Green Fire by Stephanie James

giving orders."
    "Nobody said you had to follow them," she retorted.
    "Ah, but I do. For now at any rate. You're wearing the ring, remember? Maybe I'm the man fated to be drawn under your spell."
    "The ring." she announced grandly, "is phony, remember? Besides, you don't believe in legends. You're a professional debunker of tall tales."
    "Who knows?" There was amusement in his face, even though the hard line of his mouth hadn't crooked into a smile. "The fact remains I seem to find myself doing what I'm told these days."
    "Thank you. I'll treasure that compliment."
    They sipped the cocoa in a surprisingly companionable silence for a while, and then Rani remembered the question she had been meaning to ask. "How did you come to know about Uncle Ambrose and this ring, Flint?"
    Flint shifted slightly in his chair. Rani wasn't sure, but she thought some of the relaxation engendered by the cocoa had abruptly faded. It seemed to her there was a certain tension in him now as he studied his mug.
    "Ambrose and I ran into each other a year and a half ago when the ring came into his possession."
    "Uncle Ambrose bought the ring?" Rani raised an eyebrow in astonishment. "Or was it stolen by one of his confederates?"
    Flint shook his head once, a short, brusque gesture that told her nothing. "What does it matter now? He and I never discussed exactly how he had acquired the thing, but there was no doubt it was a favorite object of his. At any rate, he'd come across an article I once did for a gem trade magazine. Just a short piece giving a history of the ring, not a major article like the one I'm doing now. He wanted to know more about it so he tracked me down through the publisher. As it happened, I'd just submitted another piece to that same publisher and he knew where he could get in touch with me. He gave me Ambrose's address in New York and I contacted him. I was just as interested in finding out who now owned the ring as he was in learning more about its history. Ambrose and I got along fine. He was a real character. I liked him, Rani."
    Rani smiled. "Most people did, I gather. It was one of the reasons he was so successful. A natural con man probably. I only met Ambrose a few times. I never really got to know him. He never married. My father's side of the family was always very scattered and out of touch. I was quite surprised when I discovered he'd left all that wonderful fake jewelry to me. It's really beautiful stuff. Probably his finest work."
    "What else was there besides the ring?"
    "A great necklace that looks as if it came out of an Egyptian pyramid, a couple of pairs of earrings set with such beautifully cut paste that most people would mistake them for diamonds. A couple of other rings besides this one and a brooch."
    "And you had them all appraised?"
    Rani nodded. "My uncle had a business acquaintance in San Francisco. His name's Charles Dewhurst and he's a gemologist. Dewhurst had occasionally referred customers who wanted a high-quality reproduction to my uncle. He knew nothing about the shady side of Ambrose's business, of course. Few people did. He was as shocked as everyone else to learn about it after my uncle was killed. But, like you, he'd been fond of Uncle Ambrose and he greatly respected his talent. Mr. Dewhurst contacted my father after he learned of my uncle's death and offered his condolences. Said that whatever else Ambrose had been, he was one of the finest craftsman in the world. When I received the jewelry, I decided to have someone who was familiar with my uncle's work take a look at the stuff."
    "And Dewhurst confirmed it was junk?"
    "Very beautiful junk," Rani corrected with a smile. "But, nevertheless, fake. Apparently Uncle Ambrose had kept his finest pieces for himself."
    "I wonder what he did with the real stone that was originally in that ring," Flint mused.
    "Probably recut and sold it for a tidy fortune," Rani grinned. "Or perhaps it now belongs to a successful jewel thief."
    Flint downed the last