The Last Little Blue Envelope Read Online Free PDF Page B

no doubt that he meant what he said. If she walked away from this now, he would go away, and that would be it. Forever.
    She stood up.

The Devil’s Bargain
    “It’s an absolute pleasure to see you, of course,” Cecil Gage-Rathbone said. “ So happy that you got in touch. Do come through. Coffee? Tea? Something else?”
    The offices of Jerrlyn and Wise were richly but tastefully decorated for the holiday. A large tree decked in silver and gold horns and sugared fruit sat in the corner, and various holiday-oriented antiques dotted the room. Cecil looked exactly the same as before, and like everything else around this building, he had been expensively decorated. There was the artfully arranged and unmoving hair, another flawlessly tailored suit, silver cufflinks gleaming at his wrists.
    “I’ll have a cup of tea,” Oliver said.
    Ginny shook her head tersely. She felt like she was being kidnapped and was afraid to speak, to say the wrong word.
    “Could you bring us some tea, James?” Cecil said, to a man sitting at a desk in the hall.
    The Jerrlyn and Wise building looked like it was an old house built sometime around the 1800s. Cecil’s office was a small room, probably an old pantry, with an entire wall of built-in shelving for cups and plates. This had been reappropriated to display antique silver spoons and a collection of auction catalogs. The walls had been hung with massive gilt-framed pictures of things like shipwrecks and drooling dogs and pale children, bringing disaster, rabies, and anemia to every inch of the space. There was just enough room in between these disasters for his massive mahogany desk and two wingback chairs.
    “Please,” he said, ushering them into the room. “Please, have a seat. And I don’t think we’ve properly met, though we spoke on the telephone.”
    He extended his hand to Oliver, who shook it confidently. Ginny began to understand why he was so dressed up. He had been prepared for this meeting.
    “Virginia, I hope you’ve been keeping well.”
    “I’m great,” Ginny said. The words caught her in throat a bit. She sank into the chair closest to the door.
    Cecil settled into his chair and assumed his version of a casual position. “You’ve come about another piece of Margaret’s? I’m delighted to hear about this, of course. The success of the previous sale combined with the obviously limited availability of the artwork . . .”
    This was a polite way of saying, “Your aunt is dead, so she can’t paint anymore, and that makes the price go up.”
    “And Mr. Davies . . . were you involved with Margaret’s work in some way, or are you . . .”
    “I’m a friend of Ginny’s,” Oliver said. “I’m helping.”
    Ginny dug her nails into the arms of the chair.
    “I see,” Cecil said. “So, have you come here today with the new work?”
    “The piece can be delivered just after the New Year,” Oliver said. “Say, on the second? And we’d like to sell it immediately. The next day if possible.”
    For just an instant, Cecil looked surprised. There was a flicker of movement in the eyebrow region, which Ginny suspected was highly Botoxed.
    “That doesn’t leave us much time to photograph it and show it to the interested parties. It would be better if we could wait a few weeks.”
    “We’d prefer to do it quickly,” Oliver said.
    “Well,” he said slowly, “of course, we can do things that way, if you wish. The element of surprise might work in our favor. And this is what you want, Virginia?”
    This was her chance to tell him exactly what was going on. But Oliver would simply get up and walk away, along with her letter.
    “Yes,” she lied. “That’s what I want.”
    “Well.” Cecil adjusted the position of a notepad on his desk. “In that case, please tell me all about the piece. I have to know what I’m selling.”
    “I think it’s best if you see it,” Oliver said. “It’s a bit hard to describe.”
    There was a subtle knock, and James entered