“A lecture about the history of jewelry should begin by defining the word itself. Jewel is derived from the French word ‘j-o-u-e-l,’ which roughly translates to ‘plaything.’
“Although early man created jewelry out of shells and other objects, the first use of jewelry from a precious metal almost certainly involved gold. It’s easy to see why gold was such a natural choice. It is widely dispersed throughout the world, and early societies had an easy time collecting the shiny metal from streambeds.
“Gold had the advantage of being very easy to work with. Early societies noticed that it neither tarnished nor corroded. This sense of permanence quickly led to it being associated with the gods and immortality in many cultures and in ancient texts. The Old Testament made reference to the Golden Calf, and Jason and the Argonauts searched for the Golden Fleece around 1200 B.C.
“The constant theme of Middle Eastern kingdoms was the desire for gold. The king of Babylon wrote, ‘As for gold, send me what you have to hand as quickly as possible.’
“The king of the Hittites wrote in a letter, ‘Send me great quantities of gold, more gold than was sent to my father.’
“The most abiding image of ancient Egypt is reflected in gold because it is considered the material of the flesh of the gods and the color of divinity.”
Over the next twenty minutes she spoke of the evolution of jewelry and when various precious gemstones came into use.
Celia had decided that since Lady Em had openly admitted that she was in possession of the Cleopatra necklace and would be wearing it on board, she would relate the story of the necklace as well as the other fantastic jewels that had adorned Cleopatra during her thirty-nine years of life. The audience’s rapt attention confirmed that she had made the right choice.
She regaled them with stories about ancient Egyptian jewelry in general including the ornaments for the head and neck, the collars and girdles adorning the body, the bracelets, finger rings and anklets for the arms and the legs.
What she did not know was that her most attentive listener in the audience was a person who already knew the history of all the gems she had mentioned and was silently congratulating her for the accuracy of her presentation.
She told the audience that her second lecture would include a focus on the unique role of the emerald in the history of jewelry. Then she would speak about the history of legendary diamonds like the Koh-i-Noor diamond that was now in Queen Elizabeth’s state crown and the Hope Diamond, which was donated to the Smithsonian.
Celia finished her lecture by saying, “Lady Emily Haywood, who is here today, is the current owner of the priceless Cleopatra necklace, and I understand that she is planning to wear it on this voyage before she donates it to the Smithsonian Institution upon her return to New York. Like the Hope Diamond, it will be seen by millions of viewers every year.”
Lady Em stood up. “Celia, you must tell the story about the legend of the curse on the Cleopatra necklace.”
“Are you sure you want me to, Lady Em?”
“Absolutely.”
Hesitantly, Celia explained the curse. “After being ordered to wear the necklace at sea while being taken prisoner to Rome, Cleopatra put a curse on it: ‘Whoever wears this necklace to sea will not live to reach the shore.’?” She quickly added that legends by their very nature are not based on truths, and she was sure that this was the case with the Cleopatra necklace.
From the applause, Celia knew that her lecture had gone over very well. Quite a few people came up to her to say how much they had enjoyed it, and three women asked if antique jewels they inherited might have more value than they had realized.
She always had the same answer to that question. “When you return to New York, bring any jewelry you want appraised to me at Carruthers and I’ll be happy to evaluate your pieces.”
One woman who appeared to be in her late sixties would not take no for an answer. She was wearing a ring on the third finger of her left hand.
“Isn’t this a glorious diamond?” she asked. “My new gentleman friend just gave it to me before we sailed. He told me it’s four carats and was mined in South Africa only last year.”
Celia dug into her pocketbook and took out the small eyepiece known as a loupe. She held the loupe to her eye as she examined the ring. At a glance Celia could see that the stone was zirconium. She said, “Let’s go over to the window so I can see it in a better light.” With a smile and a thank-you to the women around her, Celia walked to the window.
“Are you traveling with friends?” she asked casually.
“Oh yes, I am. Four of my friends and we call ourselves the ‘Sail Away Widows.’ We go all over the world together. Of course we all agree that it would be much nicer to be with our husbands, but it is what it is and we have to make the best of it.”
“But you said you have a boyfriend,” Celia said.
“Oh I do. He’s ten years younger. I’m seventy, but he said he’s always dated older women. He’s divorced.”
“I’m sorry. I don’t think I asked your name,” Celia said.
“Oh, I’m Alice Sommers.”
“Where did you meet your gentleman friend?” Celia asked, trying to make it sound like a casual question.
A blush came over Alice Sommers’s face. “I know you might think it’s silly, but just for fun, I joined that online dating service You and I Together, and Dwight responded to my profile.”
Another con artist, Celia thought, and judging by the way the four widows are able to readily travel, they are pretty well off.
“Alice,” Celia said, “I’m going to be honest. This is not a real diamond. It’s zirconium. Although it looks nice, it’s worth nothing. This isn’t easy to tell you and you’ll probably feel hurt and embarrassed because that’s the way I felt. My fiancé bought me a beautiful engagement ring, but then I learned that he was tricking people into investing in his hedge fund and had used that money to, among other things, buy that ring. My advice is to throw your ring in the ocean and enjoy the friends who travel with you.”
Alice Sommers listened. For a moment she was silent, then she bit her lip. “I feel like a fool,” she said. “And my friends were trying to warn me! Celia, would you go out on the deck and watch me throw this piece of garbage overboard?”
“I’ll be happy to do that,” Celia said with a smile. But even as she followed Alice outside, she realized that she had given her a good tidbit to gossip about. One of them would research her name online and get all the details of her involvement with Steven. And in the way of the world, that situation would go through the ship like wildfire.
No good deed goes unpunished, she thought, as a minute later, Alice Sommers, with a game smile, took the zirconium off her finger, tossed it high in the air and watched it disappear into the increasingly choppy waters.
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