Lessons in Seduction [Cambridge Fellows Mysteries: 6] by Charlie Cochrane

Author:Charlie Cochrane [Cochrane, Charlie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Romance, Historical, Fiction & Literature, Lgbt
ISBN: 9781605049014
Google: 7S8mVFNu5TAC
Goodreads: 7616664
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Published: 2010-01-31T14:00:00+00:00

“Have you a moment?” Janet Allender sidled up to Richard Stewart’s table, bobbing graciously to the two men stationed there as they rose and bowed to her.

“Of course.” Mr. Stewart drew out a chair, helping the lady into it with charm and style.

“Shall I make myself scarce?” Jonty beamed brightly at their unexpected but welcome guest.

“No, silly goose. Especially not if you keep smiling like that. I feel sixty years younger. And this concerns you too.” She glanced around in what she probably thought was a subtle manner although she was actually drawing more attention to them. Everyone knew what the Stewarts were here for. “It may relate to the matter in hand.”

“We’d be more than happy to hear what you have to tell us. Would you like some coffee?”

“No, thank you, I’ve had an adequate sufficiency of that tonight.” She drew her head closer to her fellow conspirators. “It’s about that necklace young Laurence Johnson’s bride is wearing. The emerald one.”

“It’s a handsome piece—it belonged to Jennifer’s mother, you know, Jonty.” Mr. Stewart enlightened his son not just for his benefit but for that of Mrs. Allender, who might or might not know the tale. “He showed it to me years ago, both on the portrait of her which graced the great hall and in the flesh. The tones of the gems were fabulous. It had been put into store for the benefit of her grandson’s wife, so I suppose it appeared at the time of the honeymoon?”

“Perhaps it was part of the treasure trove Lady Jennifer left to her daughter-in-law.” Jonty nodded vaguely in the Johnsons’ direction. “We understand its new owners quickly appropriated it.”

“They seem slightly unsuitable for someone in mourning, but I suppose there’s a limit to black pearl or jet. These young folk seem to like being a bit more flamboyant than we were.” Mrs. Allender rolled her eyes.

Jonty bit his lip to hide the smile. Their guest seemed to be decked out in every colour of the rainbow and in a dress that might be the height of fashion somewhere up the Euphrates, but not in the Home Counties. “Very true. Although it must be hard when you’re young to resist wearing such a lovely necklace.”

“Well, let me tell you something. I was talking to her tonight and had the chance to admire the thing close up. My eyes may not be as sharp as they were but spectacles are a wonderful invention. Those gems aren’t real.”

“What?” The two Stewart voices spoke in unison.

“Paste, I’d have said, excellent imitation but not quite right. When I was a gal I took a great interest in these things—my uncle was fascinated by jewellery and on the quiet he used to produce imitation items to a great standard. For the theatre, mainly, although one or two pieces he made were for friends who’d hit hard times and needed to raise a bit of cash. They’d use my uncle’s imitations to cover up the fact that the real things had been popped.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.