Above Rubies (15 page)

“Yes,” she croaked.

“Now think carefully. You see, dear, this is such an unusual ring. We couldn’t ever replace it, because a stone of that large size and purity doesn’t turn up every day.”

“But wasn’t it insured?” asked Sylvia, a sudden air of shrewdness in her manner. “Surely, if it’s lost, you can get the value of it.”

“Only if we can prove there was absolutely no negligence,” said Nigel quietly, “and somehow we’ve slipped up here. Someone, unnoticed, has been around
... some thief
... ready to seize their chance. Only one of us must have noticed, even if we’ve forgotten, and somehow we must bring it to mind. We’ll have to inform the police, but I’ve persuaded the others to wait a day, in case we can fathom out where it has gone. We only want the publicity of the police as a last resort.”

“The police?” whispered Sylvia, and Merry, too, felt her face go pale at the thought of being involved in the disappearance of the ring. She
did
check it. She remembered Sylvia handing it to her and the feel of the blue ring case in her hand. She had given it to Nigel after marking it off.

“I don’t think anyone else was there,” she said slowly.

“We don’t
want
to suspect
...
anyone,” said Stephanie gruffly. “But we might be forced to, if it doesn’t turn up.”

“But there’s only ... us,” said Merry slowly, and her remark trailed into uneasy silence. Surely they couldn’t suspect
...
her? She felt panic rising inside her, and had to force herself to sit quietly, and see things from the Kilpatricks’ point of view. They had lost a unique and valuable ring, and could be forgiven for starting to look around at suspects. And it was she who had been checking! Oh, why hadn’t she listened to Benjamin?

“We shouldn’t have given Merry the responsibility,” said Nigel heavily. “Stephanie is right, in part. We shouldn’t have asked Merry to take on such a job.”

Again the remark fell into silence, and Merry thought, rather bitterly, that she’d have preferred to hear him proclaim her innocence, instead of reproaching himself for giving her the responsibility.

“Go over every minute again,” said David Bruce almost desperately. “Sylvia, you are walking off the floor.”

She nodded.

“What did you do then?”

“I ... I was wearing the ring on my left hand,” she said huskily. “I took it off with my right. The blue case was on the table, and I put it in. I told Merry how much I ... I loved and admired it, then I gave it to her, and she marked it off.”

“That right, Merry?”

She nodded, feeling as though her body suddenly didn’t belong to her. That was right. That was how it had happened. And she gave it to Nigel, who put it into the fitted case, and locked the lid. Nigel was the only one with the keys
...
but Nigel wouldn’t steal his own ring.

That left her
...
left her
...
She lifted her hand to her head, feeling as though the walls were screaming at her.

“I don’t
know
how it can be missing,” she cried wildly. “You must know I didn’t steal it. I admired
it ...
we all did
...
but I’d be mad if I’d tried to steal it, because
...
because
...
I couldn’t
do
such a thing. I’d hate it always ... afterwards. Don’t you see?”

“Of course you wouldn’t take it, darling,” Sylvia said soothingly. “It must just
...
have ... gone missing somehow?”

“Where did the case go after you left the Royal, Nigel?” asked Merry.

“It’s no good,” said Nigel heavily. “It went straight into our safe and Father and I have half the combination each. No one touched it till we opened it this morning and found the blue ring box empty.”

He looked at Merry’s face which was almost transparent with the upset.

“I’d better take the girls home,” he said heavily. "If ... if you can think of anything, anything at all, come and see me. We call the police in at noon tomorrow.”

Merry nodded, and almost ran out into the fresh air, breathing deeply. All three drove home to Beau Ness in silence, where they found the parcel post van standing at the door, and Mrs. Cameron signing for a parcel.

“It’s for you, Miss Merry,” she said, handing it over, as Merry and Sylvia walked in the door. Merry nodded, this time feeling the tears well up in her eyes. It was easy to recognise the returned manuscript of her book.

The rest of the day was the longest Merry had ever known. Sylvia had been very restless, too, and after prowling up and down the house for a while, and going to annoy Mrs. Cameron in the kitchen, she flung herself on to the settee.

“I think I’ll go home, Merry,” she said sulkily. “Everything seems to be getting in a mess here, and I’m fed up. Nigel hardly bothered with me today and Benjie is away, and I’d like to see the gang again.”

For a moment Merry felt a treacherous lightening of spirit as she began to imagine the house without Sylvia, then remembered that her peace was shattered in any case now. Besides, with the loss of the topaz ring hanging over their heads, and the police due to be informed, it was hardly a wise time for Sylvia to leave.

“I doubt if you can, Sylvia,” she said wearily. “I mean, if Nigel tells the police, they’ll be bound to want to question you
.
..
”

“I haven’t done anything!” screeched Sylvia. “Why should they bother with me?”

“You’ve handled the ring, of course,” said Merry evenly. “They have to question everyone connected with the exhibition in a case like this.”

“But I gave it to you!” cried Sylvia. “You know I did
!”

“I know,” Merry replied patiently. “You’ll still have to tell the police that.”

Sylvia sulkily picked at her nails.

“I wish I’d never gone to the wretched exhibition,” she said, almost passionately. “Mummy will be livid if she hears about the police. So will Daddy. He might even...”

“Even what
... blame me?”

“I was going to say that he might even cut off my whole allowance,” snapped Sylvia, and Merry wondered by how much she had got into debt before seeking refuge in Beau Ness. Merry knew that her home had only been used as a refuge by her cousin, until Nigel started taking an interest in her. Would he still be interested in Sylvia, she wondered, or would all this upset make any difference?

Besides, what
could
have happened to the ring? Could there be two small blue leather boxes? Was it possible the ring was in another one? Merry’s eyes grew round with thought, then clouded again as she remembered that the whole of the black fitted case had been taken out and examined. If there had been two such boxes, Nigel would know, and would have examined the other one.

Yet it was unthinkable that any of them could be a thief, Merry was sure of that. Somehow
...
somehow that ring had gone missing accidentally, if she could only think when, how and where.

Mrs. Cameron was ill pleased at their small appetites for tea. Merry had told her, briefly, about the ring, and she shook her head uncomprehendingly.

“You shouldn’t be worrying your heid ower it, Miss Merry,” she pronounced. “Eating like a wee sparrow won’t bring a ring back. It’ll turn up, never you fear. From what you say, it would be a daft-like thing to steal it, for everybody would ken it in any case, and the thief could neither wear nor sell it.”

“That’s right,” agreed Merry, brightening. “It must turn up somehow, Mrs. Cameron. If only it could be soon
!”

Both girls went to bed early, but Merry lay tossing and turning, her mind too busy for sleep. She went over the events of the previous evening till her head ached, but had no recollection of anyone else being close by them.

Finally she got up and padded to the bathroom for aspirins, seeing a light under Sylvia’s door as she returned to her own room.

“Poor Sylvia,” she thought with sudden sympathy. It had upset her cousin, too, and perhaps even more so, if she was beginning to care for Nigel. She heard small sounds of drawers being pulled open, and paused on her foot. Surely Sylvia wouldn’t be mad enough to be packing so that she could sneak away. It would be just like her to do that!

Resolutely Merry went to her cousin’s door, and tapped firmly.

“Sylvia,” she said, opening the door, then stopped with bewilderment at the state of the room. Sylvia was, indeed, packing for a quick removal. As Merry opened the door, she whirled round guiltily with a quick surge of breath, her hand to her mouth.

Merry stared at the hand unbelievingly, at the pink topaz ring which was winking back at her.

“Sylvia
!”
she whispered. “For heaven’s sake! You’ve got it
!”

Her cousin tore off the ring and threw it on the dressing table, then dropped on to the bed, her face white as a sheet.

“What if I have?” she cried defiantly.

“But why
...
how
...
?
” Merry’s brain
seemed to be alternately racing and clouding.

“Easy,” said her cousin. “I had it in the box to let you see, then slipped it out again while you bent to mark it off. It was in the palm of my hand, till I could pop it into my bag.”

“You must be mad!” cried Merry. “Stark staring mad
!”

Sylvia began to sob.

“Well, it’s
my
ring,” she cried childishly, “and no one would buy it for me. It’s no use asking Daddy, and when Nigel talked about us getting engaged, he thought I was joking. He ... he even said he ... he thought we ought to think a bit longer about marriage, that I was obviously too young! He was backing out, Merry, and from a girl who could have married anybody.”

Merry watched her with fascination, then all the fight and spirit seemed to drain out of her.

“I was mad,” Sylvia said quietly. “I know it now
...
completely mad. I couldn’t resist it. It was as though the ring was part of me, and I couldn’t give it up. Oh, Merry, what shall I do?”

“Take it back,” she said firmly. “Own up and make a clean breast of it. They won’t tell the police, I’m sure, so long as you give it back first thing in the morning.”

Sylvia was silent, then she turned huge tragic eyes to Merry.

“How can I?” she asked brokenly. “There’s
something you don’t know. I’m in love with Nigel
...
really in love. I knew it today for the first time when I realised I’d lost him. Oh, Merry, there might have been a chance for me, and I’d do my best to make him happy. Honestly. I feel
...
different
...
now, as though I’ve grown up all of a sudden. I feel ashamed of the girl I was. Merry, couldn’t you take it back? Say you’ve found it caught on your dress or something? They couldn’t prove anything against you, and it won’t matter to you since you don’t love Nige
l...”

“I couldn’t!” cried Merry, horrified. “They’d never believe me. They’d think I’d stolen it.”

“They wouldn’t,” insisted Sylvia. “They know you too well. Oh, Merry, if I can’t have a second chance, I think I’ll die.”

Sylvia broke into a storm of weeping which shook her whole body, and Merry stood hesitating, the ring in her hand, her body shivering again as it did when she handled the topaz. For her, all its beauty had gone, and she only wanted it out of her home. She had always felt odd about it, and now she knew why. She looked at Sylvia tiredly, no longer feeling able to cope.

“All right,” she agreed, “but on one condition. You must leave my house. If Nigel wants you, he can follow you home to Carlisle. I don’t think you can remain here, with this between us, and I’d rather that Aunt Elizabeth and Uncle George were responsible for you.”

“All right,” agreed Sylvia. “I was going anyway. I’m tired of it all.”

Next morning Merry walked over to Rossie House, feeling as though she was wading through the ocean. Her face was deathly pale and set
wh
en she was shown into the study where Mr. Kilpatrick was working on his own.

“Here is the ring, Mr. Kilpatrick,” said Merry,, without preamble, and tried to tell him she had found it by accident, only the words stuck in her throat.

“I ... I can’t explain how I found it,” she said quietly, and watched him pick it up for examination.

“Yes, it’s our ring,” he said at length. “But I think I’m entitled to the fullest explanation
...
where it was found, how it came to be missing. Come ... ah, Merry, perhaps you would be good enough to explain. Otherwise,” he added, as she stood tongue-tied, “Otherwise I shall be forced to put the worst possible conclusions on the circumstances.”

“Will
...
will you inform the police?” she asked, with apprehension. If so, she might be forced to tell
the
m about Sylvia, and if she did, would they believe her now?

He regarded her searchingly, his eyes beginning to glint.