Chance folded his arms across his chest. "You said yourself you never saw him put the jewels in the safe. It would have been a simple matter to slip them into his pocket, close the safe, and await your return."

A peevish expression descended upon Ben's boyish features at the utterly logical explanation. "Not only is Goldie a gendeman, he is my friend. He would never treat me in such a shabby fashion."

Chance possessed far less faith in the dull-witted dandy. He had already discovered from Ben's acquaintances that Goldie had all but disappeared and that he was clearly in dun territory.

"Can you deny he was pressed for money?" he demanded of his brother.

Ben's lips turned down at the edges. "Gads, who is not besides the Flawless Earl?"

Chance stiffened in anger. Damn the bloody fool. He had gone to great lengths to attempt to save Ben from his latest bout of stupidity. He should be showering him with gratitude, not offering up childish insults. "Both Miss Cresswell and I have come here to help you, Ben, at considerable inconvenience to both of us," he said in soft warning.

The younger gentleman bunched his shoulders in a defensive fashion. "Well, I do not like to have my friend branded as a thief."

"There is no other explanation."

"Anyone could have slipped in and stolen those jewels."

Chance stepped forward, a hint of exasperation in his dark eyes. Really, Lady Chance had done the young gentleman no favors in keeping him forever a spoiled child. The world, with all its disappointments and responsibilities, was bound to catch up with him eventually.

"But no one knew you had them," he said with low insistence. "What thief would have chosen the home of a bachelor who is notoriously without a feather to fly with when only two streets away lives the finest collector of Renaissance painters in all of London?"

Clearly unable to deny the logic in his arguments, Ben tried another path. "Then one of the servants."

Chance gave a relentless shake of his head. "Their rooms have already been thoroughly searched. There are no diamonds."

Ben met his unwavering gaze for a moment. Then, with a frown he turned toward the silent Miss Cresswell. "It isn't possible."

She offered him a sympathetic smile. "I admire your loyalty, Mr. Coltran, but every evidence leads to the same conclusion."

"It is a mistake." Ben ridiculously refused to concede defeat.

Swiftly losing what little patience he still possessed, Chance stepped forward. "Tell me, have you seen Goldie since the night the diamonds disappeared?"

"Well, I ..." Ben faltered before giving a reluctant shake of his head. "No, no, I haven't."

"Do you not think it odd that he has not called?"

"I have been away."

"He did not call before you left, nor since your return."

The faintest hint of doubt suddenly rippled over Ben's countenance. "That does not mean he stole the jewels."

"Use your wits, Ben." Chance pressed his advantage. "Goldie was in need of money, he possessed the perfect means of stealing the diamonds, and now he has all but disappeared."

Far too stubborn to yield easily, Ben shuffled his feet. "I will not believe it until I see the diamonds in his hands."

Chance opened his mouth to utter a sharp retort but halted as Sarah intruded into the brotherly squabble.

"Then that is what we shall do."

Chance shot her a startled glance. "Do you have a scheme in mind?"

She hesitated as if still considering her plot. "We need to force Goldie to reveal where he has hidden the diamonds."

"If he has them," Ben intruded.

Sarah merely smiled. "Of course."

Chance paced across the carpet, pondering the various means of retrieving the jewels. The mere thought of them in the hands of that witless scoundrel was enough to make his stomach twist with distaste. "I could throttle the truth from him," he suggested.

"Not precisely what I had in mind," Sarah declined his vengeful offer.

Chance halted to regard her with a steady gaze. "Lucky?"

Again she paused, then gave the smallest shake of her head. "I think we shall be more direct." She turned toward the younger gentleman. "Mr. Coltran, I wish you to visit Goldie."

"By gads, I have every intention of visiting him, if only to prove this is all a mare's nest," Ben readily growled.

"Yes, yes." She soothed his wounded sensibilities, but there was a hint of iron in her expression. "But I wish you to tell him you have recovered the Chance diamonds."

Ben blinked in confusion, and on this occasion Chance could not condemn him. He was having his own difficulties maintaining pace with her agile mind.

"Eh?"

Sarah moved to stand directly beside the young gentleman. "Tell him a man approached you and demanded a ransom for the Chance diamonds, which you naturally paid, and that you received the jewels in return."

"But that is absurd," Ben sputtered. "I do not have the diamonds."

Sarah heaved a faint sigh at his slow wits. "Yes, I know, but Goldie will not realize that."

Ben gave a restless shake of his head. "I do not comprehend how such a Banbury story will prove Goldie has the diamonds."

"You must frighten him with the fear you now possess the diamonds," she explained, maintaining her patience with a heroic effort. "That is our only means to force him to reveal where he has them hidden."

Chance stilled as the simple brilliance of her plan at last formed in his mind. Good gads, it was a lucky thing that she had not chosen to follow in her father's footsteps, he wryly acknowledged. London would not have been safe from such cunning. "Of course," he breathed.

Still baffled, Ben glanced toward his older sibling. "What?"

"If you have the diamonds, it can only mean someone has stolen them from him," Chance retorted, a smile of anticipation curving his lips. "Goldie will certainly search to see if he has been robbed."

Sarah flashed him a pleased glance at his ready understanding. "And we shall be watching to discover where he searches."

Resisting the urge to cross the room and pull her into his arms, Chance contented himself with an elegant bow. "Brilliant as ever, Miss Cresswell."

Her expression became rueful. "We have yet to determine if such praise is due."

Planting his hands on his hips, Ben glared at the two of them in exasperation. "Will someone kindly tell me what the devil is going on?"

It was decided that the scheme to entrap Goldie would be attempted on the following morning. Chance bridled at the delay. The diamonds were within his reach, and he did not wish to waste a moment in returning them to their rightful place. Still, he could not deny the sense in Sarah's desire to coach Ben in his part of the ploy. And, of course, she had insisted Ben reveal the layout of Goldie's home in exacting detail, as well as make a list of every servant he could recall seeing within the household. There was also the necessity of planning how Chance and Sarah could slip into the house unnoticed. It was at last decided that Lucky would use his ingenuity to clear a path for the entrance. Chance possessed full confidence in the crafty lad's ability. He was quite as intelligent as his mistress.

Soon after that, Chance escorted Sarah home. She had been oddly silent, and Chance had discovered himself reluctant to intrude upon her thoughts. What did they have to say, after all? They were both aware that if the diamonds were indeed discovered, their time together was at an end. After tomorrow, they might never see one another again.

It was a sobering thought, he had to acknowledge.

And a decidedly painful one as well.

The uncomfortable ache plagued him for the rest of the day and far into the night. It was only after he sternly warned himself that Sarah's very safety depended upon his concentrating on the task at hand that he managed to shove aside the dark image of their imminent parting.

First they must find the diamonds. Then he could consider the future.

Keeping that thought firmly in mind, he collected Sarah and Lucky the next morning before driving to the mews behind Goldie's home. They waited in the decidedly crisp air until certain Ben had arrived at the appointed time. Then, sending Lucky ahead of them, Chance and Sarah crept toward a side door that led directly to the library. It would be the obvious place for a safe. More importantly, they would be just across the hall from the parlor where Goldie received his guests. They should be in position to overhear every word between Goldie and Ben.

Hidden beside the door, Chance did his best to block the cutting wind from the slender maiden. It had occurred to him to command that Sarah remain safely at home. He had no desire to see her placed in such potential danger, but the notion had lasted only a moment. Not only had Sarah committed a good deal of time and energy to recovering the diamonds, she was quite likely to condemn him to the devil for suggesting that she miss the crowning moment. It was not in her to remain cravenly at home, no matter what the danger.

The sudden sound of shouts, followed by pounding footsteps, brought Chance sharply to his senses. It sounded as if the entire household had abruptly decided to bolt down the street at breakneck speed. He glanced downward to discover Sarah stifling a giggle.

"Good gads, I have never heard such a commotion," he whispered.

"Well, we did request that Lucky give us a diversion."

"What did he do?"

"He passed the servant's entrance and called out that a carriage had overturned and a chest of coins had spilled onto the road."

Chance chuckled in appreciation. "Your notion?"

"Uncle Pierre," she corrected.

"Cleverness runs in the family, I see."

She grimaced, looking utterly adorable despite her drab cape and plain bonnet.

"Let us hope it has accomplished its purpose."

"Yes," he breathed, his hand reaching up of its own accord to capture her chin in a gentle grasp. "Sarah?"

Her soft lips parted as she gazed into his dark eyes. "What is it?"

"I know better than to forbid you to be present when Goldie is exposed," he said in soft tones, his expression somber. "But I wish you to remain in the shadows."

Her brows lifted. "You fear for my reputation?"

"No, I fear for you," he rasped. "If Goldie was desperate enough to steal the diamonds there is nothing to say what he will do when threatened with exposure."

"And what of you?" she demanded.

Releasing his grasp, he reached into his greatcoat to reveal a deadly pistol. "I came prepared."

Surprisingly she did not flinch or cry out at the sight of the gun. Indeed, she merely shrugged before reaching beneath her cape to reveal a pistol of her own. "As did I."

His eyes widened before he was choking back a laugh. Damn, but the chit had brass.

"Oh, Sarah." He gave a rueful shake of his head. "Still, I want your promise that you will remain behind me."

She paused before giving a faint shrug. "I will try."

It was the best he would get from the willful maiden, and Chance nodded his head. "It is time."

With silent movements, Chance pushed open the narrow door and slipped into the shabby library. He took a careful glance around before motioning Sarah inside and shutting the door. Together they moved across the room until they could hear voices floating through the hallway.

Taking Sarah's arm, he pulled her between two of the bookcases that lined the walls. The feel of her slender form pressed so intimately next to his own made him briefly close his eyes in bittersweet pleasure. Gads, but it felt so utterly right to have her pressed next to him, her feminine scent filling his senses. So right that it was impossible to think she might never be so near again.

Wrenching open his eyes, he desperately attempted to concentrate on the disembodied voices floating through the air.

"I do not believe I could have heard you correctly." The stunned voice of Goldie. "Did you say you have the diamonds?"

Chance felt Sarah stiffen as she awaited Ben's well-rehearsed response. All depended upon his brother's ability to convince Goldie the jewels were now in his possession.

"Devilish queer thing," Ben slowly retorted. "Man arrived on the threshold with the jewels and demanded a bloody ransom. Paid, of course, though it went against the grain, I must tell you. Can't have the family heirlooms in the hands of a blighter."

"And you are certain they are the Chance diamonds?" Goldie's voice sounded strained.

"Should know my own diamonds."

"Oh, yes . . . quite."

"Still, it is odd," Ben continued, precisely as Sarah had instructed.

"What?"

"Can't see how he got them. Swore a scoundrel had sold them to him. Sounds a bit havey cavey to me."

There was a tension-filled silence. "So you still do not know who stole them?"

"Some blackguard, no doubt."

"Yes." Goldie's murmur was barely audible.

Clearly having tested his ability to dissemble to its fullest, Ben loudly cleared his throat. Chance winced at the clumsy warning of his upcoming departure.

"Well, I'm off to the club. Will you come?"

Chance held his breath. If Goldie were willing to leave then their suspicions would be for naught. No gentleman suddenly afraid that priceless jewels had been stolen from him could blithely toddle off to the club.

Thankfully, his brief moment of unease was swiftly banished.