Diamonds are for Marriage: The Australian's Society Bride

Robbie slumped even further. “I told you I went cuckoo. It’s a bloody nightmare. It didn’t take me a moment more to come to my senses, I swear. I was desperate to find you, only you’d disappeared.”

“And what was I supposed to do, put them back?” Leona asked incredulously. “I’ve spoilt you rotten, Robbie. I’m your sister. I’ve always tried to be there for you, and you go and do a thing like that to the Blanchards—Rupert will have you hanged.”

“Good thing they don’t hang people any more.” Robbie gave a hollow laugh. “Forgive me, Leo. It was a mad moment over which I had no control. I wanted to get back at them. Most of them treat me like I’m dirt beneath their feet.”

“Oh, stop feeling sorry for yourself,” Leona flashed, then she went to him and took the earrings out of his clenched hand. “I have to get these back. And I have to do it right away.”

Instantly Robbie rose to his feet, his face ashen. “I can’t let you do that, Leo. It’s time to be a man. I’ll find Boyd. I’ll explain what happened. He’ll tell me what a bloody fool I am—tear strips off me—but he’ll work it out.”

“Not Boyd,” Leona said. “We can’t involve Boyd in this. I’ll do it. They’ve all retired for the night.”

“What if Jinty has already gone to collect the earrings and found them missing?” Robbie spoke with quiet horror, scratching a sharp finger down his cheek and leaving a trail of blood.

“She hasn’t checked,” Leona said. “She can’t have. If she had, the whole house would be in an uproar.”

“Hammerings on the door. The oldest rellie turfed out of bed. The likes of me strip-searched.” Robbie brightened just faintly. “Let me do it.”

“And what if you’re caught out? No, leave it to me.”

No one in the long gallery of the west wing, though the faces in the paintings stared very hard at her.

No one coming up or going down the grand staircase, unless they were the ghosts of Blanchards past. No sound of voices or footsteps either. It was as though the night had swallowed everyone up.

Leona had never felt so terrified in her life. The diamonds were freezing, like chunks of ice in her hand. The big chandeliers were off but there were still a number of lamps and sconces burning. She pressed on stealthily, quiet as a mouse, if ever a mouse would have been allowed to take up residence in such a house.

What if she met up with someone—Rupert? She didn’t think she could deal with that. Rupert was famous for appearing when least wanted or expected. What excuse would she have for coming downstairs again? A book from the library, perhaps? Who would possibly swallow that? Maybe an insomniac who read until sunrise? Could she say she had lost one of her own earrings? Danger in that. She was wearing them, for one thing, and the very mention of earrings would be sure to alert Rupert, who was equally famous for his sweeping powers of deduction.

God, she felt sick. Sick and shuddering with nerves. For a moment, she stood outside the drawing room, trying to sense if anyone was inside. Not that they would be in there singing songs. She glanced in quickly, then out again. How could Robbie have done such a lunatic thing? It was wrong, wrong, wrong and he would have been made to pay for it. Rupert, beneath the cultivated veneer, was a hard man. Maybe cruel. He certainly hadn’t made Aunt Alexa happy.

By now she was convinced there was no one in the drawing room. A few lamps had been left on in there as well. But everything was very still. So still. Distressed, worried sick for Robbie, sick for herself, she moved into the beautiful quiet room like a girl with wings. She had taken the precaution of removing her high heeled evening sandals, replacing them with a pair of ballet-style flats. Now her footsteps on the carpet were soundless.

So far, so good!

Yet she felt like a thief, guilty as sin. Her heart was pounding so hard it had all but jumped into her throat. At any moment she expected Rupert or Jinty to materialise like a couple of sleuths hard on her tracks. She had to move faster. Finally she reached the little gilded table, putting out a trembling hand … Please, God, help me do this. But would or should God extricate her from sin?

“Leo?” a voice that surely wasn’t God’s said from behind her, making her jump. “What are you doing downstairs? Couldn’t you sleep?”

Tears pulsed in her eyes. She couldn’t seem to breathe as the anguish and humiliation rolled over her. The game was up.

“Leo?” Boyd said again. “Are you okay?”

He sounded very concerned. What should she say? No, I’m not okay. And I never will be again. Should she spin around, hold the diamonds out to him with a jaunty, I couldn’t resist taking them. Now I’m trying to put them back. The family might destroy Robbie but Boyd would never destroy her. He most certainly would be shocked and appalled, but she knew he wouldn’t turn her in. Boyd wasn’t Rupert. He had a huge reservoir of heart.

At this point, perplexed and intrigued, Boyd, who had come downstairs to turn off lights, moved purposefully towards her. His strong hands descended on her delicate shoulders, bare except for plaited wisps of chiffon that served as straps. Slowly he turned her to face him, conscious that she was scarcely breathing. “Tell me what’s the matter.” Urgently he searched her face.

“Nothing,” she whispered, averting her red-gold head.

“There must be something. What have you got in your hand?”

“Nothing.”

He looked at her in disbelief. “Of course you have.” He reached down to take hold of her hand and, as he did so, it went nerveless and the diamond earrings rolled out of her grasp and onto the exquisite Savonnerie rug, the diamonds all the while shooting out brilliant white lights.

“This isn’t possible!” Boyd groaned, bending to retrieve them.

“I don’t know what came over me.” Her voice shook. She was shaking all over.

“Well, I do.” Boyd began to ease her backwards into an armchair. “What the hell is going on here? Robbie’s in trouble. Surely to God he didn’t think stealing the earrings was a way out?”

This was horrible. He suspected Robbie already. “It had nothing to do with Robbie,” she said, vehemently shaking her head.

“So you stole them, did you?” he asked, his voice full of disbelief and disgust.

“It was a moment of madness, Boyd. I wanted to try them on. I knew I had to return them. That’s what I was trying to do. You mustn’t have noticed, but Jinty took them off towards the end of the evening and put them in the Limoges bowl.”

“Ah!” He considered that for a moment. “So recount your movements for me, if you would. At what late point of the evening did you make your move? Let’s see, you were in the garden with me, getting kissed senseless. Then you said your goodnights and went up to bed. I saw you and Robbie going up the stairs together. Robbie, your ‘kid brother’.”

“I’m telling you the truth, Boyd.” She looked up at him, looming so tall above her, with huge anguished eyes.

“No, Leona, you’re telling me one big fat lie. Why didn’t you just come to me? Then you wouldn’t have had to do this. Why didn’t Robbie have the guts to come to me and confess?”

“Robbie had nothing to do with it,” she repeated. She stood a better chance than Robbie.

“Oh, stop it!” Boyd said, as though he’d totally run out of patience. How formidable he looked! How handsome! He had taken off his jacket but he was still in his evening clothes, the collar of his white shirt undone, his black dress tie hanging loose.

“Someone’s coming!” Leona gave a terrified gasp, starting up in alarm. She looked towards the entrance hall.

Boyd didn’t reply. He grabbed her as if she were a doll, hauling her back against the green and gold curtains. “Kiss me,” he ordered bluntly. “Kiss me and make it good!”

She did exactly as he told her, a captive in his powerful embrace. Their mouths locked in a kiss that, strategy or not, deepened and deepened until her brain turned to mush and she was moaning his name.

“Well, this is a surprise!” Jinty stalked into the room like a goddess of the hunt who had caught up with her prey.

Leona couldn’t speak for the life of her. It was left to Boyd to query smoothly, “Surprise? It can’t be that big a surprise, Jinty. I’ve always had deep feelings for Leona and she for me.”

Jinty’s determined jaw set in unflattering lines. “If I recall correctly, you and Chloe Compton are to make a match of it.” She sounded chilly and utterly shocked.

“That might be Dad’s plan,” Boyd said, “but not mine. I make my own decisions, Jinty. I thought you knew that. I’m no more in love with Chloe than—who shall I say?—I’m in love with your sister, Tonya. Oh, by the way—” Boyd keeping one arm around the deeply trembling Leona, dug the other hand into his trouser pocket “—you really shouldn’t leave extremely valuable heirloom jewellery lying around. Is that why you came downstairs?”

Jinty’s skin flushed as if she were in disgrace. “You have my earrings?”

“I have the family earrings, Jinty,” Boyd said pointedly, swiftly seizing the advantage. “They will eventually come to my wife. It’s a good thing I happened to notice where you put them.” He held the earrings out to her and Jinty moved forward to take them, her features sharply honed with all manner of emotions.

“I’d appreciate it if you didn’t say anything to your father,” she said stiffly.

“Jinty, I wouldn’t dream of telling him. Just be a little more careful with them in future.”

Jinty, diamonds in hand, turned to go. “I may be a little slow,” she said, “but I had no idea what was going on with you and Leona.”