Page 143 of Seduction Under the Southern Stars

“Thank you. Can I get you a drink?”

“No, we won’t keep you long,” I reply. “Ms. Lyttle, thank you so much for agreeing to meet us today.”

“Oh, Maureen, please. And I couldn’t resist after your very eloquent email.”

Elora switches her stare to me. “You emailed her?”

I pull an eek face. “Sorry.”

“But…” She looks back at Maureen. “You knew we were coming?”

“Yes, Linc told me you’d be arriving on the cruise ship today. He said you were interested in the Bell Ring.” She retrieves a small jewelry box from one of the shelves. She pops it open, then holds it out to us.

In the middle, sitting on black velvet, is a ring consisting of a large piece of greenstone set into a gold band.

Elora’s jaw drops. She looks at Maureen, who smiles, then at me, and finally back at the box. She takes it from Maureen, removes the ring from the velvet, and turns it over. I peer with her at the inscription beneath. The initials A & H are clearly visible, and, as she turns the ring, so are two other words—ake ake. Forever.

She presses her fingers to her mouth, and her eyes fill with tears.

“Aw,” Maureen says. “Linc said you were descended from Atticus and Hinerangi.”

“Her father is also called Atticus Bell,” I say. I put an arm around Elora, and she turns and buries her face in my shoulder, struggling to control her emotion. “Like I said in the email,” I continue, “Elora was hoping to find the Bell Ring for an exhibition at the National Museum. But that’s not the only reason she’s been trying to track it down. Her mum’s been very unwell—she’s recovering from breast cancer. It would mean the world to her to have this heirloom back in the family. So I was wondering if I could buy it off you, please?”

I’ve actually already discussed this with Maureen, and her eyes twinkle. “I told you that you could have it, Linc.”

Elora gasps and straightens, wiping beneath her eyes. “Oh my God.”

“I don’t expect you to give it to us,” I say softly. “I’m very happy to pay you for it. You paid just under two thousand five hundred dollars, right? And that was nine years ago, which would be about three thousand three hundred now with inflation.” I reach into my back pocket and pull out an envelope. “There are five thousand dollars in here.” I hold it out to her. “Please take it. If you don’t want it, you can donate it to the children’s ward at the hospital.”

She smiles then and takes the envelope from me. “I will definitely do that.”

“Linc!” Tears are pouring down Elora’s face. “You can’t do that for me.”

“I just did.” I look down at the ring. “It’s yours, sweetheart. I’m sorry for the ruse, but I didn’t want you to come all this way and not find it.”

“Why didn’t you tell me you’d found Maureen?” She glances at the older woman with a puzzled frown, then back at me.

“I thought you might just arrange a sale over email,” I admit. “And I wanted you to come on the cruise with me.”

Elora blinks. I know that when you boil it down, I’ve lied to her, and I’m not proud of that.

To my relief, her lips curve up. “You really think I wouldn’t have come on the cruise with you if it wasn’t for the ring?”

I open my mouth to reply, but I’m so surprised that no words come out.

“Silly boy,” she says, and turns back to a smiling Maureen. “Thank you so much for agreeing to part with it. You’ve absolutely made not just my day, but my whole year.”

“I’m glad to be able to help,” Maureen says. “And I hope it brings great joy to your mother.”

“Oh, it definitely will,” Elora replies softly, looking at the box in her hand. “She’ll be thrilled, and so will my father.”

We follow her back to the front door. I hold out my hand to Maureen, and she shakes it, then does the same with Elora. “It was lovely to meet you,” she says.

“You too,” I say, and then we head outside. We wave goodbye, and she closes the door behind us.

It’s raining lightly, but we stand there for a moment, while Elora cracks open the jewelry box and looks at the ring again. She studies it quietly for a moment. Then she looks up at me. “You’re a very naughty boy.”

“I know.”

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