The Jewels of Sofia Tate by Doris Etienne Page B

“I’ll get it for you.” She rose from the armchair and hobbled out of the room, returning a few minutes later.
    Garnet took the glass from her and held it over the wings, reading the tiny engraved letters and numbers. “I think the one on the left says something like ’Mat. 28:5.’” Moving the glass over to the other wing, shenoticed the script was in a slightly different style. “And the one on the right says ’Ps. 45:13.’” Garnet glanced up at Elizabeth. “What does it mean?”
    â€œThey’re abbreviations. ’M-A-T’ would stand for the book of St. Matthew, and ’P-S’ would stand for the book of Psalms. The numbers indicate where in the books the verses would be found.”
    â€œOh. Can we look them up?”
    â€œCertainly. The Bible is here on the table.” Elizabeth handed Garnet a thick black leather-bound book.
    Garnet set down the angel and flipped through the worn pages, looking up after several moments. “I don’t seem to be having any luck. These books aren’t in alphabetical order.”
    â€œNo, dear, they’re not. Come, let me show you,” Elizabeth said patiently, taking the book from her, and turning to a page in the front that listed the books in the Bible and their page numbers. Together she and Elizabeth found the page and the verse.
    Garnet began to read out loud. “’And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.’” She peered up from the book and frowned. “The language kind of sounds like Shakespeare.”
    â€œThat’s because this Bible is an old King James Version. Hundreds of years ago, King James authorizedan English version of the Bible, and this is more or less what the scripture was translated to. There are many translations now, though, and in nearly every language of the world. At church, we use a modern one in today’s English.”
    â€œSo, what does this verse mean?” Garnet asked, struggling to understand.
    â€œDo you know the Easter story at all, when Jesus arose from the dead, the morning of the third day after he was crucified?”
    Garnet nodded. “When I was little, Nana used to sometimes take me to Sunday school.” Beyond that though, apart from her grandmother’s funeral, she had not set foot inside a church in years. It wasn’t that she didn’t believe in God. She did pray sometimes, but only if she felt that she really needed some extra help.
    â€œIn this chapter there were two women named Mary who went to visit the tomb where Jesus had been buried. The tomb was actually a cave. When they got there, they discovered the stone from the cave had already been rolled away and an angel was waiting for them to give instructions. He told them not to be afraid, that Jesus was raised from the dead and they were to go and tell his disciples this.”
    Garnet bit her lower lip. “You were right, Elizabeth. This has nothing to do with any jewels. What does theother verse say?” She placed the magnifying glass over the right wing. “Ps. 45:13.”
    â€œSo that verse would be found in the book of Psalms, in the Old Testament, chapter 45, verse 13,” Elizabeth explained.
    Garnet found the page and read aloud. “’The king’s daughter is all glorious within: her clothing is of wrought gold.’” She glanced up. “Well, at least now it might be talking about jewellery.”
    Elizabeth gave a little snort. “That it is. But if it’s supposed to be a clue to anything, what does it mean?” she asked, her voice rising slightly. “Over the years, I’ve searched this house from top to bottom. Any hiding spot I could think of, I’ve looked in. I’ve knocked at walls, checked for loose floorboards, you name it. Since I couldn’t find them in the house, I even went to different banks in the city to