The Key in the Attic (14 page)

“That was Mom’s mother and her uncles,” Mary Beth said when Annie asked about them. “Grandma said her brothers were all killed at the battle of Château-Thierry in World War I.”

“None of them had children?” Alice asked.

“No. I think they were all very young.”

“Then, really, it seems to me that whatever was left to Angeline would be passed down to you, Mary Beth.” Annie smiled and handed the Bible back to her. “And you know Geoffrey intended the jewelry for her. I don’t think you have to worry about being entitled to it.”

There was worry in Alice’s expression. “I don’t know if Geoffrey’s intentions are enough to give you good claim to the jewelry, Mary Beth. A letter vaguely talking about providing for Angeline isn’t the same thing as a legal will.”

“But he didn’t have children when he died,” Annie protested.

“No, but he would likely have had brothers or sisters who did. No, wait, didn’t you say Geoffrey was the only son? Anyway, he may have had sisters, and it’s their descendants who might have a claim. With something as valuable as that necklace, you’ll have them crawling out from under rocks for a share of the money. And it might leave Mary Beth out entirely.”

“But it’s been in our family for a century and a half,” Mary Beth protested, and then she sighed. “But I suppose, if someone else has the right to it, he might need it as badly as I do—or worse. And honestly, I don’t want anything that really belongs to someone else.”

“Obviously, this isn’t going to be a simple matter to get cleared up.” Annie smiled at Mary Beth. “I think you need to talk to an appraiser and a lawyer, and find out what you need to do next.”

Alice picked up the necklace and held it up to her neck, admiring herself in the mirror over Mary Beth’s couch. “This red doesn’t really work with my hair, I suppose, but, ooh, isn’t it pretty?”

Annie laughed. “That’s not Princessa, you know. You’d better be careful with it.”

“I don’t think I want it in the house.” Mary Beth took the necklace back. “If even one of those stones is real, it’s worth a lot. I don’t know what kind of trouble I’d be in if something happened to it now.”

Annie checked her watch. “If we hurry, we can get to the bank before it closes. I’m sure they’d love to give you a safe-deposit box to keep that in until you can get it appraised and insured.” She laughed suddenly. “If only Frank Sanders could see us now.”

Mary Beth mouth turned up at the corners. “If only he had had all the pieces of the puzzle, he might have found the jewelry.”

“I guess Geoffrey wanted to make sure his mother didn’t know about Angeline,” Annie said, “or her name would have been in his diary and other papers. Then Sanders might have found the treasure after all.”

Mary Beth nodded. “I guess it helped that she didn’t live near the Whyte place either. That might have made her easier to trace too.”

Annie knit her brows. “She didn’t?”

“Oh no. Didn’t you say the Whytes were in Fairfax County? That side of our family came from Clarke County, a little west of there. Grandma always told us that’s where her family had been for five generations before her, and that’s where she was going to stay. I’m sure that’s where Angeline was from.”

Annie stood up. “You two had better hurry if you’re going to get to the bank before it closes.”

“We two?” Alice put her hands on her hips. “And just where are you off to?”

“You can drop me off at the library.” Annie grabbed her purse. “We’ll meet up at The Cup & Saucer when you’re finished at the bank.”

19

Less than half an hour later, Annie hurried into The Cup & Saucer and slid into the booth next to Alice.

“Did you two get everything taken care of?”

Mary Beth nodded. “I’ll be able to sleep tonight, and I know I wouldn’t have with all that …” She glanced around and lowered her voice. “… with all that jewelry. It’s all locked up in the bank until I can get it appraised and figure out what to do next. I don’t guess the whole town needs to know about it.”

Alice laughed. “They’ll know soon enough, I suppose. What about you, Annie? You look like you’re about to burst.”

Annie wanted to bounce up and down in her seat. “I’m so excited, I probably look like some kind of mental case at this point. I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before, though.”

“What?” Alice and Mary Beth asked at the same time, and then both of them laughed.

Annie couldn’t help joining them. “I told you awhile ago that I looked up your great-great-grandparent’s marriage in the Fairfax County, Virginia, marriage records. I looked at the same time to see if Geoffrey Whyte had married anyone before he died. Elopements, especially in wartime, aren’t uncommon.”

Mary Beth caught her breath. “And?”

“Nothing. Not at the time.”

“Not at the time?” Alice repeated, narrowing her eyes.

“Then Mary Beth mentioned that back then her family, including Angeline, was from Clarke County, not Fairfax County. If she and Geoffrey did elope, especially if he wanted to keep it secret from his controlling mother, of course they wouldn’t get married in his home county. What would be more natural than for them to marry in Angeline’s?” Annie put the print out on the table in front of Mary Beth. “They were married on March 6, 1861, in Berryville, Virginia, in Clarke County.”

“That’s wonderful!” Alice exclaimed, her eyes alight.

Mary Beth stared at the page, blank-faced, not saying anything.

“They were married, Mary Beth.” Annie reached across the table and shook her friend by the forearm. “They were married. Even if she didn’t know it was there, everything Geoffrey had would have been legally hers once he died. That means it’s yours. It’s all yours!” She glanced around with a self-conscious giggle and then lowered her voice. “There will probably be some legal considerations, maybe some taxes.”

Alice rolled her eyes. “There are always taxes.”

“But I don’t think anyone can claim it’s not yours now,” Annie continued, “especially since it’s been in your family’s possession for the past one hundred and fifty years.”

“That’s great.” Mary Beth smiled tightly. “But let’s not get too excited until we find out if it’s really worth anything.”

****

The next day, Mary Beth arranged for an appointment with a certified jewelry appraiser in Portland. Ian agreed to go with her.

“I’m just going along to make sure there’s no trouble,” Ian said, a big smile on his face. Mary Beth was glad to have him. It was a little disturbing to know she might be carrying thousands of dollars worth of antique jewelry around with her.

The appraiser—a Mrs. Banks—was approximately Mary Beth’s age and looked more like she should be teaching Sunday School than dealing with expensive jewelry. But by the time she was through measuring and weighing and examining everything Mary Beth had brought, it was obvious she knew her business and did her job well.

“Now, as soon as I have the appraisal written up,” Mrs. Banks said, “I’ll mail it to you.”

“Oh.”

Mary Beth knew her disappointment must be plain to see.

Mrs. Banks smiled gently. “I know. Everyone thinks I can just come up with a number right away, but it’s just not that easy. Especially with a lovely piece like this. I’ll have to come up with comparables and compile all the information before I can give you a reasonable appraisal.”

“Then you don’t know yet if they’re real.”

“If they’re real? Bless you, dear—of course they’re real!” The appraiser’s eyes twinkled. “I won’t quote you a figure yet because it would just be a guess at this point, but I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. For now, you’d better get those back into your safe-deposit box.”

Ian took Mary Beth’s arm, grinning at her. “You all right?”

Mary Beth could only nod, and her hands trembled as she put the jewelry back into the little zippered bag she had brought them in. Then she put the bag into her purse and took out the keys to her SUV. Somehow she managed to thank Mrs. Banks, and then she made her way to the door.

With a chuckle, Ian took the keys from her hand. “I think you ought to let me drive us back to Stony Point.”

****

A few days later, Annie answered her telephone.

“Annie, it’s Mary Beth. Do you think you and Alice could come over for a little while?” Her voice was breathless and unsteady and unnaturally high.

“Is anything wrong?”

“I—” Mary Beth laughed nervously. “I got the letter from the appraiser.”

“What does it say?”

“Uh, I haven’t opened it yet.”

“Mary Beth!”

“I just can’t make myself. Not by myself. Do you think you and Alice could come over?”

Annie laughed. “You silly thing! Let me give her a call. Either
we’ll
be right over, or
I’ll
come alone.”

Annie hung up and immediately called Alice.

“Right now?” Alice complained. “I’ve got a Divine Décor party to get to.”

“You don’t have just a minute or two? Mary Beth just got her appraisal, and she doesn’t want to open it by herself.”

“Well why didn’t you say so? Listen, if you think she’ll drop you back home later, I’ll drive us both over and then head straight to my party from there.”

“Sounds like a plan, Alice. I’ll be right out.”

A few minutes later they were at Mary Beth’s, hurrying breathlessly to her door. Mary Beth almost dragged them inside.

“I can’t stand it.” She held up a white envelope with a professional-looking logo on it. “I’m dying to know what it says, and I just can’t make myself open it. What if it’s a hundred thousand dollars? What if it’s two?”

Annie sat her down on the couch, and then she and Alice sat on either side of her. “The best thing to do is to just open it and find out. Whatever it is, it’s more than you have. Just take a deep breath and open it up.”

Mary Beth screwed her eyes closed and shook her head. “You open it.”

“It’s yours, Mary Beth,” Annie told her. “I think you should—”

“Oh, for goodness sake—I’ll open it!” Alice grabbed the envelope and slid her fingernail under the flap. She had to tear it a little to get it all the way open, and then she handed the contents to Mary Beth. “There.”

Again Mary Beth shook her head and passed the papers over to Annie.

There were three or four pages of information about the jewels, the weight and number and quality of the various stones and their settings, the qualifications of the appraiser, the methods she used to reach a value, but that’s not what any of them wanted to know right then. Finally Annie found what she was looking for: the value.

“Mary Beth,” she whispered. Then she swallowed and looked again. “Mary Beth, they appraised it at five sixty-five.”

Mary Beth’s mouth dropped open and her eyes filled with disappointment. “Five hundred and sixty-five dollars? I thought—”

“No, Mary Beth, five hundred and sixty-five
thousand
. Five hundred and sixty-five thousand dollars!”

For a moment there was only a stunned silence.

Then Alice whooped and started dancing around the room. “No more Burly Boy! No more Burly Boy!”

Tears filled Mary Beth’s eyes, and she threw her head back and laughed. “No more Burly Boy!”

After a cup of strong coffee and a few hugs, Mary Beth was finally able to look over the documentation from the appraiser.

“It’s true. It’s really, really true. I guess I’ll have my hands full getting the jewelry sold and arranging to buy the shop and everything.”

“I don’t know if they can sell something like that overnight,” Annie said, “but I bet you can find someone who can handle it quickly for you.”

Alice grinned. “I just wonder what that Frank Sanders would say now if he knew what that jewelry is worth. He’d be spitting nails.”

Annie giggled, but Mary Beth could only shake her head.

“I just can’t believe it. It’s too amazing.”

Annie squeezed her hand. “It’s an answer to prayer.”

“And don’t forget,” Alice said, “no more Burly Boy!”

To that, Annie and Mary Beth added a hearty amen.

****

Before long, Alice had to hurry off to her Divine Décor party, and Mary Beth drove Annie home.

“I still can’t believe it,” Mary Beth said for probably the tenth time that evening. “It’s a pity though. Geoffrey provided for Angeline, and she never knew about it. Think how much easier her life could have been if she had been able to have the money this would have brought. It was always here for when she needed it.”

Annie felt a sudden surge of joy bubbling up inside her. “Or maybe you could think that this was put here for when
you
would need it most.”

“Oh Annie.” Mary Beth bit her lip. “Do you think …?”

“Of course it’s a miracle. You deserve to have something good finally happen to you after all you’ve been through lately, with the shop and the break-in and your sister …” Her
sister
. They pulled up to a stop sign, and Annie put her hand on Mary Beth’s arm. “Wait.”

Mary Beth glanced at the empty intersection. “What’s wrong?”

“Melanie.” Annie felt as if her birthday balloon had just burst. “I hadn’t even thought about her before.”

“Oh.” Mary Beth sat at the intersection for a while and then finally nudged the gas pedal. “Well, if the jewelry does belong to our family, it belongs to both of us equally—Mel and me. That’s what Mom’s will said as far as dividing her property, so I have to think it would be the same for this. It’s only right.”

“I’m sure that’s true. Won’t that change things? As far as you buying the building and everything?”

Mary Beth shrugged. “I don’t suppose there’s much I can do about it.”

And Mary Beth didn’t say anything for a long while after that.

“What are you thinking?” Annie asked as they pulled up at Grey Gables. “Melanie still?”

With a rueful smile, Mary Beth nodded. “At this point, I’d rather just mail her a check and be done with it.”

“Well, once you sell it at a reasonable price, I don’t see how she could object.”

“Oh, you don’t know Melanie. She would be sure she could have gotten a better price. And no doubt I paid too much in commissions to whoever brokered it for us. How did I know I wasn’t cheated? How did she know I wasn’t cheating
her
?”

Annie shook her head. “Surely she wouldn’t think that of you. Would she?”

Mary Beth chuckled. “No, I don’t really think she would. But I’m sure I’ll do something wrong in handling the deal.”

“Why not let
her
do it then?” Annie asked.

“That’s the thing. If I ask her to take care of it, she’ll tell me how busy she is and ask me why I can’t handle the simplest of business affairs. Either way, she’s not going to be happy.”

“You know, some people never are,” Annie said, “and you’ll drive yourself crazy trying to make them happy. All you can do is do your best and not let them keep
you
from being happy.”

Mary Beth smiled as she got out of the car. “I think that’s the best advice I’ve heard all day.”

****

There was nothing else to do and no use in putting it off. Mary Beth would just have to call Melanie and tell her about the jewels. She sat down on the couch and closed her eyes, breathing deeply and thinking peaceful thoughts.

I will be pleasant and not easy to upset. All I have to do is let her know what’s going on. We don’t have to decide what to do right this minute. We can figure out the details once we know more. I’m not going to be intimidated by my own sister.

She took a deep breath and punched Melanie’s number into the phone.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Melanie. It’s Mary Beth. Do you have a minute to talk?”

“Only a minute. I have a premiere to go to.” Melanie’s voice was brisk and businesslike. “What’s on your mind?”

“You remember the things Grandma Marie said were passed down to her from her grandmother? The clock and the desk and things?”

“Yes. Very nice in their way, of course, but you know I don’t like that fussy, old-fashioned stuff. And no, I don’t have any interest in buying any of it to bail you out. I’m sure there are all kinds of dealers around, though I doubt what you have would be enough to fix the mess you’ve gotten yourself into.”

“I’m not asking you for anything, Mel, I just wanted you to know something. I had the clock in being repaired and—”

“Mother gave all that stuff to you when she moved into that old folks’ home, didn’t she? Goodness knows, I didn’t want them. Anyway, they’re yours, and so is the responsibility for their upkeep. I know getting something like that done is expensive, but you should have gotten an estimate before you agreed to the repairs. I can’t really do anything about that, can I?”

“Melanie, I’m not asking—”

“It’s amazing to me that you’ve stayed in business even this long. You don’t have much of a head for practical matters, do you?”

Mary Beth said nothing. She merely waited.

“Mary Beth? Are you there? Can you hear me?”

“I can hear you, Melanie. Can you hear me?”

“Well for crying out loud, why didn’t you answer me? I told you already that I’m in a hurry.”

“I was waiting for you to give me a chance to say something.”

From the other end of the line, Mary Beth heard an impatient little huff.

“Go ahead.”

“I just wanted you to know that there was something hidden in the clock that’s worth a lot of money. It’s been in there for over a hundred and fifty years. Mom couldn’t have known about it. Even our great-great-grandmother who was meant to have it didn’t know about it.”

“What do you mean by ‘worth a lot of money’?” Melanie sneered. “A thousand dollars?”

“No. A lot more than that. A whole lot more. Five hundred and sixty-five thousand.”