Mercy's Embrace_Elizabeth Elliot's Story [Book 3] by Laura Hile

Author:Laura Hile [Hile, Laura]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-01-10T18:30:00+00:00

12 Round About!

Elizabeth knew she ought to return the case. Then again, she knew she ought to run away, for this man was not to be trusted! But she could not seem to help herself. Slowly she lifted the lid. Inside was her mother’s emerald pendant.

“Ronan did not take this from me, sir,” she said slowly. “I gave it to him.” She saw the flash of amusement in his eyes—so familiar. “Your brother,” she went on, “was behaving in the most tiresome way.”

“There is nothing new in that.”

This remark and she smile that went with it were too much. Elizabeth knew she ought to guard her tongue, but the pull of habit worked against her. “He was looking for something on your desk,” she confided. “Money, I think it was.”

“Did he find the bank draft?”

“Yes.” Elizabeth felt herself flush. “I did not know how to be rid of him! Fortunately, this is worthless or very near. The diamonds might be real, I don’t know. My father had the stone replaced with paste.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure?”

“Of course I am sure! Do you think I know nothing about jewels?”

He shrugged. “Ronan obviously didn’t.”

“Yes, I was counting on that. How odious you are to stand there laughing at me. Here, I’ll prove it.” She looked about. “I need light.”

McGillvary indicated a table lamp. “Do you carry a jeweller’s loupe?” he marveled, guiding her to it. “Are you planning to win back your fortune at cards?”

“If I were not inclined to cheat,” she flashed, “I would.”

“The temptation,” he murmured, “must be irresistible.”

Elizabeth threw him a look and removed the coloured shade. She adjusted the flame and held the pendant to the light. “Now then,” she said, “if you look carefully, you will see the largest of the bubbles.” She looked up. “When one uses a magnifying lens, it is huge.”

He made no move to take the pendant from her. His eyes were dancing in their old familiar way. “You knew this was a counterfeit,” he said, smiling, “and so you deliberately gave it to my brother.”

Elizabeth squinted at the stone. “I know it’s here somewhere,” she murmured.

“And Ronan, being the money-grubbing sapskull that he is, trotted off to sell it. You should have seen the look on his face when he returned to the house. It was priceless.”

Elizabeth was frowning in earnest. “Half a moment,” she said. “The colour’s all wrong.” She looked swiftly at him. “This is supposed to be a dark bottle-green.”

He looked amused. “Bottle-green is not the proper color for an emerald.”

“I know that, but this should be. It was when I gave it to your brother.”

“Let me put it on for you,” he offered. “You won’t be able to dance with it in your hand.”

Elizabeth now noticed that a gold chain hung from the pendant. Where did that come from? She looked from it to him. “What have you done?” she demanded. “This isn’t glass. It’s real!”

He merely laughed and took possession of it. “Turn round,” he said.

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