Evershot knows. He confronted us this morning in the drawing room. At first he was calm as you please and I thought that all might be well, but soon his temper broke through and it was terrifying. I am almost certain Clara betrayed me, untrustworthy jade that she is. I expect he paid her well for the information and she, seeing an opportunity for gain, was not averse to taking it. Whatever the truth, Evershot dismissed Robert from his post, throwing his possessions out onto the gravel of the carriage sweep where they were soaked in the thawing snow. Robert was particularly distressed that many of his measuring instruments were smashed and broken. It was wilful cruelty on Evershot’s part knowing how expensive such devices are and how little Robert can afford to replace them. All was lost but for the ugly mirror that belonged to Robert’s ancestors. I saved it by hiding it in my skirts. Just in case the diamonds were real. Anyway, the destruction wrought upon Robert’s possessions was as nothing to the violence with which he treated my poor beloved.
