Free Property of a Noblewoman by Danielle Steel Page A

together. The rain had finally stopped.
    “Can I give you a lift?” he offered as he hailed a cab.
    “No, thanks. I’ll take the subway back to the office. I’ll tell my boss that Christie’s would be interested in selling the pieces at auction. I’m sure she’ll call you.”
    “If she doesn’t, I’ll call her. I might anyway. We wouldn’t want this sale to get away from us,” he said, as he opened the door of the cab.
    “Thank you for coming,” she said politely, and he smiled as he closed the door and waved as they drove off. He had been bowled over by everything he’d seen that morning – the jewels, and the girl.

Chapter 6
     
    WHEN PHILLIP GOT back to the office, he had to get ready for the jewelry sale they were doing at noon, and he only had half an hour to prepare. It was not an important sale, and was listed under the heading “Fine Jewels,” which was a far cry from the “Magnificent Jewels” he had just seen, in a whole other category. And he realized he would have to discuss them with his superiors after the noon auction. He didn’t have time now to do them justice, and he wanted to show them the photographs he’d taken.
    The sale he ran at noon went smoothly, but took longer than expected, and it was four-thirty before he walked into the office of the head of the jewelry department. Ed Barlowe was looking over a list of the hammer prices from that afternoon and seemed pleased. He glanced up at Phillip.
    “Nice sale,” he commented, as he set the list down on his desk. “What’s up?” he asked, pointing to a chair and inviting Phillip to sit down.
    “I looked at an abandoned estate today with a clerk of the surrogate’s court. It’s a collection of extraordinary pieces, all by major jewelers,” he said quietly, as he handed Ed the photographs he had just printed out, and he watched Ed’s face as he sifted through them, examining each one. He looked startled when he glanced back at Phillip.
    “Are these pieces as good as they look?”
    “Better. The photographs don’t do them justice,” Phillip said calmly. It was the first time he’d enjoyed working in the department in two years. This was like discovering oil, or finding gold. Even if they weren’t his, it was exciting to be part of it, and hopefully have a role to play in the sale.
    “Do we know the provenance?” his boss asked him.
    “We have a name, and some photographs. She was a young American girl who was married to an Italian count from 1942 till 1965. Probably a young heiress. She died without money or heirs. All she had were the jewels, which the bank discovered when they drilled open the box.”
    “Is everything in order?” Ed asked with concern. “Were all the time restrictions respected?”
    “Diligently. The box was abandoned three years ago, the bank drilled it open after thirteen months and sent a registered letter in the right time frame. They waited two years after that, notified the surrogate’s court, and they’ve placed ads to locate the heirs. None have turned up. I saw all the records myself.”
    “Good.” Ed seemed pleased, as he sat behind his desk, an enormous antique partner’s desk that Christie’s had purchased years before. “I don’t want slip-ups with pieces like this. Why don’t you call the clerk of the court and discuss our fees with them, just so everything is clear? I’d like to schedule it for the May sale. There’s still time to photograph them. We can just squeak under the wire, and get these into the catalog. Make sure you call her right away.”
    “I’ll take care of it first thing tomorrow morning,” Phillip assured him, and left Ed’s office with the Pignelli file in his hand. It was too late to call them today, it was after five, and as a government office, he knew they’d be closed.
    He was tempted to call Jane to tell her, but it would be improper to discuss it with her before they came to an agreement with Harriet, so it would have to wait, although he