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"It's very thoughtful of you, Mr. Thomas, but I'm not quite ready to consider…"
"I understand," said Thomas, "of course I do. In any case, I'm quite content to wait until you're ready. Whatever it was that Da
Beth laughed. "He's like the opera, the art galleries and the finest wine all wrapped up in one," she replied, "and even then you won't have captured Da
"Well, I don't intend to give up," said Thomas. "Maybe I'll be able to tempt you next year, when the a
"Caravaggio," sighed Beth.
"Caravaggio?" repeated Thomas, looking puzzled.
"Da
"I don't have a chance, do I?" said Thomas.
Beth didn't reply.
Da
Munro had called de Coubertin before leaving his office. The chairman of the bank had agreed to see them at ten o'clock the following morning. Da
Over di
"Are we missing anything?" asked Da
"Certainly not," said Munro. "That is, assuming you've remembered to bring the key."
Hugo picked up the phone on his bedside table. "Yes?"
"He took the overnight train to Edinburgh, and then traveled on to Dunbroath," said a voice.
"In order to see Munro no doubt."
"In his office at ten o'clock this morning."
"Did he then return to London?"
"No, he and Munro left the office together, drove to the airport and caught a BA flight. They should have landed an hour ago."
"Were you on the same flight?"
"No," said the voice.
"Why not?" asked Hugo sharply.
"I didn't have my passport with me."
Hugo put the phone down and looked across at his wife, who was fast asleep. He decided not to wake her.
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
DANNY LAY AWAKE, considering the precarious position he was in. Far from vanquishing his foes, he seemed only to have created new ones who were bent on bringing him to his knees.
He rose early, showered and dressed, and went down to the breakfast room to find Munro seated at a corner table, a pile of documents by his side. They spent the next forty minutes going over any questions Munro thought de Coubertin might ask. Da
"Should de Coubertin ask you that question, Sir Nicholas, how will you respond?" asked Munro.
"I think the world's leading stamp collector has decided to join us for breakfast," whispered Da
"From that I assume your friend Mr. Gene Hunsacker is among us?"
"No less. I can't believe it's a coincidence that he's in Geneva at the same time as we are."
"Certainly not," said Munro. "And he'll also be aware that your uncle is in Geneva."
"What can I do about it?" asked Da
"Not a lot for the moment," said Munro. "Hunsacker will circle like a vulture until he discovers which of you has been anointed as the legitimate heir to the collection, and only then will he swoop."
"He's a little overweight for a vulture," suggested Da
"You say nothing until after we've had our meeting with de Coubertin."
"But Hunsacker was so helpful and friendly the last time we met, and it was obvious that he doesn't care for Hugo, and would prefer to deal with me."
"Don't deceive yourself. Hunsacker will be happy to do business with whoever de Coubertin decides is the rightful heir to your grandfather's collection. He's probably already made your uncle an offer." Munro rose from the table and left the dining room without even glancing in Hunsacker's direction. Da
"How long will it take for us to get to the Banque de Coubertin by taxi?" Munro asked the concierge.
"Three, possibly four minutes, depending on the traffic," came back the reply.
"And if we walk?"
"Three minutes."
A waiter tapped softly on the door. "Room service," he a
"Do you think we'll get away with it, old gal, without the key?" asked Hugo.
"If they're convinced the will is genuine," said Margaret, "they'll have no choice, unless they're prepared to involve themselves in a lengthy court battle. And as anonymity is a Swiss banker's mantra, they'll avoid that at all costs."
"They're not going to find anything wrong with the will," said Hugo.
"Then my bet is that we'll be in possession of your father's collection by this evening, in which case all you'll have to do is agree a price with Hunsacker. As he offered you forty million dollars when he came up to Scotland for your father's funeral, I feel sure he'd be willing to go to fifty," said Margaret. "In fact, I have already instructed Galbraith to draw up a contract to that effect."
"With whichever one of us secures the collection," said Hugo, "because by now Nick will have worked out why we're here."
"But he can't do anything about it," said Margaret. "Not while he's stranded in England."
"There's nothing to stop him jumping on the next plane. I wouldn't be surprised if he's here already," added Hugo, not wanting to admit that he knew Nick was in Geneva.
"You've obviously forgotten, Hugo, that he's not allowed to travel abroad while he's on probation."
"If it was me, I'd be willing to take that risk," said Hugo, "for fifty million dollars."
"You might," said Margaret, "but Nick would never disobey an order. And even if he did, it would only take one phone call to help de Coubertin decide which branch of the Moncrieff family he wants to do business with-the one threatening to take him to court, or the one who will be spending another four years in jail."
Although Da
"I won't be having any of your English tea, thank you," said Munro, giving her a warm smile. Da