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classics.
    “I would have told you.”
    “The Englishman in the turban,” he said. “It could be Capet.”
    I groaned. The turban would have provided Sebastian with just the sort of theatrical flair he adored. “It is possible, but I do not think he would steal anything from guests in my parents’ house.”
    “He knows how you feel about your mother,” Colin said. “He might consider it a way of paying you a delicate attention.”
    I chewed on my lip, unable to deny the possibility.
    “The thing is, my dear, I have found the diamond.”
    “That is wonderful!”
    “Not entirely,” he said. “It was in your jewelry case.”
    “Mine? You cannot possibly think—”
    “That you took it on Sebastian’s behalf?” His smile, as always, reduced me to a pleasant pool of jelly. “No, I do not think that, although as to what your mother might say …”
    “If Sebastian took it, he would not have left it among my possessions,” I said. “He would never do anything to impugn my character.”
    “Other than sneak into your bedroom to leave roses and love notes,” Colin said. It was true, this had been a preferred method of his.
    “Was the bangle there as well?” I asked.
    “No.” Colin stood and ran a hand through his curly hair, leaving it a tousled—and extremely attractive—mess. “I have only the diamond, which I understand is of no use without the bangle.”
    “That is correct.”
    “Your mother will be displeased,” he said. “I suppose there is no point delaying the inevitable.” He took my hand. “You have heard nothing from Capet?”
    “Are you jealous?”
    “Not in the least,” he said, his voice almost a purr. “Should I be?”
    “Of course not,” I said, touching him lightly on the cheek. “Nonetheless, it would do no harm for you to take whatever actions you feel necessary to ensure that no other man could draw my notice.” He kissed me with such thorough attention and consummate skill that I all but forgot the stolen jewels. “I do wish you would pretend to be jealous more often.”
    * * *
    Colin had returned the Star of the East to the case in which it had been stored, and we gathered my parents and their guests in the library, an act to which my mother strenuously objected on a variety of grounds. First, she thought it unconscionable to subject the entire group to what she referred to as an act of mass interrogation . She refused to answer my charge that the phrase was ridiculous. Second, she felt that the library was an unfit venue for such an occasion. Evidently, in the best families , a drawing room would be preferable. She did not deign to reply when I asked her if the best families were often subjected to acts of mass interrogation. Colin shot me a look that told me I was on the verge of pushing the matter too far, so I took a seat as distant from my mother as possible without being overtly rude.
    “It grieves me that I am not able to return all that was stolen from you,” my husband said, standing in front of the maharaja and handing him the box. “I understand that the diamond alone is not wearable.”
    “It was in Emily’s room all this time?” the maharini asked.
    “It appears so,” I said, “but I must assure you that I have not the slightest idea how it came to be there.”
    “I do not doubt it,” the maharaja said. As he spoke, I noticed Ranjit glowering in the corner.
    “Have I said something that displeases you?” I asked him.
    “No, Emily, you are far too affable to do any such thing,” Ranjit said. “I am concerned that the bangle is still missing. It suggests to me that whoever took the diamond was less interested in the value of the piece than in rendering it worthless to my family.”
    “I have spoken with colleagues of mine in London,” Colin said. “They are aware at present of no threats to your family and are convinced this matter is nothing more than a common theft.”
    “If it were, why would the tika , which is of greater value than a