Southend U3A

Writing for Fun

April 2017

Pennies From Heaven - Jan Osborne

Anna turned the key in the lock of the old Viennese town house and eased open the door. Stepping into the vestibule she gazed around, reliving and relishing the flood of memories that the interior conjured.

Nothing had changed from her childhood, she could still see jovial Uncle Jacob opening the door to them himself, to greet his beloved sister Hannah and her daughter on one of their infrequent but much treasured visits from London. She could feel his neatly trimmed goatee tickling her face as he kissed and hugged her and could smell his warm and soapy fresh skin.

A shiny fob watch chain tantalising disappeared into his stripy waist coat pocket which, when later on she was safe and snug on his lap, could be pulled out to reveal the most beautiful diamond encrusted time piece. Her love of art and all things beautiful had been born and nurtured by this grand and gentle man and his house of treasures.

Sighing, she shut the front door and walked, still enshrouded in the warm mists of childhood memories, into the grand reception room. Switching on the light her child's gaze immediately gravitated towards the high painted ceiling and settled upon the crystal chandelier sparkling in the artificial light.

The alabaster and gold mantle clock tinkled six o'clock and broke the spell. Anna snapped back to the present and, realising that time was pressing, pulled out the solicitor's letter and re-read it although she nearly knew the words by heart. She looked around for a little writing table upon which should be an open book. There it was, almost underneath the chandelier. It was a staged tableau – the bureau must have been moved to that spot especially for her visit as she could see indentations in the carpet near the window where it usually stood.

She absently smoothed out the creases in the letter on the desktop and read on. It informed her that dear Uncle Jacob had passed away and that according to his last will and testament his entire estate and not inconsiderable fortune would pass to his only son and heir Karl. All except for the crystal chandelier at present hanging in the front reception room which was, in its entirety, with all additions and alterations and internal fixtures, bequeathed to her. It had seemed to her that it was an overly detailed description and had mentioned it to the solicitor who had only said that her Uncle had insisted it had been worded in that way. That perhaps Jacob wanted to ensure that it was hers in its entirety and that its ownership could not be easily contested at any time in the future.

Lastly the will stated that she would find a letter addressed to her from Jacob on top of an open book, also hers to keep, on the desk.

Anna's hands shook as she picked up the letter and wondered why the book underneath was about the Romanov's fabulous Faberge egg collection and opened at the page showing descriptions of the three eggs that had been lost.

Opening the letter she began to read the shaky gothic script of dear Uncle, of his happy memories and his fond farewells to her as he knew he was dying and that this would be his final message to her . . .

'You may wonder dear child, why I have bequeathed you such an odd object as the chandelier when I have so many other things of wealth and beauty that I know you, with your sensitive soul and great love of beauty, might appreciate more in this modern world. But, you know, this chandelier has a secret, the uncovering of which could be worth as much as twenty million.
I have chosen you as benefactor of such wealth because your visionary research in the field of genetics deserves some 'Pennies from Heaven'.
Why did I not just donate the monies in the ordinary way? Well both you and I used to love solving problems did we not? This is your ultimate challenge my dear. Solve this puzzle and the prize could be immense – money enough to perhaps find the medical breakthrough of the century?
Jacob'

Alternate waves of shock and excitement coursed through Anna. How like Jacob. Yes she loved a challenge and yes she would find the answer. She must inspect the chandelier. She now realised that the over-long reference in the will was a clue to the mystery.

She jumped to her feet, kicked off her shoes and, standing on the chair by the desk, examined the underside of the chandelier. The central boss was extremely ornate, dome shaped and of gold with inlays of pale cream enamel and . . . jewels? she could not quite see. Taking her handkerchief out of her pocket she polished the ornament until the cloth snagged on a tiny unseen hinge and the bauble opened. A small gold object fell to the floor.

Trembling with excitement she jumped down and picked it up. It was a small golden chicken with a blue sapphire pendant. It could be one of the lost Faberge eggs once presented to the Empress by the Tsar.

Anna smiled. Could it really be 'Pennies from Heaven' or 'Don't count your chickens before they are hatched?'