She nodded. “One of the richest men in the country. He comes from money, of course. The Gropers acquired their wealth and status with their armament factories, and they earned themselves a peerage for their role in the Boer War. Toby was a young man, scarcely out of Oxford, when he invented a revolutionary motorcar engine. His Fearless Flyers have been wining races and rallies all over the world. So a baronet, and a rich one, but not really one of us.”

“Do you think he is the one who took your snuffbox because he’s not one of us?”

She smiled. “No, my dear. I think he took it because he has become a passionate, should one say obsessive, collector of antiques and objets d’art.”

“Why do you think he wanted that particular snuffbox? Was it because it was small enough to take?”

“Ah, you see, snuffboxes came up during a previous conversation a year or so ago, in his private box at the Brooklands Racetrack. He probably thinks I have forgotten, but I seldom forget anything. He told me then that he had been searching in vain for a snuffbox owned by Louis XVI. So much was looted from the palaces, you see, during the Revolution.”

“And the box that was taken?”

“Was given by Marie Antoinette as a present to her husband. It’s a delightful little thing—enameled gold, with pictures of shepherds and shepherdesses all over it. But inside the lid is a miniature of Marie Antoinette, in a frame of perfect diamonds.”

“It sounds charming.”

“It is. I was most fond of it.” A wistful look came over her face. “Of course I may be quite wrong. I may be maligning the poor man. But I pride myself on being an excellent judge of character and I formed the opinion that Sir Toby is the kind of man who will do what it takes to achieve any objective.”

“So what exactly do you want me to do, ma’am?”

The queen looked surprised. “Go to his villa and retrieve the snuffbox for me.”

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Buckingham Palace
Still January 17, 1933

I think my jaw might have dropped open a little, which is not permissible for ladies of my standing. I don’t think I could be blamed for being somewhat surprised, however.

“You want me to steal it?”

“Retrieve it, Georgiana. Sir Toby is the one who has stolen it.”

“And if I’m caught?”

“You will tell Sir Toby that the queen wanted her property back without causing any kind of public scandal. I don’t think he’d want to make a fuss. And if he did—well, I have good documentation in my possession that the snuffbox was in the Buckingham Palace collection until recently. He’d look an awful fool, and I don’t think he’s the kind of man who would like to be ridiculed.”