claim his sister.  It had taken all the
persuasions of Giles and Jeremy to dissuade him from riding out to meet them,
and it was only the knowledge that Thorndale would not back down from an affair
of honour that had forced him to agree to remain.  He knew that Felicity was
safe enough for the moment.  Never the less Richard stepped up possessively  to
claim her from the hands of his adversary. Richard was understandably angry
with her and took no pains to hide it as he pulled her roughly down from off
the carriage, but that would have to wait.  He had more pressing things on his
mind. 

      Giles and Jeremy marked
out the agreed distance of 50 yards and set out the markers. They had both
agreed that the longer distance was prudent in the light of the skill of the combatants.
They then proceeded to load and inspect the Manton’s to ensure they were
identical and informed the principals that the field was ready.

      The proceedings
began and the doctor, who had arrived independently, turned his back. Felicity
rushed forward toward Richard but Jeremy and Giles pulled her back and held her
between them.  Jeremy put a restraining hand on her arm. ‘There is nothing you
can do about it now. It will soon be over.’

      Felicity stood
motionless as the combatants strode out their paces to the markers and turned
presenting their profiles. They both raised their arms and took aim.   Giles
dropped the handkerchief and to Felicity’s dismay Richard deloped and fired his
pistol into the air. He stood there perfectly still, waiting for the inevitable. 
She gasped in horror straining against Jeremy’s hold and looked toward Thorndale
with beseeching eyes.  He had yet to take his shot.  His face was grim and his
concentration absolute and she knew that Richard was done for.  She closed her
eyes as Thorndale took careful aim and fired.  She hardly dared to open them
but when she did, both combatants were still standing.  Tears of relief sprung
to her eyes and she turned to Jeremy. ‘What happened?’ she asked incredulously.
 Jeremy smiled. ‘Thorndale missed,’ he informed her. ‘If I did not know the man
I would swear it was deliberate.’

      He let Felicity go
and she ran towards Richard and arrived at his side at the same time as Thorndale. 
‘I have never been so frightened in my life.  You deloped Richard, why?’ Richard
was grim. ‘Because you are in the wrong Flick, Alex Sheraton is no more a thief
than you or I.  I am not going to shoot an innocent man.’

      ‘But you could
have been killed!’ she cried out unbelievably.

      Thorndale gave an
appreciative nod at the acknowledgement.  Richard looked him in the eyes.  ‘You
deliberately missed sir, may I ask why?’

      Thorndale just
shrugged. ‘I must be having a bad day.’  He was not ready to admit that he had
deliberately missed but everyone present knew it to be so.  If he could hit a
wafer at thirty yards, he was not going to miss Richard at fifty.

      Thorndale was
abrupt. ‘Lealholme I must request your presence and that of your sister at my
home in Green Street at midday.  I wish to know what Lady Ellingham is about.’ Richard
nodded. ‘We shall be pleased to attend sir for indeed I need to get to the
bottom of this affair myself.’  What is more, although he did not say it, he
believed that Thorndale might just hold the key to the final piece of the puzzle.

      Richard collected
his things together and escorted Felicity to Jeremy’s phaeton.  He climbed up
beside her, took the reins and moved off.  Jeremy had agreed to return to the
city on Artemis. Richard sat stiffly and was obviously angry at Felicity for
her part in this morning’s proceedings but he was in no mood for conversation. 
Felicity did not care.  Richard was alive and unhurt and that was all that
mattered.  She slipped her arms in his and leaned against him.  He did not
shrug her off she noticed but kept his eyes concentrated on the road.  ‘Give
him a couple of hours,’ she thought to herself, and he would come around.

      Thorndale
remained behind for a few moments to pay the doctor and then climbed into his
own carriage.  Giles climbed up beside him. ‘All right Alex, out with it, why did
you miss?  We all know it was deliberate.’ Thorndale turned his head. ‘Richard
is an honourable man.  I was not about to shoot him for the indiscretions of his
sister and after all the trouble Lady Ellingham has gone to this morning, it
seemed churlish to disappoint her.’

      ‘But the charge
was serious; no one could have blamed you.  Is that the only reason?’

      Thorndale grinned
at his friend. ‘Can you not guess?  I have every intention of winning the fair Lady
Ellingham and I will hardly succeed if I kill her brother.’ Giles chuckled. ‘I
thought the land might lie that way, for she certainly is stunning.’

      ‘Ah but that is
not all Giles. How many women do you know, who would go to such lengths to save
their brother? Most of them would sit at home in a swoon, watching the clock
and waiting for the dreaded news.  Yes Giles a remarkable woman, don’t you
think?’

      Breakfast at
Upper Brook Street that morning was a subdued affair.   The Countess serving
herself some poached eggs, looked at her twins reproachfully. ‘If I did not
know any better I could swear that you two have quarrelled again. I swear, I
despair of the both of you.’

      Richard was quick
to reply. ‘No mother, we have not quarrelled, I am just rather tired this
morning,’ and then thinking of his arranged appointment with Thorndale he added.
‘In fact Felicity and I are going to spend the afternoon together.’

      Lady Ellingham
raised her eyebrows in enquiry.  Richard was happy to escort Felicity anywhere
on an evening but with the exception of a planned picnic or a trip to Richmond
Park, which due to the weather had been rare this year, they scarcely spent the
day together. Richard usually liked to spend his days with Jeremy shooting
wafers at Manton’s’ or sparing in Jacksons parlour.

 ‘And what are you
proposing to do,’ the Countess asked curiously.

      Richard opened
his mouth to reply but Felicity not quite knowing what he was going to say hastily
interrupted. ‘Richard has agreed to take me to Bartholomew Fair.  He has been
promising me for weeks.’

      Sophia Ellingham,
not one to overreact, was never the less extremely surprised and gave Richard a
disapproving look.  Richard looked at his sister exasperated and if he could
have reached across the table, he would have wrung her neck.

      ‘Richard I am
surprised, I would not have thought it of you.  I am sure that it is not quite
a respectable place to go but I do believe that you will be disappointed
because I am sure that they have long since packed up and left.’

      ‘Well I know it,’
he snapped. ‘I am afraid it is just wishful thinking on Flick’s part. No doubt,
Emily has been filling her head with such nonsense.  I do not intend to take
her to such a place. We shall be doing something a little more respectable.’

      Felicity pulled a
face and gave Richard a look of displeasure. The Countess was fond of her
children but she sometimes thought that their personalities must have been
switched at birth.  Felicity was 11 minutes older than Richard and the Countess
could only imagine that she had jostled for first position in the womb.  Life
would have been much simpler if Flick had her brother’s sedate and reliable character. 
She may then have been happy to stay at home and enjoy all the things a young lady
was meant to enjoy but she was never happier than when she was careering around
the Yorkshire countryside on Artemis, practising her shooting or trying her
hand at target and field archery. 

 Being the only girl in
her vicinity, she had romped around the countryside with Richard and his young
friends and as she got older, she could never understand why her parents had
tried to curfew her activities.  She had never ceased to get Richard into
trouble and then out of it again, but it would appear that in adulthood Richard
was increasingly called upon to help Felicity out of a fix.  She was curtailed
in London and the Countess felt guilty for dragging her to the city, but it was
necessary for Felicity to find a suitable husband and there was no one suitable
among her suitors in Yorkshire.

      Lady Ellingham
sighed and looked across at Richard; it was not that she was disappointed with her
son. Far from it, he always stepped up to the plate when it was necessary, but
if only he could do it with a bit more passion. The Countess chastised
herself.  It had been necessary for Richard to take responsibility far sooner
than he should have.  He was still very young and perhaps it was just as well
that he had a serious and sober personality.  She would have been most
distressed but not surprised if she had known of the events of the morning, but
Richard had charged Felicity with the solemn promise of keeping it strictly to
herself and if Felicity had many faults tittle- tattling was not one of them.

      After breakfast,
Felicity went to her room to decide what to wear for her morning visit to Lord Thorndale. 
She had dressed quickly that morning and realised that she must have looked a
fright and it had not helped her appearance that she had fallen humiliatingly into
a muddy puddle.  She wanted to look her best for the visit but for the life of
her she could not understand why, for she was still of the same opinion.  The
man was a rogue.

       So promptly at a
quarter to twelve, she stood in the hallway waiting for Richard. She was
wearing her best afternoon dress of mint green muslin made elegant by its
simplicity. It had a modest square, laced neckline and was tied around the high
waist with a matching ribbon in a deeper green. The dress sported long slim
elegant sleeves tapering to the wrist, a style of sleeve she favoured as it hid
the disfigurement on her forearm and alleviated the need to wear her customary elbow
length gloves.  To finish off the look she wore a cape of green velvet tailored
in the same colour as the satin ribbon on her dress.  Sarah arranged her hair
and trained it into a twist of golden ringlets that were tied at the crown of
her head and then fell luxuriously over her shoulder.

      Richard met her
in the hallway. ‘You look very fine Felicity,’ he smiled as he took her arm. 
Despite his pleasure, he had his reservations and cursed to himself.  He very
much doubted the wisdom of calling on the Marquis of Thorndale with Felicity
looking as delightful as she did.  He hesitated but there was no time to ask
her to go and change now or they would both be late, besides which he would
only meet with an argument.  Blast it, he would have to make the best of it but
why did the woman have to dress so simply divinely at all the wrong times.  He
could swear that she only lived to exasperate him.

      Richard and
Felicity walked the two blocks to Green Street and in typical Richard style;
they were knocking on the brass knocker at precisely midday.  The butler
escorted them to Thorndale’s study where the Marquis was sitting behind his
desk. Thorndale stood up to greet them, shook Richards hand and invited them both
to take a seat, after which he instructed the butler to bring in some sherry. 
Felicity looked around at her surroundings. They looked different in the
daylight.  She had been in this room before rifling through the Marquis’s desk
and the knowledge made her blush.

      Thorndale made
some small talk until his butler returned with the sherry and then got around
to the main purpose of the visit. Felicity took a fortifying sip of her sherry
waiting for the inevitable question. Alex gave her a dark brooding look. ‘Well Lady
Ellingham, you obviously believe I have a serious flaw in my character and I
would seriously like to know what has brought you to such a conclusion.  I would
like to know who has been spreading such lies and if you have discussed the
matter with anyone else for I need to discover the source of these false
accusations.’

      Richard looked at
her. ‘We need the truth Felicity before this matter gets seriously out of
hand.’ Felicity rolled her eyes. ‘It got seriously out of hand when you two
fools duelled at dawn. Can it get much worse?  Yes I will tell Lord Thorndale
what he wants to know.’

      Richard grimaced
at the fact that she had just called Lord Sheraton a fool but Thorndale only grinned
in humorous appreciation.  Despite his humour however, Alex was not to be
distracted from his purpose and sat waiting patiently for her explanation.

      She heaved a sigh
and began. ‘Emily Entwhistle called on me the morning before last.  She was in
a distressed state and told me that on the evening of Lady Colchester’s ball
you tricked her into the garden where you proceeded to take the Sapphire and
Diamond necklace from off her neck.  I have known Emily for a few weeks now and
I cannot think of one reason why she would not be telling the truth.’ Felicity
gave Alex Sheraton an equally level stare. ‘Well sir, and is it true, did you take
it without her permission?’

      Thorndale was
silent for a moment before giving his reply but then answered blatantly.
‘Indeed it is Lady Ellingham.’

 Felicity gave Richard
a triumphant smile as if to say -
I told you so!

      Thorndale however
continued. ‘But if that is all she told you, I am afraid you have been
seriously mislead because the necklace belongs to me.  It is a family heirloom
and belongs to a matching broach and earrings.  I was fond of Emily and told
her she could wear it for a very special occasion but unfortunately she was reluctant
to give it back to me.’

      Felicity looked
shocked but only momentarily. ‘The necklace belongs to you?’  She recovered her
surprise however. ‘But even so, how unchivalrous of you sir to take it back from
her in such a manner.’

      Thorndale sighed.
‘I see that if we are to rid you of this misconception of yours I will have to
explain everything to you.  Listen while I tell you a story.  Last Autumn I met
Emily Entwhistle in Bath, only she did not look like she does now.  She had
long brown curls down her back, very much like your own hair Lady Ellingham,
only a different colour.  She was not wearing those ridiculous spectacles that
she appears to have adopted these last few weeks in London, and she appeared
very different.  I must admit to my own chagrin, I was a fool and fell for the lady. 
We spent many weeks together in Bath and I lavished her with many gifts.  She
could not have been more charming and I foolishly thought I was in love.

To continue, Lady
Ashwood of Bath was to hold a ball for her 25
^th
Wedding Anniversary. 
In view of the occasion, I lent Emily the Stansfield Sapphire and Diamond
necklace to wear for the evening with the intent of putting it back in the safe
after the ball. She was delighted with my gesture, excessively so when I look
back.  Anyway, half way through the evening, I went to procure her a glass of
lemonade but when I returned I could not find her anywhere.  I searched for an
hour.  Neither she nor her uncle could be found and I discovered later from a
witness that the two of them were seen entering a carriage shortly after
9.30pm.  Emily in short had disappeared from the face of the earth.  She
obviously realised the value of the necklace she was wearing and decided to abscond
with it.

She said she lived in
Northumberland so I travelled there to try to find her and retrieve the
necklace but no one had heard of the Entwhistle family.  After many
investigations I found out that a woman vaguely answering her description had
been travelling around the fashionable resorts attaching herself to wealthy
men, enjoying their favours and when she had obtained as much as she could from
them in the way of expensive gifts and money she would disappear. The
descriptions of the Lady were similar but varied in subtle ways; she is obviously
a master of disguise.  Adrian Entwhistle the gentleman she travels with is not
her uncle but her husband. That is how they make their living.  She obviously
realised the value of the piece, the necklace was like no other.  Emily knew
she would have to return it to me after the ball.  The pair of them obviously
decided it was worth it to disappear sooner than they had planned. The value of
the Stansfield necklace was probably worth more than they could appropriate in a
whole seasons deception.

At the beginning of the
little season, I was at home at my countryseat near Harrogate.  I got a letter
from my friend Giles Kavanagh advising me that he had seen a Lady in London
wearing a necklace remarkably like the Stansfield Sapphire and Diamond piece
and that I should come to London immediately to investigate.  I did not for one
moment expect it would be Emily who Giles had seen, for I had expected that the
pair would have sold the necklace and be long gone.

I spotted Emily at Lady
Colchester’s ball only she looked so different.  If it were not for the fact
that she was wearing the necklace, I would have walked straight past her. I
approached her and asked her to dance.  Her eyes filled with dismay when she
saw me but I gave her no choice and she reluctantly accepted my hand for a
waltz.  That is when I took Emily into the garden and demanded the necklace
back.  I did not wish to embarrass either Emily or myself in the middle of the
dance floor, which she well deserved so took her out into the garden where we
could be private.

The necklace was her
undoing.  She did not realise how famous it was and that at some point it would
be recognised.  I was in luck; she was obviously so taken with the piece and she
decided to keep it for herself instead of selling it.  I retrieved my property
and I have to say that the Lady was not too pleased.

I told her that if she
did not remove herself from London immediately I would report her to the magistrate. 
Something I did not want to do, as I had no desire to see her hang in Newgate
prison, no matter what she had done. I wish I could say as much for that
husband of hers for he is one born for the hangman’s noose. It is only a matter
of time and it is of no consequence to me.’

      Thorndale
finished his story. ‘So you see my dear I am not so wicked as you would have
me. I only took what was mine under circumstances that were not ideal but never
the less it was necessary.’

      Felicity heart
missed a beat. She could hardly believe it.  ‘I am happy to believe you but you
must forgive me for asking, what proof have you that the necklace is yours?’