The police combed the whole house, all 9 bedrooms, the ballroom and other public rooms, even the kitchen which Anne was certain Mary had not been near during her visit. Mary had treated the house like a hotel which, despite its size and grandeur, it most certainly was not. Anne had worked hard to be in the position to acquire such a house and she couldn’t help but wonder why it was now, and not five years ago when she lived in a small flat in Glasgow’s west end, that her old university friend Mary should choose to visit. The diamonds had been brought, ostensibly to wear when dancing in the ballroom although there was no occasion for this and Anne suspected a more superficial reasoning.
They had dressed for dinner as Mary claimed not to would be a waste. Anne quietly agreed and relished the opportunity to show off not only her new Versace dress but her grand dining room while suspecting that Mary would have in any case steamrollered any objections. The large house was mostly just that, large, not particularly different from any other Victorian mansion in the Scottish countryside. High ceilings, sash windows, creakings and groanings of the woodwork and pipes as they heated or cooled. The dining room was different. It still had high ceilings, sash windows and creaks and groans but it also was the only room in the house to have retained many of its original features. The wood paneling around the walls to waist height, the arts and crafts beaten copper hearth at the grand marble fireplace, the immense chandelier that hung over the centre of the grand oak dining table (at which twelve people could sit comfortably, or so the estate agent had informed Anne) a little too low so Anne imagined it would obscure the faces of several of your dining companions. The room also had a large dresser at the side of the room which was made for the house when it had been built. It was largely empty as Anne lived alone and with infrequent company she had made do with a plain white dinner set and an elegant old tea set she had had since she was student. She had told friends at university that it was her mothers old set but really she had picked it up in a charity shop on a whim. She still couldn’t fully explain why it had attracted her attention but it fitted in the dresser perfectly and gave her a strange thrill to see it in such a grand setting.
As they had come down to dinner Anne and Mary had looked each other over with no embarrassment before commenting on everything from their hair styles to their shoes. There was one thing however that left Anne feeling slightly breathless.
The necklace was huge and sparkling and Anne noticed the sparkle before paying closer attention and realizing that it was made up of a delicate white gold chain with a large tear drop which nestled in Mary’s cleavage. The tear drop had within it a huge 9 carat circular diamond beneath a cluster of smaller but still brilliant stones. This spectacular necklace had been teamed with a low cut wrap around plain black dress which left the jewels to capture the eye and hold it. Anne was not unadorned herself as she wore a long black silk evening dress with a delicate silver pendant with a tiny blue topaz at its centre. They both looked spectacular but there was no doubt that Mary’s necklace was the star of the evening.
Anne had hired caterers so they could relax and be waited on in the manner that the house expected and they were prompt and efficient in serving the delicious three course meal with copious amounts of accompanying wine. The meal was relaxed and jovial as the ladies, who were both now in their early thirties, reverted to chatting like the teenagers that they had been. Anne told Mary about her latest beau, but not in great detail as she was mostly happier on her own than when she was tied to a man.
Mary told Anne of her ex-husband who had bullied her and stolen her money until she could take it no more and had left him to reinvent herself as someone more akin to the girl Anne had known. As the wine flowed the conversation became more intimate as Mary spoke of the genuine fear that she still had of the man who had so dominated her recent years. The necklace was one of the only remaining items she had left from her grandmother who had originally left her a multitude of gems and treasures. Despite Mary and her husband both earning a good living he had still sold most of these and Mary had no clue where the money had gone or even if he still had it. The divorce had not been the end. The one date Mary had attempted since her divorce had ended in disaster when Mark, the ex, turned up at the restaurant and started throwing punches in every direction. He was arrested and once again said he was sorry and wouldn’t do it again. For the last time, she promised herself, Mary dropped the charges against him although she could do nothing about the charges leveled by the restaurant or her date who she had not seen since.
Once the caterers left the house Anne and Mary gravitated once again to the library in which, despite the late summer warmth outside, still had a fire laid – ready to light - in the hearth in front of two enormous comfy armchairs. Anne put a match to the paper to take the chill out the room and poured yet more wine for them both.
It was about 8am when Anne awoke in the chair which she had sat in the previous evening. Her mouth tasted like a small rodent had made it a nest and her back was stiff from the position in which she had been sleeping. The fire had died but she could still make out the glow of an ember amid the ash. She cautiously stood up and stretched out her tired muscles as she worked out that she had been sleeping on the chair for only a few hours. Her head was muggy and her thoughts slow and distracted by the growing feeling of nausea rising in her gut. Going to the bathroom at the top of the central staircase she hurriedly brushed teeth, undressed and popped into a lukewarm shower for moments before hurrying to her room wrapped in a small rough towel. She was just pulling on her jeans when she heard a cry from downstairs. Rushing down Anne pulled on a t-shirt then thrust her hair back in a quick twist.
She could hear movements when she got to the library.
‘Mary?’ she called cautiously.
‘Anne,’ came the strained response ‘I can’t find my necklace’ the panic in her tone was clear as she searched the room in which they had slept. ‘Have you seen it?’ her voice almost begged for a positive response.
‘No, I’ll help you look’ said Anne as she began to pick cushions from the furnishings and glance along the almost completely bare shelves of the library.
The police had no more luck when they searched the house and after establishing that the necklace could not be confirmed to have been seen after the caterers left they went to ask more questions of them.
By the time that Mary was ready to leave her misery at her loss was almost physical. It was not just a hangover that dulled her previously sparkling eyes and left her face looking lined and substantially older. Nor was it the hangover that led her to throw on her clothes from the previous day, an unthinkable act usually for the fastidious Mary. They had searched the whole house. The police had searched the whole house. The police were investigating. Not much more could be done.
Mary held no grudges. She knew that she had probably misplaced it but cursed herself for loosing her most precious item. As she climbed into her car hoping that she had left enough time for the alcohol to leave her system she remembered something. ‘Anne, I forgot to ask you, I know that you are a good financial adviser but how did you manage to earn enough to get this amazing house? Advise me please?’ she half joked ‘I would love to be able to afford a house half the size!’ her smile momentarily lifted her face.
‘Lucky investments’ Anne replied sharply ‘sorry, I’m feeling really rough, think I need to go back to bed’ she sighed and smiled.
Anne watched Mary drive away and re-entered the house slowly. The police had suggested that as the house had not been properly locked the night before the necklace could have been stolen by an intruder. Anne did not worry, even though she was now alone in the house. She went straight to the dining room. She opened the dresser. She clicked a small switch which released the secret drawer. Pulling out a diamond necklace she walked to the hall where a large mirror hung. Slowly she fastened it about her neck. And smiled
