Chapter One
June 1814
"And so you must find the Mallory Heart and bring it home
at once. No matter what it takes."
Richard Mallory stared at his grandmother in astonishment.
The Countess of Dunstable was a stately, reserved woman
who had never, as far as he could recall, made a flippant
remark or jest in her life. He had to assume she was quite
serious.
He stood straight and tall as he faced her, with hands
clasped behind his back in a postion of formal ease he had
employed so often when addressing a superior officer. And
there was none more superior than his grandmother. She sat
ramrod stiff on the edge of a gilt French chair that had
seen better days.
"Let me be certain I understand," he said. "You called me
home not because Grandfather is dying, but because you
want me to locate a family jewel that has been missing
these past fifty years?"
"It is because the earl is dying that the jewel must be
restored to us. He has been most agitated about it."
"Has he?"
Richard had been raised by his grandparents from the time
both his mother and father perished in an overturned
carriage when he was still in leading strings. In all
those years, he could remember only a single occasion when
his grandfather had mentioned the Mallory Heart. Richard
had been about eight years old when he first heard the
story of the large heartshaped ruby from his older
brother, and had asked his grandfather about it. The earl
had confirmed its existence and how it had come into the
family, but had otherwise been quite reticent on the
subject. Even at so young an age, Richard had understood
it to be a topic best avoided. He always assumed his
grandfather felt guilty that the jewel had been lost on
his watch.
"Yes, he seems most upset about it," the countess said,
her own distress evident in the tight lines around her
mouth and the slight tremor in her voice. "About not
wanting to ... to die before it has been restored to the
family."
"And you summoned me from France to find it? Was there no
one else you could have called upon?"
It was the wrong thing to say. She narrowed her eyes in a
look of displeasure he had known well as a boy. She had
always favored his brother, Arthur, the heir to the
earldom and the most charming, considerate of men. Richard
had been the troublesome brother, always into mischief.
But Arthur had died last year and now Richard was Viscount
Mallory and his grandfather's heir.
"I understood the fighting was over," she said. "You are
needed here now. You ought to have returned last year."
When Arthur died. Richard had not even learned of his
brother's death until four months after the fact. He would
have come home if he could, but he'd been otherwise
occupied. "You know it was impossible for me to return,
Grandmother. My regiment -- "
"Was engaged in some battle or other." She dismissed the
event with a wave of her hand.
"Vittoria." He spoke through clenched teeth and made an
effort to curb his irritation at her cavalier disregard
for what the army had done to keep her, and the rest of
England, safe from Bonaparte. He'd lost several good men
during the charges that day. Vittoria had been an
important victory, not one to be so easily dismissed. But
the countess had never approved of his soldiering. It had
been his grandfather who'd understood his restlessness and
bought him a commission in the Dragoon Guards.
"I am sorry I could not come home sooner, Grandmother. I
was heartsick to hear about Arthur's death, believe me,
but the war did not allow time off for grieving. However,
with Bonaparte routed at Toulouse and sent packing to
Elba, I was able to leave my regiment as soon as I
received your urgent message. I was worried about
Grandfather."
"As you should be."
"I will go up to see him now. It has been too long and I
have ... missed him." It was true. Richard had spent
little time at home these last dozen years while the wars
raged on the continent. Even so,h e was still devoted to
the man who'd raised him,who'd taught him about duty,
about honor,ab outwhat itmeant to be a man.
"He will be pleased to know you have returned safely," his
grandmother said. She cleared her throat. "As am I."
He smiled. It was the closest thing to approval he was
ever likely to hear from her. "And I should like to ask
him about the Mallory Heart."
"No!" Her eyes widened with anxiety. "You must not mention
it to him, Richard. It upsets him too much and his heart
is too weak. I beg you not to distress him."
"His condition is that serious?"
"He is dying."
She kept her emotions in check, as always, but sorrow was
evident in the slight hitch in her voice, and a sharp pang
of sympathy shot through his gut. The anticipated loss of
his beloved grandfather weighed heavily on his own heart.
Though Richard had never had as close a relationship with
his stern grandmother, she surely loved the earl as much
as he did. His death would rip a hole in both their lives.
He took a deep breath, then asked, "How long?"
"The doctor says a month or two at most, though additional
strain on his heart could take him at any moment. That is
why you must not mention the jewel. It is one of the
topics that seems to upset him the most."
"I wonder why?"
She lifted her shoulder a fraction. "It is a private
matter between the earl and me. All the previous
countesses of Dunstable have worn the Mallory Heart. It
has always been a special ... " Her voice cracked and she
took a moment before going on ...