Chapter Thirty-One
“Since when do you sleep the day away?” Jacqueline complained as she plopped down on the bed.
Judith curled into a ball, turning away from Jack and pulling the blanket up to her neck. “On those rare occasions when sleep eludes me, of course. Now go away.”
“But—”
“A few more hours or I’ll be yawning all day.”
“Fine, but I’ll be back if you’re late for luncheon,” Jack said, and flounced out of the room.
As soon as the door closed, the kitten jumped up on the bed and tickled Judith’s nose with its whiskers. “Shoo. I’m not getting attached to you if I’m giving you back to him.”
The kitten didn’t obey, just settled down on the pillow next to hers. Judith hadn’t been asleep. She had been awake for several hours. She had just been too content with her dreamy thoughts to want to get up yet. She could have spent the entire day in bed just thinking about last night. She should at least have gotten dressed, though, before someone showed up. Explaining to Jack why she was naked wouldn’t have been easy when their cabins weren’t overly warm.
She should probably have some regrets that she’d stepped so far beyond the pale, but she didn’t. Not one. But she did wish Nathan had still been there when she woke. Actually, she wished he could be beside her every morning when she woke. But that required a commitment he wasn’t interested in making. She shied away from that thought. Anything was possible and she wasn’t done with Nathan Tremayne yet.
She rose and dressed quickly before Catherine made an appearance, too. She couldn’t help smiling when she found her clothes from yesterday scattered about the floor. Jack was rather messy in that regard so it wasn’t likely that she had noticed. Nettie would have. Judith was so neat she actually folded her dirty clothes before putting them in the pile for washing. And she might have to do the washing herself if Nettie didn’t recover soon.
Catherine did indeed arrive before Judith vacated the room and went right to the wardrobe to put away the final gown she had finished. Judith was making her bed, but gave her a cheery smile. She hoped that wasn’t going to be a problem today, not being able to stop smiling, even when she was alone.
Catherine paused for a moment to ask, “Are we sure this is the last gown? Your maid said it was, but she was sneezing when she said it, so she might not have checked all your trunks.”
“I’ll need a sailor to move the top chests so I can check the lower ones,” Judith said.
She knew just the one to ask. Another smile, this one quite brilliant. But she had no reason to smile over what she’d just said. This bubbly happiness she couldn’t seem to tamp down was going to be a problem.
Catherine nodded. “Which evening gown are you going to wear for the last dinner? I’m surprised your family wants to dress formally for it.”
“The yellow and cream I think.” Judith had put that one away yesterday, so it was still fresh in her mind.
“You have jewelry to complement it? If not, I have an amber pendant you can wear.”
Judith chuckled. “I have every color gem there is, but I’m not sure if I brought my amber. Since we’ve had no reason to wear jewelry thus far, I can’t remember everything I threw into my jewelry box for the trip.”
“I can check if you like. Where do you keep it?”
Judith laughed again. “I’m not sure of that either! It’s in one of the trunks. You didn’t see it when you were taking the gowns out?”
“Your maid has been putting the ones that still needed work in your wardrobe for me, which is where I have been hanging the gowns I finished so she could put them back in your trunks.”
“I’ll find it when—”
“You there!” Catherine called to a sailor who was passing by in the corridor. “We could use your help, if you please.” Turning to Judith, she said, “You look for your jewel box while I make sure all the gowns are indeed done.”
Judith sighed. So much for getting Nathan back in her room with a legitimate excuse. She easily spotted her jewelry box in the third trunk she opened. But when she opened the box, she drew in her breath. “They’re gone!”
Catherine, still bent over a trunk, said, “Who is, dear?”
“My jewelry, all of it!”
Actually, not all. She was relieved to see her most valued possession was wedged in a corner of the box, the tiny grass ring Jack had made her when they were children. Jack had one, too. They’d spent all day making them for each other. They had worn them for months until the rings had started to unravel and Judith had put hers away to preserve it. Even though it was too small to wear anymore, it was still precious to her. And, thankfully, worthless to a thief.
But everything else that had been in the box was worth a fortune because Roslynn had gone quite overboard in ordering extravagant jewelry for Judith’s come-out. Her mother’s bane was that her husband never allowed her to contribute any part of her large fortune to their living expenses. Anthony insisted on paying for everything. So she spoiled her children with gifts they didn’t need, but it made her happy to do so.
Catherine peered over Judith’s shoulder at the empty box. “Could the jewelry have spilled out in the trunk? Perhaps during the storm?”
“Actually, one trunk did slide off the pile that day. It got dented, but it was latched so it didn’t open.”
Judith dug into the trunk to check. It only took a moment. The jewel box had been filled to the brim because of the three large tiaras in it that took up so much room, and two tiered necklaces in hard settings that wouldn’t bend. Any one of those would be easy to spot among the clothes. But just to be absolutely sure, she took every single gown out of the trunk and even shook them. No jewelry fell to the floor.
Judith sighed. Catherine put an arm around her shoulder. “Don’t assume the worst yet,” she said encouragingly. “Ask your maid first. She might have moved your jewelry for some reason. Servants that old sometimes forget to tell you what they’ve done.”
Judith shook her head. “No, Nettie might be old but her mind is as sharp as a tack. I’ve been robbed. You might want to check your jewelry as well. I doubt I was singled out for this.”
Catherine gasped. “But I can’t afford to replace my jewelry! Go tell your uncle immediately. The ship will have to be searched to find the culprit and recover everything he took before we land. He can hide it, but it’s still on board somewhere.”
Judith nodded. At least she didn’t have to worry about smiling any more today.