Sarah knew Italian as an offshoot from knowing Latin, so she stumbled a bit as she worked to decode the last few maddening passages. But Italian was the missing element, and later that day, she had produced three lists of words and phrases. She didn’t know exactly what they referred to—but she knew they had to be correct.
The first list was mostly names: Ingres, Caldcott, Gainsborough, Sawyer, Rillings, and several others. She guessed they were artists, because the second list consisted of phrases such as “portrait of a young man in blue,” “head of a saint,” and “view from Bruges.” They must be specific pieces Charlie either bought or was trying to buy. The third list made little sense, even decoded. It was just words and broken phrases: Charlotte, 10,000 north, personal from M. Causer. Perhaps they would make sense to Theo.
On Monday, when she presented the newly decoded parts to Theo at the Athenaeum, he nearly laughed out loud. “This is perfect. You did it. You broke the codes.”
“But what does it mean?” she asked, hoping for a revelation. “Does it make sense to you?”
“Not yet,” he said. But he smiled at her. “Don’t worry, though. I can work with this.”
“You’re sure?” Sarah felt a thread of anxiety. “What if you can’t?”
“I will,” he promised. “And in plenty of time. Trust me?”
She nodded. She did trust him. “You’ll let me know, won’t you?”
“As soon as I can.” Theo paused, and she knew beyond a doubt he was thinking of kissing her. But he didn’t, and she wasn’t sure if she was relieved or not.
* * * *
Armed with the list of artists and paintings, Theo did a bit of research on his own, and then arranged to meet Giselle Villani again. She reprimanded him for standing her up the other night, but he persuaded her that he was serious about purchasing art, so she relented. In a calculated decision, Theo also dropped the information that he knew Charlie, a fact that made Giselle’s eyes gleam warily.
But even so, she was intrigued by what she thought Theo was, so he was able to get more information out of her over dinner.
Many of the pieces Charlie put into his coded list were works of art Giselle sold to him initially, though she didn’t know their whereabouts any longer. Theo could tell she definitely wanted to know—the pieces represented a fair amount of Charlie’s money.
“How did you meet?” Theo asked casually.
“He wanted to buy art. I’m a dealer in art. Is that so difficult to understand?”
“Did he say why he wanted to buy art in particular?”
“Why does anyone buy art? People like beautiful things.”
“I’ve seen some of the pieces he bought. They weren’t that beautiful.”
“Ah, well. Any collector is liable to make mistakes in the beginning.”
“Even with your expert guidance?”
“I told him what artists to watch for,” she said with a sniff. “Can I help it that he did not buy their best work?”
“A matter of money, perhaps? He didn’t have enough for the best?”
“I don’t know,” Giselle said, visibly irritated. “Why should you care?”
“Just curious. I’ve been impressed with Wolverton’s taste in other matters. I expected to like his choices in art too, but I suppose we differ on that.”
“In what matters did you admire his choices?”
“Women, for one.” He was telling the truth about that, at least with regard to Sarah.
But Giselle naturally thought he was referring to her. Her pout vanished. “Yes, well. He was an intriguing companion, I must say.”
“One might say the same about you.”
“I would let you say such a thing, my lord,” she purred. “But sadly, I am expected elsewhere this evening. If you go, my lord, do I have any hope that you’ll return? Or will you vanish again?”
“Giselle,” Theo said flatly, not pretending to be smooth or charming. “How many men walk away from you?”
“Very few,” she responded, just as candidly.
“Then you’ll see me again.”
She accepted that, and Theo was able to escape. He would see her again, but not for the reasons she expected. Giselle was neck-deep in the situation surrounding Sarah, and Theo had long ago decided which woman deserved his protection.