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Isabella set it down carefully, then peered at as left Where there should have been nothing but wall, there was a little compart her fingers together toand skinny

She felt so soft Like velvet

She pulled it out It was a little bag, held together with a soft, silky cord

Isabella straightened quickly, crossing her legs so that she was sitting Indian style She slid one finger inside the bag, widening the ht

And then, with her right hand, she upended it, sliding the contents into her left

“Oh my G—”

Isabella quickly sed her shriek A veritable pool of diamonds had showered into her hand

It was a necklace And a bracelet And while she did not think of herself as the sort of girl who lost her mind over baubles and clothes, OH MY GOD these were the s she had ever seen

“Isabella?”

Her mother Oh, no Oh no oh no oh no

“Isabella? Where are you?”

“In—” She stopped to clear her throat; her voice had come out like a squeak “Just in the washroom, Mummy I’ll be out in a moment”

What should she do? What should she do?

Oh,