Power of a Woman (15 page)

“I like this very much, and it’s perfect for another client of mine,” Stevie explained, instantly thinking of Derek. Her stepfather had asked her to look for something unusual he could give her mother for Christmas. Certainly this pin would suit Blair. It was stylish without being overwhelming.

“This is extremely rare,” André announced as he presented a dramatic orange-shell brooch to her next.

“It’s Verdura!”

André smiled with pleasure. “It seems I taught you well,
ma chérie
. Yes, it is the duke’s famous li-on’s paw shell pin. As you know, he made several of them in the thirties, until the Power of a Woman / 161

shells became extinct, difficult to find anymore. It has become a much-sought-after piece of jewelry, not only because of its individuality but because it is by Verdura. When my client showed it to me, and hesitated about putting it up for sale, I convinced her to do so. She will never wear it and she is in need of money. But look, Stephanie, at this work-manship…at the encrustation of diamonds set in gold strips which run up the front of the paw. The work is superb,
incroyable
, do you not agree?”

“I certainly do, and it’s a very unusual pin. Ideal for a brunette with a strong personality.” She placed the shell pin on the table and leaned back against the chair, smiling at her old friend. She had not had to think twice about buying the antique jewelry, and so she said, “I shall take this, as well as the Boivin and the Belperron pieces. It’s not very often that something by Verdura comes on the market, and the duke’s jewelry has become very popular in the last few years.”

“I am happy you are taking them. Each item is unique. Because they are so rare they are extremely valuable. You can almost put any price on them you want,
chérie
.”

Stevie laughed. “You’d better get out your calcu-lator and tot this up. And then I think we must leave for the auction. I want to get there early.”

“
Mais oui
, the auction! I am looking forward to it. And even more than that, I am looking forward to being your escort. What a triumph it is 162 / Barbara Taylor Bradford

going to be for you, Stephanie, when you win the White Empress.”

Stevie stared at him but said nothing. Quite unexpectedly she felt apprehensive and at a loss for words.

André said, “Before we leave I have something for you. Excuse me.” He almost ran out of the room, calling for Matt as he disappeared into the small foyer of the suite. In a moment he was back, holding a black leather box in his hands. Giving it to Stevie, he said, “This is for you, Stephanie, and it comes to you with our love.”

Stevie was so completely taken aback, she gaped at him, and then she opened the box. She caught her breath when she saw the delicate diamond pin on the black velvet; it was a long, curling feather and it was extraordinary. “Oh, André, it’s beautiful!

But I can’t accept this…it’s far too valuable.”

“No, no, you cannot refuse! You must not refuse.

It is special…a
cadeau, ma chérie
, for your birthday.”

“My birthday’s not until next week.”

“I will not be in America next week.”

Realizing how ungracious it would be to argue with him any further, she said, “Thank you, André, it was so lovely of you and Elise to remember. I shall call her tomorrow to thank her.”

“My wife adores you…to her you are like a daughter.”

“I know. And I love her, too.” Stevie now Power of a Woman / 163

began to laugh, shaking her head. “I can’t believe I am going to be forty-seven next week. It doesn’t seem possible.”

“I cannot believe it either. What has happened to the time? It seems to me it was only the other day I met you with Ralph. You were not quite seventeen and very pregnant. Thirty years ago.”

“
Please!
” she exclaimed. “Don’t remind me!”

“I am proud of you, proud of what you’ve become. And if he were alive, Ralph would be also proud. You are only forty-seven and at the apex of your career…considered to be one of the world’s great jewelers. And you are revered.”

“Thank you for your lovely words, André,” she replied, touched by what he had just said. “But it is
you
who is
revered
, not I.” Rising, she walked across to the mirror hanging on a side wall and fastened the diamond feather on the lapel of her jacket. Then she turned around, her expression one of great affection. “How does it look, your beautiful feather?”

“
Superbe, ma chérie
.”

She walked across to him, bent down, and kissed him on each cheek. “Thank you again, André. I shall treasure it always.”

He nodded, and patted her hand resting on his shoulder, his dark eyes twinkling. He was pleased their gift had been so well accepted, and said, “I will tell Matt we must leave for the auction at once,” and got up, strode off.

164 / Barbara Taylor Bradford

Stevie sat down at the table, began to put the jewelry back in the pouches and wallet. Then she placed them in the briefcase.

Together, André and Matt came into the sitting room; they were both wearing their overcoats and Matt carried Stevie’s Trigère cape of black wool lined with red silk. He helped her into it, then locked the briefcase and picked it up.

André’s assistant said, “I’ll take the briefcase down with us, leave it in the hotel safe.”

“
Bien, bien
, but let us hurry now, Matt; we must not be late.”

As the three of them went down in the elevator, Matt turned to Stevie. “The brooch is gorgeous on you. And you know what, you could wear it on that black velvet beret you favor…then you’ll have”—he grinned at her, and finished—” a feather in your cap.”

“Oh, Matt…” She smiled up at him, shaking her head.

André also smiled, then asked, “And how are you feeling,
chérie?
Excited, I am quite certain.”

“No, nervous,” Stevie answered, and gave a funny little laugh.

“No, no, you must not be nervous! You must be your usual cool self. Cool and contained. I am here.

Matt is here. All will be well. You will see. And it is going to be your evening, my Stephanie.”

S
TEVIE FELT THE BUZZ IN THE AIR THE MOMENT

THEY arrived at Sotheby’s on York Avenue. A sense of anticipation and excitement permeated the auction rooms, and to her they seemed like palpable things.

People milled around, greeting each other, talking, laughing, and commenting about the auction due to take place within the next half hour.

As Stevie glanced around, she spotted a bevy of well-known New Yorkers, some of them her clients, and also recognized any number of renowned jewelers from London, Paris, Rome, and Geneva as well as from New York.

It was a smartly dressed crowd. The men wore expensive, well-tailored suits; the women were mostly in black, as they usually were in New York at night. She had lived there long enough now to know that black with diamonds or pearls was the compulsory, and very chic, uniform. She had 166 / Barbara Taylor Bradford

enough black suits, dresses, and silk pumps in her wardrobe to attest to that.

“Let’s not waste time out here,” Stevie said, glancing from André to Matt, and headed toward the room where the auction was to be held.

As they entered, they were given catalogues and numbered paddles to use for the bidding, and then moved on into the room. Matt found three good seats in the center, where they all sat down, with Stevie positioned between the two men. After settling in her seat, she glanced around, eyeing her immediate neighbors.

“
Quelle scène
,” André said, his eyes sweeping around. “
Mon Dieu!
Everyone is here!”

“Sure they are—the world and his mother,” Matt remarked.

“Such quaint expressions you have, Matt,” André murmured, then exclaimed, “Ah, there is my old friend, Gilberto Guantano from Brazil. It is a long time since I have seen him. I must go to him, embrace him. Excuse me, Stephanie, Matt.” So saying, he slipped out of his seat and hurried down the aisle to speak to his friend.

After a moment, Matt rose, stood looking around, wondering who was there that
he
knew. He saw two notable jewelers from Paris, lifted his hand in greeting, and remained standing next to Stevie, his eyes continuing to scan the room, his curiosity running high. “André is correct; this is some turnout,”

he said, looking down at Stephanie. “Everyone is here, or they’ve sent representatives….

Power of a Woman / 167

I see people from Harry Winston, Cartier, and Boucheron. I’ve just spotted one of the directors of Van Cleef, the Garrard group, and David Morris is over there with his wife, Suzette. Quite a lot of people from London have flown in.”

“Yes, I know. And I saw a couple of familiar faces from Geneva as well.”

Matt finally took his seat, then went on. “But I wonder how many are actually serious bidders?”

“I’m not sure,” Stevie responded, “but I have a feeling I’m going to get a run for my money.”

“And my money’s on you,” Matt said with a wide grin.

Stevie shook her head. “I don’t know, Matt…well, we’ll see.”

“Nervous?”

“A bit,” she admitted, and gave him a rueful smile.

“Try not to worry,” Matt advised. “You’ll see, it’ll be all right.”

“That’s what André keeps telling me. I hope he’s right.”

“He is. We both feel it in our bones; you’re going to get the White Empress.”

“By the looks of this crowd, I’m going to have to pay for it…
really pay
.”

“Have you set a limit on it?”

“I don’t really want to go beyond ten million,”

she said sotto voce, not wanting anyone to overhear.

“But I will if I have to. I’d go up to twelve million.”

168 / Barbara Taylor Bradford

Matt nodded but made no further comment. Then he stood up again, glancing around, wondering somewhat worriedly who her
real
competitors were going to be.

Stevie shifted slightly in her chair, endeavoring to relax, but it was hard for her to do so. She was taut with nerves, strung tight like a violin string, and growing anxious all of a sudden. She wanted the auction to begin so that she could get it over with, be done with it now. The noise level was rising as more and more people flooded in; she felt far too warm, and the smell of mingled perfumes was overwhelming.

The White Empress
. One of the most fabulous diamonds in the world. Her mind settled on it for a moment or two. She wanted it. She was determined to get it, but there was the real possibility that she might not. Somebody might easily outbid her.

She was accustomed to being in control—of herself, her business, her life, and she was not happy when she was not. It was certainly not possible to be in control of a public auction. Only the auctioneer had that kind of control, since it was he who determined everything, at least to a certain extent.

An unexpected thought popped into her head, and she had to bite back a smile. Of course she could be in control of this auction. But only if she was prepared to pay
anything
for the White Empress, top any bid. “I will,” she said under her breath, “I’ll outbid everybody here.” Somehow this Power of a Woman / 169

idea was liberating, and she felt the tension easing out of her. If she was prepared to pay any price, then she was not only in control already, she already owned the diamond. So invigorating and exciting was this possibility, Stevie clamped her mouth shut and looked at the catalogue. She was afraid that she might blurt out her thoughts to Matt.
A still tongue
and a wise head
, she heard Ralph’s voice saying in the far recesses of her mind.

Focusing in on the White Empress again, Stevie asked herself what she might conceivably have to pay for it, given her decision to outbid everyone present. Twelve, thirteen, even fourteen million?

Possibly. Maybe more. She wasn’t sure. The auction could go any which way; she knew this only too well. The reserve price, the presale price, was six million. In a way this did not mean very much. As Matt had just pointed out to her, the auction was jammed with many prominent international jewelers as well as a number of multimillionaires and billion-aires whom she had recognized instantly. If they
all
bid, the price would be pushed so high, it would be ludicrous.

André came back to his seat and squeezed her hand. “Gilberto thinks a lot of people are merely here for the excitement, for the fun of it. Do not worry.”

“Oh, I’m not worried, André darling,” she said, and she sounded positively nonchalant. So much so that both André and Matt looked at her alertly, then glanced at each other.

170 / Barbara Taylor Bradford

Suddenly the auctioneer was stepping up to the podium.

Instantly the room fell silent.

And so it began. The auction for the White Empress.

The lights dimmed and the color slides of the diamond suspended on its superb Harry Winston necklace flashed onto the screen that stood on the left of the podium. The auctioneer made his statement, giving all the details of the great diamond and its origins. The slide show finished, the lights went up, and the auctioneer started the bids rolling.

Looking out into the crowded room, he said with undisguised enthusiasm, “I’ll take the opening bid to my right. Two million dollars.” His eyes swiveled to the other side of the room. “Two million two hundred and fifty thousand from the center left. Two million five hundred thousand from the back of the room.”

After the opening bid of two million, the price was rising in increments of two hundred fifty thousand dollars. After years of attending auctions all over the world, Stevie was aware that the amount could change at the will of the auctioneer. It was he who made the decisions.

Finally she raised her paddle. The auctioneer acknowledged this with the merest flicker of an eyelash. “Three million from the center. Three million two hundred fifty thousand to my left. Three million five hundred thousand to the left

Power of a Woman / 171

front. Three million seven hundred fifty thousand at the back. Do I hear four million?”