“We were rather anxious. We had no idea Mr. Madden would marry…over there.”
“I know it was a shock to you all. You should have been warned.”
“It’s not for us to say what should and should not be done.”
“Well, I’m sorry you weren’t told before. I am sure we shall all get along well together.”
“My brother, Jimson, is doing well at the works, especially now that he has Tom Paling’s job. We’re sure Mr. Madden will be pleased.”
“It was a good thing that he was able to take over after Mr. Paling’s accident.”
“Oh yes, they would have been in difficulties without Jimson. We’re proud of him. You may think it’s a strange name…Jimson. Our father was Jim, so they called him Jimson.”
“Very neat,” I commented.
“Oh, we’re a very close family. Jimson and I never forget what we owe to our mother. But I’m boring you, Mrs. Madden. I only wanted you to know that I’ll be ready to help. Have you got plenty of room for your things? Mr. Madden’s seems to be all in the other room.”
She had lowered her eyes again. Was it a certain triumph she was hiding?
“I have plenty of room,” I said coolly.
“Dinner will be at half-past seven,” she said. “The Bannocks will be here by then. Will you come down when you’re ready?”
I said I would, and she left me.
I had a suspicion that she might be pleased that Joss and I did not share a room. Her remarks about Isa Bannock had seemed rather pointed too.
I was becoming imaginative. Was I looking for mysteries and secret tensions? Too much had happened to me in too short a time, and the discovery last night had really startled me and made me wonder what was going on in this house. Then there was the niggling thought that someone had watched us from the window, and if I had been right about that, it must have been someone in the house.
I dressed with care and I thought it appropriate to choose a dress of peacock blue silk. “This,” my grandmother had said, “will serve for a dignified occasion.” And so I went down to meet the Bannocks.
They were in the parlor drinking aperitifs when I arrived. Joss came forward and took my arm.
“Come along, Jessica,” he said, “and meet Isa and Ezra.”
I did not see her immediately, for Ezra, a powerfully built man, had taken my hand and was nearly crushing it in an oversincere handshake.
“Well, this is a surprise,” he cried in a booming voice. “Congratulations, Joss. You’ve got yourself a beaut.”
I was not quite sure how to respond to this fulsome greeting so I smiled and said how pleasant it was to meet him, for I had heard a good deal about him.
“Nothing bad, I hope,” he cried.
“On the contrary,” I answered.
“And here’s Isa,” said Joss.
She was obviously several years younger than her husband, I thought, as she turned her lovely topaz-colored eyes upon me and scrutinized me with probing interest. She reminded me of a tigress. There were tawny lights in her hair to match her eyes; and there was something about her that reminded me of the jungle, for she moved like a cat with immense grace.
“So you’re Joss’s wife,” she said. “We never thought he’d marry. What a sly thing to do…to spring it on us like this. I hope you’ll like it here. It’s good to have women around. There’s a shortage of them here, you’ll soon discover. It makes us all so much more precious than we should otherwise be. Don’t you agree, David?” She was smiling at David Croissant, who seemed overwhelmed by her charms.
“I think it would depend on the woman,” said David.
“What nonsense!” retorted Isa. “When there’s a shortage the value automatically rises. You as a merchant should know that.”
David grinned at her. It seemed as though his shrewd common sense deserted him in the presence of this siren.
“Let me get you something to drink, Mrs. Madden,” said Mrs. Laud.
When it was brought to me, Isa was saying: “What have you brought in your peddler’s pack, David? I can’t wait to see.”
Joss said: “After dinner, he’ll show us, I dare say.”
“The market’s pretty good for black opals now,” said Ezra. “I only hope they’re not going to flood it.”
“You’ve had some good finds hereabouts, I gather,” put in David.
“You can be sure of that,” added Ezra.
Isa smiled at me. “Aren’t you longing to see them?” she asked.
“Yes, I am. I did see some in Cape Town when Mr. Croissant was there. Joss and I were at the home of the Van der Stels.”
Isa’s eyes were dreamy. “That must have been a wonderful experience for you! A honeymoon at sea. And coming to a new home. How romantic! And then David arrived and showed you some of his precious opals.”
“Yes. There was one I remember specially. The Harlequin Opal. I don’t think I ever saw anything so beautiful.”
“The Harlequin!” cried Isa. “What a marvelous name! I long to see it. Have you got it with you, David?”
“You shall see it after dinner,” he promised her.
“And it’s a real beauty?”
“It’ll fetch a big price,” said David.
“Opals mean business to David,” Isa told me. “He doesn’t see the beauty of the stones, only their market value. I’m not like that. I love beautiful stones…particularly opals. That flash of fire excites me. What was the finest opal you experts ever saw? I know what you’re going to say: The Green Flash at Sunset.”
Mrs. Laud said: “I think we should go in to dinner now.”
Joss sat at one end of the table and I at the other. Isa was on his right hand, Ezra on mine. It was soon clear to me that the attention of the men was focused on Isa, and that this was what she expected as a right. I felt at a disadvantage and irritated by her manner, particularly as I guessed she was aware of this and was reveling in it, perhaps more than she usually did, and this was on account of me.
Thick, juicy steaks were served with fresh vegetables followed by passion-fruit jelly, but I scarcely noticed what I ate. My attention—like that of the men—was on Isa, and in particular on Isa and Joss. I noticed how once or twice she placed her hand over his and the manner in which he smiled at her. And it seemed to me that Mrs. Laud and Lilias were watching me in order to gauge my reactions.
Ezra seemed to be pleased by the effect his wife had, and it was clear that he was one of her greatest admirers. I tried to tell myself that she was an empty-headed and frivolous woman, but I knew there was more to her than that. She was secret, subtle, and cunning, and while she scolded Joss for marrying so hastily without letting them know and pretended it was all something of a joke, I was sure she was exceedingly piqued by it.
She returned to the subject of the Green Flash and repeated the story of Desmond Dereham’s death in America and his confession.
“It seems that Ben had the opal all the time,” she said. “In that case what on earth happened to it?”
There was a brief silence, and then Joss lifted his eyes and looking straight at me said: “Before Ben died he told my wife and me where he had hidden the Green Flash. He left it to us jointly.”
Isa clapped her hands. “I want to see it. I can’t wait.”
“I’m afraid I can’t show it to you,” said Joss, “because when we looked in the place where Ben said he had hidden it, it was no longer there.”
Mrs. Laud had turned very pale. “Do you mean, Mr. Madden, that it was in this house…?”
“When Ben put it there. Since then it seems someone has stolen it.”
“It’s no longer in this house then,” said Mrs. Laud quietly. “Thank God for that.”
“You’ve been listening to those tales, Mrs. Laud,” said Ezra. “There always are tales about a fine stone. It’s a
sop to people’s vanity. They don’t want anyone to enjoy what they can’t so they say it’s unlucky and these tales get around. But, I say, what a thing to happen! What’ll you do, Joss?”
“I’m going to find it, but where to start looking?”
“Who could have known where Ben had hidden it?” said Ezra. “Would he have told anyone?”
“I am sure he didn’t. He didn’t tell me until he was dying. Then he told us both…Jessica and me.”
“Where was it?” demanded Isa.
“He had had a cavity made in a picture frame.”
“How exciting and mysterious!” cried Isa. “I do wonder who has stolen it.”
“I don’t envy them,” murmured Mrs. Laud.
“Oh, Mother, you take the rumors too seriously,” said Jimson.
“There’s one thing I want to say,” said Joss. “I’ve said it before. I don’t doubt I’ll have to say it again. I don’t want a lot of talk about unlucky stones. People could stop buying opals because of such talk.”
“Joss,” whispered Isa, “how can you start looking for the Green Flash?”
“It’s no use putting up a bill saying ‘Will the thief return priceless opal he stole from Peacocks sometime during the last two years,’ is it?”
“Hardly. So how will you begin?”
“I shall have to work that out, but I’m determined to find it.”
“And what Joss determines he always does, doesn’t he, Mrs. Madden?” The tawny eyes mocked me. “You will know that as well as any of us.”
“I’m sure he’s very determined.”
“I don’t want talk in the town about this,” said Joss.
“They’re already talking about Desmond Dereham’s not having stolen it and Ben’s having it all the time,” said Ezra.
“I know, but let that die down.” He addressed Ezra, and I noticed afresh how when he wanted a subject changed, he made it clear. “Have you added any good horses to your stables lately?”
“One or two. You’ll be interested, Joss. I’ve got a little beauty…a gray mare. She’s called Wattle. I’ve never known any horse with such feeling. She’s really fond of me.”
“All horses are fond of you,” put in Jimson. “You have a way with them.”
“Horses and women,” said Isa, looking at her husband.
“Horses anyway,” replied Ezra. “Have you got a good horse for Mrs. Madden?” he asked Joss.
“I’ve been thinking what there is in the stables. I’ll probably have a look round.”
“I’d like to give her my Wattle. She’s just the ticket. She’s strong, will of her own, but she’s malleable, too. If I drop a word in her ear she’ll be just the mount for the lady.”
I said: “This is too generous.”
Ezra waved his hand. “Oh, it’s all in the Company. You’re one of us now, you know.”
“I’m most grateful…”
“You’ll love her. She’s a real beaut…and such a good girl too. Treat her right and she’ll treat you right and if I just give her the word…all will be well.”
“It’s true,” Jimson told me. “I’ve never known anyone talk to horses as Ezra does.”
“It’s very kind of you,” I said. “Thank you.”
“Well, that’s settled,” said Isa. “David, I can’t wait to see your treasures.”
“Perhaps after coffee,” suggested Mrs. Laud.
Isa was obviously impatient for coffee to be over and this was soon taken in the parlor. Then we went into the drawing room, and before the eyes of the haughty peacock on the wall, who, could he have spoken, might have told us who had stolen the Green Flash, David sat at a table and opened the rolled-up cases. The blinds had been raised to let the light in with sundown, and as there was no gaslight at Peacocks several candles were lighted to shed their soft glow over the room.
We were all seated at a round table—Joss and Isa on either side of David Croissant, myself next to Joss, and Ezra on the other side of his wife. The three Lauds sat together. I was beginning to think their position embarrassed them; they were of the family and yet not quite of it, something which they themselves by their very manner called attention to, and which existed for that reason.
In the center of the table was a candelabrum, and as David unrolled the cases the gems glowed in their wonderful colors and I was fascinated by the flashes of fire.
“You’ve got some fine specimens there, David,” said Ezra.
“Mostly from South Australia, this lot,” replied David. “They’re hard come by. You’re lucky here. Conditions are not so good in the gibber country. It’s dry as a bone and gougers there suffer great hardship—hardly any firewood, and water scarce as gold in a worked-out mine.”
“He’s trying to put the prices up,” said Ezra with a wink.
Joss turned to me. “Gibber country is flat plains strewn with stones. Hard to live with, you can imagine.” And I was irrationally pleased because he had remembered me.
“But David,” said Isa imperiously, “where is this Harlequin we’ve heard so much about?”
“All in good time,” replied David. “If you saw it first, you wouldn’t want to look at the others.”
“What a tease you are!”
He unrolled another case, and the men examined the opals, commenting on their size, color, cut, and other technicalities.
“Please David,” wailed Isa, “I want to see the Harlequin.”
So he opened a case, and there it was in all its glory—even more beautiful than it had seemed on the previous occasion—but perhaps I was a little more knowledgeable and able to recognize its superior qualities.
David lifted the stone and let the light fall on it. He touched it caressingly. I wondered whether he was thinking of its beauty or its worth.
Isa reached for it impatiently. She cupped it in her hands. “It’s magnificent,” she crooned. “I love it. Look at those colors. Harlequin, yes. No wonder Columbine loved him. Light, fantastic colors…” She lifted her glowing face. “I think it’s one of the loveliest stones I ever saw.”
“I reckon it’s worth a tidy sum,” said Ezra.
“You’re reckoning right,” said David.
“I’d give a good deal to add that one to my collection,” sighed Isa.
“I can see I’ll have to start saving up,” commented Ezra.
Joss turned to me again. “Isa has one of the finest collections of opals. She doesn’t necessarily want to deck herself out in them. She takes them out and gloats over them.”
Isa laughed, her tigress face animated by an expression I could not fathom. There was triumph in it and a certain greed.
“They’re my inheritance,” she told me. “If Ezra ever decides to discard me, I might have to realize my fortune.”
“You think there is a possibility of his doing so?” I couldn’t stop myself asking coolly. I was a little tired of her thrusting her superior attractions under my nose.
“As if I ever would!” said Ezra fondly. “Isa’s a jackdaw,” he went on, again to me as though since I had come here to learn about opals and the country I must also learn about the delectable Isa. “When she hears of the best stone of the year she wants it for her collection.”
“Oh, how I should love to add this beautiful stone to it,” said Isa. “If I had it I would stop these commercially minded men treating this beautiful object as though it represents nothing but a certain amount of money. You do understand that, don’t you, Mrs. Madden?”
“Of course,” I answered.
“A stone like that will eventually go into a private collection, I imagine,” said Joss.
“And you want to add it to yours, I suppose?” Isa asked Joss pertly.
A look I did not understand passed between them, and he said quietly: “I’m considering.”
Isa turned to me.
“It’s true that over the years I have got together some really fine stones. I should so much enjoy showing them to you sometime.”
“I should very much like to see them.”
“Please come over to us. We’re only five miles from here. Wattle will bring you over. She’ll be delighted to come and visit Ezra while you come and see me and my collection.”
“Thank you.”
Isa reluctantly laid the Harlequin on its velvet background, and David rolled up the case.
After that everything else seemed an anticlimax.
The Bannocks left soon afterwards and Joss went out to see them off.
I went up to my room and brooded on the evening. I kept thinking of Isa leaning forward, holding the Harlequin Opal in her hands. I felt there was something significant about the scene…all those people sitting around a table, their attention concentrated on that stone, the intentness of their gaze, the manner in which they handled the opals and the way in which they spoke of them; it was as though they admitted to a certain supernatural power which flashed in those colors. It was like a Greek play, I thought, with the Lauds as the Chorus, and I could not rid myself of the conviction that everything was not as it outwardly seemed. There was something uncanny hanging about the atmosphere of my new home.
Dominating my thoughts was the memory of Isa’s attitude towards Joss and his towards her. She was flirtatious by nature, but she betrayed something deeper in her manner towards him. There had not been one of the men present who had not been attracted by her…even Jimson Laud, in a retiring sort of way.
“A femme fatale,” Lilias had said.
I felt angry. How dared she behave in that way towards my husband in my very presence!
It was the first time that I had referred to him to myself as “my husband.”
I shrugged that aside. Women like Isa irritated me, and whatever her relationship with Joss might be, I did not care.
I was ready for bed when I heard a sound in the corridor which startled me. I went to the door and listened. The footsteps were slow and stealthy. At my door they paused. I found myself trembling. Someone was standing close to my door, listening. Cautiously I lowered my hand and found the key; I turned it quickly in the lock. The sound it made would be heard from outside.