"It can certainly pay to have a notorious reputation," Adelaide proclaimed on the night of the St. Justin soiree. "Just look at this crowd. Harriet, my dear, you have definitely arrived as a successful hostess. Congratulations."
"Yes, indeed, Harriet." Effie gazed around in satisfaction. The St. Justin townhouse was full to overflowing. "A terrific crush. It will be in all the papers in the morning."
Felicity smiled at her sister. "I think we can safely say that you have acquired whatever social polish you needed to avoid embarrassing St. Justin in public. No one can say he has not married a suitable hostess."
Harriet made a face. "I do not want any of you to think I did this on my own. The truth is Lady Hardcastle organized the entire thing. I am just exceedingly grateful that everyone who was invited accepted the invitation."
"And a few more besides," Felicity observed. "No one could resist. You and St. Justin have taken the ton by storm. He is viewed as a long-suffering romantic hero and you are the lady who loved him in spite of his murky past. It is a tale straight out of a gothic novel."
"I do not know about a gothic romance," Effie said, "but there is no denying the two of you are definitely in fashion at the moment. It was the perfect time to give a soiree such as this."
"That is what Lady Hardcastle said," Harriet said. "Personally, I shall be glad when it is all over."
Two very familiar, very handsome young men appeared and started toward Felicity and her relatives.
Harriet leaned toward Felicity. "Here come the Adonis Twins."
Felicity smiled her charming smile. "They are an attractive pair, are they not? It worries me that they do everything together, however. One wonders how far they take it."
Effie frowned severely. "Felicity, really."
Harriet stifled a giggle as the two young men approached. She waited until everyone had exchanged greetings and then she slipped away, knowing she would not be missed. The Adonis Twins had eyes only for Felicity, and Harriet had more interesting things to pursue.
Gideon and his parents were on the far side of the packed drawing room. They were talking to a couple. Harriet did not recognize them. Probably more of Lord and Lady Hardcastle's many friends.
The room had grown very warm. Harriet fanned herself rapidly for a moment before deciding to step out into the garden for a breath of fresh air. Several people nodded to her in a friendly fashion as she made her way toward the door.
A few minutes later she found herself out in the hall. Owl was supervising the vast array of footmen who were scurrying about with trays of champagne and hors d'oeuvres. He gave Harriet a gloomy nod.
"Is all going well, Owl?" Harriet inquired.
"We are in command of the situation at the moment, madam. But the crowd is larger than expected. One can only hope we will not run out of champagne."
"Dear me." Harriet was alarmed. "Is there a possibility of that?"
"There is always a possibility of disaster at this sort of affair, madam," Owl said. "I shall do my best to avoid it, of course."
"Of course."
Harriet started down the hall toward the back door, but changed her mind when she suddenly realized that one of her garters seemed loose. She decided to go upstairs to the privacy of her own bedchamber to retie it.
At the top of the stairs she turned left and went down the hall. There was no doubt about it. The garter was definitely coming undone. Her stocking was starting to slip. Thank heavens she had noticed the problem in time. It would have been extremely mortifying to have one's stocking fall to one's ankle in the middle of one's first soiree.
The hallway seemed darker than usual, Harriet noted with a frown. Someone had snuffed some of the candles in the wall sconces. Owl was no doubt attempting to economize.
She opened the door to her bedchamber and stopped short when she saw that it, too, was in darkness except for a candle on her escritoire.
Harriet knew she had not left a candle burning on the little desk. She started forward with a frown, wondering if her maid had lit the taper.
Then she saw the hunched figure bending over the open drawer. In a flash she realized what was happening. It was the drawer where she kept her fossil tooth.
"Stop, thief!" Harriet yelled.
She rushed forward, brandishing her only weapon, her fan. "Stop this instant. How dare you?"
The shadowy figure jerked upright. He slammed the drawer shut and whirled around in a crouch to face Harriet. The candlelight revealed the scrunched-up features of Mr. Humboldt.
"Damn and blast," Humboldt hissed. He sprang toward the door, knocking Harriet to one side.
Harriet fell to the carpet and fetched up against the bed. She flung out a hand and encountered the chamber pot. She grasped it and tried to get to her feet.
"What the devil is going on here?" Gideon roared from the doorway. "Damnation, Harriet."
At that instant the fleeing Mr. Humboldt ran straight into the immovable object that was Gideon. Gideon caught him by the scruff of the neck. He flung the little man aside. Humboldt crumpled to the carpet with a groan.
"See to him, Dobbs." Gideon took two long strides across the room, bent down, and scooped Harriet up into his arms. "Are you all right?" he demanded harshly.
"Yes, yes, I am fine," she gasped. "Thank goodness you caught him. Gideon, I believe he was trying to steal my tooth."
"More likely he was lookin' for your jewels, Lady St. Justin," Dobbs said from the doorway. "Sneaky little devil. He even looks like a thief, don't he? Not that you can always tell by their looks, mind you. But this cove could certainly pass for a member of the criminal class."
Gideon turned around with Harriet in his arms. Harriet glowered down at Mr. Humboldt, who was sitting up slowly on the carpet.
"Really, Mr. Humboldt. How could you stoop so low?" Harriet demanded. "You should be ashamed of yourself."
Humboldt groaned and looked sulky as Dobbs yanked him to his feet. "I was just wandering around and I got lost in here. I certainly was not attempting to steal your ladyship's jewels. What would I want with jewels?"
"If you were looking for jewels, which I doubt, you probably intended to sell them to finance your fossil collecting habit," Harriet declared.
Humboldt glared at her. "That is not true. Very well, if you must know, I heard rumors to the effect that you had found something interesting in the caves of Upper Biddleton. I did not believe them, of course. Explored those caves myself years ago quite thoroughly and I know there is nothing of great importance left in them. Nevertheless, I wanted to see if, by the merest chance, you might have stumbled across something."
"Hah. I knew it." Harriet shook her head in disgust and looked at Gideon. "I have been telling you all along that fossil collectors are an unscrupulous lot, my lord."
"So you have." Gideon looked thoughtful. "Are you quite certain you are unhurt?"
"Quite certain. You can put me down now." Harriet straightened the skirts of her gown as Gideon slowly lowered her to her feet. Her garter had come completely undone and her stocking had fallen to her ankle. "How did you manage to get here in time?"
"I assigned Mr. Dobbs to keep an eye on the crowd this evening," Gideon explained. "If you will recall, we invited every suspicious person on my list. I decided not to take any chances."
Harriet smiled brilliantly. "What an excellent plan."
"It was, until you took a notion to go dashing upstairs at the wrong moment," Gideon retorted.
"Well, it only goes to show you should have kept me informed, my lord. I have told you that often enough. One would think you would learn."
Gideon's brows rose. "One would think so."
Harriet's eyes widened. "I just realized something, my lord. Mr. Humboldt was not on our guest list."