Isabel saw her mother’s indecision, and, stooping, she whispered in her ear:
“Don’t you do it, mamma; wait until papa comes, at least.”
“You prize them very highly?” Mrs. Coolidge asked, after a moment’s thought.
“I do.”
“They are not suitable for you to wear in your position; you are poor—could you be persuaded to part with them for a consideration?”
A sudden idea had come to her that if she could persuade the governess to sell them, they would hush the matter up among themselves.
She was greedy for the jewels, and was determined that they should not go out of her hands if she could help it.
“What do you mean by ‘a consideration,’ madam?” asked Miss Douglas, in a peculiar tone.
“Why, if I should pay you something handsome for them, and pledge myself to say nothing more about the matter, would you give them up?”
“Really, Mrs. Coolidge, you are very discriminating in your ideas of honesty. You assert that I have stolen property?”