Free An Affair Without End by Candace Camp Page A

jeweler’s eyepiece was, she knew, one of his most prized possessions, adorned with a thin silver band on which were engraved his initials, GDB. He seemed to take great pleasure in handing it to her to use. Quiet though he was, a streak of artistic pride ran through him.
    Putting the loupe to her eye, she bent over the jewel. “It’s beautiful. So large to have so few inclusions.”
    “It’s a stunning gem. And rare. It was a very lucky find.”
    “Your design is the perfect setting for it.” She glanced up and found Oliver watching her. Her heart did an odd little lurch in her chest, and she turned quickly back. “I must try it on.”
    Brookman started to rise from his seat behind the desk, but Vivian was already turning to Oliver, holding out the necklace. He took it from her and came around behind her, lowering it over her head so that it settled on her throat. His fingers brushed against her nape as he fastened the clasp, and his touch sent a shiver of sensation down through her.She looked down, feeling suddenly a trifle breathless, even flustered.
    “How does it look?” she asked, standing up and turning.
    “Beautiful.” Oliver was looking at her, and something was in his gray eyes, something dark and heated, that both warmed her and disturbed her composure even more.
    For a moment his eyes held hers, then Vivian turned away, going to the small mirror on the opposite wall of the office. She gazed at her image, studying the necklace long enough to let the faint flush subside from her cheeks.
    “I love it,” she said, looking back with a smile at Brookman. “You have outdone yourself.”
    “Her ladyship is too kind.” He inclined his head toward her in a courtly nod.
    Vivian paused, then added lightly, “I am almost afraid to wear it, however. There have been so many thefts.”
    Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Stewkesbury stiffen, but she kept her gaze turned determinedly away from him as she walked back to her chair.
    The jeweler’s mouth tightened, and he frowned. “I have heard. It’s outrageous.”
    “Then you and other jewelers have talked about it?”
    “Perhaps Mr. Brookman would prefer not to discuss the matter,” Oliver began, but the jeweler was already speaking.
    “It is most alarming, my lady. We cannot help but worry.”
    “What I wonder is what they do with the jewels they steal,” Vivian went on. Oliver was staring holes through her, but she ignored him. “Do they bring them to jewelers to sell?”
    Such was, she knew, a common practice among the aristocracy who’d found themselves too deeply in debt. The discreet sale of a bauble or two to one’s jeweler had carried more than one of her peers through a tight spot.
    “Pawn them, I suppose,” Brookman replied, looking troubled. “The odd thing is—no one I have spoken with has bought jewels from anyone who seemed suspicious.”
    “No one?” Oliver blurted out, his curiosity apparently overcoming even his control.
    The other man shook his head. “Not anyone I know. All the people who have brought them jewelry to sell have been, if not known to the jeweler, at least someone who seems to be the sort of person who would have jewelry to sell.”
    “I see.” Vivian nodded, her eyes lighting with interest. “That would indicate that the thief is a gentleman.”

Chapter 4

    “Or someone who appears to be a gentleman,” Oliver added.
    Brookman gravely nodded to the earl. “Yes, of course you are right. Indeed, ’tis no doubt more likely that it is a man who merely pretends to be of higher station.”
    “I don’t know,” Vivian put in lightly. “I’ve known a few gentlemen who I would not be surprised to learn were thieves.” She smiled as she reached up to unclasp her necklace. “But that is quite enough of such lowering thoughts.” She carefully laid the necklace back in its case. “I suggest we look to something more pleasant—would you care to show me some of your newer stock, Mr. Brookman? It has been