Georgia followed, realising that she’d been prioritised given the size of the stone. There was no other way to explain the sudden interest.
‘I’m happy to leave it here, or to pay whatever’s required for an appraisal, but I thought?—’
‘I’m sorry, what was your name?’ the woman asked, waving an older man over.
‘Georgia,’ she said. ‘Georgia Montano.’
‘Ms Montano,’ she said, gesturing to the man who’d appeared. ‘I’d like you to meet Thomas Kent. He’s our most experienced appraiser of rare and antique jewellery.’
‘How can I be of assistance, Ms Montano?’ he asked, looking puzzled as to why he’d been called over with such urgency in the first place.
The woman backed away, leaving Georgia with Thomas. ‘I was just explaining that I have this stone in my possession, something that has been passed down to me from a grandparent. After viewing your collection yesterday, I thought it was worth bringing it here for an appraisal.’
She placed the gem on her palm again and Thomas took a soft cotton glove from his pocket, putting it on before reaching out.
‘May I?’
Georgia passed the stone to him, watching as he turned it back and forth in his fingers.
‘This is a large stone, Ms Montano. Do you know the authenticity of it?’
‘I know nothing of its history or even what type of stone it might be.’ She cleared her throat. ‘If it’s not of any value, I understand you won’t want to spend time appraising it, but if it is valuable then I’d very much like to entrust you with its sale.’
He kept hold of it, turning it into the light. Georgia felt a pang of regret then, as if perhaps she should have simply asked for a valuation and then had it reset into a piece of jewellery she could wear herself. But she pushed those thoughts away as she saw the furrow of the man’s brow, imagining that he was perhaps trying to establish whether it was worthless or not.
‘I suggest you come with me and fill out some paperwork,’ he said. ‘We have a busy few days ahead with the auction tonight, but I’ll complete a report just as soon as I can, and perhaps we could aim to include it in our next catalogue?’
Georgia nodded, surprised he was offering to appraise it so promptly. ‘Thank you. I appreciate your assistance.’
She followed him to an office and filled out her details, watching as he photographed the stone and made her sign the form beside its size and weight, before telling her she could leave.
Georgia looked at it one last time, and as she walked away, she reached into her bag for the little box that was now empty, rattling around in her too-big bag, wondering if perhaps the stone was more valuable than she’d expected.
It was only an hour later, while she was in a café, when Georgia’s phone rang. She didn’t recognise the number, but answered it anyway.
‘Ms Montano, it’s Thomas Kent here from Christie’s.’
She sighed. He was no doubt calling to tell her that the stone was made of glass. ‘I’m so sorry if you spent time on the stone only to discover that?—’
‘Ms Montano, are you nearby? I was hoping we might be able to discuss this in person.’
‘O-kay,’ she said slowly, wondering why he’d want to see her again. ‘You’re certain you can’t just tell me over the phone?’
‘It would be best if you could come back.’
She found herself nodding, even though he couldn’t see her. ‘Sure. No problem at all. I’ll be back within the hour.’
Georgia ended the call, still staring at her phone, lost in thought when her coffee order was called out. Thankfully, she’d ordered it to go.
It took her almost forty minutes to get back to Christie’s, and when she stepped through the door she knew something had changed. The attendant who’d spoken to her earlier with such disinterest now greeted her by name and ushered her to the back of the building, and to say that Thomas Kent was pleased to see her would have been an understatement.
‘Ah, Ms Montano, thank you for making the trip back.’
‘Georgia, please,’ she said. ‘There’s no need for such formality.’ She smiled and followed him into a room.
There was no sign of the pink stone, until a security guard entered and placed a secure box on the table. Georgia watched in surprise as the guard left, and only once they had the room to themselves did Thomas press numbers into the keypad and open it. It was even more of a shock to see the now-familiar stone sitting there, carefully placed on what looked like a small black cushion.
Georgia looked up and into the older man’s bright blue eyes, which were positively twinkling as he gazed back at her.
