Free The Emerald Casket by Richard Newsome Page A

shoulders. She crossed to Gerald, raised onto her toes and pecked him lightly on the cheek.
    â€˜Gerald,’ she said with delight. ‘It’s so good to see you.’ Her voice rang like morning birdsong. ‘And Sam,’ she skipped over and grabbed Sam by the hands and squeezed, pulling him to his feet. ‘You’re looking so well after your adventure. It’s lovely to have you here.’ Sam stood there with a look of dumb rapture on his face. Then Alisha’s eyes fell on Ruby who was still dressed in her rumpled pyjamas, her hair piled on the top of her head like a collapsed haystack. ‘And it’s nice to have you here too, Rosie.’
    Ruby ran her hands through her hair, trying to straighten out the mess. ‘Um…it’s Ruby, actually.’
    â€˜Oh, that’s right. Terribly sorry.’
    â€˜Look, about what I just said—’
    Alisha arched an eyebrow. ‘I’m sorry? Were you speaking? I hope I didn’t interrupt. Because that would be unforgivably rude.’ She looked Ruby square in the eye. ‘Perhaps you might say it again.’
    Before Ruby could mumble a response Alisha swept an arm into Sam’s and led him to the door. ‘Come along to the main house,’ she said, casting a glance back over her shoulder at Gerald. ‘Father wants to say hello.’ Sam padded along happily but Gerald hung back.
    â€˜I’ll wait till Ruby’s ready,’ he said. ‘We’ll be there in a minute.’
    Alisha gave him a curious look, then left the room with Sam on her arm like a handbag. The moment the door closed behind them Ruby was at Gerald. ‘See how she treats me? Like I’m some lower form of life.’
    Gerald tried to smother a snigger. ‘You’ve got to admit, you said some nasty things. She’s bound to bite back.’
    Ruby stamped off to her bedroom. ‘Why did she invite me if she hates me so much?’ she called back through the door.
    â€˜Beats me,’ Gerald said. ‘The invitation came from her dad, anyway.’
    Ruby emerged wearing a T-shirt, shorts and sneakers, her hair pulled back in a ponytail. ‘Maybe when she’s done pulling the wings off all these butterflies we might get to know each other better.’
    Gerald shook his head. ‘You love a grudge, don’t you?’
    â€˜Grudges,’ Ruby said flatly, ‘have made the world what it is today.’
    They found Sam and Alisha inside the main building, in a wood-panelled library overlooking a patio and an enormous swimming pool. Sam was inspecting the contents of a display case. He looked up as they entered the room.
    â€˜Gerald, come see this,’ he said.
    The wooden cabinet held a collection of coins and carvings, illuminated by display lamps. On the middle shelf was an array of gemstones: glittering rocks in almost every colour imaginable. In the middle of them all sat an enormous diamond. Gerald gasped at seeing the Noor Jehan again. The last time he’d seen it was when they’d returned it to Mr Gupta at Beaconsfield. It sparkled brilliantly under the lamps— Noor Jehan : the light of the world.
    â€˜You can hold it if you want.’ Alisha stood up from a silk-draped couch and walked across. She unlatched the glass door to the cabinet and tossed the diamond to Gerald.
    He gasped at the sight of the priceless gem sailing through the air towards him. He juggled the catch, wrapping his fingers around the stone, and stared down at the most valuable diamond in the world.
    â€˜Are you sure we should be playing with this thing?’ Gerald said, not taking his eyes off the gem in his hands. Alisha let out a trilling laugh. ‘There’s more security around this compound than at the White House. That diamond isn’t going anywhere.’
    Gerald felt a tingling in his fingers. A dull glow seemed to come from the heart of the gem. And then Gerald yelped in surprise as the Noor