Somewhere Beyond Reproach by Tim Jeal

Author:Tim Jeal [Tim Jeal]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780571303908
Publisher: Faber & Faber
Published: 2013-08-23T04:00:00+00:00

Thirteen

32. AN ATTRACTIVE MINIATURE of Jane Haydon, head and gaze three-quarters sinister, wearing a blue dress, her auburn hair dressed in ringlets, against a pillar and cloud sky background, oval, 3¼ in.

With my catalogue in my hand I wandered around the crowded showrooms. It was just before two. I looked at a small tortoiseshell box, with a metal tracery pattern on the lid. Obligingly the catalogue told me that no. 68 was a toothpick case with canted corners, the lid decorated with silver piqué, gilt metal mounts.

An overalled attendant nudged me and pointed to a small Persian box with an obscene painting in the lid, the woman bending over, the man approaching from behind. I looked away. ‘Very fine’ I muttered. He let out a noise which could have been the prelude to vomiting but which I knew to be a laugh. I decided to get back to the miniatures. I whipped round as I heard her voice behind me:

‘Look at this one: Venus and Cupid at the altar of love.’ Dinah was smiling at me and pointing to an ivory box. My catalogue provided me with inspiration.

‘I’d rather have an English oval memento mori pendant.’

‘Isn’t that a bit lugubrious of you? Come and see the one I want.’ Her smile was still there. I suppose in her place I would have found everything highly amusing. The miniature she wanted was by James Hone. I examined it carefully. A woman was sitting on a bench, which had an embroidered shawl hanging over the back. There were pearls in her powdered hair and she was wearing a dark-blue velvet dress. On her lap a King Charles spaniel looked up at her sharp features with an expression of imbecile devotion.

‘I like it‚’ I said.

‘No more than that?’ she said with mock disappointment.

‘The detail is fantastic of course,’ I added lamely.

‘Don’t you like the spaniel’s face?’

‘I prefer the pearls in her hair.’

‘Would you come and bid for it?’

‘For myself or for you?’

‘For yourself of course.’

‘I’m not a collector,’ I said fatuously.

‘Nor am I‚’ came the inevitable answer. ‘I just like it. Look at the gold fringe on the shawl.’ Dutifully I looked. Very exacting work. Well done, James Hone.

‘When is the auction?’ I asked.

‘It tells you on the front of the catalogue. Next Friday.’

‘Can I give it to you?’

‘I wouldn’t like to have to return something I like as much as this.’

I felt like ripping the thing from its case and stamping on it. I looked more carefully at the woman’s face. The artist had certainly caught her effortless arrogance. The spaniel stared up sadly.

Over by the door I caught sight of a marble Venus, her finger pointing towards the door. Art and love so delicately and eternally entwined. Dinah followed the direction of my gaze. She said:

‘There used to be a statue like that in the garden of Mark’s father’s place.’

There had. I saw the stump of that crudely maimed arm pointing senselessly into the rhododendrons, exhorting me to search for another tennis ball.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.