The Blue Diamond Read Online Free PDF Page B

Even without the aid of a glass, he could see the telltale star twinkling in the depths of the stone. “Pigeon-blood red. The best sort,” Palgrave pointed out, with a satisfied sigh.
    “How much?” his cousin asked.
    “Five thousand pounds.”
    Moncrief raised his brows, this time in congratulations. “Cheap at the price. The only detail to concern us now is whether Mademoiselle Feydeau had the right to sell the stone. Is it stolen, in other words.”
    “Shouldn’t think so. Mean to say, the gel thought it was only paste. Could have got it from her for an old song if I’d been dishonest.”
    “How did she come by it?” Moncrief asked.
    “Somebody gave it to her. Wouldn’t say who, but I figure it was a man. She thought from the size of it, it must be a fake. She don’t know a thing about jewelry, to tell the truth. She was wearing a cheap strass glass ring that she thought was a diamond. It wouldn’t cut butter, let alone glass.”
    “You know, of course, where this ruby comes from?” he asked.
    “I know what old Binder told me—the jeweler I took it to for appraisal. Says it’s from Burma, but has been cut by a European craftsman. He thinks maybe it was cut some few years ago, for it ain’t just as well done as they do it nowadays.”
    “You have not heard any other rumors?”
    “You mean what Chabon is saying, about it being part of the French crown jewels? Daresay he may be right.”
    “A star ruby of this size—there aren’t many of them. There was one in that collection that was stolen in France. It is a great pity you were taken in, but I believe I can get your money back for you . . .” Moncrief began in a matter-of-fact voice, hoping to settle the matter in this facile fashion.
    “I don’t want my money back!” Palgrave said at once. “What I mean to do is try to find the Blue Tavernier diamond, to go with the ruby. If the ruby’s here, who is to say the blue diamond ain’t? I promised Googie a blue diamond. Seems to me, Mademoiselle Feydeau’s friend was connected with that robbery in some manner, and she may have a line on other items of interest to me."
    “Did you ask her?”
    “Didn’t know where this little sweetheart came from at the time,” he replied, lifting the brooch from his cousin's fingers, to caress.
    “That would be very foolish, Harvey. The gems are stolen. They must certainly be returned to France. Whether you ever get a penny of your money back is a moot point. You know how slowly the mills of the government grind. There will be a bill required to arrange the matter. The Whigs will raise a hundred points of order to slow its passage . . ."
    “Finders keepers,” was the simpleminded refutation.
    “Possession is nine points of the law,” his wife added, in a self-righteous manner. Then she arose to glide towards her husband and take the brooch from him, to dangle in a beam of light from the window, with a possessive smile on her face.
    “I would not involve myself in such a messy and illegal business for a wilderness of monkeys,” Moncrief persisted. “Why should you pay out huge sums to sully your name, buying stolen jewelry, when there is such a quantity of beautiful and legal stuff floating around? Every hostess in town is at the bottom of her purse, to finance the lavish parties that occur every day and night. Sagan herself has her emeralds up on the block. These jewels in particular I would avoid. Stolen from a monarch, you know, increases the seriousness of the affair.”
    “Rubbish!” Lady Palgrave said, with strong feelings. “Harvey had the whole story from a book in the library. He went and got it as soon as those stories began circulating, and half the stuff in the French king’s collection was stolen from someone in the first place. The blue diamond, for instance, was robbed right out of a statue in India. How can the Frenchies have the nerve to demand back a diamond that they stole in the first place?”
    “Louis did not steal it, but