Pressed into the middle of the pile of journals was a small framed portrait of a young girl who looked about five or six years old, around which was wrapped a chain and pendant, tarnished with age. Star took up the loop of silver chain, carefully unwinding it from the portrait, passing the wooden frame to Skye as she continued to study the unusual pendant. Turning the frame in her hands, Skye read the inscription on the back.
Laura, my love
1876–1881
The girl had been five years old. ‘This must have been Catherine’s daughter,’ Skye whispered, overwhelmed by the emotion of discovering their family history and unable to ignore familiarity in the features of the young girl.
‘She looks just like you did, Summer, when you were that age,’ Skye said with a sad smile.
Summer blinked at her for a moment before turning back to the book in her hands. She cleared her throat a little and said, ‘Look at this,’ before offering the book for Skye and Star to read.
June 1864
Today was my coming out and everything and nothing was as expected. I know my duty. The need for me to make a match, given that Father has not a male heir. The risk that I should be married off to my cousin doesn’t bear thinking on.
Skye sent Summer what she hoped was a comforting smile just as Star let out a peal of delight, her uncontained energy causing the journal in her hands to look slightly precarious. ‘This one is dated 1869 and she’s in the Middle East! She’s talking about elephants and desert castles...’
‘We should put them in date order and read them properly. They might contain information about the jewels,’ Summer said.
‘Why? They’re just journals,’ Skye replied, feeling bad for dismissing Catherine’s memories.
‘Journals that were hidden in a secret hiding place never discovered by any of the subsequent generations,’ Summer snapped, before instantly looking so sorry that Skye rubbed her arm, letting her know it was okay.
Star ran the necklace through her fingers, holding the pendant close to her face. ‘It’s a strange-looking thing for the period.’
‘And you know much about jewellery in the eighteen-hundreds?’ Skye teased gently.
‘No, it’s j
ust...so romantic.’
‘What does the last entry say?’ Skye asked Summer. ‘It might tell us where the diamonds are.’
Checking the dates on the journals, Summer retrieved the last one and turned to the final page and let out a huff.
It has been two days since the wedding portrait and this is where I leave you. There are no shortcuts in life. Already I know that it is the journey, not the destination, that will matter most at the end.
As for my life now? That is for history to document. I chose my path and will make the best of it.
Go with trust and love, always,
Catherine
‘Well, that’s not cryptic at all,’ Skye said.
Summer pulled another journal from the stack and scanned through the pages of neat handwriting—barely a word scratched out, the swirls and loops were pretty on the thin aged paper. Skye frowned when she noticed a letter underlined. Not a whole word, but just a letter. At first she thought it was a mark, a kind of ink blot, but then she noticed another and another.
‘Are there any underlined letters on your pages?’ she asked Star, who began to flick through the pages.
‘Careful! These are over one hundred years old!’ Summer scolded.
‘See?’ Skye said, holding out the journal to show her sisters. ‘Here—’ she pointed ‘—and here again. But not every page has them.’
‘It’s a code. It must be a coded message,’ Summer replied with wonder in her voice.
Star sighed. ‘This is going to take for ever.’
Hours passed and although admittedly the code was simple, with Summer reading out the individual letters and Star writing them down, there was little for Skye to do other than watch her two younger sisters, who she had almost singlehandedly raised. It had been Skye who had made them dinner and got them to do their homework, got them dressed and to school on time as her mother, more often than not, lost herself to a daydream, or a commune, or a whim. But in the last few years... Well, they were all older now and their lives were taking them in different directions and sometimes Skye couldn’t help but feel a little left behind. A little as if she were no longer needed.