Chapter 4
Tintin's eyes immediately fell on the familiar brunette, though she had her back to him. At the moment, she was holding a conversation with a young man about some archaeological dig. What fascinated Tintin was that the listener actually seemed interested in what Eden had to say. When the girl turned around, Tintin nearly gasped aloud. She was dressed in a white cotton peasant top and a flared, washed denim skirt, and her layers of dark brown hair cascaded in waves down to her shoulders.
"At least try not to gawk, dear boy," Captain Haddock teased. Tintin was about to protest, but he realized that he was indeed gawking. When Eden had caught sight of them, she smiled brightly.
"Excuse me," she said to the young man. "I beg your pardon, but I have an engagement. I must go." She made her way over to her new friends and Tintin.
"Wonderful to see you here again, Miss," Captain Haddock greeted her politely, stealing the first word from Tintin.
"You as well, Captain," she replied with a smile.
"Ah, Eden," Tintin said, starting back to reality, "let me introduce to you, word renowned diva..."
"Madame Bianca Castafiore," the operatic star interrupted. Eden looked absolutely delighted.
"What an honor to meet you, Madame," she gushed. She glanced at Tintin. "I had read that you had such famous and talented people in your acquaintance, but it is truly wonderful to actually meet a celebrated singer." Tintin smirked. Eden sure knew how to flatter people.
When they had found themselves a table, Tintin and Eden found themselves sitting opposite each other.
"So, any developments?" Tintin asked casually, taking a sip of his sparkling water.
"No, not anything particularly significant," Eden answered, looking directly at him. "But once we get to Almeria, I'm sure something will turn up. Although," she said thoughtfully, "I did happen to get it from the captain of this ship that the collector who lives in our destination was on this ship four days ago."
"How did you find that out?" Tintin asked, grudgingly impressed.
"I happened to get a look at the passenger list," Eden replied with a small, telltale smile.
"So what do you know about this jeweled rose?" Tintin inquired. He knew all about it, of course, but he wanted to test her knowledge.
"Well, I know that it was carved from a large, fine specimen of watermelon tourmaline," Eden began. "It was crafted in Sri Lanka as a gift for the Principessa of Venezia in the late seventeen hundreds. It has been stolen many times, and has earned the nickname of the "jinxed jewel" over time. Very valuable, it has been appraised to be worth at least two hundred thousand euros. If the man who stole it this time can manage to sell it, he would be a very rich man indeed." She looked up at her fellow reporter. "Now are you satisfied that my research is as thorough as yours, or would you like to test me to find gaps and inaccuracies?" Tintin was startled. She had seen through him.
"All right," Tintin conceded. "You win. Now, how far have you gotten on this story?"
"As I said earlier," Eden responded with a shrug, "not very far at all." Captain Haddock had to stifle a laugh.
"So, Captain Bootblack," Castafiore interrupted them, "are you and Tintin and Professor Candyfloss coming to watch my performance at Sevilla on Friday?"
"We'd love to, Madame," Tintin declared gallantly.
"And I dare say your ragazza would like to come along?" the primadonna asked, a look of mischief in her eyes. Eden turned a bright shade of pink.
"Of course, Signora, she would love to," Tintin replied coolly. He smiled politely at the diva, who looked satisfied with her matchmaking plan. Captain Haddock smirked. Now he knew exactly what was going on here.
The rest of dinner was an entertaining affair, with jibes and quips going back and forth between Eden and Tintin, very reminiscent of Elizabeth and Darcy. Most of them were about the reporters' respective papers.
All in all, the night ended well, with the men bidding the ladies a good night and departing from the door of the lounge. Tintin found himself gazing after Eden as she left.