'And you will not wear the necklet?' said Lady Aberfeldie, for the last time.
'Do please to excuse me, dearest mamma—I cannot—yet a while.'
Lady Aberfeldie was pleased by the half obedience these words implied.
'What ornaments will you wear then?' she asked. 'You have so many to choose from.'
'Let me wear the lovely diamond necklace that lies in the strong casket in your room, mamma.'
Lady Aberfeldie's calm, patrician face darkened.
'I would rather you wore no diamonds at all, child; and these I never wear myself.'
'But why, mamma?'
'Because that necklace always brings evil to whoever wears it.'
'So I have heard. But it is a silly superstition, and they are such lovely stones! But what is the story of them?'