What is an example of metaphor in the novel, Mister Max – The Book of Lost Things?

A metaphor is used in the episode about the Baroness and the missing spoon. The baroness hires Max to find a priceless serving spoon that she claims was stolen by a maid seven years before. She raves about the artistry of the spoon that was crafted in the 1500s. But when Max appears before her with the spoon that he found behind a cabinet, the Baroness does not seem happy which confuses Max. In reality, what the Baroness feels was stolen from her was her great-nephew and heir. She really wanted Max to find and return her great-nephew to her who she hadn’t seen in seven years when the incident occurred. By Max finding the spoon, it dispelled her theory that the girl that her nephew had fallen in love with was a thief making her admit that she drove him away.