closed her bag.
'Anything,' said Julian. 'Anything.'
'I wonder if you'd be kind enough to deliver
the egg to the Park Lane Hotel, and ask a porter to send it up to my room.'
'You could take it with you now if you wish,
Miss Gaynor.'
'How kind of you,' she said, 'but I'm
lunching with Mick...' She hesitated. 'I'd prefer if it could be delivered to
the hotel.'
'Of course,' said Julian. He accompanied her
out of the shop to the waiting car, where the chauffeur was holding open the
back door.
'How silly of me to forget,' she said just
before stepping into the car. She turned back to Julian and whispered into his
ear, 'For security reasons, my room is booked in the name of Miss Hampton.' She
smiled flirtatiously.
'Otherwise I'd never get a moment's peace.'
'I quite understand,' said Julian. He couldn't
believe it when she bent down and kissed him on the cheek.
'Thank you, Julian,' she said. 'I look
forward to seeing you after the show,' she added as she climbed into the back
seat.
Julian stood there shaking as Millie and Susan
joined him on the pavement.
'Did she give you any tickets for her show?'
asked Millie as the car drove away.
'I'm not at liberty to say,' said Julian,
then walked back into his shop and closed the door.
The smartly dressed young man writing down
some figures in a little black book reminded her of the rent collector from her
youth. 'How much did it cost us this time?' she asked quietly.
'Five days at the Park Lane came to three thousand
three hundred, including tips, the stretch limo was two hundred pounds an hour,
sixteen hundred in all.' His forefinger continued down the
handwritten inventory. 'The two items you purchased from the jewellery shop
came to fifteen hundred.' She touched a pearl earring and smiled. 'Meals along
with other expenses, including five extras from the casting agency, five
autograph books and a parking fine, came to another nine hundred and twenty-two
pounds. Six tickets for tonight's concert purchased from a tout, a further nine
hundred pounds, making eight thousand, two hundred and twenty-two pounds in
all, which, at today's exchange rate, comes to about thirteen thousand three
hundred and sixty-nine dollars. Not a bad return,' he concluded as he smiled
across at her.
She glanced at her watch. 'Dear sweet Julian
should be arriving at the Albert Hall about now,' she said. 'Let's at least
hope he enjoys the show.'
'I would have liked to go with him.'
'Behave yourself, Gregory,' she teased.
'When do you think he'll find out?'
'When he turns up at the stage door after
the show and finds his name isn't on the guest list, would be my guess.'
Neither of them spoke while Gregory went over
the figures a second time, then finally closed his little book and placed it in
an inside pocket.
'I must congratulate you on your research this
time,' she said. 'I must admit I'd never heard of Robert Adam, Delft or
Chippendale before you briefed me.'
Gregory smiled. 'Napoleon once said that time
spent on reconnaissance is rarely wasted.'
'So where does Napoleon stay when he's in Paris?'
'The Ritz Carlton,' Gregory replied
matter-of-factly.
'That sounds expensive.'
'We don't have much choice,' he replied.
'Miss Gaynor has booked a suite at the Ritz because
it's convenient for the Pleyel concert hall. In any case, it gives the right
image for someone who's planning to steal a Modigliani.'
'This is your captain speaking,' said a
voice over the intercom. 'We've been cleared for landing at Charles de Gaulle
airport, and should be on the ground in around twenty minutes. All of us at
British Airways hope you've had a pleasant flight and that you enjoy your stay
in Paris, whether it be for business or pleasure.'
A flight attendant leaned over and said, 'Would
you be kind enough to fasten your seat belt, madam? We'll be beginning our descent
very shortly.'
'Yes, of course,' she said smiling up at the
flight attendant.
The attendant took a second look at
the passenger and said, 'Has
'Anything,' said Julian. 'Anything.'
'I wonder if you'd be kind enough to deliver
the egg to the Park Lane Hotel, and ask a porter to send it up to my room.'
'You could take it with you now if you wish,
Miss Gaynor.'
'How kind of you,' she said, 'but I'm
lunching with Mick...' She hesitated. 'I'd prefer if it could be delivered to
the hotel.'
'Of course,' said Julian. He accompanied her
out of the shop to the waiting car, where the chauffeur was holding open the
back door.
'How silly of me to forget,' she said just
before stepping into the car. She turned back to Julian and whispered into his
ear, 'For security reasons, my room is booked in the name of Miss Hampton.' She
smiled flirtatiously.
'Otherwise I'd never get a moment's peace.'
'I quite understand,' said Julian. He couldn't
believe it when she bent down and kissed him on the cheek.
'Thank you, Julian,' she said. 'I look
forward to seeing you after the show,' she added as she climbed into the back
seat.
Julian stood there shaking as Millie and Susan
joined him on the pavement.
'Did she give you any tickets for her show?'
asked Millie as the car drove away.
'I'm not at liberty to say,' said Julian,
then walked back into his shop and closed the door.
The smartly dressed young man writing down
some figures in a little black book reminded her of the rent collector from her
youth. 'How much did it cost us this time?' she asked quietly.
'Five days at the Park Lane came to three thousand
three hundred, including tips, the stretch limo was two hundred pounds an hour,
sixteen hundred in all.' His forefinger continued down the
handwritten inventory. 'The two items you purchased from the jewellery shop
came to fifteen hundred.' She touched a pearl earring and smiled. 'Meals along
with other expenses, including five extras from the casting agency, five
autograph books and a parking fine, came to another nine hundred and twenty-two
pounds. Six tickets for tonight's concert purchased from a tout, a further nine
hundred pounds, making eight thousand, two hundred and twenty-two pounds in
all, which, at today's exchange rate, comes to about thirteen thousand three
hundred and sixty-nine dollars. Not a bad return,' he concluded as he smiled
across at her.
She glanced at her watch. 'Dear sweet Julian
should be arriving at the Albert Hall about now,' she said. 'Let's at least
hope he enjoys the show.'
'I would have liked to go with him.'
'Behave yourself, Gregory,' she teased.
'When do you think he'll find out?'
'When he turns up at the stage door after
the show and finds his name isn't on the guest list, would be my guess.'
Neither of them spoke while Gregory went over
the figures a second time, then finally closed his little book and placed it in
an inside pocket.
'I must congratulate you on your research this
time,' she said. 'I must admit I'd never heard of Robert Adam, Delft or
Chippendale before you briefed me.'
Gregory smiled. 'Napoleon once said that time
spent on reconnaissance is rarely wasted.'
'So where does Napoleon stay when he's in Paris?'
'The Ritz Carlton,' Gregory replied
matter-of-factly.
'That sounds expensive.'
'We don't have much choice,' he replied.
'Miss Gaynor has booked a suite at the Ritz because
it's convenient for the Pleyel concert hall. In any case, it gives the right
image for someone who's planning to steal a Modigliani.'
'This is your captain speaking,' said a
voice over the intercom. 'We've been cleared for landing at Charles de Gaulle
airport, and should be on the ground in around twenty minutes. All of us at
British Airways hope you've had a pleasant flight and that you enjoy your stay
in Paris, whether it be for business or pleasure.'
A flight attendant leaned over and said, 'Would
you be kind enough to fasten your seat belt, madam? We'll be beginning our descent
very shortly.'
'Yes, of course,' she said smiling up at the
flight attendant.
The attendant took a second look at
the passenger and said, 'Has
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