The next week passed quickly, and the wedding date was only one week away. Henrietta and Lord Pembrooke had welcomed many guests in that time, and Pembrooke Place was full of joy and anticipation.

Lord Pembrooke and Lady Henrietta found themselves once more in the sitting room at the back of the manor, the warm afternoon sun glinting off of every shining surface in the room. The couple was sorting various gifts that they had been given, attempting to arrange them in such a way that would still allow the room to be used. Lord Boyle, Henrietta’s brother, hovered near the window, watching the festivities with a look of amusement on his handsome face.

"Never in my life did I imagine I would receive quite so many gifts for getting married!" Henrietta said, examining a beautifully carved crystal bowl. "Surely people know we would have been happy simply by their presence at the ceremony."

"Giving gifts is a way for people to demonstrate their affection for the bride and groom," Lord Pembrooke said. "Are you unhappy with the gifts?"

"Of course not!" Henrietta said, startled by his words. "Do not mistake my shock for dissatisfaction. I am simply humbled by such generosity."

"Honestly, sister, you'd think that no one had given you a gift before in your life," her brother piped up, taking a few steps toward them to inspect the dish for himself.

Lord Pembrooke smiled at his fiancée. "You are quite beautiful when you are flustered."

Her face flushed, and she shot him a teasing glance.

The door to the room opened, and Lord Crettingham stepped inside the room, bringing an air of regality with him as he always did. He was shorter than his eldest son with thick white hair and a wide, bristly mustache. His eyes, however, were bright blue and kind, and he wore thin spectacles. He smiled at those in the room before closing the door behind himself.

Lady Henrietta immediately rose to her feet and bowed to him.

"Dear girl, you mustn't insist on doing that," Lord Crettingham said, crossing the room to her. He gently placed a hand on her shoulder. "A week from now we will be family, and you must promise me that you will treat me as such."

"Yes, my lord," she replied, and resumed her seat in front of the gifts.

"My, such lavish furnishings," Lord Crettingham said, smiling down at their collection of new items. "These must be the most beautiful things that you have received yet."

Lord Pembrooke agreed, but Henrietta glanced behind her at the cabinet. "My lord, I still believe the gift that you have given me is by far the most precious," and she gestured to the closed doors. "I look forward to wearing them."

"So the Lady is pleased with the jewels?" Lord Crettingham said, moving across the room towards the cabinet.

Henrietta nodded vigorously.

"Good," he said, smiling.

Lord Pembrooke rose and crossed to the cabinet as well. Not wishing to miss another chance to see the beautiful jewels again, Henrietta made her way to stand beside her fiancé.

"Can't quite get enough of them, can you?" Lord Crettingham teased, his hands on the doors. "I understand; they certainly are something to behold."

And then he pulled the doors open, a wide smile still on his face, his bristly white mustache turned up at the corners.

She heard Lord Pembrooke emit a gasp of disbelief.

Lord Crettingham, hearing it as well, quickly turned his gaze toward his son. "What is it?"

Henrietta watched as Lord Pembrooke pointed, his eyes wide, down at the empty cabinet.

Empty.

"But they were just there!" Henrietta exclaimed, her stomach feeling as if it had dropped to the floor. "Weren't they? Just the other day!"

Lord Pembrooke's face had drained of all color, and the only sound he could produce was something akin to a stammer.

"What is the meaning of this?" Lord Crettingham questioned, turning to his eldest son. His brow furrowed and his mustache quivered. "Where are the jewels, Daniel?"

Henrietta felt a twinge of fear.

"Just as Lady Henrietta said," he replied, stepping closer to the cabinet. He bent down and looked up inside of it, and up and down all sides, as if perhaps they had simply become stuck on the walls of the cabinet instead of laying nicely inside as they had done. "This is where I had left them."

Lord Crettingham sighed heavily, brushing his hair flat with his hand.

"Now is not the time for panic," Lord Pembrooke said, turning towards the others.

"Do you have an idea where they might be?" Lord Boyle asked, approaching the cabinet.

Lord Pembrooke swallowed, and began to speak. "There have been many people in and out of this house, and I must admit that many days in the last week are blurring into one. I do know, however, that I would never have moved them from here."

"But perhaps someone else has?" Lord Boyle replied, glancing at his sister.

"I have not seen them since the night Lord Pembrooke showed them to me!" she replied indignantly.

"Nor have I," replied her brother.

"There is no sense in allowing ourselves to run away with our fear. Let us be wise and first look for them. I am sure it is just a simple misunderstanding. I am not doubting you, son," Lord Crettingham said, noting his son's sallow face. "You have been preparing for a wedding, and I have not met a man who is able to maintain complete composure before he is wed. There are far too many important things for him to think on."

His son smiled gratefully at him, but Henrietta could still see his reservation.

So began the grand search for the family's inherited, precious diamonds, and it consumed the greater part of their day. They began in the sitting room where the jewels resided. They checked each cabinet, pulled every book from their shelves, and looked beneath every piece of furniture.

Soon after they had begun, the news had traveled through the house that part of the bride's wedding attire had gone missing, and the door to the sitting room, standing open, was visited by many. Lady Mary and Lady Charlotte shortly joined them in the search.

When they felt they had thoroughly searched through the sitting room, they spread out to other rooms in the manor. It was the first time that Henrietta regretted the fact that her future home was as large as it was; how were they ever to find the jewelry in a place as large as this?

Lady Mary and Lady Charlotte followed her into the dining room, which was furnished with a long cherry table with enough chairs to seat a few dozen guests, a large, golden gilded mirror, and a long line of family portraits.

Henrietta sighed heavily. "Of course the jewels are not in here. Why would anyone have brought them in here and forgotten about them?"

Lady Mary patted her arm affectionately. "Come now, dear. We won't know unless we search."

"We understand your distress, cousin," Lady Charlotte added, nodding her head. "We will find them. I truly believe it."

The ladies began their search at once, pulling open drawers, checking beneath chairs, lifting tea sets and candelabras.

Henrietta noticed that Lord William joined them, and she found herself grateful for more help in their search.

"Lord William," she said desperately, crossing the room to him. She clasped her hands together beneath her chin and looked up into his face beseechingly. "Have you seen the diamonds that I am to wear at the wedding?"

Lord William tilted his head to the side, studying her face, clearly bewildered. Then recognition of what her words must mean dawned on his handsome face, and his eyes grew wide. "Whatever do you mean?" he asked, as if he did not wish to know the answer.

She quickly explained the situation, surprised that he had not yet heard of it; the whole house appeared to be in a tizzy. "Do you have any idea what could have become of them?"

He leaned against the doorway to the room, crossing his arms over his chest. His eyes searched the floor, "I'm afraid I do not," he replied, sadness obvious in his eyes. "I am so very sorry."

How very much he looked like his brother, she noticed, not for the first time: the same shape of the chin, the same width of his jaw, and the same shape of the eyes.

Henrietta sighed, looking over her shoulder at the other girls who were looking at them, expectantly. She shook her head, and both of their shoulders slumped ever so slightly.

"I would be quite happy to help you look, however," Lord William added hastily. "If you so wish it."

"That would be wonderful," she said, "But perhaps you could be of more use to your brother."

"Oh," Lord William replied. "Right, of course. Where might I find him?"

"I believe that he and your father were checking the foyer, wondering if the jewels had become mixed up in some of the boxes to go to the chapel the day after tomorrow."

Lord William smiled and nodded. "Don't worry, Lady Henrietta. We will find those jewels. On my word."

She smiled as he excused himself from the room.

When night fell, and they felt as if they had thoroughly exhausted all of the possible places the jewels could be, they reconvened in the sitting room.

Lord Boyle, Henrietta, and Lady Mary entered first, with Lady Charlotte following soon after. Lord William, Lord Pembrooke, and their father entered last.

"So no one found the jewels?" Lord Crettingham said, attempting to keep his voice calm.

No one said a word in reply. The tension in the room was nearly palpable, and Henrietta was not keen on the look on her fiancé’s face.

"Did you question all of the staff?" Lord Crettingham asked Lord Pembrooke.

He nodded in reply, and said, "Not a one had seen them. Most were unaware of the fact that we even had the diamonds in the house."

"What on earth could have happened..." Lord Crettingham said.

Lord Pembrooke shifted uncomfortably.

"Something must have happened since you saw the jewels last. When was the last time you saw them?"

Lord Pembrooke glanced briefly at Henrietta before replying, "Saturday evening, I believe."

Lord Crettingham turned to face him, a peculiar look on his face. "Last...Saturday? You mean the night that you had your dinner party?"

"Yes."

Lord Crettingham stroked his mustache with one hand, his eyes glaring into his son's. "Did you, by any chance, share the location of the diamonds with your guests?"

Lord Pembrooke, his hands clasped tightly behind his back, lost some of the color in his face. He stared back at his father, his jaw tight. "I did."

"You did?" his father replied, his voice growing louder, his brow furrowed. "Do you have no sense?"

Lord Pembrooke's fear seemed to bleed away into anger. "If you are implying what I think you are implying, father..."

"I most certainly am!" His father answered, his voice nearly a growl. "What else do you think could have happened to those jewels at this point?"

"They are missing, father, not stolen!"

"All of the evidence is against your theory, my boy," Lord Crettingham snarled, pointing at his son. "We searched this house high and low for the better part of the day, and what do we have to show for it?

He took a step toward his son, his eyes malicious. "You decided to have yourself a little glory the night that your friends came ‘round, and one of them, realizing the immense worth that those diamonds hold, decided to nick them for themselves. And now, because of your choices, your bride and our family have been robbed of one of our greatest inheritances."

Lord Pembrooke could only stare at his father.

The others in the room felt horribly exposed and could only glance between one another. Henrietta caught her brother's eye, and he could only shake his head. From frustration or disappointment, she could not be sure.

"You should be ashamed of yourself," Lord Crettingham added, his voice quieter, and yet much more authoritative. It came out almost like a hiss. "I truly believed you to be much wiser than you have proven yourself to be this evening."

Lord Pembrooke remained silent.

"See? You cannot even deny it, for you know that my words are the truth." When still no one spoke, Lord Crettingham scowled and, with his hands balled into fists, made his way to the door.

The next sound was a loud slam.