Page 6 of Black and Silver

“I am about to depart London,” Lawrence said, reaching across to shake Loesser’s hand. “You might not be able to reach me for a few weeks, until I arrive at Godwin Castle after returning Lady Minerva Llewellyn her to her home kingdom.”

“My lady,” Loesser greeted Lady Minerva with a nod and a smile.

Lady Minerva smiled briefly at him, then returned to looking around the front room of the office, which was filled with various artwork.

“About this Hamburg offer,” Lawrence said.

“Yes, I knew you’d be interested,” Loesser said with a wink. “It’s for one of the more progressive galleries in the city. They wish to do an entire exhibition of your work.”

“That’s splendid,” Lawrence said, beaming. “I suppose if one cannot be appreciated in his own country, the next best thing is to gain a following somewhere else.”

“It certainly is,” Loesser said. “And they’re willing to pay a pretty penny for the privilege of displaying your art, and perhaps selling a few pieces, if the opportunity arises.”

“I would be amenable to that,” Lawrence said. “Whatever of mine that you do not already have in your storerooms, I could have fetched for you from my studio in Winchester.”

“Perfect,” Loesser said. He then pinched his face and added, “There’s only one complication.”

“Oh?”

Lawrence glanced to the side at Lady Minerva’s sudden intake of breath. He was more than a little alarmed to find one of his own, particularly erotic sculptures sitting out on a table near the window. Whatever hope Lawrence had that Lady Minerva had spotted whatever she’d been looking for outside the window and that that was what had caused her gasp was thwarted when he saw her clap a hand to her mouth as she looked at the carved man and woman in a particularly amorous embrace in marble form.

“The gentleman in Hamburg remembers a particular sculpture of yours,” Loesser went on, either not seeing Lady Minerva’s reaction or being so accustomed to the shock of ladies over art that he paid it no mind. “Primavera in Splendor.”

Lawrence snapped his attention away from Lady Minerva and stared with wide eyes, face heating, at Loesser.

“Primavera in Splendor?” he asked, his voice hoarse and cracking.

“Yes,” Loesser said with a knowing smirk. “It’s one of your finest works.”

“I, er, thank you?”

“The Hamburg gentleman is interested in purchasing it from you after the gallery show. For a thousand guineas.”

“My God!” Lady Minerva gasped, twisting to face him.

“A thousand guineas?” Lawrence repeated. “For that old thing?”

“It seems he has never forgotten it, even though he first laid eyes on it ten years ago,” Loesser said. “Do you think you can procure it for him?”

Lawrence was silent for a long time, thinking about it. He would have loved nothing more than to rid the island of Britannia of that particular statue, and the memories behind it, forever. If he’d had it in his possession, he would have sent for it at once. He might have even given it the Hamburg gentleman for no price at all, just so that he would never see it again. Or more importantly, that its current owner would never see it again.

“The work in question is not in my possession at the moment,” he said carefully.

“I know,” Loesser said, grinning. “Lady Wimpole still has it, doesn’t she.”

Lawrence swallowed tightly. “She does, though she has remarried and is no longer Lady Wimpole.”

Loesser shrugged. “So get it back from her, whatever she’s called these days,” he said. “Something tells me she wouldn’t put up that much of a fuss, if she even still has it. Especially if she’s remarried. If her new husband even knows the statue exists, I bet he’d be grateful to be rid of it as well.”

“Indeed,” Lawrence said.

“Where does this former Lady Wimpole live?” Lady Minerva asked, coming forward, even though part of Lawrence wished she hadn’t.

“Er, Wiltshire,” Lawrence said.

“How convenient,” Lady Minerva said. “Wiltshire is on the way to Wales. We could stop at no-longer-Lady Wimpole’s house and ask for the statue back.”

“Yes, we could,” Lawrence said, slowly and reluctantly.

---