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But how could that be possible? Who was the leak? Isaac kept asking, astonished, and he looked on the verge of collapse, despite Anyu’s assurance that Mrs. Brown appeared to have everything under control, the vault was safe, and her retrieval of the egg was only a precaution.

As soon as they reached the workshop, Anyu looked around for a hiding place. The safe was too obvious.

At night, while the house was asleep, Anyu used her knife to cut out two bricks from the wall near her workbench. With Isaac’s help, she built a hidden niche and placed the box that contained the Fabergé egg inside. Then she slid the two bricks back into the wall, concealing the niche.

It was not the safest place, but it was the only viable option for the moment. And only two people in the world knew where the Winter Egg was. She and Isaac.

Two days later, Anyu was working in the workshop when Isaac told her Mrs. Brown had important messages for them and asked to see them at her mansion.

It was raining again. The taxi they took moved slowly, and it was difficult to see anything through the windows.

Then the rain stopped, and the taxi honked at every turn.

The driver, a young man with a cigarette in his mouth, cursed, muttering something about the Japanese soldiers flooding the streets.

“Where are they?” she asked. She had been working all day inside the workshop and rarely paid attention to the people outside.

“You don’t see them? They’re everywhere!

” He took out his cigarette and pointed at some figures exiting a two-story restaurant with two women in flowery dresses.

“They’re dancing with our women and taking them to their beds, bribing them with money and dresses.

They are a bad influence. Yesterday, they got into a fight with a few gangsters and shot them! They’re going to take over Shanghai!”

She gazed out the window. It was true that among the pedestrians were many Japanese soldiers in uniforms. She thought of Confucius and hoped he was not entangled with the agitators.

His absence had made her change course and return to Isaac, for which she was grateful, but she also longed to see him again.

“They can’t take over Shanghai,” she said.

But she remembered what she had read in the newspaper.

The Japanese Kwantung Army, which rumors said had assassinated the warlord Zhang, had invaded Manchuria last year, driven out the Young Marshal’s army, and established a puppet state of Manchukuo, with the last emperor of the collapsed Qing Dynasty, Puyi, as the emperor.

“I wonder if Mrs. Brown has news about Mr. Walters,” Anyu said, changing the subject.

“She might. Samuel was asking about Mr. Walters, too,” Isaac said.

“Samuel is very concerned about him, isn’t he?”

The driver grumbled and finally stopped at Mrs. Brown’s mansion, guarded by four men wearing raincoats. They recognized Isaac and waved them in.

Mrs. Brown was waiting for them in her emerald living room. She had tea and biscuits ready, but she was pacing and deep in thought. After a brief exchange of pleasantries, she asked, “Anyu, Isaac said you believed there was a leak. How did you know?”

Anyu mentioned her conversation with Bellefeuille and said, “I confess it was only a hunch because you’re a prudent woman, and you won’t make an announcement until you are certain who the leak is.”

Mrs. Brown sighed. “I still haven’t discovered who.”

Mr. Lebedev? Mr. Tang? Mr. Petrov?

“Did you find Mr. Walters?” Anyu asked.

“I did.”

“Where was he?”

“In the river.”

Isaac let out a sigh. He had been weighed down by stress since Anyu’s visit to the vault.

“I received a phone call from the police this morning and identified him,” Mrs. Brown said.

“Do the others know?” Isaac asked.

“I’ve phoned Mr. Lebedev, Mr. Tang, and Mr. Petrov and warned them of the leak.

They were all in shock, as you can imagine.

I’d like to reiterate that the police in the Settlement are investigating this case; they will leave no stone unturned.

Whoever the perpetrator is, Mr. Du or his gangsters, I guarantee they’ll be held responsible. ”

“I worry about your safety, Mrs. Brown,” Anyu said quietly.

The British lady smiled and gestured to her bodyguards in the corners.

Anyu took a deep breath. “In an unthinkable event, Mrs. Brown, what is your plan for the vault?”

Mrs. Brown looked at her, and Anyu could see the lady had given careful thought to the Guild’s treasures.

“I have it on lockdown for the moment. You won’t be able to enter.

As soon as I find a safe place, I’ll arrange a transfer.

In the meantime, I apologize, but the Guild won’t be able to fill your order of gemstones.

You may have to make do with what you have for a while. ”

Anyu nodded. She had enough gemstones to work with for the next six months, but finding a safe place for all those diamond crowns and treasures ... It was easier said than done.

When Anyu and Isaac left the gate of Mrs. Brown’s mansion, the sun had come out.

A flock of doves squawked and flew to the roof of another building on the street.

Anyu looked up. Under the roof, near the window of the second floor, a man wearing a military uniform and a cap was holding a pair of binoculars, looking straight ahead of him—at Mrs. Brown’s mansion.

She would bet that he was not watching birds.

For days, Anyu tried not to dwell on the Guild’s crisis and immersed herself in jewelry making.

One evening, she finished smoking and entered the workshop.

She paused abruptly—Samuel, in front of her workbench, slipped something into his pocket.

Startled, he bolted out. Frowning, Anyu went to the packaged stack of the Good Love sets to be delivered to her clients the next day and counted the boxes.

One was missing. A box that contained a brooch.

She ran into the dim showroom. Samuel was already outside. “Samuel! Wait!”

He had ducked into a taxi.

Anyu debated about what to do. He had taken the brooch, and she had to get it back. Holding her purse, she hailed a car to follow him.

Ahead of her, Samuel stopped at a grand hotel, the Sassoon House, and entered the building.

Anyu had never come here before, but her clients admired it, saying it was more luxurious than the Majestic Hotel.

It looked elegant with checkered marble floors, crystal chandeliers, and large blue porcelain vases holding bouquets of fresh flowers.

Pleasant music played somewhere, and some guests sat on a rose-red chesterfield, smoking.

She found Samuel in a restaurant, leaning over a woman wearing a silver hair band. The woman looked familiar, but Anyu couldn’t remember where she had seen her.

Samuel looked enthralled, holding her hand with one hand, and gave her the box that contained the brooch. He looked glorious, his eyes tender, eager, and his face lit golden by the light from the chandelier. He was smitten with this woman.

In the lobby, Anyu took a Lucky Strike from her purse and began to smoke. She was about to finish the packet when Samuel appeared.

“Samuel,” she called out quietly.

He frowned but came over. “Did you follow me?”

“Who’s the girl?”

“Which girl?”

“Samuel. I saw you with her.”

“Miss Rose. If you really want to know. What are you doing here?”

“You took the brooch. I need it back.”

“What brooch?”

“The one you gave her.”

“I didn’t give her anything!”

People were looking at them. Anyu thought, belatedly, that she should not have asked for the brooch. Samuel was twenty-seven years old, and he needed a girl more than anything. There were other ways she could help him. She stood up and left the hotel without a word.

In the workshop, Anyu worked until dawn to finish another brooch for her client. She would pay for the gold and diamonds from her own pocket. She didn’t tell Isaac about Samuel or his clandestine meeting in the hotel.

A few days later, Isaac came into the workshop asking if she was prepared to participate in the annual jewelry competition.

Mrs. Brown, still investigating Mr. Walters’s murder, had received a message from the representatives of the queen of England, Queen Mary, a collector of jewelry, who asked for three brooches as gifts for the governor and his staff in Hong Kong.

The winner would be chosen by the queen, and the commission was six thousand dollars.

Anyu no longer sought prestige or commissions, having already earned plenty of both, but she looked at Samuel. “Would you be interested in competing?”

Samuel glanced at her and his father. “I’ll pass. I won’t be able to win.”

“What do you say we design the piece together? I’ll be the chief designer, and you will be my assistant. If we win, you’ll be recognized for your skill. You’ll be a master jeweler.”

“That’s a wonderful idea!” Isaac exclaimed.

“But, Father—”

“By the way, Samuel, Mrs. Brown was at a party with Miss Rose the other day. She showed her a Good Love brooch and said it was a gift from you. How come you didn’t tell me?” Isaac asked.

Samuel put down his chasing hammer, his face pale.

“He told me,” Anyu said. “He asked me and I said yes. I forgot to list the item and report it to you. Sorry.” If Isaac discovered Samuel’s deceit, he would not forgive him.

“It’s very generous of you. I didn’t know you were acquainted with her.” Isaac nodded.

She could feel Samuel’s gaze drill into her. She got up to smoke. In the kitchen, the aunts were washing cabbages. Anyu opened the back door and went into the alley. She had just put a cigarette into her mouth when Samuel appeared beside her.

“Cigarette?” Anyu asked.

He took it from her, and Anyu struck a match to light it for him.

“You smoke too much. You’re too thin. Do you sleep at all?” he said.

“Be nice to me, Samuel. If I don’t smoke, I can’t make jewelry, and I’ll die.”

Samuel inhaled. “Why did you lie for me?”