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"Two coffees, please," said Da
Da
"Good morning, Sir Nicholas," he said, walking up to Munro, offering his hand.
"No, no, my name is Fraser Munro, I am Sir Nicholas's legal representative."
"I apologize," said the old man, trying to hide his embarrassment. He smiled shyly as he shook hands with Da
"Not at all, Baron," said Da
De Coubertin gave him a slight bow. "Like me, you are the grandson of a great man." He invited Sir Nicholas and Mr. Munro to join him at the boardroom table. "What can I do for you?" he asked.
"I had the great honor of representing the late Sir Alexander Moncrieff," began Munro, "and I now have the privilege of advising Sir Nicholas." De Coubertin nodded. "We have come to claim my client's rightful inheritance," said Munro, opening his briefcase and placing on the table one passport, one death certificate and Sir Alexander's will.
"Thank you," said de Coubertin, not giving any of the documents even a cursory glance.
"Sir Nicholas, may I ask if you are in possession of the key that your grandfather left you?"
"Yes, I am," Da
"Don't say a word," whispered Munro as they followed the chairman out of the room. "It's clear that he's carrying out your grandfather's instructions." They walked down a long corridor, passing even more oil paintings of partners of the bank, until they came to a small elevator. When the doors slid open, de Coubertin stood to one side to allow his guests to step in, then joined them and pressed a button marked -2. He didn't speak until the doors opened again, when he stepped out and repeated, "Please follow me, gentlemen."
The soft Wedgwood blue of the boardroom walls had been replaced by a dull ocher as they walked on down a brick corridor that displayed no pictures of the bank's past officeholders. At the end of the corridor was a large steel barred gate which brought back unhappy memories for Da
A two-inch-wide yellow strip had been painted on the ground just inside the doorway. Da
"Please join me," said Da
"I apologize," he said, "but I am not allowed to cross the yellow line-one of the bank's many regulations. Perhaps you would be kind enough to inform the guard when you wish to leave, and then do come and join me back in the boardroom."
Da
"I'm none the wiser," said Munro as he looked at an unperforated sheet of forty-eight pe
"You will be after you've had a look at this one," said Da
Munro turned the pages slowly, to be reacquainted with the neat, calligraphic hand he remembered so well: column after column listing when, where and from whom Sir Alexander had acquired each new acquisition and the price he'd paid. He handed the meticulous record of the collector's life back to Da
Mr. and Mrs. Moncrieff were shown into the boardroom at 3:00 P.M. Baron de Coubertin was seated at the far end of the table, with three colleagues on each side of him. All seven men rose from their chairs as the Moncrieffs entered the room, and didn't resume their places until Mrs. Moncrieff had sat down.
"Thank you for allowing us to inspect your late father's will," said de Coubertin, "as well as the attached letter." Hugo smiled. "However, I must inform you that in the considered opinion of one of our experts, the will is invalid."
"Are you suggesting that it's a fake?" said Hugo, angrily rising from his place.
"We are not suggesting for a moment, Mr. Moncrieff, that you were aware of this. However, we have decided that these documents do not stand up to the scrutiny required by this bank." He passed the will and the letter across the table.
"But…" began Hugo.
"Are you able to tell us what in particular prompted you to reject my husband's claim?" asked Margaret quietly.
"No, madam, we are not."
"Then you can expect to hear from our lawyers later today," said Margaret as she gathered up the documents, placed them back in her husband's briefcase and rose to leave.
All seven members of the board stood as Mr. and Mrs. Moncrieff were escorted from the room by the chairman's secretary.
CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
WHEN FRASER MUNRO joined Da
"I apologize for disturbing you, Sir Nicholas. Shall I come back later?"
"No, no," said Da
"I trust you slept well?" said Munro as he looked down at the mass of paperwork littering the floor.
"I haven't been to bed," admitted Da
"And are you any the wiser?" asked Munro.
"I hope so," said Da
"Do you have any idea…?"
"Well," said Da
"No wonder Hunsacker thinks it's the finest collection on earth," said Munro.
Da