“Exactly! How did you know?” Trixy’s banter now toned down to real interest. “The envelope, dear, what about that?”
“I had begun to realize I was trespassing, you know, and I just glanced at the envelope. On it was written the word ‘Precious.’”
“Precious?”
“Yes. That and ‘With Care.’ But just as I attempted to put it back, I had taken it in my hands of course, just as I went to put it back, a stone fell out.”
“A gem?”
“It looked like one. A great red garnet or some sort of stone that seemed bursting with imprisoned glow.”
“How perfectly wonderful!”
“Yes, honestly, Trix, it made me creepy. I got the fire-drop back in that envelope as quickly as I could, you can believe me. It made me think of an animal’s eye, not a serpent’s eye, they’re green, but the eye of some sneaky little beast——”
“Beastie, Glo. You must call the small ones, beasties. But you are so, so graphic, you give me the shivers. Are you sure there are none of the beasties crawling around here now?”
“But I haven’t told you about the spangly things,” persisted Gloria, ignoring the frivolity. “They didn’t seem to be on gowns. I couldn’t, in the moment, make out what the article was. All I saw was glitter and sparkle.”