“What a fascinating trinket. May I see?” She took the knife and worked the mechanism. A long, thin blade snapped out. “Oh… Ohmy.” She closed the knife. “That looked quite sharp.”
“Oh, it is,” Millie replied. “If you look closely enough, you can see grinding marks.”
Neville placed his hand against the wall and bent partially over.
Sarah turned. “Neville, dear. Harris will never forgive you if you cast up your accounts in the royal retiring room. The stink is so hard to remove.” She swiveled back to Millicent. “This belongs to Lord Willard?”
Millie nodded. “I’m not sure I would have gotten away if I hadn’t taken it from him.”
Sarah paused for a moment, head tilted. Only a brief flush betrayed her horror. “I’m not sure he deserves to have his property returned. But, if you insist, I will enlist Mr. Harris. He is forever finding lost objects in boxes.”
“Oh, very good!” Millie brightened. “And wise, too. Willard won’t be sure if I took it or if he dropped it as I passed.”
Sarah inclined her head. “Bright girl. Now, we must set our minds to how we might best politely extract ourselves from the theater without drawing any more undue attention.”
They stood in silence for a few long moments. Neville, and presumably the ladies, tested, and then discarded, several plans. But in the end, Sarah came up with an idea.
“I believe I have a solution,” she said. “My friends will return Lady Eltenham to her son and deliver the message that Millie and Lady Eltenham were taking a turn with me when I received an urgent message from my brother’s household saying that theduke has fallen desperately ill. Naturally, as the message left us both distraught, they will explain to Willard that I asked and received permission from Lady Eltenham to allow you to accompany me home.”
“Will she agree?” Millie asked.
“In her state,” Sarah answered dryly, “I’m not sure she will notice either way.”
Neville’s eyes widened.Drugged?
Sarah’s slight nod confirmed his suspicion.
“What if Harbury is out?” Neville asked.
“When I left the house, Harbury and Adrian had planned a quiet evening together while their wives went out. Why? I don’t know. Likely reliving their youth, or some such male nonsense. Let us hope their plans did not change. We can dispatch two trusted stagehands—one to Harbury to alert him we are on the way, and the other to Mrs. Vane’s, to tell Cassie and Eliza they are urgently needed. And the family doctor must be called as well, to lend verisimilitude.”
“Cousin Sarah,” Neville breathed. “You are a genius.”
She smiled sweetly, with only a touch of self-satisfaction. “I know.” She raked him with another, knowing gaze. “Neville, I know you are anxious but do remember to be discreet. Harbury is supposed to be ill, so when you get to the house, enter through the mews. I will make sure the gate is unlocked.”
“I will be there, of course.” Neville gazed at his cousin in bleak surrender. “There is one stop I need to make.”
“Is Asquith at the Albany?” Sarah asked, correctly ascertaining his concern.
“I don’t know.” He did know, however, that he couldn’t marry Millie without Asquith’s permission, and so he needed to conduct a search.
And, as they were all likely to be occupied with his plan to secure Millie’s future for at least the next couple of days, Nevillealso needed to pass on the Mrs. Cartwright’s letter to a Runner as soon as possible. Presumably, the Runner would be able to verify the location of that house party before the trail went cold.
But he could not succinctly explain, so he simply added, “Finding Asquith might take some time.”
“Take all the time you need,” Sarah replied. “Asquith must be there.”
“Why does Asquith need to come?” Millie’s frown deepened. “Is the duke—or my sister—genuinely ill?”
“No, dear. But we must make people believe he is.” Sarah subjected Millie to the same scrutiny she’d just given him. “Take the light, would you, cousin?
Neville accepted the lantern.
“Millie,” Sarah said gently, “stay still for a moment.”
Millie complied as Sarah fussed with her hair, adjusting the pins and tucking away stray curls. Then, she leaned back and gave a nod.
“Chin up.” With two gentle fingers, Sarah lifted Millie’s face. “Harris will make sure Lord Willard is back in his box, but as we make our way down the stairs, you must look resolute, dignified, and thoroughly concerned for Harbury.”