Radiance diamonds of the.., p.1
Radiance (Diamonds of the First Water Book 4), page 1
COPYRIGHT
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without written permission from the publisher, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review or article.
Copyright © 2022 Sydney Jane Baily
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions.
Second Ebook Edition, 2024
ISBN: 978-1-957421-57-5
Published by Cat Whisker Press
Cover: Dar Albert, Wicked Smart Designs
Book Design: Cat Whisker Studio
Editor: Chris Hall
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Introduction to DIAMONDS OF THE FIRST WATER
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-One
Chapter Forty-Two
Introducing ... Lady Brilliance
Other Works
About the Author
Dedication
Dedicated to Queen Elizabeth II, who went to her well-deserved rest while I was writing this book. She shared a birthday with my late father, April 21, although she was a few years older. I often gave her a respectful nod on his birthday. It must be a blessed date, indeed, to have produced two such extraordinary people.
And while not wishing to be irreverent by following that dedication with this one, I also dedicate this story to a gentle soul, Sabrina “Sabby” McFlabby, my beloved 16-year-old tuxedo cat who departed this earth on November 26, 2022 while I was finishing up the final chapters. Her passing has left a large hole in my heart, and in the hearts of those who knew and loved her.
Acknowledgments
Iwant to make mention of (i.e., acknowledge) my own family on my mother’s side, the Garrards. I don’t know if we are related to Queen Victoria’s Crown Jeweler, Sebastian Garrard, who plays a large role in this book, but I now have an interest in finding out.
My grandfather, Cyril George Garrard, worked as a tool and die maker somewhere in or around London and was a highly skilled craftsman. I recall from childhood how he seemed able to make anything with his capable hands and was also an avid gardener and winemaker.
Also, I want to acknowledge the help I received from my dear sister. My deepest gratitude to Toni Young, who read Radiance’s long story and made it so much better with her suggestions.
Introduction to DIAMONDS OF THE FIRST WATER
Once upon a time, an Irish family by the name of O’Diamáin emigrated to England from the north of Ireland, from County Doire to be specific. You may know the area as Derry or even Londonderry, if you are thinking of it after King James I granted the city a royal charter.
Felim O’Diamáin, who was the youngest son, sailed across the Irish Sea to make his fortune, bringing his pretty wife and two young children with him. As the story goes, they stopped on the Isle of Man for a perfectly peaceful night before landing at Ravenglass the next day and traipsing through the Lake District.
Another version swears they took the shorter but far more dangerous route north across the sea to Portpatrick, finding themselves in the southernmost part of Scotland. From there, if they indeed came that way, they headed east toward Gretna Green. Not for any quick anvil marriage, mind you, but to traverse the border to England.
No one knows for sure the veracity of either tale, nor particularly cares. Once they arrived in England, Felim did very well for himself, as did his descendants.
At some point during the twelve-year reign of George I, another O’Diamáin by the name of Liam was made an earl for his devoted service to the Crown. During those years in the early eighteenth century, King George also created a few dukes, at least one marquess, some barons, a single viscount, and other earls. But we’re not interested in any of them, although some may have helped to quell the riots that ensued when Hanoverian George outmaneuvered any pesky residual Stuarts hoping to claim the English throne.
Nevertheless, our interest lies with Liam. With his new earldom came much wealth and land, specifically in Derbyshire. And naturally, a title. However, George I, being of Germanic descent, didn’t find the Celtic name of O’Diamáin tripped easily off his tongue. Neither did he master Gaelic or Manx, for that matter. In any case, with a little persuasion and an extra thousand acres, Liam became William, the Earl Diamond, as his male descendants have been known ever since.
Over the years, the earls have enlarged the original house to be an impressive manor, always named Oak Grove Hall, which is the translation of their long-ago home of County Doire.
Generations later, while inheriting the earldom and all its assets, Geoffrey, Lord Diamond and his beloved wife, Caroline, have wealth of a different nature as well — five healthy children: Clarity, Purity, Adam, Radiance, and Brilliance. They are known as the Diamonds of the First Water, at least by their parents.
This is Radiance’s story . . .
Prologue
London, 1852
Radiance Diamond lowered her favorite pen with its lunar-shaped steel nib, setting it beside the recessed inkwell that she’d already filled in preparation for the lecture. The afternoon’s lecturer had just entered through the door at the right front of the main theater in the Royal Polytechnic Institution on Regent Street. And the sight of him was enough to halt her squiggling with pretty, albeit expensive, blue ink while the rest of the audience were still taking their seats.
Radiance’s attention was riveted. Although she’d attended a variety of lectures all across London, both interesting and dull, she’d never set eyes upon the geologist, Mr. Edward Lockwood, before.
Her breath caught. Now, she never wanted to take her gaze from him.
What a rum duke! All broad shoulders and thick, unruly brown hair. Tall but not gangly. Attractive eyes that, from a distance, appeared to be an unusual shade of golden-brown.
Sighing, she sat up straighter, coughed slightly to gain his attention, and waited for him to notice her.
As expected, his head turned in her direction. Most men, at this point, saw her bright red hair, a natural inheritance from her mother, Carolyn, the Countess Diamond, and their interest piqued. Not that everyone liked red hair, but everyone usually noticed it.
Usually, some reaction would follow, especially when she wore it partly up and partly down in the current fashion. Curled, but not too tightly, to drape across one shoulder.
Some lively lady had named these soft curls as “follow-me boys.” A delicious description since she and all her friends liked nothing so much as being followed by eager, attentive gentlemen.
To her astonishment, Mr. Lockwood, reportedly an advisor to the Queen and Prince Albert regarding gemstones, barely acknowledged her, if he did at all. His glance went over her and on to the next person and then the one beside him. No raised brow, no smile, not even a sneer of derision to indicate he was one of those who didn’t care for coppery curls.
The gall! She would not cough again. If he didn’t have the sense to see a female of her quality, so be it. Still, when this man of science began his discourse, a captivating lecture, she was entranced. And if she missed a few words here and there because she was watching his attractive mouth, or if her thoughts strayed to the fantasy of dancing with him, no one could blame her.
At the lecture’s end, the entire audience broke into an enthusiastic round of applause, slightly muffled by all the men’s and women’s gloves. Radiance assumed now he would look at her. After all, he’d had over an hour to notice her in the third row, directly centered in front of him.
Again, she was disappointed by how he attended to the gems he’d used as examples. Carefully, he put his collection back in their velvet pouches and wooden cases.
Not looking up at anyone, barely acknowledging the apprecia
Finally, he glanced up and met her gaze. Her heartbeat quickened. Then he gave the briefest nod, collected his specimen cases, and walked out.
Edward dropped his coat on the bench in his front hall, assuming his housekeeper would retrieve it and tidy it away as she tidied up every other aspect of his life, from newspapers left on his sofa to cat fur on his counterpane. The mess was there one minute and, thanks to Mrs. McSabby, gone the next.
He headed directly along the passageway to what should be a dining room, which he used as his workroom. Nearly dinnertime, the fading rays of light came in through the windows that went almost up to the crown molding. They were the reason he used that room.
Those fingers of light played across the large table where he placed his specimen containers and his sheaf of notes.
“Rather a successful afternoon,” he said to Monty, his gray striped cat, lying atop the table, catching the last sunbeams. It stretched out a paw, patting one of the wooden boxes.
If Edward opened the lid, the cat would undoubtedly exert himself enough to knock a gemstone out of one of the trays and send it skittering to the floor.
But Edward didn’t intend to sort through the specimens or put them away in the drawers of his gem cabinet. He still had work to do, a professional courtesy for the Queen’s Crown Jeweler. Sebastian Garrard had asked him to examine a rare blue tiger’s eye for its cleavage traits. The Queen wished to turn it into a ring for Prince Albert, but Garrard was uncertain of its stability.
As Edward drew up a chair and donned his magnifying spectacles, a sudden flash of fiery-red hair and a pert, confident smile flitted across his thoughts.
He frowned at the memory of the minx from the auditorium. Why would he think of her? True, she was lovely, but he doubted she’d been there to learn. Many people went to his lectures hoping he would bring out samples of rare jewels, which he often did, or gaudy jewelry, which he never would.
She probably had a penchant for sparkling baubles and was in possession of less brains than Monty, although her green eyes were a more vivid hue.
“Can you believe she had brighter eyes than you?” he asked his cat, who yawned broadly.
Then Edward banished the chit from his mind, pushed the magnifiers up the bridge of his nose, and got to work.
Chapter One
Radiance Diamond thought nothing in her young life would compare to the displays and inventions she’d seen the previous summer at the Great Exhibition, or the Grand International Exhibition, depending upon which newspaper one read. The impression made upon her of the various wonderful items produced by the nations of the world had been so huge, she’d been sorely tested as to which path to take.
Ultimately, after multiple visits to the Crystal Palace in Hyde Park, it was the fine jewelry that called her to return more than to the paintings or the sculptures or even the weaving, for all of which she had an aptitude.
Radiance had decided to dedicate herself to jewelry-making.
Indeed, almost the moment she’d arrived back at her family’s home on Piccadilly, she had made arrangements to set herself up a place to study and work. Thus, Radiance transformed her eldest sister’s former bedroom, empty since Clarity had moved out years earlier upon marrying.
With a spacious table, a comfortable chair, and good lamps, Radiance read books, studied illustrations, and tried her hand at designing jewelry.
Her parents had encouraged this new interest, believing all their children should follow wherever their minds and passions took them. Moreover, with Lord and Lady Diamond’s generous support, she had everything at her disposal, including a lapidary’s mill and a tripoli stone for polishing, a pair of magnifying spectacles, and some semi-precious stones with which she could practice gem cutting, as well as carving wax and tools for making molds.
After a few months of diligence, she had secured herself a place in a master jeweler’s establishment in the Hatton Garden area, the very heart of London’s jewelry-making community.
In Mr. Bonwit’s Greville Street shop, she showed the jeweler what she accomplished on her own.
“You have an eye for this,” he told her after she showed him her designs. “But whether you can bring your creation to fruition is another matter. If you will allow me and my apprentice to make your jewelry, we will do so gladly.”
“I wish to learn,” she’d asserted.
Thus, under Mr. Bonwit’s tutelage, she learned how to tame gold and silver to match her designs and how to fashion rough gems into glittering jewels. Whenever she had a plan in mind, carefully drawn, she went to the workroom behind his shop and spent hours perfecting her skills.
He let her don a heavy apron and work alongside him, learning not only to cut gems on the lap’s mill, or scaif as Mr. Bonwit called it, but to work with the noble metals, hammering them into intricate designs, creating wax molds that were then cast in molten gold and silver. Lately, she’d learned the delicate art of filigree.
She knew she was like a pet to Mr. Bonwit — an oddity whom he liked to show off. Occasionally, he brought customers into the workshop. “This is Lady Radiance, an earl’s daughter, come to learn from me.”
Nevertheless, she took her instruction seriously.
“I wish to learn niello,” she told him, having been impressed by a manchette bracelet she’d seen with a likeness of the Queen and the Prince of Wales.
Mr. Bonwit frowned. “It is not as simple as setting a stone in gold or silver.”
“I know,” Radiance said. She wanted to know how to use the black mixture of sulphur, copper, silver, and lead to create unique black designs fired onto silver.
“Don’t tell me I should have apprenticed myself to S. H. & D. Gass, who made those pieces I saw at the exhibition.”
Mr. Bonwit’s furrowed brow deepened. “I shall teach you the art of niello,” he said. “But you must walk before you run.”
Radiance hid her smile. She intended to learn everything and started soaking up his knowledge as a flower took in sunlight.
Yet her interests led her further than making jewelry. She was fascinated by the gemstones she’d seen, particularly those in the Great Exhibition’s India exhibit. Almost as talked about as the famed Koh-i-Noor, or “Mountain of Light,” which people had lined up to see, was the Darya-i-Noor, or “Sea of Light,” a massive pink diamond surrounded by ten smaller diamonds set in an armlet.
Radiance had spent many minutes sketching it while hearing other viewers exclaim over its gaudy setting.
In its own display area, apart from all the other jewelry, was the famed Koh-i-Noor diamond, which had belonged to Queen Victoria ever since Her Majesty became the ruler of India. The year before the Great Exhibition, it had been ceremonially presented to her by the eleven-year-old King of India, although the boy and the Queen were separated by thousands of miles.
When Radiance first saw the diamond, exhibited in what looked for all the world like a bird cage, she was not impressed. Supposedly, the display was really an elaborate safe. If one attempted to open the cage, the diamond, along with the other two smaller diamonds that had been part of the armlet worn by the orphaned king, would drop into a secure compartment below.
Unfortunately, the Koh-i-Noor was displayed poorly. Radiance could see at once that it was an imperfect diamond and, to her western sensibilities of beauty, cut badly.
“It’s large but not at all a shining ‘Mountain of Light’,” she said to her best friend Diana.
Almost unanimously, the public expressed their disappointment in the “egg-shaped lump of glass,” as one newspaper called it.
The next time Radiance went to the Crystal Palace, the diamond had been moved into a secure tent and shown more openly, surrounded by six gas lamps and twelve small mirrors. The Queen, Prince Albert, and their two oldest sons had gone to the reopening, hoping to sway public opinion.
Most deemed it only mildly improved and even blamed the diamond for the nearly unbearably hot temperature inside the tent. Thus, it was still unpopular.
