A Bright Particular Star (17 page)

“S
ophie is hardly ruined because she has spe
nt time
with M
r
Cavanagh,
”
murmured
Olivia.

“D
on
’t
argue
!
”
Eudora
almost shrieked
.
“
I am sure
Mr
Cavanagh has behaved like
a
gentleman.
The f
ault is entirely Sophia
’s
.
Good gracious,
when I think of the clandestine
ma
nner of her escape, the
disregard for my feelings and
for
Peregrine
’s
, the un
grateful, shameful way she has—
!
”

“
You are obviously tired,
ma’
am,
”
interjected Theo
bluntly
in clipped tones
.
“
Perhaps
you will feel more collected
in the morning.
”

“
Yes, yes indeed!
Thank you for your consideration.
I will go upstairs now.
”

With a final glare
in
Sophie
’s
d
irection, she swept
from the room
.

Peregrine o
bserved in a dry voice
,
“
Well,
c
ousin, what a stir you have caused
!
Don
’t
think this is the end of the matte
r.
Make sure you don
’t
disappear
again while
I’m
organising our rooms.
”

He sauntered out
and when he
had gone
, Olivia gave a heartfelt
sigh and sank
o
nto a chair.
“T
hank goodness
I’m
out of their company!
Sometimes I think I hate them.
”

“
I’m
sorry you
’
ve had to endure their wrath
,
”
said
Sophie,
put
ting
her
arm about Olivia
.

She
managed a faint smile
.
“Don’t
worry.
I
ignore
d
most of
Mama
’s
spiteful
observations on your character, and he
r anger
towards me, even though
it
was a constant prattle.
”
She
looked up, lowering
her voice
a little
.
“S
ophie, did you mean it when you said you had the Star with you?
”

Sophie n
odded.
“
I collected it from Mr Hodge when I called at the lawyer
’s
office
.
He did no
t
realize
it
was among
the few trinkets I collected
.
”

Olivia
’s
eyes widened.
“
But is it
a
dvisable to carry something so
valuable?
”

“
Probably not, but I prefer
to have it with me rather than leave it in Bath.
”

Theo, who had been listening intently
to this exchange
, asked,
“
Would it be too much trouble to tell me what the
Devereux
Star is?
”

A crimson flush spread over
Sophie
’s
cheeks
.
Lo
oking decidedly guilty, she admitted
,
“
I’m
afraid I
’
ve kept another secret from you.
”

“
I had already
guessed
that much.
”

Seeing the
reproach
in his
eyes, she bit her lip.
“
You don
’t
understand.
I’m
not usually decei
tful, really
I’m
not!
I didn
’t
tell you about the Star
because I thoug
ht
it better you did not know
.
”

He raised his brows
.
“
Better for whom?
”

“
You, of course!
”

“
Well, I want to know
. E
verything, if you please.
”

Sighing, she made a hopeless little gesture
.
“T
here
’s
not much to tell.
The
Devereux
Star is my inheritance, but
sometimes
it feels
more of a burden than a blessing.
How does one put a value on an h
eirloom
passed
from generation to ge
nerat
ion, yet seems to bring
little
but unhappiness?
”

“
Yes, but what
is
it?
”
asked
Theo, still be
mused
.

“
A sapphire.
”

“
An extremely valuable
sapphire,
”
corrected Olivia.

“T
he Star has been in our family since the seventeenth century,
”
explained Sophie.
“
It was found and brought back to England by an expl
orer ancestor of mine
.
It
’s
a gem with a distinctive feature.
In certain light and aspects, a six-rayed white star appears in the stone.
Such gemstones are
rare
,
so rare
they are usually given a name.
That is how t
his sapphire came to be called t
he
Devereux
Star
,
after
my intrepid
G
reat
great
u
ncle
Jeremiah
Devereux
and the unusual flaw bringing
the white star within it to life.
”

“
And you have this
gem with
you?
”
exclaimed
Theo
.

She nodded.

“
Where is it now?
”

“
If I tell you, you
’
ll only be dragged i
nto my stupid affairs more and—
”

“S
ophie—
”
he began, in a half-ex
asperated, half-threatening voice
.

“
Oh, very well
!
”

Sophie reached up to her hair and took out the cornflower-tipped pin, dislodging several curls in the process
,
which bounced
down
around her shoulders
.

Twisting the long pin
between her finger
s,
she said
,
“S
hortly before his death, Papa thought it advisable to
disguise the Star.
He knew
I would be alone in the world and considered it would be safe
r somewhere less obvious than
its usual setting of the
Devereux
necklace.
He said p
eople rarely saw what was
under their nose
s
, so he arranged for a paste copy to be inserted in the necklace and had the real gem re-set.
Only my father and I knew of its new location.
”
She held
out the
pin
to Theo.
“T
he real
Devereux
Star is here.
”

He took the
pin and studied it.
At first, he could see nothing unusual.
The top resembled a bunch of cornflowers, fashioned from paste and glass beads.
The blooms varied in size and were arranged in a haphazard fashion.
Each glass-beaded flower was mounted on a painted wire stem, which were bound together at the base and attached to the long metal pin.

It was an unattractive piece, being too large and too obviously imitation to be worthy of a second glance bu
t, when Theo peered
at the
largest cornflower
, he uttered an
awed
exclamation.
At its centre was a smoo
th oval stone of brilliant
dark
blue
.
As he tilted it
from side to side, a six pointed
white star appeared as it caught the light.
The star
seemed to glide back and fo
rth
over the gem
’s
lustrous
surface
.
Theo had never seen its like before.
The sapphire was incredibly beautif
ul
; it was also
cleverly hidden in a tawdry-looking piece of paste jewelry.

Theo raised his eyes to Sophie
’s
.
“
It
’s
ma
gnificent,
”
he murmured.
“
Your father chose well
.
N
o
one would suspect that piece of flummery conceals a fabulous jewel.
”

Sophie, taking the pin back, felt a
thrill of pleasure
as their fingers brushed
.
It was a fleeting moment
of sensation, but s
he blinked
at the intensity of it
before pushin
g the pin back into her hair,
confessing
,
“S
tupid of me
to let slip I had it with me
, but I was furious
with Au
nt Eudora and Perry.
They have always coveted it.
“

“
But
they
must have spoken to you since your father
’s
death about the Star
’s
whereabouts?
”

“
Oh yes, but
they assumed it was with the rest of my mother
’s
jewelry in a safe box at the L
ondon offices of Papa
’s
lawyer,
ready to pass into my keeping
on my twenty-first birthday
.
I did not disabuse
them, but
I knew
my father had placed the real Star at the Bath
office of his lawyers
, along
with a few other tri
nkets and a small amount of money
.
He said he had arranged things in this way in case I ever needed it quickly.
”
She gave a ghost of a smile
.
“
Perhaps he had a premoniti
on of what was to come
.
This,
”
she added, pointing to the sapphire,
“
is the real reason Eudora wants me to ma
rry Peregrine.
The marriage
would bring the
m
the
Devereux
Star
.
”

“
It may be
’
a
bright particular star
,
’
but o
wnership of
such
an object
can bring
pain as well as pleasure,
”
observed
Olivia.

“
Indeed,
”
said
Sophie, bitterly.
“
Sometimes
I wish I had never set eyes on the wretc
hed thing!
It
’s
worth
thousands
of
pounds
, and yet, even when my father found himself with his pockets to let, he could not sell it.
He said it had been belonged to the
Devereux
s
for years and he would be dishonoured if it left
the family
.
”
Sophie pulled a face.
“
Utter fustian, of course!
”

“
You do not hold with your father
’s
view, then,
”
asked Theo.

“
As much as I admire the Star
’s
beauty and would prefer to keep it for the sake of my family name, I would sell it
if it became necessary
.
What use is a sapphire when you are starving, or homeless?
Any wealth, or promise of wealth, this
jewel
has brought has been
outweighed by the problems it has caused.
Previous generations have waged war on each other because of it.
Others have schemed to possess it
through forced marriages or
more nefarious means, despite the legend attached to the stone saying bad luck w
ill follow anyone who is not its
rightful owner.

“
What do you think will happen now Mama
and Perry know you have it
?
”
said
Olivia.

So
phie uttered
an unhappy little sigh
.
“
Matters will become even more pressing, I
suppose.
Aunt Eudora is
determined
I will marry
Peregrine, and tomorrow
wil
l no doubt bring another push
to elicit m
y
agreemen
t.
Perry will
follow her lead
.
”

“
But with
Mr
Cavanagh present—
”

“T
hat will not stop her.
Neither will
Mr
Grey
’s
presence.
”

Olivia
’s
thunderstruck
gaze flew to Sophie.
“
Mr
Grey is
here
?
”

“
He arrived earlier,
”
replied Sophie.
“
He followed us through Savernake.
”

“
Whatever for?
”

Sophie explained, adding
,
“
Hi
s story does not ring true
, Livvy, and
Mr
Cavanagh agrees.
”

Olivia
struggled
to conceal
her amazement
.
“
H-How
strange
,
”
she stammered.
“
He
is the last person I expect
ed to
see
here
.
”

“
Mr
Cavanagh thinks he has seen him before
.
”

“
But
I can
not for the moment recall where,
”
said Theo.
He glanced
at
Sophie.
“
I
’
ll
question
Grey further before I go to bed.
He might let slip some clues as to
the real
reason he is here
.
”