The Jewels of Sofia Tate (6 page)

“He asked my name and if he could call me. He phoned the next day to invite me to a dance, which was to be held in the pavilion in the park the following Saturday. Of course, I accepted. He came to pick me up in his car, and I introduced him to Aunt Ellie and Uncle Bill. Strangely though, I didn't meet Albert's father until months later, shortly before we were engaged.

Dan gave a low whistle. “Wow, that's a long time to keep a girlfriend under wraps!”

“I'll say,” Elizabeth agreed. “Especially in those days. I thought it odd as well. That is, until I actually met his father. Then I realized that Albert might have been afraid he might scare me away.”

Garnet laughed. “Do you think he would have?”

“There was a good chance of it. When we became engaged, my aunt and uncle were thrilled. Reginald only mumbled a brief congratulation and eyed me a little more closely, but that was all. He always seemed distracted somehow. It could have been partially due to his hearing loss, but all the same, I did take it personally at first. I thought that maybe he didn't like me. Anyway, when Albert and I married, I came to live at this house. But it was only after Albert left for the war that Reginald seemed to become even more strange and I first noticed his ramblings.”

“So, what did you do?” Dan asked, reaching for a brownie and shoving the entire piece into his mouth.

“What could I do? I kept busy and stayed out of the house as much as possible. I taught school through the week and offered music lessons in private homes on Saturdays. I volunteered with the Red Cross. On Sundays, I went to church and visited Aunt Ellie and Uncle Bill. When I was home, Reginald and I rarely spoke except to acknowledge one another if we did happen to meet, which wasn't often. We ate our meals separately and he usually just sat alone in the library with the door closed. From time to time in the first year, he met with businessmen, but those visits eventually stopped.”

Garnet tugged at a grape from the stem. “Why didn't you go back to live with your aunt and uncle?”

“I thought about it, especially when I visited with them, but I worried what Albert might think. After all, we didn't think the war would last as long as it did, and, of course, I wanted to believe that Albert would come back. As it turned out, Reginald died in the spring of 1942. Then later that year, in August, I received the telegram that Albert was missing in action after air operations in Dieppe. He was an RCAF sergeant and bomber navigator.” Elizabeth sighed. “When I first received the telegram, I refused to believe he was
dead. I kept hoping he'd be found, that he'd only been hiding from the enemy, or was injured, perhaps suffering from temporary amnesia, or maybe was even a prisoner of war — anything but dead. I waited here for years, hoping against hope that someday he would walk in through that front door. But my Albert never did come home.”

They ate in silence for a few moments, then Dan asked, “Did you ever think of marrying again, Mrs. Tate?”

Elizabeth shook her head. “No one else was ever quite like Albert. There was something about him — that sparkle in his eyes, his sense of humour, that certain
energy.
He took life by the horns, living for the moment, wanting to help the cause and not worrying about the consequences. Whatever did he see in a schoolteacher like me? We were so different.” She smiled faintly at the memory. “I went out with a few men from time to time over the years but I never met anyone again whom I wished to marry. And I certainly didn't need to marry anyone to keep me. Money was no worry. What was to become Albert's inheritance became mine, and that, along with the widow's pension and my salary, was more than enough. And as for children, every one of my students became a son or daughter to me. My only regret in all these years is that I've never been able to find the missing jewels. It would be a shame for them to be lost forever.”

As if on cue, the sapphire in Elizabeth's ring caught the light and Garnet was reminded of what Elizabeth had told her the day before. But until Elizabeth mentioned the jewels in front of Dan, it hadn't occurred to her that he might also know about them. Garnet glanced over at him now and noticed his eyebrows were knitted together. She gave a slight shrug, then asked, “Elizabeth, did Reginald have a safe or anything where he might have kept them?”

Elizabeth cocked her head to one side. “He did. Behind some books in the library. Reginald's housekeeper, Ethel, told me about it. Poor Ethel. She had been like a mother to Albert and became a dear friend of mine as we waited for him to return. Anyway, I had a locksmith come to crack the lock for me. The safe contained information on stocks and private documents about some of the businesses Reginald was involved with. There was also a copy of the will, but not the jewels. In fact, the will didn't even mention any jewels.”

Dan cleared his throat and his eyes narrowed. “What jewels are you talking about, Mrs. Tate?”

“I'm sorry, Danny. Of course, you don't know. I've carried this secret with me for so many years and didn't tell a soul. Until I saw Garnet.” Elizabeth's eyes rested on her before she continued. “She reminded me
so much of the portrait of Albert's mother, I ... well, I just couldn't help myself. The story just started to spill out. Albert's family had some valuable jewels. I don't know where they are or whatever happened to them, but I've been searching for them for years. Now after all this time, I'm finally going to admit that I'm going to need some help to find them if I am ever to have a hope of seeing them.”

“Oh, and I will try to help you, Elizabeth,” Garnet reassured her.

“I would be so pleased if you did,” Elizabeth replied.

Dan said nothing and drank the rest of his milk.

After lunch, Dan and Garnet insisted that Elizabeth sit down while they cleaned up. She looked a little tired and didn't protest. She sat in the chair and watched them, until her eyelids became heavy and she dozed off. As Garnet dried the dishes, she noticed the many medicine bottles on the countertop and a tray that was set up for pills, labelled for each day of the week and for various times of the day. And next to the phone, Garnet saw a small basket tray where Elizabeth kept an address book and phone numbers. Some were on business cards while others were on pieces of paper, including the receipt on which she had written her own name and phone number for Elizabeth. On top of the pile lay a business card that read, “Stanley Hunt. Broker. Rainbow Realty.” It had a
picture of a man who appeared to be in his mid-fifties on it.
That must be Gerdie's fiancé,
Garnet thought.

When the dishes were done, Dan left for the game and Elizabeth offered to show Garnet the upper levels of the home. She led Garnet up the stairs, her progress slow as she clutched the railing with one hand and used her cane to steady herself with the other.

“The house was modern when it was built, but over the years there have been a few updates,” Elizabeth panted, trying to catch her breath on the landing. “You may have noticed the kitchen was remodelled some time ago. I had the electric wiring and the plumbing upgraded at the same time.”

“Cool tub,” Garnet remarked when Elizabeth pushed open the bathroom door. A white claw-foot bathtub stood against the far wall.

“Yes, I was always fond of that myself. I had it refinished a few years ago when I replaced the toilet and sink.”

The house had five fully furnished bedrooms, two of them at the back of the house. The master suite, which had been Reginald's, was painted blue and had its own bathroom. The green room had been the nursery and had a connecting door that led to a self-contained suite, once the nanny's quarters. These quarters could also be accessed by another door further down the hall.

“All the bedrooms have remained the same all these years, except for mine,” Elizabeth said, as they passed by the door to her room at the front of the house. “I've had it redecorated several times.” Garnet peeked in and saw that it was wallpapered in a pink and green floral pattern.

As they crossed the hall to the last room, Garnet became acutely aware of a persistent mewing sound coming from behind the closed door. When Elizabeth turned the knob, Ginger immediately scampered out past them and bounded down the stairs.

“Now, how did she lock herself in there?” Elizabeth asked, shaking her head.

They entered the yellow room, which had two other doors, one of them opening out onto the balcony. Elizabeth pointed to the other door, on the inside wall. “That leads to the attic. Nothing but junk up there. I guess you could say I'm a bit of a packrat. You may find some of it amusing, though, if you care to go through it sometime. I haven't made the trip up myself in a couple of years. The stairs are much too steep for me now.”

Garnet felt a small flicker of excitement. Her mother said that old people often called their old things junk and sometimes they were, but other times they were treasure troves of antiques. “Oh, I'd love to look through it.
Mom and I used to spend lots of Saturday afternoons rummaging through antique shops. Before she got so busy, that is.”

“Tell me, what does your mother do?” Elizabeth asked.

“She's a manager at Prosperity Trust.”

“She must have a very important job that it keeps her so busy.”

“Well, it's not just her job. She's also trying to search for her father.” Garnet went on to explain about the discovery of the divorce papers in her grandmother's desk, and that her mother was trying to find out if the father she thought was dead all those years might still be alive.

The grandfather clock in the front hall gonged twice, announcing two o'clock.

“Oh, time for my pills,” Elizabeth said.

Garnet followed Elizabeth downstairs, waiting for her in the living room while she took her medication in the kitchen. Ginger had found a cosy spot to nap on the far end of the sofa, the slit of one of her eyes opening, as the hand-painted clock on the mantel chimed two. Garnet looked down at her watch. One fifty-five. It was running at least five minutes behind. She adjusted it, then picked up the silver-framed photograph on the mantel.

They had been an attractive couple, Elizabeth and Albert. Though the picture was black and white, Garnet could see that Elizabeth's shoulder-length hair had been dark and wavy, and her lips were tinted, so that she reminded Garnet of one of those glamorous movie stars from the 1940s. She wore a simple white hat and gown with her gold locket in front, and Albert, only slightly taller, looked handsome in an air force uniform and cap. Their eyes shone with happiness and anticipation, unaware that a life together would not be theirs.

“Our wedding day,” Elizabeth said from behind her.

Garnet looked up. “You're wearing the same locket as in this picture.”

“It belonged to Albert's mother,” Elizabeth said, clutching it. “Reginald gave it to her when Albert was born.”

Garnet set the photograph back down, her eyes travelling to the silver angel on the other side of the mantel. She touched it lightly, admiring its workmanship.

“Albert's grandfather made that,” Elizabeth said, taking a seat in the armchair. “You may pick it up if you like.”

The angel wore a robe and was blowing a horn and fit easily into Garnet's hand. Its wings were detailed, in layers, like the feathers on the wings of a bird. On the back of the angel was a tiny knob that appeared to be
a button. Garnet pressed it. To her delight, the wings swung upward.

Elizabeth smiled. “Yes, it's quite something, isn't it?”

Garnet ran a finger along the opened wings, then squinted. “What are these markings?” She brought the angel over to Elizabeth and pointed at what appeared to be tiny writing.

Elizabeth leaned forward, then waved her hand dismissively. “Oh, that. Yes. There's another on the other wing. I believe they're Bible verses. I used to think they might be a clue to the jewels because of what Reginald said on the day he died about the angel guiding me. But when I looked the verses up, I couldn't think what they might have had to do with the jewels.”

“What do the verses say?” Garnet asked.

Elizabeth shrugged. “I don't remember, exactly. It's been so long since I looked.”

Garnet tried to make out what the writing said but it was very small. “Do you have a magnifying glass?”

Elizabeth nodded. “I'll get it for you.” She rose from the armchair and hobbled out of the room, returning a few minutes later.

Garnet took the glass from her and held it over the wings, reading the tiny engraved letters and numbers. “I think the one on the left says something like 'Mat. 28:5.'” Moving the glass over to the other wing, she
noticed the script was in a slightly different style. “And the one on the right says 'Ps. 45:13.'” Garnet glanced up at Elizabeth. “What does it mean?”

“They're abbreviations. 'M-A-T' would stand for the book of St. Matthew, and 'P-S' would stand for the book of Psalms. The numbers indicate where in the books the verses would be found.”

“Oh. Can we look them up?”

“Certainly. The Bible is here on the table.” Elizabeth handed Garnet a thick black leather-bound book.

Garnet set down the angel and flipped through the worn pages, looking up after several moments. “I don't seem to be having any luck. These books aren't in alphabetical order.”

“No, dear, they're not. Come, let me show you,” Elizabeth said patiently, taking the book from her, and turning to a page in the front that listed the books in the Bible and their page numbers. Together she and Elizabeth found the page and the verse.

Garnet began to read out loud. “'And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.'” She peered up from the book and frowned. “The language kind of sounds like Shakespeare.”

“That's because this Bible is an old King James Version. Hundreds of years ago, King James authorized
an English version of the Bible, and this is more or less what the scripture was translated to. There are many translations now, though, and in nearly every language of the world. At church, we use a modern one in today's English.”