Twenties Girl

“I told them it was a joke between her and Cecil Malory,” I hastily explain. “It was her nickname, but everyone thought it was real.”

“Do I look like a Mabel?”

A movement attracts my attention and I look up. To my surprise, Malcolm Gledhill is entering the gallery. As he sees me, he gives a sheepish smile and shifts his briefcase from one hand to another.

“Oh, Miss Lington. Hello. After our conversation today, I just thought I’d come and have another look at her.”

“Me too.” I nod. “I’d like to introduce…” Abruptly I realize I’m about to introduce Sadie to him. “Ed.” I quickly switch my hand to the other direction. “This is Ed Harrison. Malcolm Gledhill. He’s in charge of the collection.”

Malcolm joins the three of us on the bench, and for a moment we all just look at the painting.

“So you’ve had the painting in the gallery since 1982,” says Ed, still reading the guidebook. “Why did the family get rid of it? Strange move.”

“Good question,” says Sadie, suddenly waking up. “It belonged to me. Nobody should have been allowed to sell it.”

“Good question,” I echo firmly. “It belonged to Sadie. Nobody should have been allowed to sell it.”

“And what I want to know is, who did sell it?” she adds.

“Who did sell it?” I echo.

“Who did sell it?” repeats Ed.

Malcolm Gledhill shifts uncomfortably on the bench.

“As I said today, Miss Lington, it was a confidential arrangement. Until such time as a formal legal claim is made, the gallery is unable to-”

“OK, OK,” I cut him off. “I get it, you can’t tell me. But I’m going to find out. That painting belonged to my family. We deserve to know.”

“So, let me get this straight.” Ed is finally showing a real interest in the story. “Someone stole the painting?”

“Du

“Do you know?” Ed turns to Malcolm Gledhill.

“I… do.” He nods reluctantly.

“Well, can’t you tell her?”

“Not… well… no.”

“Is this some official secret?” demands Ed. “Does it involve weapons of mass destruction? Is national security at stake?”

“Not so to speak.” Malcolm looks more flustered than ever. “But there was a confidentiality clause in the agreement-”

“OK.” Ed snaps into his business-consultant, taking-command-of-the-situation mode. “I’ll have an attorney on this in the morning. This is ridiculous.”

“Absolutely ridiculous,” I chime in, bolstered by Ed’s bullish attitude. “And we won’t stand for it. Are you aware my uncle is Bill Lington? I know he will use every resource to fight this… ridiculous confidentiality. It’s our painting.”

Malcolm Gledhill looks utterly beleaguered.

“The agreement clearly states…” he manages at last, then trails off. I can see his eyes constantly flicking toward his briefcase.

“Is the file in there?” I say, in sudden inspiration.

“As it happens, it is,” says Malcolm Gledhill guardedly. “I’m taking the papers home to study. Copies, of course.”

“So you could show the agreement to us,” says Ed, lowering his voice. “We won’t snitch.”

“I could not show you anything!” Malcolm Gledhill nearly falls off the bench in horror. “That, as I keep repeating, is confidential information.”

“Of course it is.” I adopt a soothing voice. “We understand that. But maybe you could do me a small favor and check the date of acquisition? That’s not confidential, is it?”

Ed gives me a questioning glance, but I pretend I haven’t noticed. Another plan has occurred to me. One which Ed won’t understand.

“It was June 1982, as I remember,” says Malcolm Gledhill.

“But the exact date? Could you just have a quick look at the agreement?” I open my eyes i

Malcolm Gledhill gives me a suspicious look but obviously can’t think of any reason to refuse. He bends down, clicks open his briefcase, and draws out a file of papers.

I catch Sadie’s eye and jerk my head surreptitiously at Malcolm Gledhill.

“What?” she says.

For God’s sake. And she calls me slow.

I jerk my head again at Malcolm Gledhill, who is now smoothing out a sheet of paper.

“What?” she repeats impatiently. “What are you trying to say?”

“Here we are.” He puts on a pair of reading glasses. “Let me find the date…”

My neck’s going to crick if I jerk my head any more. I honestly think I’m going to die of frustration in a minute. There’s the information we want. Right there. Open for anyone to read who happens to be of a ghostly invisible nature. And still Sadie is peering at me uncomprehendingly.

“Look!” I mutter, out of the corner of my mouth. “Look at it! Look at it!”

“Oh!” Her face snaps in sudden understanding. A nanosecond later she’s standing behind Malcolm Gledhill, peering over his shoulder.

“Look at what?” says Ed, sounding puzzled, but I barely hear him. I’m avidly watching Sadie as she reads, frowns, gives a small gasp-then looks up.

“William Lington. He sold it for five hundred thousand pounds.”

“William Lington?” I stare back at her stupidly. “You mean… Uncle Bill?”

The effect of my words on Malcolm Gledhill is extreme and immediate. He starts violently, clutches the letter to his chest, turns white, turns pink, looks at the letter, then clasps it close again. “What-what did you say?”

I’m having a hard time digesting this myself.

“William Lington sold the painting to the gallery.” I try to sound firm, but my voice is coming out faint. “That’s the name on the agreement.”

“You are fucking kidding.” Ed’s eyes gleam. “Your own uncle?”

“For half a million pounds.”

Malcolm Gledhill looks like he wants to burst into tears. “I don’t know how you got that information.” He appeals to Ed. “You will be a witness to the fact I did not reveal any information to Miss Lington.”

“So she’s right?” says Ed, raising his eyebrows. This only seems to panic Malcolm Gledhill more.

“I can’t say whether or not-whether-” He breaks off and wipes his brow. “At no stage was the agreement out of my sight, at no stage did I let it into her view-”

“You didn’t have to,” says Ed reassuringly. “She’s psychic.”

My mind is going around in circles as I try to get over my shock and think this all through. Uncle Bill had the painting. Uncle Bill sold the painting. Dad’s voice keeps ru

It’s all obvious. He must have found the painting all those years ago, realized it was valuable, and sold it to the London Portrait Gallery in a secret agreement.

“Are you OK?” Ed touches my arm. “Lara?”

But I can’t move. Now my mind is moving in bigger circles. Wilder circles. I’m putting two and two together. I’m putting eight and eight together. And I’m making a hundred million.

Bill set up Lingtons Coffee in 1982.

The same year he secretly made half a million from selling Sadie’s painting.

And now, finally, finally… it’s all falling into place. It’s all making sense. He had £500,000 that no one knew about, £500,000 that he’s never mentioned. Not in any interview. Not in any seminar. Not in any book.

I feel light-headed. The enormity of this is only slowly sinking in. The whole thing is a lie. The whole world thinks he’s a business genius who started with two little coins. Half a million notes, more like.

And he covered it up so no one would know. He must have realized the painting was of Sadie as soon as he saw it. He must have realized it belonged to her. But he let the world believe it was some servant called Mabel. He probably fed them that story himself. That way, no one would come knocking on any Lington’s door, asking about the beautiful girl in the painting.