Nothing Ventured(32)

Yes, thought William, but said nothing.

“No,” said Beth. “We were just passing, and thought we’d take a look around.”

“Of course,” he said, giving her a warm smile. “The gallery is on two floors. Here on the ground floor are some remarkable paintings in the style of the modern masters.”

“I’m surprised that’s legal,” said William.

Beth frowned as Knight gave William a closer look. He then lifted a picture off the wall and turned it around to reveal the word FAKE daubed on the back of the canvas in large black letters. “I can assure you, sir, that if you tried to remove the words, you would damage the painting beyond repair.”

William nodded, but as Beth was still scowling at him, he didn’t ask another question.

“And in the basement,” continued Knight, placing the picture back on the wall, “you’ll find copies of well-known masterpieces by some extremely talented artists.”

“Is ‘fake’ printed on the back of those as well?”

“No, madam. However, the paintings are always unsigned, and are all either one inch smaller, or one inch larger than the original, so that no serious collector would be fooled. Please, enjoy both exhibitions, and don’t hesitate to ask if you have any questions.”

“Thank you, Zac,” said Beth, returning his smile.

As they strolled around the ground floor, William was surprised by how convincing some of the fakes were. If you wanted to own a Picasso, a Matisse, or a Van Gogh, it could be yours for under a thousand pounds. Even Hockney’s A Bigger Splash was on display, a print of which hung on his bedroom wall. But as they stood in front of a Rothko that might even have fooled an expert, he told Beth that he’d still rather have a Mary Fedden, a Ken Howard, or an Anthony Green for about the same price.

“Have you spotted your man?” whispered Beth.

“No. But he’s far more likely to be downstairs.”

“Why don’t you pop down and take a look? If Mr. Knight reappears, I’ll keep him occupied.”

“Good thinking,” said William and disappeared downstairs to find another large gallery filled with paintings, many of which he recognized. Turner’s The Fighting Temeraire for two thousand pounds, and van Eyck’s Arnolfini Portrait, which hung alongside a familiar nude by Goya.

But it was when he saw A Dance to the Music of Time by Poussin that he had to catch his breath. He had seen the original in the Wallace Collection, and could only marvel at how the artist had created such a likeness. A rare talent that shone in the presence of rude mechanicals. Some of the other copies were excellent, but none of them in this class. William wasn’t in any doubt that he’d found his man, but there was no clue to the identity of the artist on the accompanying label.

After standing in front of the canvas for some time, he reluctantly returned upstairs, where he found Beth deep in conversation with the proprietor.

“I think you’ll find Renoir’s The Umbrellas rather proves my point,” Knight was saying when William joined them. He gave Beth a nod.

“Perhaps you’d be kind enough to show me, Zac,” she purred.

“Follow me,” said Knight, ignoring William.

As Beth passed him, William whispered “Poussin,” before she followed the proprietor downstairs. He walked slowly around the upstairs gallery for a second time, but his mind was elsewhere.

Jez had gone off to Shropshire for the weekend, and William had wanted to tell Beth how he felt about her, but he was worried that she might not be ready to consider a commitment after such a short time, though when his father had proposed to his mother after only three weeks, she was famously reported as replying, “What took you so long?”

Beth and Knight had been downstairs for about twenty minutes when William began to wonder if he should join them, but he somehow restrained himself. Twenty-five minutes. Thirty minutes. Just as he was heading for the stairs, Beth reappeared with the proprietor following closely behind.

“Thank you, Zac,” she said. “That was fascinating, and I look forward to attending the private view on Wednesday. By the way, this is my brother, Peter.”

Zac shook hands with William.

“Well, we ought to get moving, Sis,” said William, “if we’re not going to be late for lunch with Mother.”

“I must admit,” said Beth, “that I’ve been enjoying myself so much, I’d quite forgotten about dear mama.”

“You have my number, Barbara,” said Zac. “Give me a call any time.”

William pretended not to notice as Knight opened the door and gave her a flirtatious smile.

“See you on Wednesday, Zac,” said Beth.

Once they were back on the street, William said, “Keep walking, and try to look like my sister, not my girlfriend, because Zac’s staring at us through the window.”

Beth kept a sisterly distance, and didn’t say a word until they’d turned the corner. When they reached a coffee shop she walked in and headed straight for a booth in the far corner, well hidden from the street.

“Nell Gwynne,” said William, as he took the seat opposite her.

“More like Catherine the Great,” suggested Beth, as she turned her back to the window.

“Reveal all.”

“Zac is also a fake,” she began, “who imagines that he’s irresistible to women. I played along, until his hands began to wander.”