Chapter Thirteen
The week was fast drawing to a close. And while the countess had finally sent the guest list to Lady Margaret, there was still no sign of the Crusader Ruby. With his family’s honor at stake, Julian decided it was time to confront the countess and demand she hand it over.
He knocked several times on the front door of the Count of Lienz’s townhouse before a servant finally opened it.
“Lord Newhall to see the Countess of Lienz,” he said.
The footman nodded. “Please come inside. I have instructions to hand over an item to you.”
Julian followed him inside and waited while the footman hurried off into a nearby room. He returned with an envelope, and nothing else. “Their royal highnesses departed London early yesterday morning. They left this for you my lord.”
With a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, Julian took the letter and tore it open. He read the short note and then screwed it up into a tight ball and stuffed it into his coat pocket.
He waited until he had got back into his carriage before pulling the letter back out and reading it for a second time.
Newhall,
My darling husband wishes to sail tomorrow so we left London a little earlier than expected.
I am sure you would agree that the necklace suits me better than it would any future wife of yours, so I have decided to keep it. Consider it payment for having given birth to you.
Your dearest mama
“You fool, Newhall,” he muttered.
He had trusted her, and yet again, she had betrayed him. She had never intended to hand over the necklace, using it as a means to once more get the better of him. She knew how much the Crusader Ruby meant to the Palmer family, and by keeping it she was exacting every drop of revenge she could.
He threw the letter across the carriage and huffed in frustration. If he never saw the necklace again it was his own stupid fault.
The Count of Lienz’s yacht would have sailed with the evening tide and be well on its way to the port of Ostend in Belgium. His mother was out of his reach.
The only bright side he could find in discovering the countess’s early departure from England was that she would not be making an unexpected appearance at Newhall Castle to disrupt the house party. Apart from having made the guest list, she would have no other input in the most important decision in his life—choosing a wife.
