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She did, hurriedly reaching into the pockets sewn into her dress, and breathed an audible sigh of relief. “It’s here. ”
“Now all you have to worry about is getting the other one off. ”
“And returning it to its rightful owner,” she said, yanking at it.
“Don’t do that—you’ll make your finger swell and it’ll be even worse. We’ll use warm water and soap and it will slip right off. I presume it belongs to the duchess of Carrimore?”
“Of course it does. What else would draw a jewel thief in the middle of a party? We have to get it back to her!” Jane looked as if she wanted to cry.
“That’ll teach you to go kissing jewel thieves in the middle of the night,” Miranda said cheerfully.
“Don’t laugh! This is a serious problem. ”
“You meet a quixotic jewel thief who kisses you and slips a diamond ring on your finger. Next thing we know he’ll be asking you to marry him. ”
“Don’t be ridiculous. ” She stopped fretting at the ring. “I’m marrying Mr. Bothwell. ”
“Of course you are…. Unfortunately. But aren’t you glad you at least had a taste of adventure?”
Jane absently put her hand to her mouth, and the diamond ring sparkled in the candlelight. Miranda watched, and an unexpected spark of jealousy danced through her. The dreamy expression still lingered in Jane’s deep brown eyes, and the fingers that touched her slightly swollen lips were a subtle caress. Miranda had never been kissed like that, and it was more than likely she never would. She’d never know that swept-away feeling, that tender, almost painful longing for something you could never have. She had been ruined in more ways than one.
“I think,” said Jane sadly, “I might have been better off without it. ”
Miranda could feel the pain in her voice. “The good thing is, no one knows about it. No one but the thief, and he’s hardly likely to start talking. You’ll forget all about this once you’re happily married. ”
“I thought you didn’t want me to marry Mr. Bothwell. ”
“I don’t, but it’s better than running off with a jewel thief,” she said frankly. “And don’t worry about the ring. I’ll ask the earl what we should do about it. ”
“You aren’t going to tell him what happened!” Jane protested, horrified.
“Of course not. I’ll tell him I found it. But he’s a very clever man—I expect he’ll figure out a way to return it with no one the wiser. ” She couldn’t rid herself of the sudden suspicion that the earl knew far too much about the jewel thief and the Carrimore diamonds. But that was absurd—he was a peer of the realm. With a worse reputation than she enjoyed. But still, it was ridiculous.
Jane glanced down at the ring, a wistful expression on her face. “That would be for best … wouldn’t it?”
“Yes, dearest,” Miranda said, tucking her arm around Jane’s waist. “You can’t keep it, as gorgeous as it is. Don’t fret about it. You just get a good night’s sleep and tomorrow everything will be resolved. ”
But she knew Jane would do no such thing. She would lie in bed, and touch her mouth again, and remember what her mysterious admirer had said and done. And the sooner she got married off to the odious Mr. Bothwell, the safer she would be.
It was a great deal too bad that safety no longer looked so appealing.
“You did what?” Lucien de Malheur demanded of his criminal confederate.
“I kissed a proper young lady who happened to stumble in on me while I was gathering the duchess’s extra diamonds. I don’t know how she got there—probably the servants’ access. One moment I was alone in the room, scooping up the diamonds, in the next she was there. What else was I to do but kiss her?”
“Break her neck?” Lucien suggested dryly.
“You know I wouldn’t do that. Not to an innocent. Besides, she was such a shy, sweet little thing. Though not so little, if I recall. Clearly she needed kissing. ”
“You’re just lucky she didn’t scream her head off. ” The earl’s voice was sour; he’d been thinking too much about Miranda Rohan and it had put him in a foul mood. Jacob’s romantic dalliances didn’t help.
“Oh, I made sure she couldn’t,” Jacob said. “And even if she had it wouldn’t have been a problem. I could have just dove out the window and be off before she managed to raise the wind on me. You would have been perfectly safe. ”
“I wasn’t worried. I just think you’re being a little reckless. You had half a dozen men who could have done your job tonight, and yet you chose to endanger yourself and me. ”
Jacob Donnelly shrugged his wide shoulders and began using his aristocratic accents. “Don’t worry, I won’t be seeing her again. I don’t even know her name. ”
“I do. It’s Jane Pagett. She’s engaged to marry some dull stick named George Bothwell, and she happens to be Miranda Rohan’s closest friend. ”
