Deadlight Hall (Nell West/Michael Flint #5)(8)

‘Well, what do you think? And are you staying to supper? I made a huge lasagne this afternoon, so there’s plenty.’

‘Anyone who can keep Wilberforce still for long enough to photograph him – never mind finding him in the first place – is welcome to shoot an entire album of photographs,’ said Michael wrathfully. ‘And yes, I’d like to stay to supper, please. Where’s Beth?’

‘Bashing out scales with her music teacher. She hates scales, but she loves the second part of the lesson when she’s allowed to try one of the simpler Mozart pieces. She’ll be back by eight. We’ll save her some lasagne.’

Later, over the lasagne, she said, ‘How was the professor’s haunted house?’

‘A bit odd.’ Michael had been looking forward to being with Nell – to the familiar comfort of the little house behind her shop – but he discovered he did not want to talk about the small strange shadow he had seen. Instead he said, ‘I might see if I can unearth any details about it. It’d be interesting to research its history.’

‘I’ve been doing some researching,’ said Nell.

‘The professor’s silver golem?’ Michael was instantly interested.

‘Yes. I’ve had a discussion with Henry Jessel at Silver Edges. He’s got dozens of books on hallmarks – it took ages to track the golem’s markings down, and even then Henry couldn’t be absolutely sure about its place of origin. Apparently hallmarks struck in Central Europe – Bavaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary – Bohemia, if you like – can be confusing. There were so many wars and the borders kept changing, so extra marks were sometimes struck on items from other countries. That means you often get a plurality of marks, and it’s not always easy to know which one to trust. That’s what seems to have happened with the golem. Henry says we’ll probably have to take the professor’s word that it was made in Prague.’

‘Could you tell when it was actually made?’

‘It’s stamped as 1780, and there’s a figure of fifteen over the top, which indicates it’s a very pure silver.’

‘Valuable, then.’

‘Yes, I think so, but I’m waiting for Ashby’s pronouncement on that. They’d be more than happy to include it in their next sale, by the way.’

‘Of course they would. Did you say you’d taken photographs? Can I see them?’

‘Yes, of course,’ said Nell, pleased at his interest.

‘It’s an extraordinary object,’ said Michael, as she laid the photos on the table. ‘But it’s rather attractive.’

‘I think it’s quite endearing. A bit like a silver version of a child’s teddy bear. But,’ said Nell, ‘here’s one rather curious thing. The professor told me about a legendary golem crafted in Prague in the sixteenth century. Ashby’s knew about that. They said quite a number of figures were later made in Prague – I think as a kind of echo, or even homage, to the sixteenth-century tale. But there were two in particular – an exact pair – made in Prague in the late 1700s, said to have been valuable.’ She paused to drink the wine Michael had poured. ‘Both those figures vanished in the early 1940s. Ashby’s won’t commit themselves until they see Professor Rosendale’s figure, but they think it might be one of that vanished pair. They’ve got some correspondence on it – they’re going to send me copies.’

Michael said, ‘That date’s significant, isn’t it? Could the figures have been smuggled out during the Second World War? Or even looted by the Nazis? No, that’s not very likely is it? The Nazis wouldn’t be likely to seize such a very Jewish symbol. Or would they?’

‘The Nazis squirrelled away a huge amount of paintings and silver and whatnot. I wouldn’t discount anything. But don’t you see that it begs the question—’

‘If Leo Rosendale owns one of the vanished pair, how does he come to own it?’

‘Exactly. I do like not having to spell things out to you,’ said Nell. ‘And the other question, of course, is what happened to the second figure.’

‘I wonder if the professor knows.’ Michael was still studying the photographs. ‘Is this the hallmark?’

‘Yes, I took several close-ups. That’s the date, as you can see, and a figure fifteen indicating the purity of the silver. And—’

‘What’s that?’ Michael interrupted, indicating a small symbol on the side of the main hallmark, set a little apart. ‘It doesn’t look as if it’s part of the hallmark.’

‘No, in fact it looks as if it was added much later – a bit amateurishly, as well. I thought about asking Professor Rosendale if he knew what it was, but—’

‘He’s a bit defensive about the figure?’ said Michael.

‘You noticed that, too? Yes. But Henry didn’t know what it was and we couldn’t find it in any of the reference books. I’m hoping Ashby’s will recognize it.’

‘I recognize it,’ said Michael. He was staring at the small symbol, which was a little like three vertical branches jutting up from a horizontal line.

‘You do? What is it?’

‘I don’t know. But the exact same symbol is carved on a wall inside Deadlight Hall.’