Page 58 of The Granddaughter's Irish Secret
‘Of course,’ Rose said, picking up her bag again. ‘And I’d love to see the one you have.’
‘Oh ours won’t be a patch on yours,’ Kathleen said.
‘Why not?’ Rose asked as she started to pull the velvet case out of her bag.
‘Because,’ Kathleen said, ‘it’s a copy. Yours is the real one, so it has to be twice as beautiful.’
25
Rose’s hand with the velvet case froze – she felt suddenly dizzy. Had she heard correctly? ‘Excuse me?’ she stammered. ‘What did you say?’
‘Our necklace is a copy of the original,’ Kathleen said. ‘The one you have.’
‘What?’ Rose said, so hoarse she could hardly speak. ‘I mean, how come you think I have the original?’
‘Because, as you know, it had to be handed back to the Fleurys when Iseult died,’ Philip cut in. ‘But she gave the necklace back to her family when her husband passed away. She knew she wouldn’t have any children, so it had to go back in order to be given to the next Fleury daughter in line. So she had a copy made, and stipulated in her will that this one would be given to the daughters of the Lincoln family. She thought it was a nice gesture to connect her husband’s family with her own. It’s a beautiful necklace, even as a copy, and we cherish it.’
‘Oh,’ Rose managed, her mind whirling. She glanced at Noel, who looked as shocked as she felt. Perhaps the two had been swapped, she wondered, looking at Noel for an answer. But he looked as bewildered as she felt. ‘Before I show mine to you,’ shestarted, ‘could I see the other one? It would be interesting to see how alike they both are.’
‘Of course,’ Kathleen said and went into the living room, coming back a moment later with a scuffed leather box. ‘Here it is.’ She handed the box to Rose, who grabbed it and opened it, holding her breath. An identical necklace to hers was nestled against a bed of dark blue silk, the silver and glass glittering in the sunshine.
‘It’s… it’s very like mine,’ Rose said. ‘Identical. When was it made, do you think?’
‘In nineteen twenty,’ Philip replied. ‘There is a little “e” engraved at the back, which means it was made then, according to the hallmark directory.’
‘Just like mine,’ Rose said, pulling out her velvet box and opening it. ‘This one is also a copy.’ Her voice shaking, she stared at Philip. ‘I thought yours was the real one, the one with the topazes and pearls, which is worth a lot of money.’
‘We thought the same about yours,’ Philip said, looking equally shaken.
‘But now we know it’s not,’ Rose said. ‘So…’
‘Hold on a moment,’ Noel said, startling them. ‘Could we take a look at that hallmark?’
‘Of course.’ Kathleen handed Noel her box. He opened it and lifted the necklace out, peering at the back of it.
‘Just what I thought,’ he said, putting the necklace back. ‘Let me have a look at yours, Rose.’
Rose handed him her case. He examined her necklace and then nodded, looking satisfied. ‘Rose’s necklace doesn’t have the same hallmark. It looks like an “e”, but it’s a different kind. More elaborate and swirly. I have a feeling it was made a lot earlier than yours, Kathleen.’
‘Oh,’ Rose said. ‘How strange.’
Noel picked up his phone. ‘I can look up hallmarks on the internet. Hang on.’
They all looked at Noel in silence as he kept working the screen of his phone. Then he nodded and looked at them with excitement. ‘Found it. Your necklace was made in nineteen hundred, Rose. I’ve found the hallmark from that year and it matches yours.’
Rose stared at him, then at the necklace in the open case. ‘I don’t understand anything now. Why were two copies made twenty years apart?’
‘It’s strange, but I’m guessing that Iseult didn’t know hers was a copy,’ Noel suggested.
‘So where is the original?’ Kathleen asked, her eyes wide with bewilderment as she looked at the necklace in Rose’s case. ‘We thought… We were sure you had it. Why wouldn’t you?’
‘I have no idea,’ Rose whispered. ‘None at all.’
‘Someone went to a lot of trouble to have that first copy made,’ Noel said very slowly. ‘And then Iseult thought hers was the real one. Maybe it would be an idea to find out where her copy was made? It must be possible to find that out at least.’
‘How?’ Philip asked. ‘It was over a hundred years ago. The craftsman in question would be long dead.’
‘The shop might still exist,’ Kathleen said. ‘Could be around here or in Cork. We should look up silversmiths in the area.’
