"These jewels belonged to my mother's twin sister, who died recently. The two were prodigiously devoted to one another and my father felt that should my mother perchance see any of them being worn by one of her neighbours the shock would affect her most severely. Yet he has need of the money they will bring; so, not wishing to dispose of them locally, he decided that the best course would be to send them abroad. As he was recalled to his ship unexpectedly and could not cross to France himself he charged me with this mission. Unfortunately I have little experience in such matters and if you could assist me in it I'd be mighty obliged to you."
Having listened attentively to Roger's somewhat mangled French, De Roubec nodded. " 'Twill be a pleasure. I know the very man and will take you to him in the morning."
Roger thanked him and they talked for a while on other topics, the Chevalier having apparently dismissed the matter of the jewels from his mind; but both, of them were now feeling tired so as soon as they had finished their wine they went upstairs to bed.
After looking under the loose board in the floor to make certain that his treasure was still there, Roger undressed to his shirt and slipping between the coarse cotton sheets was soon asleep.
He woke late in the morning, as he judged from the angle of the sun that it must be near nine o'clock, and after a hurried toilet transferred the jewels from their hiding-place to his pockets, then went downstairs.
The coffee room was deserted and to his surprise he found that rolls, butter and confiture were the only food provided for breakfast. Not being accustomed to such meagre fare he asked for something more substantial, and after a wait of ten minutes he was brought an omelette fines herbes; a dish entirely new to him but one which he thoroughly enjoyed.
On finishing his meal he went in search of De Roubec, and found that lanky gentleman lazily sunning himself on the front porch.
"Ah, there you are!" said the Chevalier, displaying his bad teeth in a friendly smile, "I trust you had a good night?"
"Excellent, I thank you," Roger smiled back. "Except that I fear I slept over late, and I am naturally anxious to get my business settled as soon as possible. Would it be troubling you too much to take me this forenoon to the goldsmith you spoke of?"
"Willingly; but I have been giving some little thought to the matter, and an idea upon it has occurred to me. I take it you are not so pressed for time as to be unable to afford me a few moments' private converse in the parlour. There is no one about,- so we shall have it to ourselves."
"By all means," Rogers agreed. So they went into the parlour together and, having closed the door carefully behind him, De Roubec fastened the latch so that they should not be interrupted.
Wondering a little what these mysterious precautions portended, Roger sat down at one of the tables, but the Chevalier reassured him by saying: "There is no cause for alarm, yet one cannot be too careful when discussing transactions in which large sums of money are involved."
Seating himself on the settee at Roger's side he went on in a low voice: "May I ask if you have mentioned this matter to anyone else?"
"No," said Roger. "Not a soul in France knows of it other than yourself. I thought it unwise to noise it about that I was carrying upon me anything of such value."
De Roubec nodded approvingly. "I am relieved to hear it, and 'twas fortunate that in myself you chose an honest man to confide in. After all, you know little enough about me as it is, and great seaports such as tins abound in rogues who would not scruple to cut your throat for a handful of louis."
"If one both drinks and fights with a man yet remains friends with him afterwards, one has fair reason to trust him," Roger laughed. "And I certainly trust you."
The Chevalier bowed. "I am sensible of it, and should be prodigious distressed if it were not so. Have you the jewels perchance upon you now, or did you deposit them yesterday with a banker?"
"No, at the moment I have them spread about in pockets all over my person, as together they make quite a bulky bundle." May I have a sight of them?"
"Certainly, if you wish."
As Roger began to produce the trinkets and lay them out on the table the Chevalier added: "I ask only that I may get some idea as to their value, as it would be well if we fixed aj price in our own minds before offering them to a goldsmith; and, although you are doubtless aware of their worth, I may be able to assist you in assessing what they are likely to fetch in France."
One by one he picked up the items of the collection and examined them through his quizzing glass then, as Roger began to stow them back in his pockets again, he asked: "What price had you in mind?"
"Five hundred guineas," said Roger, thinking it best not to show his ignorance by naming too small a sum.
De Roubec shook his head. "They may be worth that in England, where everyone is very rich; but I doubt if you will get that for them in France. I am no expert in such trifles, but if they were mine I should be glad to accept three hundred and eighty louis for the lot. They are mostly old-fashioned pieces and of little value apart from their weight as gold."
Roger was far from disappointed, as he had been quite prepared to let them go for two hundred and fifty if he could get no better offer; and he congratulated himself again on having consulted the Chevalier, as, by having done so, he felt that he had as good as made himself an additional hundred and thirty pounds.
"So be it," he said, endeavouring to appear a little crestfallen, "I'll take three-eighty for them, since you advise it."
"Nay, we will ask four-fifty for them as our opening shot and only come down gradually. 'Tis all against a gentleman's inclination to quibble over money, but one needs must for one's own protection in a case like this; and by so doing we might screw the knave up to parting with four-hundred louis. But I have yet to tell you my disturbing thought."
"What is it?" inquired Roger anxiously.
De Roubec hesitated a moment, then he said: "You will not take offence, I trust, at anything I may say?"
"Nay, why should I do so if 'tis for my benefit."
" Tis this, then. Your age is your own affair, but when I first set eyes on you last night I put you down as scarce seventeen. The fact that you handle your sword as well as a man makes no difference to the youthfulness of your appearance. Your account of how you came by these trinkets is fair enough, and 'twould not enter my head to cast doubt upon your word. Yet others, who have not had the happiness of your acquaintance, may not prove so credulous. For so young a man to be offering for sale ail these women's gewgaws would strike any goldsmith as strange, to say the least; and, God forbid that such a thing should occur, but he might even think that you had stolen them and are being hunted in England by the agents of the Minister of Police. 'Twill be obvious to him at a glance that the stuff is of English make and I gather that you know no one in Le Havre who could vouch for your honesty. Perhaps my forebodings are no more than moonshine, but I felt it my duty as your friend to warn you of what may befall. Since 'twould be monstrous unpleasant to find yourself clapped into prison on suspicion, for a month or more while inquiries were being made."
Roger's face fell in earnest now. It had never occurred to him that he might be faced with the same difficulties in disposing of Georgina's jewels in France as he would have been in England. He had taken it for granted that a French goldsmith would be prepared to buy without asking questions; but now it seemed that in offering them for sale here he would be running a far greater risk than he would have in some county town at home. There, the worst that could have befallen him would have been to pass a night in the lock-up and be ignominiously returned to his irate parent next day, whereas here he might be held a prisoner for weeks on end before tedious official inquiries led to his identity being fully established and his family in England securing his release.