Property of a Noblewoman by Danielle Steel

“They’ve accepted your terms for the sale.”
    “That’s fantastic!” Phillip said, sounding excited. “I’d like to pick up the pieces in the next few days, so we can photograph them for the catalog. May I have your authorization for the bank?”
    “I’ll take care of it right away,” Harriet assured him. “I’ll notify the bank. Will you pick them up yourself?”
    “Yes. I’ll probably bring a security guard with me, with a town car. After that, should I keep them in our safe at Christie’s pending the sale, or do you want them returned to the court?” It all sounded like a headache she didn’t want or need, and this was much bigger than any sale she’d dealt with before. And Christie’s was certainly reliable and trustworthy to keep the jewels in their vault until the sale.
    “I’d prefer that you keep them until the auction. I’ll send a clerk over to ensure that the transfer goes smoothly the day you pick them up. Just let me know when you plan to do it.” He thought about it for a moment and checked his calendar before he spoke. The following morning was clear.
    “Would tomorrow be too soon?” he asked hesitantly. “I could be there when the bank opens at nine.” And with luck, he could get them to the photographer by ten, so they could get started.
    “That will be fine. I’ll have the clerk bring all the documents and photographs back to us, but the jewelry is yours.” He knew Ed Barlowe would be pleased.
    “I’ll want to reproduce some of those old photographs,” he reminded her.
    “That’s fine,” she said simply. There were no family members to object, and it seemed all right to her, if it would help the sale. This was all about business now, for the state. She was always diligent about defending their interests. “I’ll have my clerk at the bank at nine,” she confirmed, and a moment later she walked into Jane’s office, and told her she had to be at the bank the next morning, to collect the documents from the safe deposit box, and observe the transfer of the jewels to the representative from Christie’s. Jane wondered if it would be Phillip again – she wasn’t sure and didn’t want to ask. She had liked talking to him, and examining Marguerite’s jewels and photographs with him, and she liked the idea of seeing him again, if it worked out that way. If not, that was all right too. And from what Harriet had said, she gathered that the Christie’s sale was moving forward.
    She mentioned it to John that night. He had finished another paper, and had a hamburger with her at a nearby diner, before going back to the library to do some more work. She felt like they hadn’t had a decent conversation or dinner together in weeks. Instead of catching up on each other’s news at dinner, she had the sense that they had become disconnected. It was an unhappy feeling, and all she could hope now was that their relationship would come back to life in June. It was the light at the end of the tunnel, and until then, she was trying to be patient and supportive. He was like a phantom roommate.
    But in three and a half months it would be over. She could hardly wait for their life to pick up where it had left off. He was beginning to seem like a stranger. And he didn’t seem interested when she told him the jewels she had been mentioning were being put up for auction at Christie’s. They were just too far from anything he cared about, and not on his radar screen at all. He went back to the library after dinner, and she went home, wishing that their relationship was still the same as it had been six months before, but it just wasn’t. He seemed less and less connected to her every day.
    He was still sleeping soundly when Jane left the apartment and took the subway downtown the next morning. She got to the bank just as Phillip Lawton got out of a town car with a driver. She noticed that there was a security guard in the front seat. Phillip was wearing a blazer and slacks, a crisp blue