Free The Black Opal by Victoria Holt Page B

bring her out of her dream. She was as kind to us as ever.
    Moreover, there was something secretive going on in the house. It seemed to please and amuse Nanny Gilroy, although it was something she disapproved of. But then, I had discovered that she was often pleased about certain things, particularly if they were what she called shocking, as when the baker’s wife ran off with a travelling salesman, which she declared was downright wicked as she sat and smirked and said the baker’s wife would come to a bad end, which was no more than she deserved. She seemed highly gratified about that. I had never been the least bit fond of her, but now I disliked her more than ever.
    One day Miss Carson told us that she had to go away to see someone and she would be away for a few days. When she left, Adeline was in a panic. She was terribly afraid that her mother would send for her and whenever we were on the ground floor she would keep close to me and hold my hand.
    When Miss Carson returned after a week’s absence, Adeline clung to her more than ever.
    “Don’t go away,” she kept saying.
    Miss Carson looked as though she were going to cry.
     
    She hugged Adeline tightly, and said: “I never want to go away, darling. I want to stay here for ever with you and Carmel, Estella and For ever and ever I want to stay.”
    It was September. Lucian and Camilla, who had been home for the holidays, would soon be going back to their schools. Lucian was still kind to me, although he was so much older. He always took notice of me and would chat with me. Estella was not very pleased about that, which made me doubly appreciative of his attention. She was fond of Lucian and always trying to get him to talk to her.
    The weather had turned hot and sultry. Tom Yardley said there was thunder in the air. In fact, we heard the occasional rumble of it now and then. Looking back, I think of that as being symbolic of what was about to happen in Commonwood House.
    Mrs. Marline had been a little better, and for the last few days Tom Yardley had wheeled her chair out through the trench windows to a shady spot in the garden where she would sit reading or dozing.
    On that particular day, Lucian and Camilla came to Commonwood and we all had tea in the drawing-room on the ground floor. As Mrs. Marline was in the garden, we did not have to worry about making too much noise.
    Lucian always led the conversation; he was older than Henry, and seemed mature to all of us, so we respected him and when he talked we listened without interrupting.
    He had been reading a book about opal mining in Australia, which had clearly fascinated him, and he was telling us about the stone. Adeline was present. She always wanted to take part in whatever was going on, and Lucian always included her.
    “They are fantastic,” he was saying with that enthusiasm which he always showed for something which interested him and which made one share his pleasure in it.
    “Just imagine searching for them and then coming across some wonderful specimen. The colours are magnificent.
     
    They glow in reds and blues and greens. That’s why they call them black opals. There are the milky sort, too. They are found somewhere else. My mother has a black opal. She doesn’t wear it much. She keeps it with other jewellery in the bank. “
    “People say they are unlucky,” said Camilla.
    “That’s why our mother keeps hers in the bank. She thinks the bank will get the bad luck instead of her.”
    “She does not!” laughed Lucian.
    “She keeps it there for safety. It’s very valuable.”
    “My mother has an opal,” said Henry.
    “It’s in a ring. She wears it sometimes.”
    “Perhaps that’s why she had an accident,” said Camilla, determined to pursue her bad luck theory.
    “Nonsense,” said Lucian lightly.
    “How could a stone be unlucky? People just say they are unlucky because they chip easily. You know how these stories start. People exaggerate and then you get superstitions. I’d