One night, after the women talked about Rose's blooming relationship with Jacob, the Duchess amused her with the story of Lorenzo d'Aguilar, a dealer in fine jewels who had just that day sold her an exquisite diamond.
"How do you know?" Rose asked.
"Because d'Aguilar is the greatest jewel thief in the world! Everyone knows he is a thief, and yet we buy his gems and pretend that he is an honest merchant. And why? Because who can resist his bargains?"
"And what about his unfortunate victims?"
"They rant, they rave, they grind their teeth!" Maria made a comic face that made Rose smile. "But no one has ever proved a single crime against him!"
"I once attended a dinner party with the man, and an enormous emerald was discovered missing from a necklace that adorned our hostess. Recalling that d'Aguilar had danced with the lady, and remembering his reputation, one of the noblemen openly challenged him to submit to a search. This d'Aguilar did, with singular grace, especially considering the humiliating thoroughness of the search. And of course he was declared to be innocent!"
"But he wasn't?" Rose said.