“We were away for twelve years, and since we didn’t know where to look …”
“Uncle Huxley gave us the key soon after we sailed,” Mina added. “He said when we returned we should have Lord Shermont show us. Well, you know how that turned out. And since we had plenty of our own jewelry …” She looked up at Narve. “Our husbands are very generous.”
The men clearly adored their wives and vice versa.
“We did search for the jewelry but never found anything,” Deirdre said.
James went to work, using the letter opener to pry away the molding.
“It was a lovely wedding,” Deirdre said.
“I thought I saw you,” Eleanor said with a smile.
“We quite enjoyed the dancing and the champagne.”
“Perhaps a bit too much,” Deirdre said, glancing at her sister.
“No such thing as too much champagne,” Narve said, patting his wife’s shoulder.
“Man, a lot of nails here,” James said.
“If a thing is worth doing, it’s worth doing right,” Karel said.
“He was always building or fixing something,” Deirdre explained.
“Why don’t you ask them about their journals while I work,” James said.
“What about them?” Deirdre looked a bit surprised.
“It’s nothing,” Eleanor said.
“It can’t be nothing if James mentioned it,” Mina said.
“Just a silly idea James’s editor had about publishing them and making a docudrama, but I know how much you two value your privacy so …” Eleanor’s voice trailed off when she realized the girls weren’t listening anymore. They were in a four-way whispered conversation with their husbands.
They broke apart, and Deirdre nodded to her sister.
“We think that is a fine idea,” Mina said.
“You’re joking.”
“Noooo. The journals tell of our husbands’ and Uncle Huxley’s scientific accomplishments. The two of us took an active role. Rather remarkable for the time. So we rather like the idea of everyone knowing about our work.”
“Except,” Deirdre prompted.
“I’m getting to that.” Mina shook her head slightly. “Except we would prefer if you edited out the um … shall we call them the risqué parts?”
“And …” Deirdre said.
“You should have just done this yourself,” Mina said to her sister before turning back to Eleanor. “And if they make our story into a movie, we don’t want anyone plain to play our parts.”
Their faces were so serious Eleanor stifled her laughter. “I guess I can manage that.”
“I’ve got it,” James cried in triumph, moving the wainscoting aside.
They all clustered around. Eleanor solemnly took the key from the music box and handed it to him. After some initial resistance, the key turned. James pulled on the door, and it opened a crack. He put his weight into it and pulled the door wide open with a loud creak.
They all gasped as one.
“It’s there,” James said. “Just as when I unloaded the portmanteau and put it all back.” He knelt on the floor in front of the cabinet.
Eleanor sat cross-legged beside him. The three-foot metal cube was chock full of flat leather boxes of assorted sizes and colors. He handed her a black one six by ten inches. She opened it.
“My sapphires,” Deirdre said, clasping her hands below her chin.
A necklace of linked square sapphires with a drop of one huge pear-shaped stone rested on the black velvet lining with a matching bracelet and earrings. The gold links and bright blue jewels shone as if on display at Tiffany’s.
The next box, covered in green velvet, contained Mina’s emerald parure. The next … a diamond tiara. A ruby parure with two matching brooches. A necklace of amber beads and another of ebony disks had not fared as well. The beads were fine, but the stings had disintegrated. James kept unloading boxes, and she opened a rainbow of every jewel she knew and some she’d never heard of.
Mina clapped her hands. “It’s just like Christmas morning.”
“Except this is our wedding gift to Eleanor and James,” Deirdre said.
“Oh, we can’t accept—”
“You must. What are we going to do with them?”
“Your heirs …”
Deirdre shook her head sadly. “If the jewels will help defray the cost of your restoration and future preservation of our beloved home, we are well satisfied.”
“It’s time for us to go,” Narve said gently.
The four figures floated back toward the far wall and began to fade.
Eleanor jumped up, dumping the jewelry on the floor, and stepped forward. “Wait! Will we ever see you again?”
“No. You have mended the mistakes of the past and set yourself on the right path for the future. We are released and can move on to other activities,” Deirdre said. “This is good-bye.”
The gentlemen bowed, and Mina, with a sad smile and a tear in her eye, waved. They all faded into mist.
James stepped to Eleanor’s side and slipped his arm around her waist.
Suddenly Mina reappeared. “Of course, we will watch over all your children. But it would be sweet if you named at least two girls Mina and Deirdre. Oh, and invite your friend Kristen back soon. She and James’s architect friend are perfect—”
“Mina!” Deirdre’s disembodied voice crackled with electricity.
“Oops!” With a snap, Mina disappeared.
Eleanor turned into James’s embrace, her gentle tears falling unchecked.
“What did she mean by all your children and at least two girls?” he said.
“I’m sure it’s nothing,” Eleanor said with a sniff.
“There’s no way they can see into the future.” She smiled into his chest, hugging her secret to her heart just a little longer.
The End
(or The Beginning, depending on your point of view.)