I searched the entire room from top to bottom, but there was no sign of the journal.

When Mary returned from her visit with Jasper, she said she hadn't seen it either and I had to resign myself to the idea that someone had taken it. I had definitely placed it under my mattress the last time I had used it, but it wasn't there. Lady Catherine's journal and locket were still tucked behind my dresser, so at least they hadn't been taken, but my journal had.

It had become clear that whoever took the journal, had searched parts of our room for it before diverting their attention to the mattress. Our dresser drawers were open with our clothes having been rifled through and whoever it was had knocked over a bottle of ink that had spilt all over the writing desk in the corner of the room.

With no sign of the next morning, I had no choice but to inform Mrs Channing that it had been stolen from my room. Few things were ever truly stolen amongst the servants with most things reappearing in a matter of hours, but with no sign of it, I knew I hadn't just misplaced it. Someone had gone into our room and removed the journal from under my mattress.

"Are you sure? Maybe you put it elsewhere," Mrs Channing said when I told her.

"I put it under my mattress the other day, even Mary saw me do it. It's not there now and she hasn't taken it."

"Alright, I'll make an announcement and see if anyone has seen it. I expect it will reappear in a matter of days, Jane. You probably just misplaced it."

"I know where I put it," I muttered, but Mrs Channing either didn't hear or pretended not to.

There was no reason for anyone to want to take my journal unless they thought it to be Lady Catherine's. I hadn't kept my journal a secret, writing in it in the servant's hall and when my bedroom was open. Whoever took my journal might have thought it to be Lady Catherine's and hadn't bothered to check when they removed it from under my mattress. To my knowledge, the only people who knew Lady Catherine had even written a journal was myself, Mary, Molly and whoever her secret suitor might have been.

Mary hadn't taken it as she had been too busy gallivanting off with Jasper — which also gave him an alibi — so she wouldn't have had the time. Molly no longer worked for the Richardson's and had a new placement a few miles away. The only person who would have taken it had to have been Lady Catherine's unknown suitor. That only made me more suspicious of the journal's contents, and also somewhat relieved that I had decided to hide it behind my dresser.

When everyone had settled down to breakfast, Mrs Channing made the announcement.

"Unfortunately, I have been informed today that a piece of property may have been stolen. It seems that Jane's leather journal has gone missing and she is adamant that it has been stolen and not misplaced. I am sure I do not need to remind you that theft of any kind is not tolerated amongst the staff. If the journal is not recovered in the next week, I shall be forced to carry out room searches alongside Mr Serif. If either of us come across the journal, the guilty party will be dismissed. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, Mrs Channing."

"Good."

Mrs Channing took her seat and gestured for us all to start breakfast, the atmosphere in the room a little tense. There had only been two instances of theft since I had arrived at the Richardson household and both times the missing object had been returned without any consequences. Mary had told me that only once had another servant lost their position because they had been caught stealing. I hoped whoever took it would just hand it back.

After breakfast, Mary and I headed upstairs to start our chores, but all I could think about was the journal. That journal contained all my thoughts about who the suitor might have been and proof that I had read Lady Catherine's journal. If whoever took it thought they might have taken Lady Catherine's, I knew they would be less than impressed if they found out that I did know about the journal and had read all of it.

"Why did you have to tell Mrs Channing about the journal?" Mary asked as she straightened Lady Abigail's bedsheets.

"Because it's missing? It's my journal."

"I thought we decided that Simon was the suitor?"

"You decided. Besides, it's still my property, I would have told Mrs Channing regardless. I know I put it under my mattress and now it's gone, the likelihood is that someone stole it and even if I had sided with you about Simon, it's still missing."

"You probably just misplaced it. I do it all the time, our room isn't exactly clean."

"I know where I put it, and someone had been searching through our dresser."

"How do you know that wasn't us trying to find a pair of stockings without a hole in? Honestly, Jane, you're just blowing this whole thing out of proportion."

I stared at her in disbelief. My property had been stolen and all she could say was that I had blown the entire thing out of proportion. I knew for certain that she wouldn't be saying that had something of hers been taken and she most likely would have questioned every single member of staff until she found out who took it.

Even though we were friends and had only just rekindled our friendship after a brief spat, I couldn't help but wonder if she knew more than she was letting on, or had taken it herself. She could have taken it when I was busy because she thought we were finished with the journal and Lady Catherine's secret suitor. Yet, if that were true she would have taken Lady Catherine's journal rather than my own. Still, I couldn't help but wonder if she knew who had taken it.

For the rest of the workday, I tried to push the journal from my mind and focus on completing our chores. Even with my journal gone, I still had Lady Catherine's and I didn't believe that Simon was the secret suitor. All I had to do was talk to him, or to someone who knows him better than I do, to try and uncover the truth. Perhaps it was Simon, but something in his demeanour and how he rarely said a word to anyone told me that it couldn't possibly be him.

I had to talk to him. I also had to find out just what was going on with Mary and who had the audacity to take my journal.

How did finding Lady Catherine's journal turn into such a mystery?

~~~

First Published - February 20th, 2022