"In the last year of the 18th century, Colonel John Herncastle plundered from India a priceless and most sacred yellow diamond." "Vishnu the Preserver laid his curse on the thief, commanding three priests to search forever for his moonstone." "But the wicked colonel smuggled the stone to England." "In his will, he bequeathed the diamond to his beautiful young niece, Miss Rachel Verinder." "Rachel's gallant cousin," "Mr Franklin Blake, was charged with the gem's delivery." "Rachel was bewitched by her diamond." "She insisted on keeping it in a cabinet in her bedroom overnight but in the morning..." "Help!" "The moonstone - it's gone!" "Lady Verinder!" "Father!" "Help!" "Help!" "Rachel, what has happened?" "We will find it." "It cannot have gone far, trust me." "Trust?" "!" "How can I trust anyone after this?" " What has happened?" " The diamond has been stolen." "Let me!" "You really think someone has taken it?" "We should never have let her keep it with her." "Think of the danger she was in." "Why didn't I wake?" " A very stealthy and cunning thief." " Those entertainers from last night - they could've scaled the wall and climbed in at her window." "The first thing for the police to do is lay hands on them." "You think they're the thieves?" "We should've heeded Murthwaite's warning." "Aunt!" "I have never seen her so upset." "She's suffered a great shock as well as a great loss." "To think the thief was right here." "One must not underestimate the effect of such a violation." "I beg you to give me a letter of instruction to the magistrate at Frizinghall, telling him I represent your interests" " and let me ride with it instantly." " I'll come with you." "I'll fetch the police, you find that Murthwaite chap." "He's the only one who can understand their gibberish." "Urdu." "It's all Greek to me." "You're a lucky man." "If you'd woken and they'd seen you, they would've slit your throat." "You see, these men care as much about killing a man as we care about cracking an egg." "The murdering thieves." "Well, it's all a question of perspective, Mr Blake." "In their eyes, your uncle Colonel Herncastle is the thief." "They are merely reclaiming what was stolen from them." "Thank you." "Come - let's go at once." "We've no time to lose." "Please, Rachel, try." "Franklin has gone for the police." "We'll know more when they get here." "The police?" "He goes too far." "I'm sure they can be relied upon to respect our privacy." "I too desire to avoid a scandal but the theft must be reported." "You don't understand." "I can't see the police." "I can't talk to them." "My lady." "Superintendent Seegrave at your service." "Miss Verinder, if your diamond is near as beautiful as your good self," "I can quite see why it was stolen." "Good morning, officer." "My diamond is lost." "Neither he nor anyone else will ever find it." "I must apologise on behalf of my daughter." "The loss of the diamond has completely overwhelmed her." "She's not herself." "And she's not been the same ever since." "There's a very good likeness, sir, to the Rachel of yesteryear, not to the Rachel of today." "You are right, Gabriel." "It is as if, with the theft of the diamond, something else was stolen from her." "I wish that cursed jewel had never come back into the house." "You may as well curse me." "I brought the diamond here." "I brought its blight on the Verinders." "But you've come back to try and lift it, sir." "And, out in the rose garden now, if I'm not much mistaken, the great Cuff himself." "Good morning, sergeant." "Thank you so much for your speedy arrival." "I am delighted to see you again." "You too, Mr Blake." "I just wish the circumstances were different." "Tragic, gone to seed." "Used to be such a well-kept house and garden." "It can be again." "I want to reopen the investigation." "I want to pick up where we left off last year." "I wish you luck." "I'd like to re-engage you." "Well, I'm sorry but I'm afraid that won't be possible." "I'll pay, whatever it takes." "Money isn't the issue," "I'm afraid the circumstances have changed since we last met." "I'm retired." "Then why make the journey?" "Well, as a courtesy to see you in person, to pass on some advice." "Well, I'm seeking advice, too." "I'm devoting my retirement to my rose garden and whatever fondness I have left to bestow, my roses get it." "An odd hobby for a man in your line of life." "Well, if you look around you, which most people don't... ..you'll find that the nature of a man's tastes, at most times, is as opposite as possible to a man's business." "Take yourself, for example, Mr Blake." "I beg your pardon?" "What's the real reason for this reinvestigation?" "The moonstone." "Is it?" "Miss Rachel Verinder lost the moonstone." "What did YOU lose?" "I..." "The heart of a rose is more precious to me than any diamond." "It's nice to see grass between the rose beds, not gravel." "Gravel's too hard for them." "What did YOU lose, sergeant?" "You lost something here, too, which you want to recover?" "Or did you just come all this way for gardening advice?" "Stay - work with me to solve this case." "I'm giving you the opportunity to get your reputation back." "If I'd been first officer on that scene, neither the diamond nor my reputation would need recovering." "Much appreciated, milady." "Now, I'd like to take a walk around the premises." "Meanwhile, could we gather everyone together who was in the house last night?" "Servants AND gentry." "Just a formality." "These travelling performers, could one of them have slipped into the hall in the confusion when the dinner party were leaving?" " It is a possibility." " But..." "He would only have to wait until the house was quiet and steal the diamond from the cabinet." " The dogs never barked, sir." " The dogs could've been drugged." "Take me to the scene of the crime." "I have a hypothesis forming." "Milady, you have, without doubt, been played upon and duped by the tricksters who performed at your daughter's birthday." "They juggled identity as well as fire." "I have a strong hunch they're the thieves who stole the diamond." "Madam!" "Madam." "The travelling performers are innocent," "I've been with Murthwaite to the magistrate and it has been proven to be simply impossible for them to have stolen the diamond." "Are you sure, Franklin?" "How do you come by such a certainty?" "Excuse me, sir." "I believe this is information I should receive before any other member of the household." "They have a cast-iron alibi." "They were all three seen returning to Frizinghall by several local witnesses and then again at midnight by the constable who was searching the guesthouse they were lodging in on other business." "As I was trying to tell you, sir, there was no way anyone could've entered or left the building overnight." "The doors and windows were bolted from the inside when I checked this morning." "Why didn't you speak up, man!" "Out!" "All of you, downstairs!" "See the damage you're doing?" "You've smeared the door." "Look what mischief your skirts have done already." "Clear out, clear out!" "Rosanna!" "I need some air." "She's having one of her turns." "This information from the magistrate changes everything." "The diamond must've been stolen by someone who slept in this house last night." "Man the doors." "I don't want anyone leaving or entering unless at my say so until further orders." "Go on!" "I will be needing to search the servants'rooms and boxes immediately." "Out of the question." "My servants are not thieves." "Nor will I have them treated as such." "They have as much right to privacy as I do." "Begging your pardon, madam, notwithstanding a certain respect for your very admirable faith in your staff, if you tie my hands in this way, I'm afraid I will be unable to continue with this investigation." "Being bold enough to speak on behalf of your loyal servants, madam, we gratefully thank your ladyship but we ask permission to do what is right in this matter." "When Gabriel Betteredge sets the example, the rest of the servants will follow, I assure you." "Back to work, please." "No dawdling." "Quick, now." "You, girl." "I want to speak to you." "You are Miss Rachel's maid, are you not?" "Yes, sir." "A word, please." "Rosanna?" "Are you quite well?" "Yes, my lady." "Quite well." "Now, young woman." "Attend to me, and mind you speak the truth this time." "I've never been taught to tell lies, Mr Policeman, and if father can stand there and hear me accused of falsehood and thieving and my bedroom door shut against me and my character taken away, which is all a poor girl has left," "then he is not the good father I take him for." "Do you know where Miss Rachel put the diamond?" "I saw her put it in the drawer of the cabinet last thing at night." "You were the last person to see the diamond." "The thief were the last person to see the diamond." "I were the first of the servants to see it gone, when I came in with Miss Rachel's tea at 8am this morning." "Upon that, I alarmed the house." "Dr Candy, is my aunt unwell again?" "And no wonder, amidst this terrible innovation." "She knows the value of a doctor and, as a doctor, tell me, Mr Blake, will you try a little medicine today?" "With all this shock and excitement, you will never sleep without it." "Well, there you are out, Dr Candy." "I had an excellent night's rest." "In fact, I regret I slept through on the one night I wish I'd been awake." "You have had something else beside an excellent night's rest, sir." "You have had a sleeping draught, sir, before you went to bed." "Come, sir." "We quarrelled earlier." "Let us not part in bad humour." "I apologise if I gave offence." "And none taken." "What say you now to the art of medicine?" "I say, sir, you are a fool, an interfering fool!" "I beg your pardon!" "I am merely vindicating the reputation of my profession and proving you the fool, my dear Mr Blake, for mistrusting medicine, myself and my medical colleagues." "If I'd had my usual sleepless night, I might've caught the thief and the diamond would never have been stolen." "Dear Dr Candy!" "I'm so glad you are here." "Once we have spoken, may I prevail upon your services to attend to one of our servant girls also?" "Of course, Lady Verinder." "Hamlay, Mauckay, yonder." "Wretched hound!" "My dear, don't be afraid." "Lady Verinder is concerned and has charged me with examining you." "I don't want to put you to any trouble." "I merely went for some air." "Take your cloak off, girl, and sit here." "Up." "Nervous exhaustion." "You need rest." "Stay in your room." "Someone should check on her every half an hour." " Of course." " No, please let me continue my duties." "I'll get worse locked away up in here." "I get strange imaginings alone." "Please, let me keep working, sir!" "Please!" "You have a considerable eye, Mr Franklin." "Why do you think she was so desperate to keep working?" "I always thought either her head wasn't quite right... ..or she knew more about the moonstone than she was letting on." "Was there a specific incident that led you to this belief?" "There was one conversation." "I was right here, trying to get this miserable business of the diamond out of my head, when..." "Sir." "I found this lodged between the boards in your bedroom." "Well found." "Thank you." "Is there something else?" "Do you...do you wish to speak to me?" "Yes, if I dare." "I don't quite understand." "It's a strange thing about the diamond, sir." "Indeed, it is." "They'll never find it, sir, will they?" "No, no, the person who took it, I'll answer for that." "There was something else, too." "Hello?" "Who goes there?" "Sir!" "You gave me a scare." "I cannot sleep." " It's a devil of a business." " It's a devil of a diamond." "I think Rachel blames me for bringing it into the family." "I'm sure she can't, sir." "Then why is she so upset with me?" "All I've done is my best to recover the hateful jewel." "She's a changed creature, Betteredge." "My daughter, too, sir - she's convinced that Superintendent Seegrave suspects her of communicating with the entertainers." "He thinks she helped them." "My own conviction is that Seegrave's as much in the dark as ever and is simply trying to gain time." "I've telegraphed my father." "We need a smarter head than Seegrave's to help us." "Who is that with a fire tonight?" "A fire, in June?" "Who was it?" "My dear Cuff, if you are to get home tonight, you must catch the next train." "Let me organise a trap for you." "Whose chamber was it?" "I think you'll find what happened in her room that night is connected to the moonstone." "How?" "There's work to be done before THAT question can be answered." "Work I'm not qualified for." "Detecting I'm not trained for." "Please, there isn't your equal in England." "I think you'll find I've already begun, Mr Blake." "I've been questioning you these last two hours." "'I remember my arrival last year and first impressions clearly." "'The beauty of the roses." "'The superintendent's glowing welcome.'" "Masterful." "What a pity." "How did this happen?" "The women servants were crowding round yesterday morning." "Some of their skirts or petticoats took the mischief." "And did you notice which?" "I can't charge my memory, sergeant." "A trifle, a mere trifle, nothing to do with the investigation." "Last week, I made a private enquiry, Mr Superintendent." "At one end of the enquiry was a murder, at the other end was a spot of ink on a tablecloth that no-one could account for." "In all my experience along the dirty ways of this dirty little world," "I have never yet come across such a thing as a trifle." "Before we go a step further into this business, we need to see the garment that made the smear and know for certain when the paint was wet." "That door, sergeant, was painted by Miss Verinder with my help." "The paint dries in 12 hours." "Do you know when the smeared bit was done, sir?" "Er, perfectly." "That was the last morsel of the door to be finished." "We wanted it to be done by Wednesday last and I myself completed it by three in the afternoon, or soon after." "Well, let us reckon back, sir." "At three on the Wednesday afternoon, the last part of the painting was completed." "The paint took 12 hours to dry, so let us say by three o'clock Thursday morning." "At 11 o'clock Thursday morning, you held your enquiry." "Take three from 11, what remains?" "Eight, sir." "The paint had been eight hours dry, Mr Superintendent, sir, when you suppose the women's petticoats smeared it." "I'm sorry for troubling you, Miss Verinder but I have a few questions to put to you, if you would?" "Mr Blake has put a new clue into our hands." "Do you know how this smear happened or who did it?" "I know nothing about it." "Do you think a young lady's advice worth having?" "I would be glad to hear it, miss." "Do your duty by yourself." "Don't allow Franklin Blake to help you." "But surely... surely she cannot think that..." "Rachel!" "Rachel, please!" "I've told you, the last of my debts is paid." "I'm beginning to think she blames me for the loss of the jewel." "There is another explanation for her behaviour than that, Mr Franklin." "Mr Superintendent, this trifle of yours seems to have grown a little in importance since you first noticed it, don't you admit?" "At this present stage of inquiry, there are, as I take it, three discoveries to make, starting with the smear." "Firstly... ..is there an article of dress in this house with the smear on it?" "Second, who does the article of dress belong to?" "And third, can the person account for being in this room and making that smear between the hours of midnight and three in the morning?" "If that person can't satisfy you, you haven't got far to look for the hand that took the diamond." "I'll work this by myself, if you don't mind, superintendent." "I wouldn't want to detain you any further." "I've abstained from expressing an opinion so far." "I only have one remark to offer on handing this case to you." "There is such a thing, Sergeant, as making a mountain out of a molehill." "Good morning!" "Wretched house!" "I should like, if convenient, to have the laundry book." "I believe the stained article of dress may be an article of linen, and I wish to account for all the linen sent to the wash." "Also, all the rooms and boxes of all the servants must be searched." "My good servants, I am ashamed to say, have had their boxes and rooms searched once already." "It must be done again, my lady, for the plain reason that the first investigation was to look only for the diamond." "The second investigation is to look for the stained dress." "I cannot and will not permit my servants to be insulted for a second time." "I have a plan to meet that difficulty, if your ladyship will consent to it." "I shall tell the servants" "I shall examine all the wardrobes of everybody, from your ladyship down, of everyone who slept here on Wednesday night." "A mere formality." "But the servants will accept it as even dealing between themselves and their betters, and make a point of honour of assisting." "You shall search for them with the keys to my wardrobe in your hand." "But hadn't we better ask the ladies and gentlemen if they consent too?" "The only other lady is Miss Verinder, the only other gentlemen my nephews Mr Blake and Mr Ablewhite." "You need have no fear of refusal from any of them." "Your ladyship, Mr Godfrey Ablewhite is leaving!" "Excuse me, sir." "Sergeant Cuff has requested all luggage to be searched." "Of course." "My apologies for putting you to any inconvenience, sir." "No, I understand completely." "My luggage can follow me to London when the inquiry's over." "Excuse me, sir?" "My lady asked me to give..." "What is your name?" "Rosanna Spearman." "Have I met you before?" "I don't believe so, sir." "Has that young lady been in your employment long?" "Why do you ask?" "The last time I saw her, she was imprisoned for theft." "Well, she's had troubled beginnings and a difficult past." "Lady Verinder found her in a reformatory." "She was at the top of her profession as a thief." "Do you suspect her, sir?" "I suspect no-one in the house up to this present time." "I do believe she's left with the laundry book." "I'll get it." "Rosanna." "Rosanna." "My darling, the sergeant would like permission to search the rooms and things of everyone in the house the night of the theft." "You shall not search mine." "May I ask why you do not allow it?" "I won't, because I won't." "I must yield to force if you use it, but I shall yield to nothing else." "My darling, there must be a reason." "I know what you're all thinking." "All I can say is I have done much to make my mother pity me, nothing to make my mother blush for me." "My daughter is honest and true." "She would do nothing without good reason." "We must trust her judgment." "I will not force her to do anything against her will." "Then the search is to be given up." "All the wardrobes in the house are to be examined, or none." "This channel of enquiry is to be aborted." "Please send Mr Ablewhite's portmanteau to London by the next train." "Please give the young woman with the washing book my thanks and compliments, and give her word I no longer have need for it." "You don't seem much disappointed, sir." "No, I'm not much disappointed." "Can you guess yet who has stolen the diamond?" "Yes." "No-ONE has stolen the diamond." "No-one stole the diamond." "What do you mean?" "I have always assumed that Rosanna and Rachel" " were working together." " Impossible." "Hear me out, sir." "Certain young ladies of rank and position have secret debts that they dare not acknowledge to their nearest friends and relatives..." "Maybe, but not Rachel." "Let me finish my hypothesis." "Assuming Rachel did have secret debts, when she received the diamond, she would've seen the opportunity to pay them off, but she needed to sell on the stone to cover her tracks." "It is not in Rachel's character to take such actions!" "But it is in Rosanna Spearman's character to take them for her." "Please stay, Mr Betteredge." "My narrative concerns you nearly." "From this receipt," "I traced Rosanna to a certain shop in Frizinghall, run by a linen draper named Maltby." "There, she purchased a large piece of cloth." "A piece of cloth large enough... ..to make a nightgown." "Whose nightgown?" "Her own, to be sure." "Plain, long cloth means a servant's gown." "Between 12 and three on the Thursday morning, she must've slipped down to your young lady's room to settle the hiding of the Moonstone." "The nightgown must've brushed the wet paint on the door." "She couldn't wash out the stain, and she couldn't safely destroy the gown without first providing another like it to make the inventory of her linen complete." "Then, the following day, Rosanna was seen by the postboy heading across the sands." "Where was she going?" "Cobb's Hole!" "Who lives there?" "The fisherman's daughter." "Her name is Lucy Yolland, but the villagers call her Limpin' Lucy." "I believe the girls are close, sir." "Let's find out how close, shall we?" "She's my friend." "She's a good girl." "We're here to look out for Rosanna, not to do her harm." "We know she just visited you." "She's done nothing wrong." "Well, I believe that, too, but there are others that think that she had a hand in the taking of the moonstone." "Now, if you know anything that will clear her name, please tell me." "Did she take something from you?" "She never stole it." "I gave it her." "An old japanned box like that one, and a couple of dog chains." "Dog chain?" "To secure it." "I offered her a rope, but she said chain was surest." "Why did she need the box?" "There are people that would like to see Rosanna back in jail." "Now what did she need the box for?" "To put her things in." "What things?" "Your word could save your friend." "She didn't steal nothing, sir." "We're planning to go to London, to live by our needles." "Please don't tell her, sir, we aren't going immediately, she'll give good notice first." "Thank you." "What Rosanna has done is plain enough." "She's either lied to Lucy, or Lucy knew her secret and she has lied to us to protect her." "She's then sunk the case in water or quicksand." "It had to be japanned for it to be waterproof." "It had to be chain, not rope, because rope would rot." "She has then taken the loose end of the chain and made it fast to some rocks known only to herself." "The mystery is, what the devil is inside that case?" "I take my hat off to you, sir." "Can it really be you've got to the bottom of the mystery so soon?" "It is not the diamond." "The whole of my life's experience is at fault if Rosanna Spearman is in possession of the diamond." "Then where is it?" "And in whose possession?" "What is happening?" "Miss Rachel's leaving." " Where to?" " London, to her aunt." "Why?" "When did this happen?" "About an hour since." "About the same time Rosanna Spearman got back from her walk." "Do you suppose Rosanna gave her the diamond, sir?" "You surely can't suppose she's taking the diamond to London?" "I suppose nothing." "Rachel." "Why are you leaving?" "Do not let the diamond come between us." "I love you." "Tell me about Rosanna Spearman." "Who?" "Rosanna Spearman." "What is your interest in her?" "The maid?" "I saw you follow her outside." "I have no interest in Rosanna Spearman." "She means nothing to me." "Goodbye, Franklin." "Try to forgive me, Mama." "The day will come when you will know why I am careless about being suspected, and why I am silent even to you." "Miss." "I can't presume to stop you, but your leaving us now can only put an obstacle in the recovery of the diamond." "Please to understand that." "Drive on, James." "Rachel!" "Rachel!" "Rachel, please." "Rachel!" "Dear aunt, please forgive me, this is my fault." "I should never have brought that cursed jewel here." "These horrible events are no more of your making than they are Rachel's." "When I first arrived here," "I don't believe there was a happier household in England." "Look now." "Scattered, disunited... ..poisoned with mystery and suspicion." "I know you are quite as broken down by these events as we are." "I, myself, am by turns both dizzy and faint from the strain." "I'm sure Rachel feels it, too." "It grieves me to say it, but, for now, you and Rachel are better apart." "That is the only advice I can offer" "Where are you going, sir?" "To the devil, Betteredge." "Miss Rachel will surely come right again if you give her time!" "I will, only because I have tried everything else." "Do you want us to pass her a message?" "Tell her when I reach the continent, I shall write to her." "Tell her I have only ever had her best interests at heart." "Tell her I love her." "Come on!" "Mr Betteredge?" "I wish to speak with Rosanna Spearman." "I saw her head off a little while since for the Shivering Sands." "Why go back now?" "Did she have anything with her?" "A case or a parcel?" "She did give the butcher's boy a letter for the post." "Did you see who it was addressed to?" "Limping Lucy, her friend at Cobb's Hole." "Why post a letter when you're walking there this minute?" "Whatever the reason, it isn't good." "Is the tide on the ebb or the flood?" "The tide is on the turn, sir." "It rises quickly at this time of the year." "There she is, by the sands." "I can't see her." "She must've gone to the Spit." "Well, all the footprints head to the rocks, but none head towards safety." "Where is she?" "Mind the quicksand, let me go first." "Rosanna!" "Rosanna!" "You can't venture out there, Betteredge." " Don't!" " It is certain death!" " Don't touch me!" "The threat of you has driven her to this." "You are wrong, Mr Betteredge." "But there will be time enough to speak of this when we are inside again." "Some fatal accident must've occurred." "Will we find the body when the tide ebbs again?" "What the sand gets, the sand keeps forever." "You are answerable for this!" "I am no more answerable for this distressing calamity than you are, my lady." "Some unbearable anxiety in connection with the diamond has driven this poor creature to this desperate accident." "What anxiety?" "My lady, I don't pretend to know everything yet." "But, with your permission, I think I may be able to lay my hand on a person who will be able to illuminate us." "Is this person now in the house?" "No, my lady, this person has left the house." "If you refer to my daughter, then you are wrong." "Madam, recent events in this house have forced me to this theory." "I have to tell you, as Miss Verinder's mother, that she is totally incapable of doing what you suppose her to have done!" "Then how do you explain her declining to be questioned by Superintendent Seegrave or myself?" "Her anger at Mr Blake calling the police?" "And her refusal to have her room searched?" "How do you explain them, Sergeant?" "Miss Verinder's constant, final agitation about the loss of the diamond connects with other cases I have worked on, where young ladies dare not acknowledge their debts." "How dare you!" "I believe this to be a case of deeply-planned fraud." "Rosanna was privy to the suppression of the jewel." "Rosanna was Miss Rachel's accomplice." "Rosanna had relations, I'm led to believe, with a man in London, in the jewel broking line." "A Mr Luker, who would advance a large sum on such a notable diamond as the moonstone, without asking awkward questions, or insisting on awkward conditions." "I will hear no more of this." "Please, leave my house!" "Sir." "My lady resigns further claim on your services." "She's convinced of your honesty and intelligence, but firmly persuaded that the circumstances in this case have fatally misled you." "This is a generous estimate of the value of my time." "I shall bear in mind the amount in this cheque when the occasion comes to remember it." "What do you mean?" "This is the kind of family scandal that bursts up when you least expect it." "There is more detective business to be done, sir, before the moonstone is many months older, you mark my words." "The diamond's gone." "What further business could occur?" "I predict three things that will happen in the future, that will force themselves upon your attention." "Firstly, you shall hear from Lucy Yolland, when the postman delivers Rosanna's letter at Cobb's Hole Monday next." "Secondly, you shall hear again of the three guardians, who will follow Miss Verinder wherever she goes." "And third?" "You will hear of the jewel broker, Septimus Luker." "Time will show if I am right or wrong." "In the meanwhile, sir," "I take away a sincere personal liking for you that I hope does us both justice." "If you would, come and visit me, in a little house I've got my eye on near London." "There'll be grass walks, Mr Betteredge, and, I promise, the white moss rose." "So, tell me... were my predictions correct?" "They were indeed, sir." "And I was very grateful that you sent me... ..this." ""Mr Septimus Luker, the well-known dealer in ancient gems," ""stated to the magistrates that he feared he was being followed" ""by some foreign performers."" "News of the guardians." "News of the jewel broker." "And where was Miss Rachel at the time?" "In London." "And what of the third prediction?" "That, too, came true." "Where's the murderer you call Franklin Blake?" "What do you want with Mr Blake?" "Beyond shouting abuse?" "I have something for him." "From Rosanna Spearman?" "Maybe." "Sent to you in your own letter?" "Maybe." "Give it here." "Mr Blake has left for the continent." "I can send it on by post." "I am to give it to him by my own hand, or not at all." "Why didn't you say before?" "I didn't think there any point, sir." "Lucy Yolland is long gone." "Gone?" "!" "To London." "No forwarding address." "The next step is clear, we must find her." "I'll wager the diamond is in London, pledged to Septimus Luker, and it was Miss Rachel herself that took it there and pledged it."