The Merryweather Jewel Thefts.

Chapter 7

I would never be getting drunk again. My head felt like a huge heavy metal ball, and I didn't want to take it off the pillow. I also felt undeniably sick, and my throat was dry as a desert. To make it worse, I could still remember every second of the previous night, and it hurt just as much as the physical pain I was in.

Somehow, I suspected Fisher, word had gotten out that I was leaving, which was true. I was. I couldn't stay here after humiliating myself the previous night. It must have been about ten o'clock when I moved from my bed, finding a jug of water and a glass on my dressing table. Someone knew what I needed, I smiled to myself, having three glasses before almost throwing up and deciding to stop. I put on the red dress that I had arrived in, and was just putting my hair up into the simplest of buns when the most enormous racket erupted outside in the hall. Intrigued, or as intrigued as I could possibly manage with a hangover, I poked my head out of the door to see what the fuss was about this time.

"What's going on?" I asked, to a few smirks from the surrounding people. Barnes pushed his way to the front.

"Miss Dalton, you'll be pleased to know we have found our thief!" he announced.

"Really?" I asked, my headache still bothering me as I came properly out of my room.

"Would you mind taking my bags out to the cart?" I asked two porters, who were hovering around us like flies to honey. They nodded and left, and I turned to Barnes again.

"Show me" I asked him. Puffing out his chest, Barnes stuck out a hand.

"I give you Martin Savoy, undoubtedly our thief!" he said proudly. It was supposed to be a grand moment, but I flattened it.

"Why?"

Barnes frowned at me.

"Because one of the maids has just found Davinia Longleath's sapphires in his room!" he sighed, holding them out for me to see.

"Are they definitely yours?" I sighed, looking at Davinia, who nodded. I looked back at the jewels. In my fuzzy brain, something-well, lots of things- didn't add up. There was a long pause.

"Well, Miss Dalton?" Barnes asked.

"Kindly shut up, Barnes, I'm thinking" I snapped.

"You don't need to think! I've done the thinking for you. Just accept you've lost and let us get Savoy down to the station! The Inquest is later on today!" Barnes sighed, exasperated.

"I don't like it" I said bluntly. "It doesn't make sense. Any of it."

"That's because you're still intoxicated!" Barnes roared suddenly. "Now leave!"

"With pleasure" I replied, my feelings hurt even through the haze of hangover. "In a few minutes!" I added curtly.

I snatched the sapphires from Barnes and turned to Davinia. My thoughts had finally cleared enough to allow me to make one simple deduction, and I think by the look on Davinia's face she knew it too.

"You're sure these are yours?" I asked her one last time.

"She's already confirmed it" Barnes pointed out from behind me.

"I was asking her! Shut up!" I yelled ferociously, leaving a deathly silence hanging in the air. I looked around at all of them, calming myself. "Now watch" I said.

I stuck my hand over the banister on the landing, holding the jewels over the three metre drop below.

"Trivia time!" I snapped. "Tell me something interesting about sapphires!"

"Well, it's said the Ten Commandments were carved in sapphire so they would never break" Lily Hart said hesitantly, after a silence.

"Mmm" I said. "How facinating."

And I let go.

There was a very satisfying smash as the neckalce hit the floor below. Everyone apart from Davinia ran to the banister. Evangelyn screamed, holding onto Newham's arm tightly.

"What have you done?" Adam Hart gasped.

"They're smashed! I thought sapphires didn't break!" Lily Hart exclaimed.

"It's because they're faked" Davinia sniffed from behind us.

"I know" I sighed, looking to her, feeling pitiful. "I'm sorry I had to do that."

"No, you were right to" she carried on. "It means I can finally tell my story."

"Is now really the place?" I asked, coming over and placing two hands on her shoulders. "I don't know why they were fake, and the rest of these people don't need to know either. The only people who need to know are Evangelyn and her father."

"You know" Davinia said, swallowing. "I thought you were a right old cow when you first came. But you're alright really."

I snorted.

"Thank you for that" I said stiffly, walking away from her. "I'll leave you to your Inquest. Carter, you might as well stay and enjoy yourself, we booked these rooms for at least a week. Good day."

I headed off down the stairs, leaving everyone staring after me. When I reached the door, I heard Evangelyn call.

"Miss Dalton, do you think my father stole those jewels?" she asked, and I heard the quiver in her voice as she said it.

I turned.

"A blind elephant could tell he was innocent, Miss Savoy. Besides" I added. "I just proved it to you."

With that, I walked out of the door, my hangover having magically eased off, and climbed into the cart, leaving them all staring after me.

"Where abouts in London are we going, ma'am?" the driver asked.

"Paddington. 15A Praed Street, if you want me to be specific" I replied, as the cart rattled off down the drive.

"Yes, ma'am" the driver replied, turning around to flash me a smile.

My jaw dropped.