The Mistress(17)

“Maybe we should think about it,” Theo said quietly. “And see how much Gabriel can get, and how badly this buyer wants it.”

“I’m not going to sell it,” she said with steel in her tone. “It’s one of the first paintings your father painted of me, when I was still just his model.” And suddenly, when she said it, as he thought about it, Theo realized which one. It was the painting Vladimir Stanislas had been fascinated by at the restaurant the night before.

“I think I know who the buyer might be. Stanislas was mesmerized by it last night.” And he remembered his irritation that it wasn’t for sale, and his comment that everything had a price. “If it’s him, you could probably negotiate with him and ask for more. I don’t think he’s familiar with the word no, and if he wants it badly enough, he’ll pay any price.”

“It’s not for sale,” Maylis repeated, digging her heels in. “I don’t care what he offers.”

“It might set a new benchmark for Papa’s prices, and set the bar even higher than it is now, after the last time.”

“What difference does it make if we don’t want to sell any?”

“You might want to one day, and it’s always good to take the temperature of the current art market. Gabriel always says that it’s good to sell one from time to time. And Papa painted better paintings of you than that one, like the ones of you once you were together.” His love for Maylis and for his son had shone through every painting after that. “This might be a good one to sell,” Theo said thoughtfully.

“The answer is no.” She was incredibly stubborn at times, especially about her late husband’s work.

“It’s up to you, Maman. But I think I’d negotiate with them and see what you get.” It was good advice, and Gabriel would have said the same.

“I told Gabriel to turn the offer down.” She confirmed that to him five minutes later, after she and Theo hung up. Gabriel was faintly disappointed that she wasn’t willing to listen to him or her son.

“I’ll tell them,” he said quietly. He knew better than to argue with her about Lorenzo’s work. And he called the attorney in London shortly after and declined.

He was looking over images of some of the new work Marie-Claude had taken in, marveling at her eye for contemporary work, when the attorney in London called again, and offered a considerably higher price. Gabriel managed not to sound shocked, although he was. Clearly, the anonymous buyer was willing to pay any price to acquire the work. He was offering fifty percent more than the price set at the Christie’s auction. It was an extremely handsome offer. Gabriel promised to relay it to the artist’s widow. But when he did, Maylis sounded stubborn. She wouldn’t even agree to call Theo this time.

“This is an extraordinarily high price.” He tried to reason with her. “I don’t think you should turn it down, Maylis. It establishes an astronomical level for Lorenzo’s work in the current art market.”

“I don’t care. It’s not for sale.”

Gabriel sighed audibly, and called back the attorney in London, feeling like a fool. He knew it was a fabulous price for the work, and he had to explain that Mrs. Luca had no interest in selling her husband’s work for now. He wanted to leave the door open for later, but he wasn’t sure she would sell any of it in her lifetime, and Theo wasn’t hungry for money either. He led a very simple life. They both did.

“My client has authorized me to make a final offer,” the attorney said in a clipped British voice, and doubled their initial offer, making it one of the most expensive paintings ever sold, if Maylis was willing to accept the price.

Gabriel was silent for a moment, stunned by the offer. “I will relay it to my client,” he said respectfully, and this time he called Theo directly instead, and told him the amount. When he heard it, Theo whistled.

“Jesus. It must be Stanislas. No one else would pay that.”

“I don’t know what to say to your mother. I think she should sell it,” Gabriel said honestly, not sure how to convince her. She listened to him about most things, but not about selling Lorenzo’s work. She was deeply emotionally attached to all of it. And no one could accuse Gabriel of having a financial interest in it, since he had stopped charging her a commission on any potential sale with the last one. He no longer felt right about it, so his advice to her was pure and without self-interest.

“I think so too,” Theo agreed with him. “I didn’t like the guy when I saw him last night, if it’s Stanislas, and I think it is.” He’d had a visceral reaction to him. “But it’s a hell of a price. She can’t turn that down.”

“I think she will, no matter what we tell her.” Gabriel sounded discouraged.

“The only good news is that he painted it when she was just his model. I doubt she’ll agree to sell any of the later ones once she was his mistress, or once they were married. She really shouldn’t turn down this offer. I think it’s an important milestone for my father’s work. It’s double what we got for the last one at Christie’s. That’s a huge jump,” Theo said practically.

“I’d remind her of that,” Gabriel agreed. “See what you can do.”

Theo called her as soon as he and Gabriel hung up, and he told her what he had said to Gabriel, that it was a major price to pay for his father’s work, and put him out in the stratosphere in the art world, and she couldn’t deprive him of it. He said that he was sure his father would want the painting sold, and he hoped his saying that would sway her. Sometimes it made a difference to invoke Lorenzo’s name and his imagined wishes.