With a little rattle they fell on the china dish — a heap of diamonds, rubies, emeralds, sapphires, a glistening pile of precious stones sparkling and flashing in the electric light. She took the second and third and fourth sides of the abacus and added their contents to the shining heap. The men sat round, speechless, gazing in wonder at the heap of stones sparkling with hidden fire from their many facets.
“There are the pearls still,” she cried, delighted with the success of her surprise; “each bead is a great pearl from the famous necklace of the Princess Tzan, dipped in some substance which protected it from the fire.” She drew them off the wires, putting them beside the glittering stones already in the dish. One she retained and began to scrape it with her knife; the covering flaked away, leaving a great rosy pearl.
“Princess, you may not know it, but you have a fortune here,” said the Duke. “Even I have never seen such rubies; they are of the true pigeon’s blood, worth a king’s ransom.”
“It is said, Monsieur, that a Prince Shulimoff who lived in Catherine the Second’s time was granted rights over all the Russian lands that lie adjacent to Persia. It is believed that he got these during his Khanship there.”
The Duke nodded. “I do not doubt it; the Shah himself has no better stones than these.” His long, elegant fingers played with the pile. Red, green, and blue, the stones glittered under the big electrolier — a dazzling sight which held them fascinated.
“And now,” said Marie Lou, “I wish that you all should choose such stones as you may like to be keepsakes of our days in Russia.”
They drew away shyly. Marie Lou’s mouth drooped with disappointment.
“Princess,” said De Richleau, voicing all their thoughts, “this is your fortune; on it we trust that you may live in happiness for many years. We could not rob you of your inheritance.”
“Oh, please,” she begged, “it will spoil it all for me if you do not- — had it not been for you I should still be at Romanovsk.”
She looked so disappointed that Richard bent forward and picked up a square diamond from the pile.