Vampire Knitting Club Boxed Set Books 10-12: Paranormal Cozy Mystery by Nancy Warren

Author:Nancy Warren [Warren, Nancy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Ambleside Publishing
Published: 2022-08-10T04:00:00+00:00

The following day, I felt a bit stronger. Theodore and Hester came by, and we sat in Rafe’s gorgeous library.

The pair had been busy. Between Theodore’s good, old-fashioned legwork and Hester’s computer skills, they had quite a bit of information on what had happened to the jewels designed by Jacques Cartier.

Theodore explained, “There were three Cartier brothers. Jacques is the one who moved to London. He famously became associated with British royalty and movie stars. He designed jewels for Merle Oberon and Elizabeth Taylor, as well as much of Wallis Simpson’s collection.” He looked at me. “Wallis Simpson, Lucy, was the wife of Edward VIII. Well, he would have been Edward VIII, but he ended up abdicating in order to marry the divorced American.”

I actually did know this and the scandal that had ensued.

“Wallis liked the finer things. After she died, most of her jewelry was sold off in 1987. Much of it’s never been seen again. That’s the thing with these iconic jewels; they’re often bought by collectors who keep a very low profile,” Theodore said.

I nodded. Having had firsthand experience of how dangerous it was to display the things in public, I completely understood. “It’s not like you can wear them to the grocery store or go out to the movies.” I paused and felt like a vice was squeezing my ribs. “You can’t even wear them to a gala event without danger and murder and theft.”

“You’ve got to stop beating yourself up, Lucy,” Hester said. It was so unlike Hester to be supportive of anyone that my jaw just about dropped. We all looked at her, and she shrugged. “It’s true. Everybody makes mistakes. Lucy’s was just a bit more expensive a mistake than most of them.”

She had that right.

“These collectors,” Rafe said, “do you have any way of finding out who they are?”

Theodore and Hester exchanged a glance. “Most auctions these days are online, of course, but even in the last few decades, it’s been very common for people of note to either send an agent to do the bidding for them or bid over the phone. Elizabeth Taylor famously bought a Cartier piece over the phone while sitting by her pool in Beverly Hills,” Theodore said.

It was something I could imagine Sylvia doing.

“And, speaking of Elizabeth Taylor, after her death, her jewels went on sale at auction. In 2011, the auctioneers expected to raise thirty million dollars, but the total that night was more than one hundred and fifteen million dollars,” Hester added. It was obvious she was enjoying helping with the research.

“That’s a lot of money,” I said faintly.

“A Cartier set, not unlike Sylvia’s, though made with rubies instead of emeralds, sold for five and a half million,” Hester continued.

“In 2011.”

“Yes.”

“What do you think Sylvia’s set would go for today?”

Theodore looked at me with pity. “Well north of ten million.”

Oh, dear.

“Is there any chance that the set might come up for auction?” I knew it was a faint hope, but grasping at straws had become my new pastime.

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.