The jewels felt both an honour and a weight about my neck. Not only did I fear an accidental loss of these riches – a slip of a clasp, the loosening of a diamond – but my concern also began to grow that Mrs Elliot had selflessly adorned me in her most valued ornaments, and that her person would appear almost bare by comparison.

No sooner had I assumed my seat in her coach than I began to discreetly examine her apparel. She sat opposite me, resplendent in a pale blue watered-silk gown, her firm bosom raised into prominence by a compress bodice. Her hair was arranged into a grander, darker version of my own and decorated with a star-shaped aigrette and feather which tickled the ceiling of the cabin. A festoon diamond necklace dropped from her throat, while two round flowers of brilliants sat upon her earlobes. But these objects were mere pretty baubles, simple trifles by comparison to the pièce de résistance affixed to her bodice. Here, just at the edge of her powdered cleft, sat a single sapphire the size of a farthing. Were its size and deep blue hue not commanding enough, it lay encircled by two rings of diamonds, which radiated forth from it in an exquisite starburst.

Once I had spied that sublime stone, I could scarcely remove my attention from it. It dazzled me, as did Pharaoh’s crown the infant Moses. My friend caught my eyes upon it and lifted her fingers to stroke the object.

‘Is that a gift from the Duc de Biron?’ I enquired gently, not wishing to appear green-eyed.

‘Ah, no, it is also from the Prince de Condé. The necklace, the buckles: they were among the gifts he made to me for several months with him at Chantilly. But the sapphire, it is the most exceptional, is it not?’ she said.

‘’Tis indeed! It looks fit to adorn a sultan’s headdress.’

‘It is most ancient and is rumoured to have belonged to the Empress Theodora,’ she said, lowering her voice. ‘And the worth of it, my dear, is considerable. Condé gave me no annuity, but I have mon saphir, which, were I to pawn it, would guarantee me no small share of future comfort.’ She then placed a kiss upon her fingertips and pressed them to the brooch. ‘You might equip yourself similarly, Hetty.’

I examined her uneasily. I did not wish to appear rude.

‘I had once an entire coffer of treasures . . .’

‘And you shall again, my dear!’ said she, taking my hand. ‘Such beauty as yours will not go unnoticed for long . . .