Free Property of a Noblewoman by Danielle Steel

interest.
    “Columbia. I had to do an internship or clerk for a court to finish. Surrogate’s court hasn’t been too entertaining till now,” she admitted to him as Hal Baker came back and locked up the safe deposit box again, and they followed him out. “All the clerkships I wanted were taken, family court and criminal, so I got this. I took it instead of probate, which would have been worse.” She smiled ruefully, and so did he in answer.
    “The jewelry department at Christie’s isn’t much better. They transferred me from the art department two years ago, which felt like a prison sentence, although I have to admit, this auction would be spectacular. Are they talking to any other auction houses?” he asked, and she shook her head.
    “No. Just you. Christie’s was my boss’s first choice. She told me to call you, so I did. I’m glad you like Countess di San Pignelli’s things. I think they’re beautiful too.”
    “They’re better than beautiful. They are all of the finest quality. It’s rare to see pieces of that caliber, with such important stones. The count and countess must have led quite a life.”
    “It looks like it from the photographs,” Jane said quietly.
    “I wonder what happened after that,” he said, curious. It was impossible not to wonder about her and the count.
    “I wish I knew too. They look so happy together, although she had sad eyes.”
    “Did she?” Phillip was surprised. “I didn’t notice. I was too distracted by the stones.” He smiled, thinking that Jane was an interesting woman. He had expected to meet some boring humdrum clerk. She was a vast improvement over that.
    “What happens now?” Jane asked him when they were standing in the lobby of the bank again, and Hal had left them to go back to his desk.
    “My boss speaks to yours,” Phillip explained. “We make a bid to sell the pieces, negotiate our fee, and discuss the catalog with them. If they like what we have to say, they consign the pieces to us, and we put them in our next Magnificent Jewel sale, probably in May, September, or December, right before the holidays. We would do a whole section about her with some of the photographs, and try to make it sound romantic and appealing, and then we sell them, take our portion of the hammer price from the seller and the buyer, and turn the rest over to the state. It’s pretty straightforward, unless an heir shows up of course, but it doesn’t sound like that’s going to happen, from what you’ve said.” She had told him about going to the nursing home and the countess’s old apartment building in the city, while he was photographing the jewelry for his files, so he could show his boss what kind of story they could build in the catalog, even though she wasn’t well known. But a “Countess” had some magic to it, and the jewels spoke for themselves. He didn’t need to make a hard sell.
    “None of it will probably happen before I go back to school,” she said quietly, thinking about it. “I’ll have to keep an eye out for the auction, or maybe someone could let me know.” She had taken a personal interest in this, and he could see it.
    “You should come to the auction. A sale like this will be very exciting.”
    “Will you be the auctioneer?” She was curious about him.
    “I doubt it. This sale will be too important. It will be part of a bigger sale, but it will certainly be one of the highlights. Important jewelers and collectors will be bidding from all over the world on the phone, and some of them will be in the room. It would be quite an experience for you to see it.” And opportunities like this wouldn’t come her way often.
    She was pensive before she answered. “I think it might make me too sad.” He was touched by what she said. She really cared about this woman, although she had never known her. “It seems so heartbreaking that she died alone, with no family around her.” Phillip nodded, not sure what to say, as they left the bank