“What is the matter with Miss Mabel, miss?” said the maid, turning to the girl.
Annie put her pretty, white hand on Parker’s arm.
“Leave her alone with me for a little, please, Parker. Just go off and pack my things, like the jewel you are. She is awfully upset at my going—and you know I must, on account of my dear uncle.”
Annie’s voice quavered. Indeed, she herself was very nearly breaking down.
“I must go, you know, Parker,” she said, her pretty eyes filling with tears which only added to their beauty. “But I’ll manage Mabel. It is dreadful about the necklace; but perhaps you will recover it.”
“We never will,” said Parker. “It’s a dreadful bit of business. Her ladyship will be wild. She does so hate it when anything is stolen. But there are lots of robberies taking place on the railways of late. It is a perfect disgrace. Even the registering of your goods seems not to secure things. Of course I always carry the jewels in my own hand; it’s the only safe way. Miss Mabel must have been mad to put a valuable necklace such as her ladyship described into that old trunk.”
“It wasn’t nearly so valuable as Lady Lushington supposed; that is the only comfort,” said Annie.
“But, miss, I don’t understand. I thought it was you who urged her ladyship to get it, and that you had quite a knowledge of gems.”
“I found out afterwards—I will tell you the secret, Parker, and you can break it to her ladyship when I am gone—I found out afterwards that I had made a slight mistake. The necklace was worth, say, about twenty pounds, but no more, for some of the pearls were quite worthless. I happened to show it to a gentleman I knew very slightly at the Belle Vue Hotel, and he deals in that sort of thing. He disappointed me in his estimate of the necklace; but that doesn’t matter. It is terrible that it should be lost. Still, you might tell Lady Lushington what he said. There is no use in telling Mabel. She doesn’t care twopence about it, poor child, at the present moment; she is so broken down at my leaving.”
“Well, miss, I must be off to do the packing. I will make the best of things and never forget how pleasant you have been during your visit, miss. I will see, too, that you have a basket of sandwiches and some wine packed for your journey.”