The Diamond Courier (A Resistance Girl Novel Book 2) by Hannah Byron

Author:Hannah Byron [Byron, Hannah]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Hannah Byron books
Published: 2020-12-09T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty

The Goldmunz Diamond

Isaac opened the sliding doors at the back of his office, and they found themselves in a large, half-shaded room with rows of tall brown cabinets with lots of narrow drawers and a metal knob on each.

“Most of these are empty now, or we’ve put in fake diamonds,” he chuckled, “but there are some still here that I would not part with for the world.”

“Is it safe to keep them here?”

“Safer than at my own house, where we could be raided anytime. They’d have to blast this safe out of the wall with ammunition and apply the same method to the lock. Plus, this doesn’t look like a safe, now, does it?”

Goldmunz was standing in front of a 17th Century oil painting portraying a king-size Archangel Gabriel seated on a cloud in the sky with an impressive golden nimbus around his flying locks, blowing his trumpet above a group of wailing mortals.

Lili studied the painting dutifully, wondering what Isaac meant.

“The ‘man in linen’, as we call him in Jewish tradition, is not going to reveal his secret to the cunning Germans, my dear Lili, though I must admit that some days even I have my doubts. Not about Archangel Gabriel, oh no, but about the cunningness of the Germans. That’s why you are a godsend in this situation.” He eyed her intently with his emerald-green irises, probing her, as if determining the carat of a dubious diamond.

Lili said nothing; there seemed little to say in the presence of this impressive man. He said it all himself, filling her soul with a new glow. Lili felt she wanted to follow him wherever he went and learn from him.

“Now,” Isaac continued, “I’m going to ask you a question. Will you answer me in all honesty?”

Oh, God, Lili thought, here we go. Now he’s going to ask me where I’m thinking of taking the diamonds. Her cheeks flushed, and she hoped he did not notice it in the semi-darkness.

But the studious look never left the old man’s face. “Why is a diamond worth so much, do you think, my dear?”

Lili felt as if she had just made a narrow escape from a near accident. “Uh … I’ve never really thought about diamonds. All I know is that there was one in a ring I got for my eighteenth birthday.” She blushed again, thinking how – without a second thought – she had taken it to the pawnshop to pay for the rent of her London flat and had never bothered to collect it again.

“So, why are you not wearing it?”

“I’ve … I’ve left it in London.”

“So, diamonds do not really mean that much to you, Lili?”

“I’m sorry, I’ve never really thought about them.”

“Then why did you consider them important enough to become a diamond courier?”

Ah, there it was! He was getting to her motives after all. Lili felt cornered and eyed the diamond merchant with trepidation. Was the friendly veneer now worn out? But no, she saw only curiosity and care for her in his expression.

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