27
IN WHICH I TAKE CHARGE
Mr. Stark said, as soon as the door had shut behind the others, “I did say that it was a woman’s prerogative to change her mind, but really, you know, after the man’s come all the way down here?”
“I haven’t changed my mind about selling the necklace,” I said.
“What, then? Surely it’s more convenient to handle this here and now rather than having to take the train up to the City again on Monday.”
I said, “The time is different in New York, is it not? What time is it there now?”
Mr. Stark looked at his watch. “Three-thirty here; six-thirty in New York. Why?”
“And it was after two when you arrived.”
“I’m sorry,” Mr. Stark said, “but I don’t understand what you’re trying to say.”
“How do we know that this man is actually Mr. Penderleigh?”
“I beg your pardon? I called Christie’s, and they directed me to him. ‘Mr. Penderleigh is our expert on historic jewelry,’they told me, and I’ve been corresponding with the man for over six weeks. I’ve spoken to him on the phone three or four times, too. I calledhimto set the appointment date for Monday, and it was Christie’s I called. I realize you’ve been exposed to far more bad behavior than a young woman in the U.S. would have encountered, but I think your imagination’s running away with you, don’t you?”
“Perhaps,” I said. “A pity that it’s too late to call Christie’s on the telephone and confirm that Mr. Penderleigh is indeed here in California now, though. And to ask perhaps about his appearance.”
“Really, Marguerite.” Mr. Stark had lost some of his professional manner and was sounding annoyed now. “What possible reason?—”
“Hear her out, Dad,” Joe said, as he had before. How I did love my husband!
I counted off on my fingers. “First, it seems most odd to me to change an appointment like this—concerning such a lucrative transaction, too—at the last minute, particularly to drive down and catch us unprepared, so the business would be conducted in a … in a rush, when one isn’t thinking in a systematic way. Second, to arriveafterthe time when the New York office will be closed—on a Friday, too! Third, he said, ‘in the hospital,’ not ‘in hospital,’ and ‘on vacation’ rather than ‘on holiday.’ Did you notice this?”
“That’s true,” Joe said.
“He works in the States,” Mr. Stark said. “Of course he’s picked up some American phrases.”
“Fourth—” I held up my thumb and three fingers. “How did he count on his fingers?”
“Pardon?” Mr. Stark said blankly.
“Earlier. He counted thus: index finger, middle finger, ring finger. But Europeans and the British do not count this way. We begin with the thumb.”
Joe said, “You’re right. Hedidcount like that. I haven’t spent enough time with the Brits to know, but?—”
“English people could count differently than German people, surely,” Mr. Stark said.
“They could,” I said, “but my nanny and my governess counted as I did. One doesn’t do such a thing, ah,bewusst?”
“Consciously,” Joe said.
“Yes. One doesn’t do this consciously. One counts as one has always done, and doesn’t think twice. And for an antiquities expert to be a lieutenant on a warship, even in Britain during wartime; this I find difficult to believe. Even if it were so, what does a military officer know of drains? And to be so handsome, so charming! Were you not expecting an older man? Perhaps rather short and without hair, and dry in his manner? Oh, by itself,” I went on, when Mr. Stark opened his mouth to object, “this would not signify. But taken altogether, I believe we must ask him to identify himself.”
“Or,” Joe said, “we could just wait until Monday at one.InDad’s office.Withidentification.”
“Yes,”I said with relief. “Yes, this is better, and much less awkward. And also, please, Mr. Stark, will you call Christie’s on Monday morning and ask them? I can apologize, then, if I’ve been overly cautious.”
“I suppose we could just ask him for identification here and now,” Mr. Stark said. “I can’t get past this: how would he even know about the necklace, and what time the appointment was for? How would he have my telephone number, and know the history of the necklace? He did refer to your parents, you know, and to Napoleon and Josephine, too, on the drive down.”
“I don’t know,” I said slowly. “I can imagine a few ways, though. Such a jewel as the necklace will have been much discussed, I suppose? I will merely say that I feel uneasy. It’s amost valuable necklace, you know, worth any amount of trouble to steal.”
“But it’s insured, of course,” Mr. Stark said.
