Page 61 of Next in Line

‘It would seem that is not the case,’ said Sloane. ‘Mr Booth Watson assures me that your friend Mrs Faulkner returned the picture to her ex-husband as part of their recent divorce settlement.’

Beth would have protested, but realized that once again Christina hadn’t told her the whole story.

‘Our lawyers have advised me it would be pointless to dispute the claim. And as if that wasn’t enough,’ said Sloane once again returning to the letter, ‘Mr Booth Watson goes on to say that his client will also be reclaiming his Raphael and Rembrandt, which you led me to believe were on permanent loan.’

‘They are,’ protested Beth. ‘We should not hesitate to dispute his claim—’

‘On this, the lawyers suggest we are on firmer ground,’ admitted Sloane. ‘However, if Mr Faulkner were to sue, as Booth Watson threatens he will, we might well win the case, but only at considerable cost both financially and to our reputation. Should we lose, and I’m advised it’s a fifty-fifty call, it would drain the museum’s resources to breaking point.’ Sloane paused, before adding, ‘I’m sure you wouldn’t want to be responsible for that.’

‘Of course not,’ said Beth. ‘But I may have found a way to cover the cost—’

‘Frankly, Mrs Warwick, I think you should have read the contract more carefully before you misled the board into believing we owned the painting.’

‘But we can still hold on to it if—’

‘Given the circumstances, I wonder if you should consider your position as Keeper of Pictures, because clearly that is the one job you are not doing, Mrs Warwick.’

Beth had to grip the arms of the chair to stop herself telling Sloane what she really thought of him. Knowing that William would have advised her to remain calm and bide her time, she delivered a sentence she felt confident even Sir Julian would have approved of. ‘I’m sure you’re right, director.’

Sloane was taken by surprise, having assumed this was only the first round in what would be a long skirmish. But he recovered quickly, and said, ‘I think that’s a wise decision, Mrs Warwick.’ He gave her a warm smile before adding, ‘I believe there was something else you wanted to discuss?’

‘No, it wasn’t important, director. Especially as I won’t be around to see it through.’

Beth returned to her office, sat down and wrote out her letter of resignation, and was surprised how relieved she felt when she handed it to the director’s secretary an hour later. She spent the afternoon saying goodbye to old friends and colleagues who she’d worked with for many years, before clearing her desk and packing eight years of memorabilia into three large cardboard boxes.

At one minute past five, Beth left the museum, hailed a taxi and, after giving the driver her address, sat in the back surrounded by boxes and unashamedly shed a tear.

The moment Beth arrived home she went straight to herstudy, looked up a number and rang a small auction house in Pittsburgh. She registered her interest in Lot 71, and told them five hundred dollars was her upper limit. She didn’t mention that if her bid was successful, it would clean out her account.

William got back in time to help bath the children. Before she had a chance to tell him her news, he said, ‘Milner, Reynolds and Jennings have all handed in their resignations. The Commissioner was relieved he wouldn’t have to tell the Prince of Wales the real reason he’d had to let them go.’

‘I resigned today too,’ said Beth. She paused before adding, ‘Sloane couldn’t hide his delight.’

William took her in his arms. ‘I’m so sorry, my darling, I didn’t realize …’

Artemisia threw her soap out of the bath, clearly feeling she wasn’t getting enough attention.

‘Not only have I lost my job,’ said Beth as she picked up the soap, ‘but I’ve risked every penny I have on a drawing that might turn out to be worthless. So please tell me some good news!’ she added as William scooped Artemisia out of the bath.

‘Paul Adaja has been made up to Inspector, and Constable Smart will finally—’

‘—become a Royalty Protection officer?’

‘Not much gets past you,’ smiled William.

‘Christina did. When will I realize you can’t believe a word that woman says?’

The phone on the landing began to ring. William dropped the towel on the floor and went to answer it, while Beth tucked the children up in bed. She was about to read to them when William returned.

‘It’s for you. Long distance. Lot seventy-one will be comingup in a few minutes’ time,’ he said, before settling down on the end of the bed. ‘What page are you on?’

‘A hundred and forty-three,’ said Artemisia. ‘Peter and the Lost Boys are surrounded by bloodthirsty pirates!’

‘I know the feeling!’ said William as Beth quickly left the room.

Fifteen minutes later, William closed the book, having decided he rather liked Captain Hook, whom he considered a great improvement on both Milner and Sloane. He switched off the light and joined Beth on the landing.

‘No, don’t send it to the Fitzmolean,’ she said, before giving the auction house her home address. She put the phone down and turned to William. ‘I’ve just spent four hundred and twenty dollars I don’t have.’

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