Masterpiece by Elise Broach & Kelly Murphy

Author:Elise Broach & Kelly Murphy
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Tags: Mystery, Young Adult, Animals, Childrens, Insects, Fiction, Art & Architecture, Fantasy, Adventure, Spiders
ISBN: 9780312608705
Publisher: Square Fish
Published: 2010-03-29T23:00:00+00:00

Marvin wondered if that was true when you were with strangers too. Maybe you only looked like your true self with the people you loved. And maybe that was a face you yourself hardly ever got to see, except in photos like this one.

Karl lifted the frame. “The little one looks exactly like you.”

Christina smiled. “Doesn’t she? And Eleanor is the spitting image of my sister’s husband. Have you noticed how that happens sometimes? The genes of the parents seem to sort themselves out, and the children look like one side or the other. I told Lily she saved me the trouble of having children.”

Karl tousled James’s hair. “Well, it’s not so much trouble, really.”

“Oh, I didn’t mean it that way,” Christina said quickly, glancing at James. “Anyway, it’s the kind of trouble I’d enjoy.”

Christina seemed to turn shy suddenly, bowing her head to focus on a stack of papers on the desk. “Okay. These are from Denny. They’re blank manuscript pages, old ones, from the sixteenth century. That’s the trick to forgeries. Everything has to date correctly and show the right signs of wear.”

Karl frowned. “But I thought you said it didn’t need to be an exact copy . . . since you don’t have to convince a collector, just some underworld art thief.”

“That’s right.” Christina turned reassuringly to James. “Your drawing will pass for the real thing, James. I’m sure of it. But we don’t want anything on the surface to be a dead giveaway.”

She gently lifted the pages and set them on the table, removing the parchment overlay. The sheets were yellowed and tattered at the edges, marked by odd discol-orations and blemishes. Marvin thought they showed every bit of their five hundred years.

“The best forgers are meticulous about their materials,” Christina continued. “They use old paper, taken from books or manuscripts of the time period. They match the historic shades of ink. They ‘age’ the work with tears and smudges. There’s no surer sign of a fake than an image that’s too perfect.”

Karl nodded. “Anything real has flaws.”

“Exactly. And in the art world, oddly enough, the flaws are what show its value.”

James looked at the pages on the table. “But what about my pen-and-ink set? It’s not old. Can we still use that?”

We, Marvin thought, flexing his front legs. A trill of anticipation coursed through him.

“If the drawing had to pass inspection by an expert, no. But James, you’re able to make such delicate lines with that pen of yours! So like Dürer’s.”

“What about the ink?” Karl asked.

“The ink has to be brown, as it is in the original drawing. I’ve been working on that for the past couple of days. I have a sample to try. James, we may need you to do the drawing more than once to get it right. Okay?”

James nodded.

“Okay, then.” Christina faced the broad wooden table. “Let’s set you up here. The museum closes shortly, and then Denny’s going to bring you the original Fortitude.”

“The real one?” James turned to his father, looking worried.

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