If I’d wanted to created a sensation, I’d succeeded admirably. Grenville's mouth opened, closed, opened again, and he looked at the ring again. "Good lord."

I told him the tale. Grenville studied the ring as I spoke, turning it around in his hands, much as Thompson had done.

"Interesting," he murmured when I finished, then he pocketed the quizzing glass, and his voice became brisk. "If she wore the ring under the glove so it would not fall off her finger, that means she did not want to lose the ring, which indicates that she probably cared for the paramour, whoever he is."

I rubbed my upper lip. "We are rather presuming that the woman received this ring from a lover. She might have stolen it herself. Although, in that case, she likely would have tried to sell it or given it to a lover of her own."

Grenville peered at the band again. "Possibly, but it's common for a gentleman to give his ring to his ladybird. Pity there is no inscription."

Indeed, a line reading "To my beloved Miss Smith from Mr. Worth," or some such would have been most helpful.

"However." Grenville squinted. "There is a jeweler's mark. Excellent. If it belongs to a jeweler in England, we will easily know for whom this ring was made."

"As easily as that? Pomeroy winced at the thought of looking in at every jeweler in the West End and Mayfair. I supposed we will have to."

Grenville's nose twitched. He was well and truly interested. "Nonsense. All I need do is ask my man Gautier. He knows every jeweler, boot maker, glove maker, hat maker, and tailor in London, not to mention the history of each business and the family who owns it. I wager he can tell us what this jeweler's mark is in a trice."

He rose and tugged the bellpull then sent the answering footman for Gautier. Grenville liked to move quickly when something took his interest, which, in this case, was amenable to me. The sooner we could discover who the lady was, the more speedily I could lay my hands on her murderer. The sight of the pathetic and bloated body in pretty clothes had done something to me.