This Was a Man Read online

  The man handed an engrossed document to Poltimore, just as the young woman on the phone raised her hand.

  “I have eight hundred thousand,” said Poltimore, almost in a whisper, as a smartly dressed man stepped forward from the small group of experts behind the rostrum, took the document, removed the red tape, and studied the contents.

  “Eight hundred and fifty thousand?” suggested Poltimore, as some of those seated in the front row began chattering among themselves about what they had just overheard. By the time the Chinese whispers had reached the director, almost everyone in the room except Virginia was talking. She simply stared in silence at the man and woman standing by the rostrum.

  “Mark,” said a voice from behind Poltimore. He turned, bent down, and listened carefully to the advice of a Sotheby’s in-house lawyer, then nodded, raised himself to his full height, and declared, with as much gravitas as he could muster, “Ladies and gentlemen, I am sorry to have to inform you that lot number forty-three has been withdrawn from the sale.” His words were greeted with gasps of disbelief and an outbreak of noisy chattering.

  “Lot forty-four,” said Poltimore, not missing a beat. “A black glazed mottled bowl of the Song Dynasty…” but no one was showing the slightest interest in the Song Dynasty.

  The penned-in journalists were trying desperately to escape and discover why Lot 43 had been withdrawn, aware that an article they had hoped might stretch to a couple of columns in the arts section was now destined for the front page. Unfortunately for them, the Sotheby’s experts had become like Chinese mandarins, lips sealed and noncommunicative.

  A posse of photographers broke loose and quickly surrounded the duchess. As their bulbs began to flash she turned to Priscilla for solace, but her friend was no longer there. The Lady Virginia swung back to face the Lady Camilla; two queens on a chess board. One of them about to be toppled, while the other, a woman who never left the castle unless she had to, gave her adversary a disarming smile and whispered, “Checkmate.”

  38

  “THE ARISTOCRATS’ CLAUSE.”

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” said Virginia as she looked across the desk at her QC.

  “It’s a common enough clause,” said Sir Edward, “often inserted as a safeguard in the wills of members of wealthy families to protect their assets from generation to generation.”

  “But my husband left the vases to me,” protested Virginia.

  “He did indeed. But only, and I quote the relevant clause in his will, as a gift to be enjoyed during your lifetime, after which they will revert to being part of the current duke’s estate.”

  “But they were thought to be of no value,” said Virginia. “After all, they’d been languishing below stairs for generations.”

  “That may well be so, your grace, but this particular aristocrats’ clause goes on to stipulate that this applies to any gift deemed to have a value of more than ten thousand pounds.”

  “I still don’t know what you’re talking about,” said Virginia, sounding even more exasperated than before.

  “Then allow me to explain. A clause of this type is often inserted to ensure that aristocratic estates cannot be broken up by females who are not of the bloodline. The most common example is when a member of the family is divorced and the former wife tries to lay claim to valuable pieces of jewelry, works of art, or even property. For example, in your particular case, you are permitted to live in the Dower House on the Hertford estate for the rest of your life. However, the deeds of that property remain in the duke’s name, and on your demise the house will automatically revert to the family estate.”

  “And that also applies to my two vases?”

  “I’m afraid it does,” said the elderly silk, “because they are without question worth more than ten thousand pounds.”

  “If only I’d disposed of them privately,” said Virginia ruefully, “without the duke’s knowledge, no one would have been any the wiser.”

  “If that had been the case,” said Sir Edward, “you would have been committing a criminal offense, as it would be assumed that you knew the true value of the vases.”

  “But they would never have found out if…” said Virginia, almost as if she were talking to herself. “So how did they find out?”

  “A fair question,” said Sir Edward, “and indeed I asked the Hertfords’ legal representatives why they hadn’t alerted you to the relevant clause in the late duke’s will as soon as they became aware that the sale was taking place. Had they done so, it would have avoided any unnecessary embarrassment for either side, not to mention the lurid headlines that appeared in the national press the following day.”

  “And why didn’t they?”

  “It seems that someone sent the family a copy of the Sotheby’s catalogue, which aroused no interest at the time as none of them recognized the vases, even though they were displayed on the cover.”

  “Then how did they find out?” repeated Virginia.

  “It was evidently the duke’s nephew, Tristan, who raised the alarm. He is apparently in the habit of sneaking down to the kitchen during the school holidays. He thought he recognized the vases on the cover of the catalogue and told his mother where he’d last seen them. Lady Camilla contacted the family solicitor, Mr. Blatchford, who wasted no time in obtaining a court order to prevent the sale. Having done so, they took the next train to London, and arrived, to quote Mr. Blatchford, in the nick of time.”

  “What would have happened if they had arrived after the hammer had come down?”

  “That would have caused the family an interesting dilemma. The duke would have been left with two choices. He could either have allowed the sale to proceed and collected the money, or sued you for the full amount, in which case I’m bound to say that, in my opinion, a judge would have had no choice but to come down in favor of the Hertford estate, and might even have referred the case to the DPP to decide if you had committed a criminal offense.”

  “But I didn’t know about the aristocrats’ clause,” protested Virginia.

  “Ignorance of the law is not a defense,” said Sir Edward firmly. “And in any case, I suspect a judge would find it hard to believe that you hadn’t selected the vases most carefully, and knew only too well what they were worth. I should warn you, that is also Mr. Blatchford’s opinion.”

  “So will the vases have to be returned to the duke?”

  “Ironically, no. The Hertfords must also abide by the letter of the law, as well as the spirit of your late husband’s will, so the vases will be sent back to you to enjoy for the rest of your life. However, Mr. Blatchford has informed me that if you return them within twenty-eight days, the family will take no further legal action, which I consider is generous in the circumstances.”

  “But why would they want the vases now, when they’ll get them back anyway in the fullness of time?”

  “I would suggest that the possibility of them banking a million pounds might well be the answer to that question, your grace. I understand Mr. Poltimore has already been in touch with the duke and informed him that he has a private buyer in Chicago lined up.”

  “Has the man no morals?”

  “However, I would still advise you to return them by October nineteenth if you don’t want to face another lengthy and expensive court case.”

  “I will, of course, take your advice, Sir Edward,” said Virginia, accepting she had been left with no choice. “Please assure Mr. Blatchford that I will return the vases to Clarence by October nineteenth.”

  * * *

  An agreement was struck between Sir Edward and Mr. Blatchford that the two Ming Dynasty vases would be returned to the fourteenth Duke of Hertford at his home in Eaton Square, on or before October 19th. In exchange, Clarence had signed a legally binding agreement that no further action would be taken against Virginia, Dowager Duchess of Hertford, and he also agreed to cover her legal costs for the transaction.

  Virginia had a long liquid lunch with Bofie Bridgwater at Ma