The Secret of Hollyfield House, Jude Bayton [books for 20 year olds txt] 📗

My uncle did not read fiction and therefore did not remark on my statement. He was focused upon the geologic explanation of the stone. “They are common enough, not as valuable as other gems, yet distinctive and lovely of their own accord.” He pondered for a moment. “If my memory serves me right, the moonstone is a mineral from a group named feldspar. It is popular because of the alternating layers it possesses within, which makes the light diffract through the gem. Do you see?” He held it higher, and I saw exactly what he meant.

“The sheen on the stone gives the appearance of a crescent-shaped moon, hence the name.” He placed it back inside the tin and closed the lid.

I was fascinated. My uncle’s knowledge of the gem was far more interesting than his usual topic of ferns and flora.

“Where did you get it, Uncle?”

He cleared his throat. “Oh, Jilly, ’tis not mine. No, my dear. I was given the pendant by another many years ago and asked to keep it safe until the day when its owner would come to reclaim it.”

“How mysterious,” I exclaimed. “How long have you kept it?”

“Oh, long enough to have lost it until your discovery today.” His pale eyes looked directly to my face. “Twenty-four years.”

I smiled. “My goodness, that is as long as I have been alive.”

“Indeed, it is, Jilly.” Uncle Jasper’s voice was almost a whisper.

“Why has the owner not reclaimed it, I wonder?”

“Because she is no longer living,” he said softly. I looked at him then, saw the grief etched upon his face. Perhaps the woman who had owned the moonstone was someone he had romantic feelings for, an unrequited love? How tragic.

“Who was the woman, Uncle Jasper?” I asked boldly, not expecting him to admit her name.

Uncle Jasper extended his hand to me and placed the tin in my palm.

“It belonged to your mother. And now, Jilly, it is yours.”

My face must have betrayed incredulity as I absorbed his meaning. I glanced at the tin in my hand and then back up at him.

“This was Mother’s? I do not understand. Why would she own such a lovely piece and not keep it with her? She did not have much. I am certain this would have been a treasured possession. Uncle, I am confused.”

He gave a compassionate smile. “Yes Jilly, it must seem odd, yet it is true. This pendant represented a time in my niece’s history she held most dear. But when life brought a different chapter, she gave up the past, leaving its reminder with me.”

“What?” I asked. “That makes no sense. What past. Which chapter?”

His gaze met mine. “Before your mother married, there was another man in her life. Someone unable to be with her—someone who broke her heart.”

“That is ridiculous,” I snapped with irritation. “My mother only ever loved my father, and he her. There was no one before him. She would have said something to me. We were always very close.”

“My dear girl, of course, your parents were in love. What I speak of was before they met, when your mother was young and impressionable. I cannot tell you much for she never elaborated about what happened, but only gave me the pendant for safekeeping, lest she might have need of it one day. I was visiting your grandmother at the time, and your mother insisted I take it with me when I left. And Jilly, she obviously did not want it back, for she never reclaimed the gem.”

“No, this makes no sense at all.” I did not like his inference. My mother could not care for anyone other than my father, and that was an end to it.

“It is not for you to fret over dear girl. ’Tis a young woman’s keepsake, not unlike a love letter, or a card from an admirer—something she would want you to have. Just put it away in a drawer and forget about it.”

I opened the tin and looked at the moonstone. It was a beautiful stone, yet somehow tainted by what Uncle Jasper had shared. I was uncertain what I thought now.

“Do you think it valuable?” I asked.

“I am not sure,” he said. “I imagine it would be worth something, yet moonstones are not rare, or as expensive as emeralds, sapphires or rubies. We might have it appraised and find out?”

I nodded and got to my feet. “I will put it away for now.” I went to him and kissed the top of his head. “I am off to read before it gets too late. I shall see you in the morning, Uncle.” With that, I left the room for the sanctuary of my bed.

BUT SLEEP EVADED ME, THAT night. I tossed in my bed, the pendant there whenever I closed my eyes, along with images of my father—his lovely smile and his happy face. That my mother could have cared for another was beyond distasteful, and I would not accept she had. Why was the pendant here? My parents had never been wealthy, and Mother could have sold the gem and used the money to ease their own plight. Yet she had not. I was uncertain if the thought of her selfishness irritated me more than the realisation she had loved my father second.

Chapter Five

ON THE NIGHT OF THE DINNER, when the door opened to admit my uncle and I to Hollyfield House, the lack of finery in our formal attire was shockingly apparent. Uncle Jasper’s black suit reeked of mothballs, even though Mrs Stackpoole had it airing on the washing line all afternoon. My dress was one kept for Sundays and special occasions, a dark green cast-off from my mother’s hope chest. I had wrapped a gold silk shawl about my shoulders, but it did little to improve my embarrassment.

We were shown into the parlour I had frequented earlier that week, and Evergreen instantly leapt to her feet, welcoming me with an unlady-like embrace, and a friendly nod to Uncle Jasper.

“Goodness, Evie, do let them