Page 47 of Margins of Love
“Can a little pearl bracelet sway this young lady’s inclination, perhaps?” Arnold tested how much Thompson was holding out for.
His thick belly shook with mirth, his cheap black gown was rustling. “You know my accounts are confidential.”
They sat in the disgusting chairs as if they were upholstered thrones. Fave looked at Arnold tired of hypocritical politeness, but Arnold remained stern, demonstratively holding his gaze on Thompson. Arnold was better at business and Fave had lost patience with the old crook before him.
“This lady will accept my Marvin. But the ton, you see, will expect her to receive an engagement ring.”
Arnold looked at Fave. Gems were his domain.
Fave took a deep breath and pursed his lips, feigning deep thought. “Let me think about this, Mr. Thompson.”
The older man looked at him curiously.
“I have known Marvin since we were schoolboys.” Fave lowered his head. If Thompson was holding on to a name in these piles of filthy papers, he would hold out for his bribe. “I am thinking… is she fair?”
“Blond,” Thompson supplied.
“Yellow gold then,” Fave said, and Thompson nodded, the waddle under his chin shaking like a rooster’s. “A marquis cut if she is slender.”
Arnold held his hand over his mouth to suppress a laugh but made it seem he was thinking along with Fave.
Thompson’s face wrinkled in piles of flabby skin. Then he turned to the window.
“Or round, with a small aquamarine on either side for balance,” Fave said.
“That is good.” Thompson gave a toothless smile.
Arnold rose and signaled to Fave to leave now.
“I shall have it delivered in the morning,” Fave said and reached out to seal the deal with a handshake.
“And the lender’s name is?” Arnold prompted. He was indeed the best friend Fave could wish for.
Thompson turned to his stacks of paper and made a show of looking for some ledgers.
Fave rolled his eyes. “Before we go, Mr. Thompson. Will three-quarters of a carat suit the young lady?”
Thompson bent down, his bloodshot eyes almost popping.
Fave looked at Arnold again. “A carat then?”
Thompson was engrossed in his papers as if he had not heard him.
Fave grew impatient. “One and a half is my final offer.” He would find a rock with the least brilliance and the most inclusions of any one-and-half-carat diamond this side of the equator.
“Ah, here it is!” Thompson miraculously found a ledger that was already on top of the piles and opened it to a page near the end. An envelope served as a bookmark. “I only have his initials and address. Take this.” He handed Fave the wrinkled envelope.
Many visible inclusions, Fave decided for the engagement ring.
They stepped onto the street minutes later.
“Let me see.” Arnold took the envelope with an elegantly curved N and the address printed on the flap.
“St. James’s Square,” Fave said.
CHAPTER32
Seventy minutes later, Fave and Arnold strode along the familiar streets of London. They walked down Charles Street alongside Pall Mall when and the gaping width of St. James’s Square yawned before them. A pond at the center was surrounded by flat grass and beds of daffodils. Spring hung in the air when the cousins surveyed the bustling street. Pedestrians rushed past them. The few women with bright feathers stood out among the many men with black or dark brown felt hats. Carriages bogged down traffic. The typical noises of hooves, carriages, and busy people of the city polluted the crisp April air.
