Free 03 - Murder at Sedgwick Court by Margaret Addison Page B

agreed Lavinia. ‘A woman can never have enough diamonds. I never tire
of looking at my diamonds and seeing how they catch the light. I do think
diamonds look beautiful in candlelight, don’t you?’
    ‘I do.
You say you like to look at your diamonds, and yet I think you have never
looked at them, not properly.’
    ‘I can’t
think what you mean by that,’ said Lavinia, ‘I look at mine all the time, don’t
you, Emmeline? Well I would, only Cedric insists that I keep them locked up in
the safe when I’m not wearing them.’
    ‘Oh,
yes,’ agreed Emmeline, rallying, ‘all the time, don’t I Jemima?’
    All eyes
turned to the heiress’s companion, but Jemima said nothing, as if she were
still lost in her own little world of despair.
    ‘I’m
always opening my jewel box just to look at them,’ Emmeline continued. ‘And
diamonds are my absolute favourites.’ She turned to look at Jemima, who still
appeared absorbed in her own thoughts. There was a moment’s hesitation before
she went on excitedly, but nevertheless almost whispering: ‘Especially the
Montacute Diamonds.’
    ‘The
Montacute Diamonds?’ exclaimed Lavinia, with equal excitement. ‘Do they really
exist?’
    ‘I think
I’ve read about them somewhere,’ said Felix, showing some interest in the
conversation for the first time. ‘They’re supposed to be worth a king’s ransom,
aren’t they?’
    ‘Yes, oh,
yes!’ exclaimed Emmeline, detaching herself from Theo and going over to the count.
The colour had returned to her face and it appeared that she at least had been
quick to regain her composure. She threw a glance at Jemima who had stopped
crying and was now sitting quietly, although she still looked pale and agitated.
‘They are magnificent, aren’t they, Jem?’
    Jemima nodded,
but again said nothing. Undeterred, Emmeline went on, obviously determined to
veer the conversation away from talk of the attempted kidnapping.
    ‘There’s
a necklace, a tiara, two broaches, a ring, some pendant earrings. I’ve probably
missed out one or two other things, but one gets the gist. A complete suite of
jewels, Max. The centrepieces in both the tiara and necklace are frightfully
beautiful. Large, yellow and internally flawless diamonds mounted in platinum
and rose gold and surrounded by ever so many white diamonds.’
    ‘They
sound magnificent,’ exclaimed Lavinia.
    ‘They’re awfully
pretty,’ agreed Emmeline, ‘really they are. Of course they’re so frightfully
valuable they’re kept at the bank and only brought out and worn on very special
occasions.’
    ‘How did
your father come by them?’ enquired Cedric.
    To Rose,
he sounded a little bored of the conversation, but determined to play his part.
    ‘M-my
father didn’t,’ Emmeline hesitated slightly for a moment. ‘My grandfather
acquired them from an Indian prince, I think, and gave them as a present to my
grandmother. I don’t believe the prince really wanted to sell them. The story
goes that he went hunting big game with my grandfather and that they entered
into a wager over who could shoot the most tigers. The prince was very
confident that he would win because he spent nearly all his time shooting big
game. He wagered the diamonds. But Grandfather was a very good shot, even if he
was more used to shooting rabbits and pheasants than he was tigers. He won the
wager much to the consternation of the prince, and brought the diamonds back home
to England with him.’
    ‘The poor
prince,’ said Lavinia. ‘He can’t have been very popular with his subjects … is
that what you call them in India? Or is it just in England, and then only when
one is referring to a king or queen? No, don’t tell me. I say, though, I wonder
if they are cursed, the diamonds I mean? Perhaps they were cursed on leaving
the shores of India.’
    ‘Oh don’t
say that,’ Emmeline said, shivering slightly.
    ‘What
nonsense, Lavinia,’ said Cedric. ‘You do talk absolute rot sometimes.’
    ‘But it
is