"Best to keep the windows closed and locked in the future. I am most relieved to see both of you unharmed after your ordeal. I wouldn't have called at such a beastly hour if I weren't concerned about you."

Cécile smiled. "I've always wanted to breakfast with you, Monsieur Hargreaves. Let me assure you we are quite fine, though I suspect that had you been here last night, my earrings would not have vanished. How unfortunate that you had other plans."

"Even if I had called last night, I would not have been here so late."

Cécile looked at me pointedly. "That, of course, is not for me to say," she said.

"How did you learn of the theft?" I asked.

"A friend in Scotland Yard alerted me."

"And will you investigate?"

"No, Emily. I'm not a detective."

"Such is our misfortune, Monsieur Hargreaves," Cécile said.

"It is a strange case, though," Colin said. "Lord Grantham's house was broken into three weeks ago, and the only object taken was a Limoges box. The following week, a gilt inkwell disappeared from the home of Mrs. Blanche Wilmot. Both items belonged to Marie Antoinette."

"I have great hopes for our thief, Monsieur Hargreaves," Cécile said. "It is rare to find a man with such focus."

"There is no reason to think that he will come here again, unless one of you is hiding another of the ill-fated queen's possessions."

"We aren't, so I suppose we're safe," I said, rubbing my temples and suddenly feeling very tired. "I admit that it's unnerving to have been so violated."

"I shall have Inspector Manning, who has been assigned to the case, step up patrols near your house. You needn't worry."