Nancy Drew and The Mystery Of The Ghost Maiden

Chapter Sixteen

"Here we are, girls," Nancy said as she pushed open the heavy door to the art gallery.

"Wow, all the walls are filled with paintings. This must have been a very large family at one time." Bess commented as she studied the works of art.

"This must be the boy. It's the only painting of a child in here." George said calmly while pointing at a large painting of a child climbing a tree.

"He looked were lively and carefree. And look he had your aunt eyes and smile."

"The red hair was from his father's side of the family." Nancy quickly added in.

"Might, as well take a look at the paintings while we're here," said George, in a nonchalant tone.

A few minutes had passed, when Bess became bored and decided to rest on a small velvet chair in the corner of the room. She just sat there for a while lost in thought, as she played with her hair. As she sat there, her eyes came to rest on an ornately carved picture frame painted gold in fine detail carved into the wood.

The teen stood up and walked closer to get a better look at the work, before commenting "Wow, what a lovely dress and check out that necklace. She was just simply stunning no doubt about that. This girl must have been a heart breaker in her time." Bess said.

"Really which one?" Nancy asked out of curiosity, as she walked over.

"This one right here in front of me. From the style of her dress, I'm guessing it must be pretty old."

Bess was right the girl was quite stunning. That necklace she wore looked like it was very expensive. Nancy felt like she had seen this girl somewhere else before. Perhaps in another painting somewhere else in the mansion. Just then she noticed that there was a name carved into the wood just below the painting. It read Heather Davenport! This had to be the same Heather from the old tale and letters!

She took a closer look at the necklace she wore. It looked like it was made with pigeon blood rubies, and very rare gemstone can only be found in the antique form, due to the fact that it can no longer be safely mined. Nancy wondered, Could this be the treasure she had a hidden way so many years ago? If this was true, was it ever recovered? Her fiancée had died at sea and Heather of the fever not long after. So there was a pretty good chance that the treasure was still hidden somewhere nearby! It was as if it was just waiting all this time for Nancy come along and find it.

Nancy studied the painting once more for clues. She resorted to even talking it off the wall and checking on the back but found nothing of interest. The girls knew it wouldn't be long before Ned arrived, so they went downstairs to have a quick lunch. They ate some small cucumber sandwiches, apple tarts, and milk to wash it down.

Not long after, there was a knock at the door. Nancy rushed over, checked her hair and makeup in a small compact before pulling the door open. "Ned, I'm so glad to see..." she said as her expression changed to a look of surprise. There stood before them the banker from before.

He noticed that Nancy was confused and tried to push his way in. "Oh no! You don't! You are not welcome here!" said George once the man was inside.

"Move it brat! I have business to attend too!" he said while trying to go around them.

"What do you mean? You've been told not to come back here!" Nancy requited, as she snapped from the spell of confusion.

You better not be giving my girl any trouble if you get my drift!" said a loud male voice from outside the door. The man turned angrily and saw Ned slip in the door right behind him.

"Now I don't want any trouble." said the banker in a slightly nervous tone of voice. Nancy noticed that his hands had begun to tremble slightly.

"You better leave before my buddies show up or you will be in big trouble!" Ned threatened, as he stepped in front of Nancy and puffed up his chest to look tougher and more intimidating. The man reluctantly turned around to leave with a furious look on his face. After they watched him leave, Ned told the girls that he doubted that was the last that they would see of the banker.

"I have met plenty of people with his same kind of attitude in the past. Unfortunately, they are extremely hardheaded and refuse to let things go." He said while shaking his head in frustration.

Bonus Files: Pigeon blood rubies

The brightest and most valuable shade of red called blood-red or pigeon blood, commands a large premium over other rubies of similar quality. This one pictured below, in a great example of this type of stone.