“I know you too well,” Diana said lightly. “Tell me what has brought you here so early.”
Elliott didn’t answer as the footman served him a hearty meal. He tucked into it with relish before shooting his sister a too innocent look. “How goes it with the new footmen?”
“Don’t you mean spies?” she answered, her voice high.
Elliott’s head and his eyebrows lifted as he looked at his sister. He didn’t speak, and neither did she until the silence stretched to an uncomfortable degree. And then she turned to the butler. “Thank you, Simpson. I think we can manage from here.”
“As you wish, my lady,” the butler said as he gestured the footmen to precede him out of the room. He shut the door firmly behind him while Diana relaxed back in her seat as she regarded her brother. When she spoke, it was quiet, but her words hit with the force of a sledgehammer.
“Out with it, Elliott. Why am I hosting four new footman and a delightful new guest all from London’s most infamous gaming hell?”
“My lady!” Amber gasped as she straightened out of her seat. She knew! She knew who Amber was, and she was not pleased.
“Sit down, Amber,” Diana said gently. “I have no quarrel with you. I will delight in taking you to Almack’s tomorrow. But the question—for my brother—remains. Why is everyone here?”
Elliott’s brows drew down. “Almack’s? Whyever would you want to go there?”
“Because she has a voucher, Elliott. And I shall be pleased to go with her, that’s why.”
Which was a lovely thought. It was a beautiful one! But not if Diana knew she was foisting a fraud into those hallowed halls. “I-I can’t,” Amber said as she fought the tears. “You know what I am.”
“Do I?” Diana challenged. She arched a brow at her brother. “Who is she to you?”
The question was clear. Is she your mistress? And Amber would not sit down for that. “I make jewelry, my lady. I am the best there is in all of England, even though I am a woman. And it was not my choice to deceive you.”
“Of that, I have no doubt,” Diana drawled. Then she gestured at Amber’s hair. “Did you make the lion you wore last night? It was exquisite.”
Amber smiled and nodded. “I did. And Lord Byrn has asked me to make a specific piece based on—”
“That blighter, Larry John, sold Lady Morthan’s brooch, and now if I am to get my resolution passed, I need the damned thing remade. It’s been melted down, and Miss Gohar here is the only one I trust to remake it.”
Diana frowned. “That ugly ruby thing? The one on the portrait they’re so proud of?”
“Yes,” Amber said. “Only it wasn’t detailed enough.”
Diana lifted her teacup to her lips. “Then have a look at the companion pieces. There’s earbobs and a ring. Matches a neck pin her father used to wear.”
Elliott nodded. “That was my thought exactly.” He glanced at Amber. “You can deduce the design from those, can’t you?”
She nodded. It should be enough. She hoped.
“Good. But the other pieces are at their country estate in a safe in his library. Deuced inconvenient, but I thought we would leave tomorrow morning early. We can be out there and back by nightfall.”
So quickly. Her fun was ending so fast. “Yes, my lord—”
“You certainly cannot! Elliott, I told you. She has a voucher toAlmack’s!”
The man huffed out a breath but didn’t argue. It was left to Amber to point out the obvious. “I’m a merchant, my lady. I cannot go—”
“You have a voucher, do you not?” She tapped her finger on the invitation.
“Yes, but—”
“And a sponsor, yes? I am here, am I not?”
For such a small woman, she could be decidedly imperious. “Yes, but—”
“Then you may go, and I will hear no more about it.”