AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Indeed,” Gilfeather said very softly. “And what did your mother propose to do about these fears, Mrs. McIvor?” He did not ask what the illness was, and Monk heard the whisper and rustle around the crowd as a hundred people let out their breath in release of tension and disappointment.
Oonagh paled a little. Her chin lifted. She knew their thoughts.
“She was going to assure her that the disease of which my father died was contracted long after she was born and was in no way hereditary.” Her voice was very level, very clear. “It was a fever he developed while serving in the army abroad, and it damaged his internal organs, eventually killing him. Griselda was too young to have remembered it accurately, and I suppose at the time of Father’s death she was not told. No one thought it would matter to her.” She hesitated. “I am sorry to say so, but Griselda worries about her health far more than is necessary or natural.”
“You are saying her anxiety was without cause?” Gilfeather concluded.
“Yes. Quite without cause. She would not believe that easily, and Mother was going to see her in person to convince her.”
“I see. Very natural. I am sure any mother might well have done the same.”
Oonagh nodded but did not reply.
There was a faint air of disappointment around the room. Some people’s attention wandered.
Oonagh cleared her throat.
“Yes?” Gilfeather said immediately.
“It is not only my mother’s gray pearl brooch which was missing,” she said carefully. “Although of course we have that back now.”
Now the attention was returned in full. No one fidgeted anymore.
“Indeed?” Gilfeather looked interested.
“There was also a diamond brooch of a great deal more value,” Oonagh said gravely. “It was commissioned from our family jeweler, but it was not among my mother’s effects.”
In the dock Hester straightened up sharply and leaned forward, amazement in her face.
“I see.” Gilfeather stared at Oonagh. “And the estimated worth of the two pieces, Mrs. McIvor?”
“Oh, a hundred pounds or so for the pearls, and perhaps a little more for the diamonds.”
There was a gasp of breath around the room. The judge frowned and leaned forward a little.
“A very considerable sum indeed,” Gilfeather agreed. “Enough to buy a great many luxuries for a woman living from one chance job to another.”
Rathbone winced, so slightly perhaps only Monk saw it, but he knew exactly why.
“And was this diamond brooch on the list to be packed for
London?”
“No. If Mother took it, it was a last-minute decision of her own.”
“I see. But you have not found it among her effects?”
“No.”
“Thank you, Mrs. McIvor.”
Gilfeather stepped back, indicating graciously that Argyll might proceed.
Argyll thanked him and rose to his feet.
“This second piece of jewelry, Mrs. McIvor; you did not mention it earlier. In fact, this is the first time we have heard it referred to. Why is that?”
“Because we did not previously realize that it was missing,” Oonagh answered reasonably.
