Cartier's Hope by M. J. Rose

Author:M. J. Rose
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Atria Books
Published: 2020-01-27T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 17

When I opened the door, I found Mr. Cartier, briefcase in hand, standing there himself. I was disappointed and surprised and tried to hide my reaction, but my voice came out too high and loud as I welcomed him.

“Mr. Cartier! What a pleasure—I didn’t expect you. Please come in.” I gestured to the foyer.

He smiled charmingly. “I know it’s unusual for me to do house calls,” he said, as he took off his hat and held it in his hands. “But out of respect to your father, I wanted to take care of this myself.”

“I’m flattered,” I said, and led him inside. I offered him coffee or tea, and he said he’d prefer coffee.

I made it and brought it out on a silver tray, along with a plate of my father’s favorite biscuits, which I kept stocked. We sat in the parlor, drank our coffee, and exchanged small talk for a few minutes.

“Now, for the pearls,” Mr. Cartier said. “I fear the light isn’t right in here to show them. Too many shadows.”

I showed him both the dining room and the library, and he found them equally unsuitable. But the greenhouse with its skylights was perfect.

We settled into the wicker chairs in front of the card table, and he pulled several items out of his briefcase. A maroon leather-bound notebook. A gold pencil. And two maroon velvet cases. He opened the notebook and then the larger of the two cases, which revealed my necklace with the offending pearls and clasp missing. He then proceeded to open the second case, which held about two dozen loose pearls sitting in a circular recession.

“I had your pearls cleaned. It was definitely time; besides, I couldn’t match them without seeing their true color.” One by one, he showed me the new pearls against my necklace and kept up a running commentary. “This one is a good match but perhaps a bit white. Your pearls have a slight creamy tint to them.” He tried another. “This one is a better match in color, but it is ever so slightly larger.”

And on and on it went.

“I had no idea it would be so difficult,” I said, after we’d looked at them all.

“Yes, it is quite difficult to match pearls. Due to differing temperatures and conditions. Every pearl is unique, and it can take years to find a full set.”

Now I felt guilty that I’d purposefully damaged three of them. I hadn’t known what a complicated process this would be. And what a shame that, given how complicated it was, Mr. Asher hadn’t arrived as I’d hoped. If I’d gotten him alone, I might have been able to make a connection with him that could have granted me access to behind-the-scenes secrets about Cartier and the Hope.

“None of these is one hundred percent perfect,” he said. “They are a good match, but if you like, we certainly can keep looking.”

“What do you think?” I asked.

He examined the pearls for a few moments.

“We could choose the ones

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