An old-fashioned shop bell tinkled as he entered, announcing the presence of a customer – to an empty shop! Just right for a robbery, Alex thought with a grimace. A curtain was pulled aside from a doorway in the rear, and an old man shuffled into view.
‘Can I help you, sir?’
Alex regarded the man. Should he say anything?
‘You ought to keep your door locked if there is no one in the shop. I’m a police officer, but I could be someone with other ideas.’ He tried to be as gentle as he could in deference to the old man’s age and obvious frailty.
The man regarded him, then smiled and waved his hands in the general direction of his stock. ‘There isn’t much to steal, Officer.’
‘Nevertheless, an intruder is not to know that, and you could get hurt,’ Alex reminded him.
‘Yes, I understand you. Thank you for your suggestion. Is that all?’
‘Um, in actual fact, I’m not on duty. I came in as a possible customer.’
‘Ah, even better!’ A smile appeared on the lined face. ‘How can I help you?’
‘I’m looking for an engagement ring, but I want something special, and to be honest with you I’ve been searching and I haven’t come across anything yet, and I’m running out of time. I know the sort of thing I require but I don’t seem to be able to find it.’
‘What sort of thing are you looking for? You say you want something special…’
‘Yes. I don’t want something bright and flashy, and it seems this is the modern style. I know my young lady would prefer something more understated. Everything I’ve seen so far seems to be wrong.’
The other man regarded Alex for a moment, his clouded eyes showing a spark of interest. ‘Tell me about your young lady.’
Alex sensed the question had been asked in all seriousness, so he took a moment to collect his thoughts and then, almost half to himself, murmured, ‘She’s small and slender with shiny dark brown hair and gorgeous green eyes you feel you can drown in. Her skin is creamy and so soft, I want to touch it all the time. She excites my senses, one minute as a child and the next a woman… and I love her very much.’
Alex had been concentrating on answering the man’s question and was unaware that he had revealed so much of his inner feelings.
The old man smiled and nodded, and then went back behind his curtain. For a moment Alex thought he was refusing to serve him and, feeling annoyed, made to leave the shop. Then the curtain swung back again and the old man returned, carrying a small wooden box. He placed it on his counter top and seated himself on a stool. He motioned for Alex to bring up a chair nearer the counter.
‘What is your name, sir?’
‘Alex. Alexander Hartman.’
‘And your young lady?’
‘Catherine.’
The old man beamed. ‘Perfect. I knew it would happen one day!’ He didn’t explain his meaning, but went on, ‘I am going to show you something which I have kept for many years just in case the right occasion would arise. I think this might be the time.’
With stiff fingers he opened the box and lifted out a leather bag and placed it on his counter top. He undid the cord at the neck of the bag and brought out two smaller bags of soft material that might have been velvet.
‘You say your lady has green eyes? As green as this?’
He opened one small bag and drew out a ring and handed it to Alex.
As soon as he saw it Alex knew that this was the one. The rich gold gleamed in the light and the three square-cut emerald stones, set flush in the band, shone with their own muted fire. The ring looked old, and even to Alex’s untrained eye it was obvious that it must be very expensive.
‘It’s perfect, I’ll grant you that, but I have a feeling it will be out of my price range.’
He rang a finger over the emeralds and it was like touching her face. With the greatest reluctance he handed it back to the old man, who regarded him with a solemn look.
‘I wish to tell you a story and then we can speak of money.’ He settled back on his stool. ‘My father was a jeweller in St Petersburg before the Revolution. He was beginning to attract commissions from some important people. He made a set of jewellery, hoping that it would sell and make him money. Then the troubles of the Revolution came upon him. He would not have been thought of with favour by the new class because of his association with the nobility. He found a way for himself, my mother and myself to leave Russia through Finland, but had to pay for assistance by using part of the jewellery. He came to England.
‘He started again as a jeweller, but his eyesight was failing. He taught me his trade. It was unfortunate that I did not have his gift and I have made a meagre living. I never married, and none of my family is alive any more. Out of the original set of necklace, bracelet, ring and earrings there is now only this ring and… these.’ He opened the other bag and took out a matching pair of earrings. ‘I have no one to leave them to but somehow I have been reluctant to put them up for sale before now. I think I have found that time. I can see that you love your lady and care about her. I also sense that she is beautiful and will grace the jewels. You will, of course, need a wedding band?’
‘Yes, and I think I would like to wear one too.’
‘Yes, in my view it should always be so. If you would care to purchase the wedding bands and this ring from me, I am sure we can reach a suitable arrangement.’
‘We don’t even know if it would fit. Would you be able to judge from this?’ Thanking the good fortune which had prompted him to remove a ring from Catherine’s jewellery box when he had also taken her papers, Alex handed it over to the old man.
The jeweller went back behind his curtain for a few moments, leaving Alex still worrying about the impending costs.
The final figure agreed made Alex wince, but he knew his purchase was perfect. It was a fair price, and the little man had been generous to him. Catherine would be enchanted not just by the ring but also by the story attached to it.
Before Alex left, with his purchases safe in an inside pocket, the old man smiled at him. ‘I will keep the earrings for a while. Perhaps when the first child arrives you will bring your lady back for them?’
Alex smiled at him and just said, ‘Perhaps. Thank you very much.’ He knew he would have to get a new bank manager before he could afford that.
The old man’s voice stopped him as he was leaving the shop. ‘Would you care to know my father’s name? It was Alexander Fedorovich and my mother’s name was Katherine.’ He smiled once more and disappeared back behind his curtain.
Alex left the shop feeling as if he had just emerged from a time warp.
CHAPTER 24
When he arrived home much later that evening, Alex was almost punch drunk with the events of the day. After the strange meeting with the old jeweller, he had found it difficult to drag his mind back to his meeting with Francis. Over the course of two hours they discussed the possible new leads uncovered by Alex and Dougie, and Francis himself filled in some information. He seemed interested in the manufacturing problems Alex had unearthed, and the significance of the company being involved in government contracts was not lost on either of them.
Once again, Alex refrained from telling Francis about his decision to inform Dougie of everything they were supposed to be doing, and why. He understood the directive that he shouldn’t do so, but couldn’t for the life of him work out a way of conducting this investigation without making Dougie aware of all the circumstances. He trusted his colleague to keep his confidence, and felt that Dougie in turn respected the trust that Alex had put in him. This was why, in his view, they worked so well together.
Alex had also decided not to mention to Francis anything about his forthcoming marriage. Once the formalities were over, he would think again about telling him, but not before.
On returning to the office he brought Dougie up to date with the discu
ssions. On the spur of the moment he decided to tell Dougie his other news.
‘What the hell…!’
Alex was amused to see his startled reaction.
‘Well, you’re a fast worker and no mistake, but I couldn’t be more pleased. I can see the difference in you. I was beginning to get a bit concerned before, I must say. Is that little girl happy too?’
‘She seems very happy, Dougie, and I intend to do all I can to keep her that way. It was quite a shock, I must say, when Sarah told me about her moving out of Richmond. Part of me wonders if that old bastard is up to something. Still, I’m not going to dwell on that at the moment.’
‘I’ll make sure I keep you out of the loop from Friday until Monday morning, Boss.’
‘It would have to be a national emergency to drag me back here, Dougie!’
Alex then rang Sarah’s flat. It was Catherine who answered, and her obvious delight at hearing from him warmed his heart.
‘I’m coming over to see you in a little while, but I can’t stay, I’m afraid. Can you meet me downstairs when I arrive? We can go for a walk, perhaps. If you have any more of your possessions to be transported I can take some if you bring them down with you.’
Catherine agreed, and when later he parked outside the flat, raced out to meet him carrying a couple of bags. He put them away in the Porsche and, enjoying the pleasure of being with her again, took her arm and suggested they walk up to the small garden square at the end of the road. He sat her down on one of the benches and held her hands in his.
‘I want to tell you something.’ He then proceeded to repeat the tale the little jeweller had told him that afternoon. He could see her fascination building as he spoke, and knew for certain that he had done the right thing. As he told her the name of the St Petersburg jeweller and his wife and that two pieces of the set remained, he brought out from his pocket the small velvet bag and placed it in her hands. ‘There is one piece left now, as the other is here, for you, with all my love, my darling.’
He watched Catherine undo the drawstring at the neck of the bag and draw out the small parcel of tissue paper. She unwrapped it and gazed down at the ring gleaming in her hands. She looked up at him and the look of pure pleasure and love in her eyes was all he needed. He removed the ring from its tissue paper bed and, holding his breath, he took her left hand in his and placed it on her finger. The fit was perfect, and it looked perfect. Alex brought her hand up to his mouth and kissed the ring on her finger.
He knew she was crying, but he also knew that they were tears of happiness.
‘Don’t cry my love. We’ll soon be together.’
‘Oh Alex, I’m so happy. It’s a beautiful ring. However did you find something so special?’
He laughed down at her. ‘Oh, it took all my training as a police officer to track it down.’
He held her and they kissed, but he knew that he would have to leave her now.
Back at his car, he once again held her close. ‘I’ll see you and Sarah at Chelsea Registry Office at twelve o’clock on Friday. If you don’t turn up I’ll have the whole of the Met Police out looking for you.’
‘I’ll be there, Alex. I promise.’
Alex had one more errand to do that evening. He parked the Porsche at the rear entrance to a restaurant near Chelsea Bridge, and waited until it closed. After everyone seemed to have left a figure emerged, saw the car and came over to him. The man looked around for a moment, then climbed in beside Alex, who drove off.
‘Sorry, Alfredo, to meet you like this, but I wanted to see you. I’m a bit pushed for time to arrange our usual meeting place. At least you’ll arrive home in style.’
‘I’m sure it will be alright, Mr Hartman.’
‘How’s Mrs A?’
Alfredo was one of Alex’s longest-serving informers. He was a freelance waiter, and by moving around all the city’s eating places he was well placed for seeing who met who.
‘She’s doing well, thank you. What can I do for you?’
‘Can you keep an extra eye on what a couple of the gangland bosses are doing and who they might be meeting? If you hear of anything, can you let me know?’
‘What, you mean the likes of Ellison and Clarke?’
‘That’s the ones, Alfredo.’
‘I don’t like to get too close to those sort of people, Mr Hartman. They’re bad news.’
‘I appreciate that, Alfredo. Don’t try to be clever about it and don’t get yourself in trouble; but if you can, just give me a nod, OK?’
‘I’ll think about it, Mr Hartman.’
‘Good man.’
Alex dropped him off a street away from his home and then, with a thankful sigh, set off for Kennington.
*
Catherine woke with a start. She thought something had disturbed her, but could hear nothing. Looking at her bedside clock, it said just after nine a.m. With a shriek she leapt out of bed. She had remembered now: this was her wedding day, and she was getting married in three hours time!
She rushed through into the lounge and heard a noise from the kitchen. She found Sarah filling a glass vase with water.
‘Sarah, why didn’t you wake me sooner? It’s nine o’clock!’
‘I’m aware of that,’ Sarah seemed much too calm for Catherine’s satisfaction. ‘I thought I’d let you sleep. There’s plenty of time, after all. I’m sure you don’t need three hours to dress.’
‘No… perhaps you’re right,’ Catherine subsided onto a chair at the kitchen table. ‘I just got in a panic, that’s all.’
‘Right, well, now you’re up, you can sit there and have your breakfast.’
‘Oh Sarah, I don’t think I could eat a thing.’
‘Well, I’m sorry, but you’re going to. I don’t want you fainting away at the appropriate moment in the formalities. Now get yourself some cereal and I’ll make some toast when I’ve done this.’ She turned back to the sink.
‘Have you been given some flowers?’
‘I haven’t, poppet, but you have. Go and look in the lounge.’
Catherine went into the other room. Lying on the dining table was a large bunch of long-stemmed cream roses.
She called to Sarah. ‘Where have they come from? There isn’t a note.’
Sarah came in, carrying the vase. ‘Alex brought them just now.’ She grinned at her friend’s expression. ‘He went out to the Flower Market at the crack of dawn this morning to get them. He prayed you wouldn’t answer the door when he rang the bell.’
‘Alex has been here, this morning? Why didn’t you wake me up?’
‘Because it’s bad luck for the groom to see the bride on her wedding day before the ceremony. He just thought you might like them. They’re a beautiful colour.’
Catherine ran her finger over one of the creamy heads and was overcome with emotion that Alex should have thought of her in this way.
Sarah saw the emotion but wanted no tears this morning. She put the roses in the vase and went back into the kitchen, returning with some aluminium cooking foil.
‘Just a suggestion, but I wondered if we shortened some of the stems we could wrap several in some of this and tie it up with something pretty, and you will have a bouquet. What do you think?’
‘I think that would be marvellous, Sarah. What a good idea. I’ll look out some ribbon.’
‘Come and eat your breakfast first.’
Later, dressing with immense care, Catherine realised that she felt quite calm. She was about to marry the man she loved, and who, she was sure, loved her. She had chosen a soft cream georgette dress she had seldom worn, but knew fitted her well. It had pintuck pleats down the front of the bodice and on the short sleeves. There were pale green buttons on the bodice, matching the thin belt around the waist. The skirt was smooth and swirled around her knees. She had even found a pair of pale kid sandals and a b
ag. It was lucky she had kept them back from her recent removal of belongings to Alex’s flat. As her mind began to register the idea that in a short while she would be living there alone with him, as man and wife, she felt less calm and butterflies began to form in her stomach.
Sarah came into the bedroom, smart in a pale blue suit, the colour matching her eyes.
‘How are you doing? We’ve got about twenty minutes before the taxi comes. Oh, and I mustn’t forget to keep hold of your make-up case until later.’
‘I’ll be ready.’ Catherine swept her hair up into a loose coil secured on either side with green and gold trimmed combs. She then fastened plain gold studs to her ears and placed her engagement ring back on her finger.
She looked up at Sarah. ‘What do you think?’
‘Stand up and let me have a look at you.’
Catherine did so, and Sarah thought she had never seen her friend look more beautiful. The understated cream emphasised the glow of her skin and the various points of green echoed the shining eyes.
‘You look beautiful. Alex is going to be bowled over.’
‘I hope so,’ Catherine whispered, the butterflies inside her even worse.
The taxi was on time and it was just a short ride to the Registry Office. Waiting outside was Jerry, resplendent in a smart navy suit, his wavy light brown hair almost tamed.
‘Well, I’m glad you’ve arrived.’
‘Why?’ said Sarah looking at her watch. ‘We’re not late. If anything, we’re ahead of schedule.’
‘I have one nervous bridegroom in there. If we don’t get this thing under way soon I’ll be administering to a coronary. Mark you,’ he looked Catherine up and down, ‘when he sees you he might have one. You look ravishing!’
‘Please take me to him, Jerry.’ Catherine’s quiet voice was evidence of the nervous tension inside her.
Jerry took them to a small anteroom where they found Alex pacing up and down, his dark good looks accentuated by a charcoal grey suit and cream silk tie. Catherine walked towards him and the look she saw in his eyes was everything she had hoped for. He said nothing at all, but he didn’t need to, she thought. He just took her hands and kissed them, taking note, she was sure, of her small bouquet.
Generations of Love Page 17
