And Thereby Hangs a Tale by Jeffrey Archer

piece, the doorbell rang and a woman entered the shop.
    'Don't worry about me,' she said in a
gravelly voice. 'I just want to look around. I'm not in any hurry.'
    'Where did you say you found it, Julian?'
    'Buckley Manor in Hertfordshire, Sir Peter,'
said Julian without adding the usual details of its provenance.
    And you're asking eighty thousand?'
    'Yes,' said Julian, not looking at him.
    'Well, I'll think about it over the weekend,'
said the customer, 'and let you know on Monday.'
    'Whatever suits you, Sir Peter,' said
Julian, and without another word he strode off towards the front of the shop,
opened the door and remained standing by it until the customer had stepped back
out on to the pavement, a puzzled look on his face. If Sir Peter had looked
round, he would have seen Julian close the door and switch the OPEN sign to CLOSED.
    'Stay cool, Julian, stay cool,' he murmured
to himself as he walked slowly towards the lady he'd been hoping to serve all
week.
    'I was in the area a couple of days ago,'
she said, her voice husky and unmistakable.
    I know you were, Gloria, Julian wanted to say.
'Indeed, madam,' was all he managed.
    'Millie told me all about your wonderful shop,
but I just didn't have enough time.'
    'I understand, madam.'
    'Actually, I haven't come across anything I really
like this week. I was hoping I might be luckier today.'
    'Let's hope so, madam.'
    'You see, I try to take home some little memento
from every city I perform in. It always brings back so many happy memories.'
    'What a charming idea,' said Julian,
beginning to relax.
    'Of course, I could hardly fail to admire
the Adam fireplace,' she said, running a hand over the marble nymphs, 'but I
can't see it fitting in to my New York condo.'
    'I'm sure you're right, madam,' said Julian.
    'The Chippendale rocking chair is
unquestionably a masterpiece, but sadly it would look somewhat out of place in
a Beverly Hills mansion. And Delft isn't to my taste.' She continued to look
around the room, until her eyes came to rest on the egg. 'But I do love your
Fabergé egg.' Julian smiled ingratiatingly. 'What does the green dot mean?' she
asked innocently.
    'That it's reserved for another customer, madam;
an American gentleman I'm expecting tomorrow.'
    'What a pity,' she said, staring lovingly at
the egg. 'I'm working tomorrow, and flying to Paris the following day.' She
smiled sweetly at Julian and said, 'It clearly wasn't meant to be. Thank you.'
She began walking slowly towards the door.
    Julian hurried after her. 'It's possible, of
course, that the customer won't come back.
    They often don't, you know.'
    She paused by the door. 'And how much did he
agree to pay for the egg?' she asked.
    'Six hundred and twenty-five thousand,' said
Julian.
    'Pounds?'
    'Yes, madam.'
    She walked back and took an even longer look
at the egg. 'Would six hundred and fifty thousand convince you that he
won't be returning?' she asked, giving him that same sweet smile.
    Julian beamed as she sat down at his desk and
took a chequebook out of her bag.
    'Whom shall I make it out to?' she asked.
    'Julian Farnsdale Fine Arts Ltd,' he said,
placing one of his cards in front of her.
    She wrote out the name and the amount slowly,
and double-checked them before signing 'Gloria Gaynor' with a flourish. She handed
the cheque to Julian who tried to stop his hand from shaking.
    'If you're not doing anything special
tomorrow night,' she said as she rose from her chair, 'perhaps you'd like to
come to my concert?'
    'How kind of you,' said Julian.
    She took two tickets out of her bag and passed
them across to him. 'And perhaps you'd care to join me backstage for a drink after
the show?'
    Julian was speechless.
    'Good,' she said. 'I'll leave your name at
the stage door. Please don't tell Millie or Susan.
    There just isn't enough room for everyone.
    I'm sure you understand.'
    'Of course, Miss Gaynor. You can rely on me.
    I won't say a word.'
    'And if I could ask you for one small
favour?' she said as she