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wondering if Chamberlain would be tough enough on strikers. But of course by and by the talk came round to those emeralds.
    ‘“It’s a damn generous wedding present, Attenbury,” said Sir Algernon Pender.
    ‘“No more than she deserves,” said the proud father.
    ‘“Course, people have a thing about emeralds,” Pender went on. “My wife prefers sapphires, thank God.”
    ‘Captain Ansel said to Freddy, “Aren’t you something of an expert about emeralds? Didn’t I read a piece of yours from my stockbrokers about investing in them?”
    ‘Freddy humphed modestly, and said that yes, advising on investing in gemstones was one of his lines.
    ‘“Well, tell us all!” said Sir Algernon. “What’s so special about them?”
    ‘“They are green,” said Freddy feebly, to gales of laughter. “No, I mean it. They are greener than sapphires are blue or rubies are red. And they are rare. Old emeralds all come from Colombia. The Spanish tortured the natives to find the location of the mine. That way they found the Chivor mine. Then they looked for others nearby, and they found the Muzo mine. They used native labourers in murderous conditions to dig the stones out. They couldn’t use explosives, because that would have shattered the stones. The suffering was horrible, but the stones were wonderful, the deepest green, clearest, gem-quality emeralds. These are called ‘old mine’ stones. They are the finest, and the original Muzo stones are the next best.”
    ‘“You surprise me, Arbuthnot,” said Pender. “I’ve always thought of emeralds as coming from India.”
    ‘“Ah, well, Pender,” said Freddy sagely, “The Colombian emeralds were all sent to Spain, naturally. But gems don’t stay put. They go where the money is. And at that time the wealthiest people on earth were the Indian princes, great maharajas and Mughal nabobs among them. They had acquired a taste for emeralds from the small bright stones found in Afghanistan or Egypt. They paid fabulous fortunes for the Colombian glories. So by the time the Colombian mines had given of their best the loot was in India, for the most part.”
    ‘“That’s all very interesting, Arbuthnot,” said Captain Ansel. “But I still don’t see why emeralds are so expensive. Damn things cost more than diamonds.”
    ‘I had noticed that Mrs Ansel was wearing an emerald brooch, and I thought he was speaking with feeling.
    ‘“It’s rubies that time is more precious than…” I offered, but nobody took me up on it. I needed a literary soul for that game, and there was none present. Freddy launched into an attack on diamonds.
    ‘“There’s lots of fun in diamonds,” he was saying. “And they do come in various tints and colours. But the fashion is for clear-water stones, so the more valuable they are, the less distinctive. Whereas emeralds – highly recognisable. With large stones no two are the same.”
    ‘“One can tell where they were mined, you mean?” asked Ansel.
    ‘“Much more than that,” said Freddy. He was enjoying all the attention. “There’s no such thing as a flawless emerald. Emeralds have flaws and inclusions. Little crystals of pyrite, calcite and actualité. Drifting veils within the stone – the French call this jardin . Lots of personality. Someone who has looked closely at an emerald could tell it again even if it has been re-mounted, or carved or re-cut.”
    ‘By this time everyone within earshot of Freddy was listening to him. The estate talk continued at the other end of the table, where Gerald and Attenbury were deep in their landed concerns, but Northerby, who was sitting halfway down the table, was now riveted by Freddy, and leaning forward to catch every word.
    ‘“I say, Arbuthnot,” said Pender, “do you mean to say that you could identify one of Attenbury’s emeralds even if it was out of the set, just from the stone alone?”
    ‘“I couldn’t,” said Freddy cheerfully, “but I know a man who could. And if