Authoress' Note: Hi, it's me! So I'm at an impasse writing "A Perfect Cage," my current main story. This fic seems like it will become my writer's block therapy. Thank you so much to my lovely friend Dara for her help in preparing this manuscript, lol. Enjoy!
THE JEWELLER
"Desolé, Monsieur," he called out irritably, wiping down the countertop. Merde, there was a stubborn spot right there in the centre. "I'm sorry, sir, but we are closing for the night."
The steady footsteps that had entered the shop paused.
Robert Rizière glanced up warily at the last customer. When he saw the black mask, his first panicked thought was that a criminal was in his midst: a thief and a murderer. A jolt of fear stabbed the portly Provençal man. There was an air of intense power surrounding the dark figure just inside the threshold of the small, insignificant jewellery shop on the Rue de Bepri. Lanky yet elegant, the man was not clad in the typical rags of a street renegade. Instead, the stranger wore an immaculate evening tuxedo; his dress shirt and bowtie had the bright white sheen of silk, and intricate beading lined the high collar of his long cloak. With a deft movement, he reached into his waistcoat pocket and flung something carelessly at the proprietor.
A small purse hit the counter several centimetres from Robert's hand, where it rested on the glass-topped display case. It gave off the jangle of heavy coins.
Music to Robert Rizière's ears.
"I trust you will stay open somewhat later this evening, sir." Measured tones. Precise enunciation. Robert hadn't met a criminal on the streets of Paris yet who dressed like a gentleman, and spoke with a cold, cultured voice.
He relaxed about two hairs, scooping up the change purse greedily. Decidedly more polite, he said guardedly, "May I help you, my good Monsieur?"
"I'm looking for a ring." The clipped, succinct statement was oddly melodic and clear, like notes drawn from a violin. He slowly drifted over to the side cases of lesser pocket watches and silver bracelets.
"A ring?" The sweet hypnotic song of money and profit hummed in Robert's ears, even more so than his customer's musical voice.
"Yes …" The man seemed about to say more, but that one word dissolved into silence. For just a split-second, he seemed unsure of himself, and the remote, powerful demeanour wavered.
And in that moment, he was just an ordinary suitor uncertain if the woman he adored would reject him. Awkwardly, Robert turned away, muttering about fine gems and beautiful settings.
Cautiously, Robert unlocked the storage cabinet, where he locked his more valuable baubles. There were lovely pendants of sapphires and emeralds strung on delicate chains, long strands of milky pearls, rubies that sparkled with fire. He withdrew a few trays of rings, and laid them side by side before the cloaked man, who gave them a cool, appraising once-over.
"Do you have a light?" the customer said imperiously.
Robert reluctantly switched on his gas lights, illuminating the display. The gems drank up the small light and threw back a dazzling rainbow of glittering colours. The emeralds spoke of endless green fields in summer, the springtime buds of the trees, the deepest mysterious depth of the seas. The sapphires, well, they called out the ocean's magnificent surf as well, but also of the midnight skies when winter's chill held the veil of moisture to the ground, and the stars and the moon paled. Pearls shimmered with the silvery light of that moon, the perfectly round specimens luminous. The rubies and garnets were harbingers of fire; of passion and blood, darkness and flames. One could peer into a garnet and see Hades' kingdom. But the diamond, ah, that was what drew the masses in. Robert, as cynical and enterprising as we was, still found himself dumbstruck when he thought of how an ordinary rock could be transformed into a near-magical prism--white, but flinging out every colour imaginable.
His thoughts were interrupted as the stranger inspected some of the rings.
"This ruby--it's scratched," said the man contemptuously. "And this sapphire's clarity is terrible. Just look how unsuited it is for that cut."
Robert resisted the temptation to rub his wounded pride. This man off the streets was criticising his most valuable pieces! Well, the proprietor thought scornfully, I shall show him a perfect jewel!
"Let me show you a very special one, Monsieur," he managed in his best polite tone.
Robert's finger's trembled as he lifted his most prized item from its hidden nook below the display. It was an enormous round diamond of magnificent cut and clarity, ringed with smaller stones of no less quality. The band was smooth, polished, pale yellow gold. He held it out to the stranger, and breathed, "What do you think, sir?"
The masked man took it gingerly between his leather-gloved fingers. He slowly turned it this way and that, making the large jewel twinkle like a star in the dim light. Robert almost smiled; the price on this diamond would be high enough to scratch the heavens.
"No." The customer set the ring down, the stone facing away from him.
"I have a case--" The old jeweller blinked in surprise. "No?"
"It's far too extravagant. A gift for a woman scorned or ignored or simply used as an ornament herself."
"Perhaps so. But a beautiful wife that glitters is a fine thing to show," Robert added casually.
Suddenly his customer's demeanour changed; suppressed rage and violence stiffened his shoulders and the eyes in the mask blazed. Illuminated by one shaft of lamplight, Robert saw that one was a cloudy pale blue, and the other dark as night.
"A fine thing," he spat dangerously, flexing the fingers of his left hand. "No more than an accessory, something to show!"
Robert cowered. "Please, Monsieur, I meant no offence!"
"No, no, of course not," the strange man muttered. But his threatening stance relented. "The beauty of the rings you sell is tainted by your ignorance. I'm not interested in any of these." He indicated the beautiful jewelled rings with a quick, sweeping gesture.
Robert clumsily shoved them back into the safe below the glass display, afraid of this bizarre customer, and disappointed in the seeming lack of a sale.
"How much are these?" The stranger in the mask indicated a scarlet velvet tray of wedding bands that Robert hadn't put away yet.
"These?" The plain rings were a stark contrast to the intricate and lovely settings of filigree that was so fashionable these days. There were no curlicues, no tiny roses, no inscriptions of love declarations. These rings were promises. Not of wealth or stature, but of love everlasting. Robert named a modest price.
"I'll take this one." The ring he pointed to with one long, bony finger was the smallest ring there. It would only fit a small lady's gracile finger; it was slender, simple, and made of shining gold.
"Very well, Monsieur." Robert placed the ring into a small case, and wrapped it in paper.
The customer dropped the money onto the counter offhandedly. He picked up the little box and tossed it lightly into the air. Catching it with one thin hand, Robert blinked in surprised as it seemed to disappear. "Bonsoir, Monsieur."
The masked man left the shop, and Robert let out a sigh of relief. He carefully counted the money, making sure the exact amount was there. He grinned. So, it was well worth serving that crazy customer!
Robert reached back into the hidden chamber for his prized diamond. When his fingers brushed nothing but the bare shelf, he felt around more insistently. Nothing.
It was gone!
Robert searched the shelf, but all in vain. His most prized item had vanished. He scoured the shelf and the trays of jewellery. He crawled along the floors, straining his eyes for any hint of lustre. He cursed the late customer vehemently, imagining the masked man's mismatched eyes gleaming with mischief as he tossed the diamond into the air and laughed at the theft.
He returned home to his flat that night sullen and resigned, fretting over his sales and the bills due this week. He clicked on his lamp with a heavy heart and sat heavily in his wooden chair, but found that something dug into the back of his thigh.
Reaching into his coat pocket, he pulled out something that sparkled in the golden lamplight.
An enormous round diamond ring.