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Diana clapped her hands. “Oh, how exciting! I’m to pose as a demirep!”
Cressy rolled her eyes. “I’ll pretend to be an abbess and tell the butler Sedgwick asked Diana to wait for him in his room. While Diana distracts the butler, I’ll steal his keys. Then Diana can search his rooms for the necklace.”
Gabrielle retraced the plan in her mind. “That just might work. But what do I do?” Gabrielle asked.
“You will be with Sedgwick. Keep him occupied and away from home until Diana and I have time to find the necklace.”
“It could work.” Gabrielle looked at Diana. “Are you willing to search his rooms?”
Diana’s eyes gleamed. “Why not? It might prove interesting to find what Sedgwick has hiding in his clothespress. When do we go?”
“We need to know when Sedgwick will be out,” Cressy said.
Diana tapped a finger on her chin. “But how will we know Sedgwick’s social calendar?”
That was a good question. How would they know? Again, they could ask the servants and face all those underlying risks…or they could go another route.
“I know who we could ask,” Gabrielle said.
Diana shook her head. “No. Don’t say it.”
“She always has the gossip. She knows what everyone is doing and where they’ll be.”
“No, Gabrielle. Please, no,” Diana begged.
“Unless you can think of an alternative, I see no other choice. We must pay a visit to Miss Cheever.” It was not as though Gabrielle relished the idea.
Cressy wrinkled her nose. “Gabrielle is correct. If anyone knows where Sedgwick will be, Violet Cheever will.”
“Fine!” Diana threw up her hands. “But first I need more chocolate and possibly something stronger.” She stood. “On second thought, let’s go right away. The sooner we go, the sooner it’s done. I’ll tell John Coachman to ready the carriage.” She swept out of the room with skirts and feathers flying.
When the sound of her loud footsteps dulled, Cressy smiled at Gabrielle. “See, everything will be fine.”
Gabrielle smiled back. “I do hope so.”
“It will.” She took Gabrielle’s hand in hers and squeezed it.
Diana breezed back in. “Hurry up!” she scolded. “I want this over with so I can calm myself before tomorrow night.”
Gabrielle rose. “A new gown and the need for calming? What’s so important about Winterbourne’s ball?”
Diana smiled. “I’ve decided vicomte Marsan is the one.”
Cressy’s eyebrows rose. “The frog eater?”
“The émigré,” Diana corrected. “He never attends ton functions, but I have it on very good authority he will be at the Winterbourne’s ball.” She looked at Gabrielle. “So let’s put this Violet Cheever unpleasantness behind us quickly, shall we?” And she marched out of the room again.
Gabrielle glanced at Cressy. “I might have known it would be something important.”
—
Violet Cheever was not an attractive woman. Gabrielle didn’t like to be unkind, but there it was. Violet’s teeth stuck out in front like a beaver’s, her nose was flat and looked like it had been squashed, her eyes were small, and her mousy hair was thin and stringy.
Gabrielle would have felt sorry for the girl if Violet wasn’t so horribly mean. Violet had attended the convent school with Gabrielle and Diana, and she’d always been the one who pulled pranks on other girls. She’d put spiders in all their beds and “accidentally” spilled Gabrielle’s lily of the valley perfume, which had been a birthday gift from her mother. She pulled hair, stuck her foot out to trip her schoolmates, and was always whispering something about someone.
Violet was too scared of Diana to play any tricks on her, which in Gabrielle’s opinion was too bad. Diana was creative and surely would have thought of some satisfying way to mortify Violet. But Gabrielle was happy now, as she and Diana stepped into Violet’s modest drawing room, to have her friend beside her. It would make the next quarter of an hour pass quicker.
“Why, if it isn’t Lady Diana!” Violet said when the two were announced. Gabrielle rolled her eyes. She knew Diana hated fawning sycophants, but the ruder Diana was to Violet, the more Violet attempted to ingratiate herself.
