Chapter Fifteen

The Eye of Diom

Meg: Belphegor, I'm not going to be anywhere near Bordeaux! I'm going with an educational program through our school, and our teacher decided to sign us up to go to the Eastern provinces such as Burgundy, Alsace-Lorraine and Champagne. Cities like Strasbourg, Reims, I think St. Germain... we're visiting those. This is a ten-day expedition, so we can only do so much. I would have loved to have visited you in Bordeaux!

I looked around me. No one had noticed that I had found the Eye of Diom… except Michael.

"Look Mummy!" he said, pointing to the emerald.

Mrs. Butler turned around. Her eyes grew wide at the sight of the green stone in my hand. "You've found it?" she asked quietly.

Arlen and Dawson turned around too. "You solved the clue!" Dawson exclaimed. "How in the world..."

"Elementary, my dear Dawson," I grinned, imitating Basil. I held up the image of the "caesar" we had been looking for. "Ivan IV, otherwise known as Ivan the Terrible, declared himself the first czar of all Russian lands. And 'czar' literally means 'caesar.'"

"But... how?" Mrs. Butler asked, approaching me.

I tried to give her the Eye but she brushed it away. She went to the cubbyhole and reached inside. She pulled out a rolled up bundle of papers.

We all gathered around her. She unrolled the papers and began to read:

Congratulations. You have solved the final clue. You have found the real Eye of Diom. The one in the bust was a fake.

You have proven yourself far more worthy of this Eye than I ever was.

Danielle, there is a great deal about my past life of which you know nothing. You know I had a brother, but he disappeared some time before I started to make my fortune. And he was killed in the Pacific. No, not killed. Murdered. My kid brother was murdered.

The Butler family has always been ambitious. You know this from my own experience, Danielle. But you never knew that my brother was the co-owner of the largest mining company in the diamond mines of India. Perhaps you've heard me speak of it: TRUBLE AND HUNTER INC.

You are probably wondering how he could be co-owner when the company does not bear his name. Perhaps Mr. Basil can help you with this one.

TRUBLE is BUTLER rearranged.

A love of word games and riddles must run in the family, for Paul was as fond of them as I.

That is not important. What is important is that he was murdered for vile and evil reasons. In fact, the deed was carried out by an old suitor of yours... Garret Hunter.

Why? Because Hunter wanted my brother's share of the company. Paul knew this. He also knew that Hunter wanted the Eye of Diom, a gem their company had found that is even more valuable than Hunter's, Paul's, and my own fortune combined. Paul was proud. He knew he was doomed. The night before he was murdered he sent the Eye of Diom to me and begged me, as a final request, to guard it from Hunter.

I have done so. And now I entrust it to you, Danielle. You are the wisest woman I have ever known, and I know that whatever you choose to do with it will be for reasons good and pure.

I love you, and Rose and Michael. I am always with you.

Love,

Thomas

Mrs. Butler took the Eye from me. She stared at it, dumbfounded. Rose came up to her mother and hugged her waist. Michael hugged her legs. Mrs. Butler started to sob.

Dr. Dawson, Mrs. Judson, and I sat in some chairs in the corridor outside the operating room, nervously awaiting news of Basil's condition. I stared dumbly at the ground, feeling mentally and emotionally drained.

"Why are they taking so long?" I moaned.

"They're making sure that they do the best job they can on Mr. Basil," Mrs. Judson said, trying to be cheerful.

I knew she was trying to make me feel better, but it only made me feel more anxious. I needed to see for myself that Basil was all right. I twisted a corner of the shawl I was wearing. All I wanted was for him to be all right.

"Dawson, is he going to be all right?"

The doctor patted my knee. "Like I said before, Basil's strong. Before you know it he'll be back on his feet, hot on another case."

I laid back and rested my head against the wall, closing my eyes.

After a while Dawson said quietly, "You know he was a complete wreck the whole time you were sick with typhoid? He barely ate or slept. He stayed with you whenever he could."

"I want to be with him," I said softly.

"You will be."

I heard footsteps approaching us. I opened my eyes and saw Dr. Jones.

Dawson stood up. "How is he?" he asked. I studied Dr. Jones' expression. He was not smiling. My heart sank.

"It was a big gash," said Dr. Jones, "but luckily it wasn't deep. We stitched him up." The doctor finally smiled. "He'll be up and about in a week or so."

I was so relieved. "Can we see him?" I asked anxiously.

"I'm sorry, but he's still recovering," said Jones.

"Jones, he's not the type to sit around 'recovering.' I think he'd rather see us first," Dawson said, winking at me. "He may be one of the most brilliant minds in the world, but he can also be quite a nuisance when it comes to being forced to rest for more than two minutes."

Jones shook his head. "He needs rest."

"A word, Jones," Dawson said, putting a hand on the doctor's shoulder and leading his a few paces away.

Mrs. Judson smiled. "Thank heavens Mr. Basil's not hurt badly." I nodded in agreement as I watched Dawson and Jones argue quietly. "Where's the millionaire's wife?" the landlady asked.

"She's being questioned at Mouseland Yard."

Jones and Dawson returned to us. "All right, Mr. Basil can have one visitor," Jones said reluctantly.

I looked in amazement at Dawson. He nodded for me to go ahead, beaming. I embraced him. "Thank you, Dr. Dawson!"

"Help him recover more quickly," he replied.

Dr. Jones led me to Basil's room. "Here," he said. "Don't excite him too much."

I repressed a smile. "I won't."

The doctor opened the door for me and I went it.

Basil was dozing when I entered the room. He was shirtless, a large cloth bandage wrapped around his abdomen. I pulled up a chair and set it next to the bed. I sat down and took his hand.

He opened his eyes.

I leaned in and kissed him. "Good morning, darling."

Basil frowned. "It's morning? How long have I been here?"

"Only a couple of hours."

"Where's Mrs. Butler?"

"At Mouseland Yard."

"Are her children all right? "

"Yes."

"Did they catch Hunter?"

"No. And they found the butler. He's dead."

Basil sighed. "He didn't have to be involved. He probably only wanted to get rich fast. Well, that blasted Eye is no longer our problem."

"Basil, we found the Eye."

He sat up. "You found it?" I pushed him back down. "But how?"

I told Basil about the final clue. He groaned.

"Warn her. Tell Mrs. Butler that it will never bode her any good. Tell her to get rid of it!"

"Basil! Calm down!"

"Promise me you will warn her!" he exclaimed.

"Why?"

"Promise me, Megana!"

I grasped his hand. "I promise! But why?"

"Because the Eye is evil. There are those who will still torment her for it. Next time there may be more casualties. Someone else close to her will be hurt."

I stroked his faced. "I will tell her," I said soothingly. "Don't worry."

Basil seemed to relax a bit. Then he said, "You don't have to stay here."

"I want to. I would rather be with you than anywhere else."

He closed his eyes. I thought he wanted to be alone. "Well, get some rest," I said, standing up.

"No!" His eyes popped open. "Stay beside me. Right here, beside me." He motioned to the spot on the bed next to him. "I want you near me."

I lay down on the bed next to him. "You're a mystery, Mr. Basil of Baker Street," I said softly. "You act like you're not even glad to see me, and then when I go to leave you beg me to stay!"

Basil took my hand. "Love... it's so strange..." he muttered to himself. "I am doing everything all wrong! I don't even know what to do."

"What is there to do?"

"Sometimes I see your disappointment, and I know I am doing it all wrong."

Moments when Basil avoided looking at me, when he was colder towards me than usual, times when he got impatient with me came to mind. There were times when I, however, I confused Basil, when I got angry over trifles and lost my temper, when I changed moods at the blink of an eye, or started arguments. I blushed.

"So am I," I said quietly. "I'm doing it all wrong. Basil, we're all doing it all wrong! But who can do it right?" Basil started to answer when I kissed him. "I love you Basil. That's the reason I'm here now, right besides you. That's the reason I'm not going to leave you until that doctor comes in and drags me away!"

I could feel him smiling. "They'll never let you back in here."

I laughed softly. "I'll find a way to get back in here."

"And break a million rules doing it."

"Of course."

Basil chuckled. "What am I going to do with you?"

I closed my eyes. "You're the detective. You figure that one out."

We were silent for a few minutes, enjoying being in the other's presence.

"Meg, do me a favor. Go back with Mrs. Butler to Sussex today. Make sure she'll be all right."

"Mmhm," I muttered. "And Basil?"

"Yes?"

I grinned. "Make sure you don't harass the nurses too much."

I could feel him turn his head towards me. I opened my eyes. "Now why would I harass the nurses?"

"Because you're the grumpiest patient in the world!" I said, laughing. "Remember how you caught a bad cold in January?"

"Yes, but what does that have to do with anything?"

"You gave poor Dawson such a hard time because he wouldn't let you out of bed!"

Basil reached behind him, pulled out a pillow, and smacked me with it.

"Hey!" I protested. "You're messing up my hair!"

Basil grinned. "That's not that hard to do."

My hands flew up to my hair. "I've been walking around like this?" I exclaimed.

Basil kissed my forehead. "You're still the most beautiful creature in the world. More precious than most valuable emerald, than anything else could ever be."

(Ratigan rubs some bruises on his arms.)

Ratigan: You're vicious all of a sudden.

Meg: I'm a woman on the edge, so stop sending my old teachers to assassinate me!

Ratigan: A woman, eh? More like a little girl who writes trash.

JWJ: Yeah, this chapter really stinks.

Meg: Oh, shut up. It's mushy and probably stupid, but I really don't care. I just kept writing and couldn't really stop.

Ratigan: And you keep talking and won't stop. Do spare us all.

Meg: No one's forcing you to stay! Really, why don't you just leave?

Ratigan: (sighs) I was staying to tell Dr. Sno that he doesn't have to kill you, but if you really want me to go- (starts to leave)

Meg: (panics) No, wait!