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СКАЧАТЬ which she eventually was able to do with the help of James Allerton; but it was an uneasy truce at best. Alfreda seemed determined to upset her, or cause trouble, and whenever her mother-in-law could make her life difficult, she did.

      Nonetheless, Stevie realized that her sons must come to know their grandparents, most especially their grandfather, who was the key to their future. It would be Bruce who would train them, lead them through the labyrinths of the family business, so that when he retired they could take over.

      Jardine’s had been the Crown Jewellers since Queen Victoria’s day. It was important that her sons understood their inheritance, the great jewelry company that would be theirs one day, and the family dynasty into which they had been born.

      The ringing of the telephone made her start, and, as she reached for it, Stevie was pulled back into the present.

      “Hello?”

      “I’d like to speak to Mrs. Jardine, please.”

      “This is she.”

      “Hello, Stevie, it’s Matt Wilson.”

      Taken by surprise, she exclaimed, “Hello, Matt! And where are you calling from?” She glanced at her watch; it was five-thirty. “Not Paris, surely? It’s very late at night there.”

      He laughed, and said, “No, I’m in Los Angeles. With Monsieur. We arrived yesterday to see a client. He would like to speak with you. I’ll put him on.”

      “Thank you, Matt.”

      A moment later André Birron was at the other end of the wire. “Stephanie, my Stephanie, comment vas-tu?”

      “I’m wonderful, André,” Stevie said, smiling with pleasure on hearing his voice. At seventy-five, André Birron was considered to be one of the greatest jewelers, perhaps even the greatest jeweler, in the world. Known as the grand seigneur of the jewelry business, he had been her lifelong friend. He had always been there for her whenever she had needed him.

      “It is a pleasure to hear your voice, Stephanie,” he went on, “and it will be an even greater pleasure to see you. I am coming to New York in about ten days. For the Sotheby’s auction. You plan to be there, I am certain of that.”

      “I do. And I hope you’ll have time for dinner, André. Or lunch.”

      “Whichever, or both, ma chérie.” There was a small pause before the Frenchman asked, “You are going to bid on the White Empress, are you not?”

      “Yes.”

      “I thought you would. You have always wanted to own it.” He chuckled. “You have dreamed about it, Stephanie.”

      “Salivated, actually,” she responded, laughing with him. “And how well you know me, André. But listen, who wouldn’t want to own it? I consider the White Empress to be one of the most beautiful diamonds in the world.”

      “You are correct; however, I shall not bid on it, Stephanie. Out of deference to you, really. If I bid, I would only escalate the price exorbitantly, and there will be enough people doing that. And, of course, I do not have the love for this diamond that you do, although I can admire its beauty. Yes, it is a diamond you and only you should own.”

      “Thank you for letting me know you’re not going to participate. I expect the bidding to go sky high. Don’t you agree?”

      “Yes, I do. The stone has not been on the market since the fifties, and so obviously there is a great deal of interest in it. That is the reason I telephoned you, Stephanie, ma petite, to inform you we shall not be bidding against each other, competing. But it will be my great honor to escort you to the auction, if you will permit me to do so.”

      “I’d love it, André, thank you.”

      “And after the auction we shall dine together, and it will be a grand celebration.”

      She laughed a soft, light laugh. “We’ll be celebrating only if I get the White Empress, my dear old friend.”

      “There is no doubt in my mind that you will, Stephanie.”

       2

      ALTHOUGH SHE KNEW EVERYTHING THERE WAS TO know about her favorite diamond, Stevie could not resist taking the Sotheby’s catalogue out of her briefcase after she had said good-bye to André Birron and hung up.

      Flipping open the catalogue, she quickly found the page where the White Empress was featured, and gazed for a moment or two at the photograph of the gem. The picture was excellent, but even so it did not do justice to the magnificent stone.

      The White Empress. Stevie repeated the name to herself. It certainly deserved to be called that. It was so named because it was graded D-flawless and was therefore perfect. And as such it was colorless—pure white, brilliantly, blindingly white—hence the first portion of its name. Because it was extremely rare and very beautiful, and also categorized as a grand stone, the title of Empress had been chosen to complete its name.

      Automatically, Stevie’s eyes shifted to the left-hand page of the catalogue, and she scanned the text. Yet again she was reminded that the White Empress had started out as a 427-carat diamond of exceptionally fine color, and that it had been found in 1954 at the Premier Mines in South Africa.

      This piece of rough was subsequently sold in 1956 to Harry Winston, the renowned American jeweler, as part of an eight-million-four-hundred-thousand-dollar parcel.

      The largest stone Winston cut from this piece was a 128.25-carat D-flawless pear-shaped diamond, and it was this stone that retained the original name of White Empress. Harry Winston had the stone set as a pendant on an exquisite diamond necklace, designed specially, and then he had sold it that same year to a European industrialist.

      Now, after forty years in the hands of one family, it was finally back on the market. Sotheby’s would put it on the auction block at their auction rooms on York Avenue in New York at the beginning of December.

      Stevie’s eyes lingered on the photograph for a short while longer before she finally closed the catalogue and returned it to her briefcase. Her thoughts settled on André. Though he was not bidding on the stone, there were many others who would be bidding, and automatically the price would be driven up, as it usually was at these big auctions for important items.

      It could skyrocket, she thought, sitting back in the chair, frowning. No, it would skyrocket. There was no doubt in her mind about that; she made the decision to stay in the bidding no matter what, since she was determined to acquire the stone whatever it cost.

      Seven-figure numbers jumped around in her head. Six million dollars, seven million dollars…no, too low. Eight million, she speculated, her eyes narrowed in concentration. Still too low, she decided. Suddenly she was convinced the stone would be sold in the eight-figure category. Ten million, she said under her breath. Could it go as high as that?

      At this moment Stevie knew that if she had to, she would pay that amount for the stone. She craved it, not for herself, of course, but for Jardine’s in New York, which she had founded.

      Once she owned the stone, СКАЧАТЬ