The Sicilian's Defiant Virgin. Susan Stephens

She’d still be catching a bus to work twenty years from now, while the members of the board would still be chauffeured to work in their Bentleys.

      ‘You will meet with Signor Luca Tebaldi at three, here in this office,’ the chairman added.

      So soon?

      Jen didn’t hear much else for the rest of the meeting. She would have liked more time to prepare. Raoul disappearing, and now the sale of a valuable and notorious stone to the man who turned out to be his father—and Raoul’s brother buying time with Jen at the club? Was she supposed to believe it was all coincidence?

      ‘Jennifer?’ the chairman said sharply. ‘Are you listening to me? I was just saying that Signor Tebaldi expects to view his father’s latest purchase, following which he will arrange transport details for both the Emperor’s Diamond, and for you. This is a great opportunity for you, Jennifer,’ he finished, shaking his head at her apparent lack of interest as he settled back.

      ‘Absolutely,’ she said, sitting up. ‘And thank you so much for the opportunity.’ At least she’d have chance to get to the bottom of this mystery.

      For Lyddie, Jen thought, shooting her professional smile around the table.

      Lyddie had only recently started her career as a model when she was killed two years ago. She had insisted on cycling everywhere in London, saying it was the easiest way to get around. At least Lyddie had got the chance to wear the jewels she had loved so much, having landed an endorsement for an exclusive jewellery house. She’d been on her way to model the next season’s collection of diamonds when she was knocked off her bike. Jen would do this work in memory of those she’d lost, and make it a fitting tribute to the sister and the parents she had adored. She smiled, remembering Lyddie had never been able to pass a jeweller’s window without squeaking with excitement when she spotted some rare stone their mother had described to them. The sparkling gems had become a bond between them when their mother died, reminding them of story time, and the three of them safe, and sitting close together.

      ‘I will inform your college and ask for leave of absence, so you’ve nothing to worry about—especially not with the summer holidays fast approaching,’ the chairman told her. ‘Just one more thing,’ he added, avoiding Jen’s gaze. ‘We must be sure to welcome Signor Luca Tebaldi with the utmost hospitality.’

      Jen frowned at this comment. The utmost hospitality seemed to imply more than simply hand-carrying a precious stone to Sicily. She would be professional and polite, and that was all. If the chairman expected anything more of her, perhaps to drum up future business, he was destined to be disappointed.

      ‘Signor Luca Tebaldi’s father has been an outstanding contributor to our profits,’ the chairman continued, confirming Jen’s fears with a meaningful look. ‘We can only hope his son will become an equally valuable client in the future.’

      Jen stared around the boardroom table as talk turned to what could possibly tempt the Tebaldi family to spend even more in future sales. Rare stones were just that, the board members lamented: rare.

      A prescient shiver ran across Jen’s shoulders as she tried to persuade herself that exchanging a draughty bedsit for a trip to sunny Sicily was a great option, and that it would honour Lyddie’s memory in the best way possible. But nothing was ever that simple, and this trip was full of uncertainty.

      ‘Do you know the history of the Emperor’s Diamond?’ the chairman probed, tapping his pen on the desk as he looked at her.

      At last, something she could be sure about. ‘As it happens, I do,’ she confirmed. She always took an interest in the rare stones that came through the auction house, and her studies had allowed her to spend time researching them thoroughly. ‘It was once posted in a plain brown paper envelope, and yet it still reached its destination safely. I’m sure my trip to Sicily will be equally uneventful,’ she said, reassuring everyone around the table, but herself.

      I am that plain brown envelope, Jen thought as the chairman acknowledged her remarks with a thin smile.

      * * *

      Melvyn Worseley Esquire, aka the Chairman, took Jen aside later that day. With the Emperor’s Diamond valued at a conservative thirty-five million, he said it was important to get everything just right. Jen couldn’t have agreed more, and was glad she had confidence in her own abilities. If there was one thing she was good at, it was lighting and setting. Creating the elusive wow factor was what had won her the prize at college, the Vice Chancellor had told her when he’d handed her the prize.

      ‘Perhaps you might want to freshen up and put on some make-up before Luca Tebaldi arrives?’

      She looked sideways at the chairman. There was that subtle, or not so subtle, hint again. She would freshen up, but sluicing her face with cold water would be enough. This wasn’t a beauty pageant. It was a client coming to inspect a precious stone.

      There was no chance of the elusive wow factor where Jen was concerned, Jen conceded with amusement as she smoothed her long red hair and checked her ponytail was in place. Pulling away from the sink in the ladies’ room, she returned to the boardroom where the chairman was waiting for her.

      ‘If you’re short of cash,’ he observed, viewing her thrift-shop outfit with dismay, ‘I’m sure we can allow you a small amount of expenses. Creating a good first impression is paramount, don’t you think?’ he pressed, staring keenly at Jen over his gold-rimmed glasses.

      She was suitably dressed for work, Jen thought, in a mouse-grey knee-length suit and white blouse. Admittedly, the blouse had been washed so many times the fabric was practically threadbare, but if she fastened the jacket...

      The chairman lifted the velvet case containing the precious gemstone and, with maximum drama, he flipped the lid. Even Jen gasped. It was as if the diamond’s luminance, having been contained within a dark box for so long, leapt out at them in a stunning display of rainbow light. She knew the physics was the other way around, and that without the light the stone was nothing, but at that moment, far from being cursed, the Emperor’s Diamond seemed to contain some magical force. She had to remind herself that she didn’t believe in things like that.

      ‘I’m sure you will do a fine job displaying this,’ the chairman said as Jen came towards him, drawn closer by the magnificent gemstone.

      As she studied it Jen thought the diamond so beautiful she couldn’t think of it bringing anything but good luck. It would never be locked away again, if she could help it. She remembered her mother saying that exceptional gems should be displayed to the public, and enjoyed by as many people as possible.

      ‘Isn’t it a remarkable gem?’ the chairman murmured, obviously equally awestruck as they stood side by side, briefly joined in admiration of one of nature’s wonders.

      ‘And the ceiling hasn’t fallen in yet,’ Jen murmured tongue in cheek.

      ‘Not yet,’ the chairman agreed as they shared a rare smile.

      Somewhere in the Victorian building, a door must have opened. Jen shivered as if a breeze had blown in. ‘The wind of change,’ she joked, trying to hide her apprehension as she took a step back from the so-called cursed stone.

      The chairman had barely had time to put the diamond away when the door swung open and his guest strode in. Luca Tebaldi somehow managed to look even more impressive in daylight than he had at the club. He was taller, darker, and far more dangerous-looking than Jen remembered. Her heart thumped wildly as his stare lingered on her face. Why this intense interest? She was hardly one of nature’s wonders. She was more run of the mill. And yes, they were having dinner tonight, but this appointment was for him to view the fabulously valuable stone his father had just purchased, so shouldn’t he be concentrating on that?

      ‘Signor Tebaldi,’ the chairman gushed, moving past Jen to greet his guest.

      Wearing a dark, beautifully tailored lightweight wool suit and a crisp white shirt, garnished with a grey silk tie, and with sapphires glittering tastefully at his wrists, Luca Tebaldi looked every bit the billionaire connoisseur.