Free Microsoft Word - Sherwood, Valerie - Nightsong by kps Page A

bottom, swiftly opened the teak and silver box, and dropped the necklace inside to rest on its dark red velvet interior. A moment later and the trunk's false bottom had slid back into place. Resting on that false bottom was an identical teakwood and silver box, and inside that box was what appeared to the casual glance to be a duplicate necklace. It had been made for the Duchess of Lorca, and now Carolina owned them both-the fake and the original.

    And she kept them one atop the other with the trunk's false bottom in between just in case someone managed to penetrate the house and find the necklace. A thief would not want to be burdened with this enormous heavy trunk-he would snatch the silver-encrusted box containing the first necklace he came to-e-and he would depart with the wrong necklace. The original would be safe below.
    She heard a sound at the door and saw that Gilly had opened it and stood watching her with those avid brown eyes.
    Carolina frowned. "You must learn to knock before opening doors, Gilly."
    Gilly looked dismayed. "I only asked Cook if I couldn't come up and help you get undressed-all those hooks and things." In point of fact, Cook had thrown a wooden spoon at Gilly and told her to get out of the kitchen; if she stayed there'd be nothing but broken crockery since she'd already dropped a bowl and managed to demolish two plates, but Gilly saw no need to mention that.
    Carolina relented. "All right, Gilly," she sighed. "You can come in and unhook me although usually Betts does that."
    Gilly flashed her a bright insincere smile, and moved forward with alacrity. Had Carolina been looking into the mirror she would have seen Gilly's face, alight with avarice, staring first at the back of Carolina's white neck, now devoid of the necklace, and then at the big curved-top trunk that she had seen closing as she entered.
    It would be easy, Gilly was thinking. Easy. ... Jarvis, her lover, had told her it would be easy, and she had not believed him. Now she knew that she could pull it off, all by herself. Jarvis was impatient, but now that she thought about it, there was no hurry.
    She would bide her time, she would become a trusted servant, and in her own time she would pick a quarrel and leave the house with the necklace-and someone else would take the blame, for she would be far away. She would be smart this time-not like that time in Bristol when she'd stolen the gold and jet mourning ring and gotten herself thrown in jail and then been transported for her pains. If the ship hadn't foundered and her papers been lost, she'd be slaving away as a bondservant at this very moment! As it was, she was but one of a handful rescued from the sea-and none of the others knew about her. She'd made up a story and it had been believed.
    After that she'd drifted.
    But now she saw her future clear. She could buy herself a golden world-with the necklace. Just the gold links would take her any place she wanted to go. And the rubies and diamonds, why, they could buy her a new life! And why should Jarvis share in that future? Oh, she needed time to think, to plan.
    "You should have thanked our French guest for saving you today." Carolina tossed the words over her shoulder.
    Gilly paused in her unhooking. "He may be French," she said scornfully, "but he's lying if he says he comes here from New Providence! I'd have remembered him!"

    Carolina turned slowlyaround. "You came here from New Providence?" she said in an altered voice. Too late, Gilly realized her error. "I was ship-wrecked," she said hastily. "I come from Bristol, like I told you."
    Those silver eyes were contemplating her now, seeing her more clearly. "Were you there long, Gilly?" Carolina asked almost casually.
    "Not so long," mumbled Gilly. Carolina's scrutiny made her nervous. "I thought to do you a good turn by telling you he ain't what he said he was," she defended.
    "And so you may have. . . ." murmured Carolina, asking herself why a man would claim to be from New