‘Cow!’ Penny kept her voice down, although the door had closed behind Mrs B-W. She grabbed the champagne bottle from the silver bucket and refilled her glass. She looked down at the dog, who was still at her side.
‘Well, at least you like me, Gilbert.’
The dog nuzzled her leg with his nose and Penny stroked his head before going across to examine the painting on the wall at close range. She wiped her index finger on the back of a sofa to dry it before running it very gently across the surface of the wood. She felt a wonderful shiver of delight at direct contact with a work of art that had almost certainly been produced half a millennium ago. And if it really was a Bosch original, she knew she was touching one of the most valuable objects in the world. Her mood changed in an instant from grumpy to thrilled. As an artist, being offered the opportunity to study at close quarters and even touch something so rare and so valuable was an almost religious experience. The dog slid slowly back down until he was lying on the floor at her feet, all four paws in the air, grunting happily to himself. Penny rubbed him with her toe as she sipped her champagne and let her eyes roam across the three oak boards upon which the painting had been created. She was so engrossed in her inspection of it that she didn’t hear the door open or the footsteps behind her.
‘Penny?’ Her glass was almost empty by this time so she didn’t spill any wine as she jumped at the sound of the voice. Beside her, the dog sprang to his feet, tail wagging. She turned to find Olivia standing at her shoulder, a shy smile on her face. ‘Caroline told me your studies have been on Renaissance Art. I see you’ve found our Bosch.’
Penny’s eyes widened. ‘So it really is by him?’
Olivia nodded as she stroked the dog who had positioned himself strategically between the two of them. ‘He’s hard to confuse with any other artist, isn’t he?’
Penny nodded in return. The sylph-like pale naked figures in the paintings and the surreal monstrous shapes in the background really were unmistakable. She smiled at Olivia, still feeling greatly cheered by the sight of the triptych. ‘I thought all his work was in galleries and museums.’
‘My father bought this at auction in New York about ten years ago. It was found in a Dutch church, hidden in a hollow wall.’
Memory stirred in Penny’s head. ‘Of course, now I remember. It’s thought to have been painted pretty much at the same time as his Garden of Earthly Delights, maybe even some sort of preliminary study.’ She caught Olivia’s eye. ‘Thank you. I feel very privileged to have seen it up close like this.’
‘You’re very welcome.’ Penny couldn’t help noticing that Olivia, while more animated and less taciturn than the previous time they had met, was continually glancing nervously at the door in the wall through which her mother had disappeared. ‘Anyway, Penny, I just wanted to thank you for doing this for the Foundation. It’s a very worthwhile cause and my father put his whole heart and soul into setting it up.’ As she mentioned him, her eyes misted over and Penny could see that she was close to tears.
‘I promise I’ll do my very best.’ And she meant it. She was beginning to think that maybe Olivia wasn’t as bad as she had first thought. From what Caroline had said, her morose demeanour was presumably the result of grief, rather than surliness. Olivia looked up and caught Penny’s eye.
‘Thank you.’ There was an awkward pause and then she glanced down at the dog and changed the subject. ‘I’m delighted Gilbert’s taken to you. I suppose he must have been as surprised as I was when he first saw you. Tell me, do you find it a bit weird when you look at me? I have to confess that I find it so very strange… Just talking to you like this, I feel as if I’m talking to a mirror.’
Penny nodded. ‘You and me both. I keep seeing my reflection in windows and thinking it’s you following me.’ Both girls laughed, but their amusement didn’t last long. The door at the end of the room opened and Caroline appeared, an apologetic look on her face. She came across the room towards them.
‘Olivia, Mrs Brookes-Webster would like to see you as soon as possible, please.’
Olivia’s face fell back into its normal blank state and she excused herself, leaving the room immediately. Gilbert trotted along behind her and Penny was sorry to see him leave. Caroline caught Penny’s eye. ‘So, how did it go?’
‘I think it went fine. Mrs B-W even managed to concede that she thought I might do.’ She shook her head. ‘Anyway, I’ve been admiring this painting and Olivia’s just told me it really is a Bosch original. It’s like finding myself in a room with Einstein or Elvis. It’s mind-blowing.’
‘Real Elvis or an Elvis impersonator? I suppose you don’t get a lot of Hieronymus Bosch impersonators though, do you?’ Caroline was smiling.
‘You’d be surprised. Every now and then a painting surfaces that purports to be by the great man, but nine times out of ten, it’s a scam. Whereas this… this is just incredible.’ She gave the painting a final look and swallowed the last of her champagne, then suddenly had a much more practical thought. ‘Erm, Caroline, I was wondering. I don’t suppose there’s any chance of being paid this evening, is there? The electricity company’s going to cut me off any day now if I don’t pay up.’
Caroline nodded immediately. ‘Yes, of course. In fact, I’ll tell you what. Next week you’ve got two engagements as Olivia. The first’s just a drinks thing in London and then the weekend’s the Brighton conference. Why don’t I draw a thousand out and let you have it tonight so you can settle that and any other bills? Would that be enough for now? I’ll let you have the balance outstanding when we’re in Brighton.’
Penny was delighted and greatly relieved. ‘Caroline, that’s amazing. Thank you so much.’
‘No, thank you. I was chatting to the two old ladies on their way out and they had no idea you weren’t the genuine article. And they’re blood relatives. I know Olivia very well myself by now and I’m finding it almost impossible to tell you apart. You’ve even got the accent dead right. Gilbert’s worked out who’s who, but he seems to have taken a real liking to you as well as Olivia. I’m sure you’ll be a great success as her double.’
That night, Penny dreamt about Venice once again. This time, she was hurrying through darkened streets, accompanied by a big black dog. The strange thing was that every time she passed a shop window and caught sight of her reflection, she saw not one, but two figures. Her identical twin was right behind her, even if she couldn’t see her.
Chapter 7
As Owen was away, Penny went alone to a Botticelli exhibition at the National Gallery. Several of the paintings were on display for the first time in many years and she spent a long time studying them in minute detail. It was while she was up on the first floor, standing in front of his Primavera, a painting she had originally seen at the Uffizi in Florence, that something strange happened. She happened to glance to her right and caught sight of a man in the next room, standing in front of a painting, his attention riveted on it, although the painting itself was hidden from her eyes by the wall.
He was a tall man. His mass of unruly dark hair hung down to his collar and he had a bushy and rather unkempt beard. He was wearing jeans and a leather jacket and she couldn’t help noticing his broad shoulders and strong thighs. He looked fit and very handsome, almost like a film star in disguise. It was difficult to judge his age because of the beard, but she reckoned he must be a few years older than her, but not much, maybe early thirties at most. All of this in itself wasn’t strange. What was strange was the effect he had upon her. As she gazed at him, her knees turned to jelly and her head began to spin. She had to slump down on the leather bench in the middle of the room for fear of falling over.
She dropped her head into her hands for quite some time before raising her eyes and glancing back into the other room, but the man had disappeared from sight. She sat there for some minutes more, breathing deeply, wondering what on earth was going on. Her eyes focused on Botticelli’s painting once more, where Zephyr was reaching down towards the body of Flora
, the woman clothed only in a diaphanous robe. His eyes were staring into hers and she was staring back at him in eager anticipation of his touch. For a moment Penny found herself identifying with the woman in the painting. Something weird had just happened; something that had never happened to her before.
For a moment she wondered if it might be some sort of epileptic episode or a minor stroke, but the truth gradually began to dawn on her. What she had felt was powerful attraction; not just physical attraction, but something stronger than that, altogether more cerebral, more emotional. Could it be, she asked herself, that she had just had her first encounter with the phenomenon known as love at first sight? This was something totally new to her, but the more she thought about it, the more she wondered whether she, just like Flora in the picture, been struck by the lightning bolt of love?
The problem Penny now faced was that not only did she have no idea of the identity of the mystery man, but he had disappeared. Getting to her feet somewhat unsteadily she went over to the opening that separated the two rooms, but when she peered inside, he had indeed gone. She hurried down the length of the room, totally ignoring the priceless masterpieces on the walls either side of her, until she reached the door at the end. Beyond that, there was just the wide landing. She looked around in all directions but there was no sign of him. Leaning over the edge, she scrutinised the heads of the people down below in the atrium, but couldn’t see him anywhere. Making a quick decision she turned left, heading for the Impressionists. There, too, she found no sign of him, but she was prevented from broadening her search by a familiar voice.
‘Penny! I bet you’ve been checking out the Botticelli collection, haven’t you?’
It was Jimmy. Today, away from work, he was wearing a lime green suit that looked about two sizes too tight for him, the trousers finishing halfway up his calves, and the soles of his shoes about an inch thick. He looked like something out of Grease. Penny had no doubt that this represented the height of fashion, at least in some circles, although they weren’t circles with which she was familiar. He caught her eye, a look of concern on his face. ‘What’s the matter, gorgeous? Somebody nicked your handbag?’
Penny shook her head, as much to clear it as anything. ‘No, Jimmy, I’m fine. I was just looking for a friend.’
He reached over and took her arm. ‘Well, you’ve found one. Why don’t I buy you a cup of tea?’ He smiled encouragingly. ‘And a cake as well if you like. I’m in the money. I was at a very exclusive wedding yesterday, serving champagne to the great and the good, and they paid me handsomely.’
Penny took one last good look round and shrugged her shoulders. Her mystery man had disappeared and that was that. She looked back at Jimmy and laid her hand on his. ‘That’s a good idea, Jimmy, but you keep your money. We’ll split the bill.’
They found a free table downstairs and ordered a pot of tea. Penny refused his offer of cake and suggested he try one, but he declined, telling her he had to be careful of his figure. From the tightness of his trousers, she believed him.
‘So who was this friend you’ve been looking for?’ He had his quizzical expression on.
Penny hesitated. Had she dreamt the man with the black beard? After a pause, she decided to come clean and tell Jimmy. It would be good to have his take on what had happened back there. At least he would be able to tell her if she was going bonkers. ‘He wasn’t really a friend. In fact, I’ve no idea who he was, if he existed at all.’ She saw the interest in his eyes. ‘You see, Jimmy, it’s like this…’
He listened intently to her account of what had transpired, nodding sagely from time to time but, unusually for him, making no comment until she had finished. Only then did he deliver his verdict.
‘Well, I don’t think you need to worry about going bonkers. I’m sure he’s real and I think it was just a simple case of animal attraction. If you’d both been dogs, you’d have gone up to him and stuck your nose up his butt.’
‘Jimmy!’ Even so, she had to smile at the image he evoked.
‘From what you’ve said, he sounds like a real hunk.’ He sighed melodramatically. ‘Of course, I suppose there’s still a chance he might be gay. You get a lot of them in here.’ Daylight dawned in Penny’s head. She had been wondering what Jimmy was doing in here. Although he was a bright and a remarkably well-read boy, he had never demonstrated any particular interest in the visual arts for all the time she had known him.
‘So that’s what you were doing here; cruising?’
He gave her a look that was supposed to be stern. ‘I came to view the artworks, if you want to know. If, in the course of my visit, I were to come across a young man who was looking for a friend with whom he could discuss the finer points of painting, then so be it. I do like culture in a man.’ He took a sip of his tea. Although he drank regular builders’ tea with milk at the Apocalypse, he had chosen to take his tea this afternoon with a slice of lemon in it and was holding his cup very daintily as he drank. ‘No, there’s no doubt about it, if you want my opinion. You saw him, you fancied him rotten, and you came over all unnecessary as a result. Never mind, you’ll get over it. It happens to me all the time and I recover.’
‘Well, that’s a blessing.’ She was feeling better now, but she knew it would take a good long while before she got over what had happened to her back there.
‘So, are you telling me nothing like this has ever happened to you before? What about your ex down under?’ He gave her a cheeky grin. ‘That’s his geographical whereabouts I’m referring to, not what you’re thinking.’
‘Rick? I was very fond of him, if the truth be told; in fact, I’m pretty sure I loved him, but I never had that sort of instant shock when I first saw him.’
Jimmy shook his head wearily. ‘You’re pretty sure you loved him? That doesn’t exactly sound too convincing. I can’t imagine that line coming up in a Shakespeare play. They don’t call them Cupid’s arrows for nothing, you know. Twang, and they head straight for the heart. You don’t have to stop, bend down and pick the damn things up off the floor.’
Now it was Penny’s turn to shake her head. ‘I don’t believe all that love at first sight crap, Jimmy. Surely it’s impossible. I mean, the man could be a mass murderer or, even worse, an estate agent or something. And, in here, he could quite possibly be gay. How on earth somebody can claim to feel something as complex as love in the blink of an eye is inconceivable.’
‘And yet it’s been happening all the way through history. Anyway, for my money, that’s what’s just happened here.’
Penny drank her tea slowly and thought back to the effect seeing the man had had upon her. She still didn’t think she believed the whole love at first sight thing, at least as far as she was concerned, but finding a credible explanation for what had happened wasn’t easy. Finally, in her usual pragmatic way, she came to the only logical conclusion: she didn’t know, but it didn’t matter. ‘The thing is, Jimmy, he’s gone. I don’t know who he was, in fact I’m not totally sure he was ever there at all. Maybe I was just so caught up by all those amazing paintings that my imagination got the better of me. But, anyway, real or imaginary, he’s gone, I’m never going to see him again, so there’s no point agonising over what did or didn’t happen. As long as you’re fairly sure I’m not bonkers, that’s the end of it.’ Yet even as she said the words she knew, deep down, that if he really did exist, she would dearly love to see him again.
The Venice dream came back again that night. This time she was at the top of a high building, maybe a tower, and she was looking down hundreds of feet to the square below. As she watched, a tall man with an unruly mass of dark hair and a black beard emerged from one of the buildings and walked diagonally across the square away from her. She screamed and shouted, but he didn’t turn round and look back.
Chapter 8
Penny’s first official engagement was the following week and it very nearly went disastrously wrong. She had been told that it was a lunchtime drinks party for wealthy patrons of a nu
mber of charities, due to take place at the Southbank Centre. She was given instructions to come to the Brookes-Webster’s Notting Hill house at noon, dressed very smartly. Caroline spelled out in the email to her that this meant one of the more expensive designer dresses and high heels. Penny chose the very nice cream-coloured Chanel dress with a low, unsettlingly revealing neckline. Again on Caroline’s instructions, Penny took a cab all the way from her home to Olivia’s house, but she made sure she remembered to ask the driver for a receipt. Although Caroline had indicated that she would reimburse all expenses from petty cash, Penny didn’t want there to be any question of her claiming too much.
As she had feared, when she entered the lounge, she found only Mrs Brookes-Webster waiting for her. From what Penny had learned of her so far, this sort of showy, ostentatious event was likely to be right up her street. Olivia’s mother was positively dripping with jewellery and sporting yet another different hairstyle. Her fingernails today were dark red for a change, and her dress was very elegant and matched the nails, although Penny couldn’t help noticing that it was a little tight around the hips. She drew comfort from this as she endured another unsettling inspection. There was no sign of Caroline or Olivia, or even the dog, so Penny just had to grit her teeth and make the best of things. After subjecting her to close scrutiny, Mrs B-W reached for a box on the mantelpiece and took out a pair of earrings. She handed them to Penny.
‘Here, put these on. You need to be at your best today.’ Penny took them from her and looked down at them as they lay in the palm of her hand. They were surprisingly heavy. As she studied them, she had a terrifying feeling that the two sparkling stones she was holding were probably worth a fortune. They were.
‘In case you didn’t realise, these are real and very rare diamonds. They’ve been in the family for a long time, so make sure you don’t do anything silly with them. And I’ll need them back afterwards.’
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