The Debutante's Code by Erica Vetsch

Author:Erica Vetsch
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kregel Publications
Published: 2021-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

“It was right there. Tiny but unmistakable. My heart was pounding so loud, I’m surprised the detective couldn’t hear it.” As Juliette made her report and copied from memory the symbols from the tapestry onto her worksheet, her pulse skipped in her veins. She dipped her quill in the inkwell on the battered desk in the War Room, concentrating on reproducing the code correctly.

“I don’t know whether you are brave or idiotic. What possessed you to invite the detective along for the inspection?” Uncle Bertie paced before the desk, his hands behind his back.

“I wasn’t the one who invited him. It was the manager. He showed off those tapestries like they were his newborn children. The detective arrived in the office as we were going upstairs to see them. I was prepared to wait until most of the people had left, claim to have forgotten my reticule, and then slip upstairs, but Duke Heinrich intervened. He said he’d heard about the new artwork and suggested we see the manager about viewing them.”

Bertie’s head came up, and he stopped pacing. “The duke suggested the viewing?”

Juliette nodded. “Look, some of the symbols are repeated.” She held up the paper, tapping her chin with the feather quill. “Now we’re making progress. Repetition and patterns are the keys to breaking a code.”

“Well done, but go back. It was Duke Heinrich’s idea to see the tapestries?”

“Yes. He excused the two of us from our party, with the dowager’s permission, to ask the manager about seeing them. No one else in the group wanted to go, though the duke invited everyone.”

“Did he examine them with you?”

“He stood back to observe them, and he spoke with the manager while I got close to the tapestries. Mr. Swann stood beside me, but he seemed to be looking …” She ducked her chin, her cheeks warming.

“Yes?”

Glancing up, she tried to put on a cloak of casualness. “He seemed to be looking at me more than at the tapestries.” Her chin came up.

Bertie pinched his upper lip, his eyes clouded. “You’d do best to avoid the detective. He’s sharp brained and not your average plodding night watchman. He’s making inroads on the case, though he isn’t aware of that just yet. If we aren’t careful, he’ll slot enough pieces together to uncover what we need kept secret.” He straightened, consulted the list pinned to the post with the letter opener, and pointed to one line.

“The next item won’t be difficult to obtain, and it won’t be clandestine either. But it will need to be procured by you.”

She leaned forward. “What is it and how?” Anticipation feathered across her skin.

“It’s a jade dragon. Rare enough, and it is up for public auction. Tomorrow afternoon at Barrett and Company Auction House. I want you to go there, purchase it, and bring it back here. Your cover story is that your father’s birthday is coming up soon, and he is interested in anything he can find coming from the Orient. You think the jade dragon will make the perfect gift.

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