Chapter Nine

The party was going well. No thanks to Alexander, of course, and his drunken fool of a friend.

William breathed in deeply, forcing himself to stay calm. He’d snatched a few minutes to himself in a quiet corner by the mantelpiece, but it wouldn’t be long before somebody or other came over to talk to him, and then his peace would be over.

He breathed deeply, steadying himself. Balls like this weren’t meant to be peaceful . He was here to do his duty, both to himself and to his mother. Mary, for her part, was having an excellent time, and William was glad. The poor woman had few enough pleasures in life as it was. She deserved a little joy.

And so do you, whispered a small voice in the back of William’s head, but he ignored it.

Almost before he knew it, his hand had slipped into his jacket pocket, where the locket lay wrapped in a strip of linen.

Folly. Absolute folly.

He knew he was being a fool. Why should he care so much about returning a piece of jewelery to a woman he did not know? He fancied he could almost trace the engraved initials in the back of silver locket, initials which, according to the man he’d hired to investigate, did not belong to anyone among the Ton .

L.B. Those were the initials. William couldn’t think of anyone with those initials.

In fact, the letter from Mr. Seeker sat in his pocket beside the linen-wrapped locket. It was frank and simple, getting straight to the point.