The Jewels of Sofia Tate Read Online Free PDF

emanate from the woman herself so that her skin glowed, and Garnet had to resist the urge to reach up and touch the canvas. Her hair was pulled back from her face, allowing coppery curls to spill onto her white shoulders. Her expression was serene, with lips parted like a rosebud about to open. In the crook of her right arm she held a spray of waxen white lilies. Her elegant gown, the same colour as her round, violet eyes, was adorned with just a fringe of beadwork and lace under the scooped neckline. And resting under her creamy white neck was a blue sapphire, the size of a small egg, with alternating diamonds and sapphires travelling up the length of the chain. Dangling from her earlobes were smaller sapphires surrounded by diamonds, and on her left hand, a ring — the same one Garnet had noticed Elizabeth wearing the day before.
    Elizabeth’s came to stand next to Garnet. “Sofia Tate. Albert’s mother. A shame I never met the woman. She died when Albert was just a baby. He looked a lot like her with the red curls. A lovely portrait, I think.Perhaps even a little intriguing. Somehow, she seems to be watching.”
    Garnet felt a chill run down her spine. She could almost
feel
her watching. Her eyes rested on the sapphire pendant. “Are those the jewels you mentioned?”
    Elizabeth nodded. “Yes, but not the ring. It’s not part of the original set. Albert gave it to me for our engagement but I never saw the necklace or earrings. Do you see this tiny sparkle?” she asked, pointing to the pendant in the picture.
    Garnet nodded.
    â€œI have always thought this detail to be interesting. The artist captured the reflection of light on the sapphire as a miniature shining star. I once read that a sapphire refuses to shine if worn by the wicked or impure. It is a symbol of truth, sincerity, and faithfulness, and its rays represent faith, hope, and destiny. They used to believe that the sapphire not only had healing powers, but that it would attract divine favour and protect the wearer from harm.”
    Garnet was silent for a moment as she thought about Elizabeth’s words, then asked, “Why did you call the jewels ’royal’?”
    â€œWell, that is a long story,” Elizabeth replied. “Perhaps we should sit in the living room where it’s more comfortable.”
    Garnet curled her feet under her legs and settled back onto the burgundy sofa. As she brushed away a bit of yellow-brown fur, she was reminded of the cat.
    â€œWhere’s Ginger?” she asked. “I haven’t seen her today.”
    Elizabeth sighed. “Locked in the upstairs bedroom. Gerdie doesn’t care for poor Ginger, and Ginger seems to know this and bothers her even more by rubbing her body around Gerdie’s ankles relentlessly. Gerdie tripped over her one day, so now when she comes, we put her upstairs in one of the bedrooms or outside.”
    Elizabeth eased her plump body into the armchair and pulled her green and white skirt over her knees. “Now, where were we? Ah, yes. The jewels. Albert once told me a little of his family history and I will try and retell it as best as I can. In 1895,” she began, “when Sofia’s father, Johann Schelling, was twenty-one years old, he set out from Germany and travelled to Russia to apprentice with his uncle, a talented clockmaker and jeweller. His uncle’s work was of the finest quality, attracting wealthy customers from all around, but mainly the Russian nobility. Johann seemed to have inherited this talent for the craft and was determined to learn all he could from his uncle.
    â€œJohann had been there for several months when one day, Sofia’s mother, Marie, entered the shop with her father, Count Mikhail Ivanov, who came to have his watch repaired. The moment Johann’s and Marie’s eyes met, there was a spark between them. But it was the following week, when Marie returned to the shop with her father to