She began to fear that she had been rash in pursuing the course she had, and she heartily wished that Isabel had kept her meddlesome fingers at home. And yet, every time her eyes rested upon the glittering wealth with which her daughter was toying, the desire to possess them became stronger.
“Pshaw!” returned Isabel, “she’ll never dare take the law, and, if she does, who will believe her, providing the jewels cannot be found, and we are very much astonished and indignant at being accused of taking them from her!”
The two women gazed at each other in silence for a moment.
“Isabel, you would not dare do such a thing—it would be stealing and lying,” said her mother, in a whisper.
“Oh, no, mamma; you are too conscientious altogether,” returned the girl, shrugging her shoulders, and trying on Miss Mehetabel’s beautiful engagement ring at the same time. “We both agree,” she went on, “that they have already been stolen, and we only take possession of them for a little while, until we can find the true owner. I’m sure I would give them up at once if we could find the person whom they belong to. Of course, if we should acknowledge that we have them in our possession we should have to give them up, and, whether Miss Douglas proved her property or not, we should lose them. At any rate, let us hold on to them, and wait a while to see what she will do.”
“I am afraid it will not do for you to wear them, Isabel; you may meet the very person to whom they belong, here in London.”
“So much the better, then, mamma; we shall know that we did right in taking them from Miss Douglas, and can make our explanations and restore them. It strikes me that my suggestion is a very wise one, after all,” concluded the artful girl, who was determined to keep the jewels.
“You may be right, but I don’t feel exactly easy about the matter; above all things, don’t let Wilbur know anything about it,” returned Mrs. Coolidge, fearing more and more that there might be trouble ahead for them.
“No, indeed, mother, and, as I began this business, I’ll take charge of these jewels, and you need know nothing about them, if your conscience is troubling you.”
Isabel replaced the jewels in the casket, shut it, and, with a laugh, started for her own room.