Property of a Noblewoman (8 page)

“My boss speaks to yours,” Phillip explained. “We make a bid to sell the pieces, negotiate our fee, and discuss the catalog with them. If they like what we have to say, they consign the pieces to us, and we put them in our next Magnificent Jewel sale, probably in May, September, or December, right before the holidays. We would do a whole section about her with some of the photographs, and try to make it sound romantic and appealing, and then we sell them, take our portion of the hammer price from the seller and the buyer, and turn the rest over to the state. It’s pretty straightforward, unless an heir shows up of course, but it doesn’t sound like that’s going to happen, from what you’ve said.” She had told him about going to the nursing home and the countess’s old apartment building in the city, while he was photographing the jewelry for his files, so he could show his boss what kind of story they could build in the catalog, even though she wasn’t well known. But a “Countess” had some magic to it, and the jewels spoke for themselves. He didn’t need to make a hard sell.

“None of it will probably happen before I go back to school,” she said quietly, thinking about it. “I’ll have to keep an eye out for the auction, or maybe someone could let me know.” She had taken a personal interest in this, and he could see it.

“You should come to the auction. A sale like this will be very exciting.”

“Will you be the auctioneer?” She was curious about him.

“I doubt it. This sale will be too important. It will be part of a bigger sale, but it will certainly be one of the highlights. Important jewelers and collectors will be bidding from all over the world on the phone, and some of them will be in the room. It would be quite an experience for you to see it.” And opportunities like this wouldn’t come her way often.

She was pensive before she answered. “I think it might make me too sad.” He was touched by what she said. She really cared about this woman, although she had never known her. “It seems so heartbreaking that she died alone, with no family around her.” Phillip nodded, not sure what to say, as they left the bank together. The rain had finally stopped.

“Can I give you a lift?” he offered as he hailed a cab.

“No, thanks. I’ll take the subway back to the office. I’ll tell my boss that Christie’s would be interested in selling the pieces at auction. I’m sure she’ll call you.”

“If she doesn’t, I’ll call her. I might anyway. We wouldn’t want this sale to get away from us,” he said, as he opened the door of the cab.

“Thank you for coming,” she said politely, and he smiled as he closed the door and waved as they drove off. He had been bowled over by everything he’d seen that morning – the jewels, and the girl.

WHEN PHILLIP GOT
back to the office, he had to get ready for the jewelry sale they were doing at noon, and he only had half an hour to prepare. It was not an important sale, and was listed under the heading “Fine Jewels,” which was a far cry from the “Magnificent Jewels” he had just seen, in a whole other category. And he realized he would have to discuss them with his superiors after the noon auction. He didn’t have time now to do them justice, and he wanted to show them the photographs he’d taken.

The sale he ran at noon went smoothly, but took longer than expected, and it was four-thirty before he walked into the office of the head of the jewelry department. Ed Barlowe was looking over a list of the hammer prices from that afternoon and seemed pleased. He glanced up at Phillip.

“Nice sale,” he commented, as he set the list down on his desk. “What’s up?” he asked, pointing to a chair and inviting Phillip to sit down.

“I looked at an abandoned estate today with a clerk of the surrogate’s court. It’s a collection of extraordinary pieces, all by major jewelers,” he said quietly, as he handed Ed the photographs he had just printed out, and he watched Ed’s face as he sifted through them, examining each one. He looked startled when he glanced back at Phillip.

“Are these pieces as good as they look?”

“Better. The photographs don’t do them justice,” Phillip said calmly. It was the first time he’d enjoyed working in the department in two years. This was like discovering oil, or finding gold. Even if they weren’t his, it was exciting to be part of it, and hopefully have a role to play in the sale.

“Do we know the provenance?” his boss asked him.

“We have a name, and some photographs. She was a young American girl who was married to an Italian count from 1942 till 1965. Probably a young heiress. She died without money or heirs. All she had were the jewels, which the bank discovered when they drilled open the box.”

“Is everything in order?” Ed asked with concern. “Were all the time restrictions respected?”

“Diligently. The box was abandoned three years ago, the bank drilled it open after thirteen months and sent a registered letter in the right time frame. They waited two years after that, notified the surrogate’s court, and they’ve placed ads to locate the heirs. None have turned up. I saw all the records myself.”

“Good.” Ed seemed pleased, as he sat behind his desk, an enormous antique partner’s desk that Christie’s had purchased years before. “I don’t want slip-ups with pieces like this. Why don’t you call the clerk of the court and discuss our fees with them, just so everything is clear? I’d like to schedule it for the May sale. There’s still time to photograph them. We can just squeak under the wire, and get these into the catalog. Make sure you call her right away.”

“I’ll take care of it first thing tomorrow morning,” Phillip assured him, and left Ed’s office with the Pignelli file in his hand. It was too late to call them today, it was after five, and as a government office, he knew they’d be closed.

He was tempted to call Jane to tell her, but it would be improper to discuss it with her before they came to an agreement with Harriet, so it would have to wait, although he hoped their paths would cross again.

And the next day, as he had promised Ed he would, he called Harriet, per Jane’s suggestion, had a frank discussion with her, said they were interested in selling the pieces, and quoted their fees of ten percent from the seller on the hammer price, with the rest of the proceeds going to the state. And the cost of photography for the catalog would have to be paid for by the surrogate’s court, which didn’t surprise Harriet, she was used to it, since they put items up for auction all the time. He told her they would want to use some of the photographs of the countess in the catalog, to help hype the sale, if Harriet didn’t mind. She didn’t care, it was fine with her. And she promised to get back to him with a decision by the end of the week. He told her that they were a little pressed for time, to get the items into the catalog for the May sale. She said she’d see what she could do, and Phillip wondered if she’d shop it around and get quotes from Sotheby’s too, but Jane had said it would be unlikely, since Harriet had suggested Christie’s herself. So all he could do now was wait for their answer, and hope the surrogate’s court placed the items with them. They’d be a fabulous addition to any sale.

He still hadn’t heard from them on Friday, but didn’t want to push, and he decided to wait until Monday to call Harriet again, although Ed inquired about it on Friday afternoon.

Phillip spent the weekend on his boat, as usual, and dropped by his mother’s apartment on Sunday afternoon on his way home. He wasn’t staying for dinner, since Valerie had told him she was going to dinner with friends. Someone else had invited her to the ballet, and she’d declined.

She poured tea for both of them, and they spent a few minutes together before she had to leave. She was already dressed for the evening, and looked very nice in jeans and a heavy black sweater, with heels, and she was wearing makeup.

“How did your week go?” she asked him with interest, and he told her about the jewelry he had seen, and Christie’s wanting to include it in a sale. He told her he hadn’t had an answer from the clerk of the surrogate’s court yet, but was planning to pursue it again the next day.

“The jewelry must be impressive if Christie’s wants to sell it,” Valerie said, finishing her tea. And then he remembered the coincidence of names.

“The woman’s maiden name is the same as yours, by the way,” he said with amusement, “though I doubt we’re related to this woman,” he added, and she nodded.

“It’s a pretty common name. I’m afraid we don’t have any relatives who’d own that kind of jewelry, although it would be nice if we did.” She smiled at him, but they both knew that she wasn’t dazzled by it, and money was never a strong motivating force to her, particularly other people’s. His mother had never been a greedy woman, and had always been satisfied with what she had.

“I think the prices on this sale will go through the roof. The pieces are incredibly beautiful, with big stones of high quality. It’s going to be an exciting sale, if the court lets us have it.”

“I’m sure they will. Why wouldn’t they?” Valerie said reassuringly as she stood up. “Now I have to go.”

“You never know. They might get a better deal from another auction house.”

“I hope not,” she said loyally.

He thought for a second about telling her about meeting Jane, but he felt stupid doing it. He’d probably never see Jane again. So he stood up, hugged his mother and kissed her good-bye, and promised to call her soon.

“Have fun tonight,” he said as she closed the door and he got in the elevator.

The next morning he called Harriet Fine again. She apologized for not getting back to him. She had been waiting for clearance from her own supervisors to proceed with the sale, and she had just gotten it an hour before.

“It’s a go,” she said quietly. “They’ve accepted your terms for the sale.”

“That’s fantastic!” Phillip said, sounding excited. “I’d like to pick up the pieces in the next few days, so we can photograph them for the catalog. May I have your authorization for the bank?”

“I’ll take care of it right away,” Harriet assured him. “I’ll notify the bank. Will you pick them up yourself?”

“Yes. I’ll probably bring a security guard with me, with a town car. After that, should I keep them in our safe at Christie’s pending the sale, or do you want them returned to the court?” It all sounded like a headache she didn’t want or need, and this was much bigger than any sale she’d dealt with before. And Christie’s was certainly reliable and trustworthy to keep the jewels in their vault until the sale.

“I’d prefer that you keep them until the auction. I’ll send a clerk over to ensure that the transfer goes smoothly the day you pick them up. Just let me know when you plan to do it.” He thought about it for a moment and checked his calendar before he spoke. The following morning was clear.

“Would tomorrow be too soon?” he asked hesitantly. “I could be there when the bank opens at nine.” And with luck, he could get them to the photographer by ten, so they could get started.

“That will be fine. I’ll have the clerk bring all the documents and photographs back to us, but the jewelry is yours.” He knew Ed Barlowe would be pleased.

“I’ll want to reproduce some of those old photographs,” he reminded her.

“That’s fine,” she said simply. There were no family members to object, and it seemed all right to her, if it would help the sale. This was all about business now, for the state. She was always diligent about defending their interests. “I’ll have my clerk at the bank at nine,” she confirmed, and a moment later she walked into Jane’s office, and told her she had to be at the bank the next morning, to collect the documents from the safe deposit box, and observe the transfer of the jewels to the representative from Christie’s. Jane wondered if it would be Phillip again – she wasn’t sure and didn’t want to ask. She had liked talking to him, and examining Marguerite’s jewels and photographs with him, and she liked the idea of seeing him again, if it worked out that way. If not, that was all right too. And from what Harriet had said, she gathered that the Christie’s sale was moving forward.

She mentioned it to John that night. He had finished another paper, and had a hamburger with her at a nearby diner, before going back to the library to do some more work. She felt like they hadn’t had a decent conversation or dinner together in weeks. Instead of catching up on each other’s news at dinner, she had the sense that they had become disconnected. It was an unhappy feeling, and all she could hope now was that their relationship would come back to life in June. It was the light at the end of the tunnel, and until then, she was trying to be patient and supportive. He was like a phantom roommate.

But in three and a half months it would be over. She could hardly wait for their life to pick up where it had left off. He was beginning to seem like a stranger. And he didn’t seem interested when she told him the jewels she had been mentioning were being put up for auction at Christie’s. They were just too far from anything he cared about, and not on his radar screen at all. He went back to the library after dinner, and she went home, wishing that their relationship was still the same as it had been six months before, but it just wasn’t. He seemed less and less connected to her every day.

He was still sleeping soundly when Jane left the apartment and took the subway downtown the next morning. She got to the bank just as Phillip Lawton got out of a town car with a driver. She noticed that there was a security guard in the front seat. Phillip was wearing a blazer and slacks, a crisp blue shirt, and a good-looking dark blue Hermès tie, under a well-cut navy overcoat, and he seemed pleased to see her. They stood chatting outside the bank for a few minutes, waiting for the doors to open. They had both arrived five minutes early.

“It sounds like everything’s on track for the sale at Christie’s,” Jane said as she smiled at him. She was wearing a short gray skirt and a pea coat, and she was fresh and bright in the morning sun, as her neatly brushed hair hung past her shoulders. And he noticed that she was wearing small gold earrings.

The doors of the bank opened, and Phillip motioned to the Christie’s security guard to join them. He had brought two large leather cases to put the jewels in, and the guard from Christie’s followed them inside and down to the safe deposit boxes.