Rare Objects (6 page)

So I practiced smiling instead—not too eager, not too wide, but a discreet, dignified smile, the kind of gentle, unhurried expression that I imagined was natural to women in this part of town, an almost imperceptible softening of the lips, just enough to indicate the pleasant expectation of having every desire fulfilled.

Eventually an older man arrived, head bent down against the wind. He was perhaps five foot five, almost as wide as he was tall, with round wire-rimmed glasses. He glanced up as he fished a set of keys from his coat pocket. “You're the new girl? From the agency?”

“Yes. I'm Miss Fanning.”

“You're tall.” It was an accusation.

“Yes,” I agreed, uncertainly.

“Hmm.” He unlocked the door. “I ask for a clerk, and they send me an Amazon.”

He switched on the lights, and I followed him inside. Though narrow, the shop went back a long way and was much larger than it looked from the outside.

“Stay here,” he said. “I'm going to turn on the heat.”

He headed into the back.

I'd never been in an antiques store before—the dream of everyone
I knew was to own something new. And I knew all too well the used furniture stalls in the South End where things were piled on top of one another in a haphazard jumble, smelling of dust and mildew. But this couldn't have been more different.

Crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling, the floors were covered with oriental carpets, and paintings of every description and time period were crowded on top of one another, dado rail to ceiling, like in a Victorian drawing room. There were ornate gilded mirrors, fine porcelain, gleaming silver. I picked up what I thought was a large pink seashell, only to discover that an elaborate cameo of the Three Graces had been painstakingly etched into one side. It was the most incredible, unnecessary thing I'd ever seen. And there was a table covered with maybe thirty tiny snuffboxes or more, all decorated with intricate mosaic designs of famous monuments, like the Leaning Tower of Pisa and the Great Pyramid at Giza, none of them bigger than a silver dollar. It was more like a museum than a shop.

Little cards with neatly printed descriptions were everywhere.

Here was a “17th-century French oak buffet,” a “gilded German Rococo writing desk,” a pair of stiff-backed “Tudor English chairs” in mahogany so old they were almost black. Tall freestanding cases housed porcelain vases, pottery urns, a trio of Italian Renaissance bronzes. A row of bizarre African wooden figures squatted on the floor, staring through round cartoon eyes, comical and yet shockingly sexual at the same time. And the prices! I had to keep myself from laughing out loud. Five hundred dollars for a dresser? You could buy a brand-new automobile for less! Near the back of the shop in glass display cases trinkets, watches, and fine estate jewelry were arranged against waves of dark green velvet. The ticking of half a dozen clocks hanging from the wall, ornamented with inlaid wood and gold, sounded gently.

The place even had a smell all its own, a rich musty scent of aging wood, old textiles, and silver polish. This was the perfume of centuries and continents, of time.

Now I knew why they'd wanted a “young woman of quality.” People didn't come here to replace a table or sofa; they were collecting, searching out the rare and unique. They wanted a girl who knew what it was like to acquire things out of amusement rather than need. Who sympathized with those whose lives were so pleasantly arranged that they hungered for beauty and meaning rather than food.

The old man returned, took off his hat. His thinning hair was weightless and fine, circling the widening bald spot on the top of his head like a white wreath. “It'll warm up soon. I'm Karl Kessler.” He gave a tug at his suit vest, which was struggling to cover his stomach. “What was your name again?”

“May. With a
y
, of course,” I added. (I didn't want to use the Irish name Maeve.) “I was named after the month of my birth,” I lied.

“And do you know anything about antiques, May with a
y
?”

“Oh, I know a little.” I tried to seem casual. “My family had a few good pieces. I was wondering, that buffet over there . . . is that oak, by any chance?”

“Why, yes. It is.”

“I thought so.” I flashed my well-practiced smile. “I'm so fond of oak, aren't you?”

He fixed me with a sharp black eye. “Where is your family from?”

“New York. Albany, actually. But I'm here staying with my aunt.” I ran my fingers lightly along the smooth finish of a Flemish bookcase, as if I were remembering something similar back home. “You see, I had a particularly troublesome beau, Mr. Kessler. We all thought it best that I get away for a while.”

“And you can type?”

“Oh, yes! I used to type all Papa's letters. But to be honest, I've never considered a sales job before.” I frowned a little, as if pondering the details for the first time. “I suppose it means working every day?”

“Yes. Yes, it does.” He nodded slowly. “But I thought the woman from the agency was sending me a girl with secretarial skills?”

“Dear old Maude!” I gave what I hoped passed as an affectionate chuckle. “You see, she's a family friend. I told her I'd try to help her out. Though, as it happens,” I added, “I did attend the Katherine Gibbs Secretarial School. Of course, it was more of a diversion than a necessity. But if I do something, Mr. Kessler, I like to be able to do it properly. I was taught that excellence and hard work are virtues, no matter what your situation.”

“I see.”

“And the wages?” I didn't want to seem overeager. “I suppose they're . . . reasonable?”

“Twenty-five a week. Does that seem reasonable to you?”

“I'm sure it will do very nicely.”

“So”—he leaned back against the counter—“do you have other interests?”

“Oh, yes! I like to travel and read, English literature mostly. Also I do a little painting and drawing. . . .” I tried to remember what the heroines in Jane Austen novels did. “I'm terribly fond of long walks and embroidery.”

He nodded again. “You read a great deal?”

“Absolutely. I love books.”

“So you know how to tell a story?”

“I certainly hope so, Mr. Kessler.”

“Well, selling isn't so different from telling a story. Everything here has a history. Where it comes from, how it's made. Why it's important. Once you understand that, the rest is easy. For example, take this piece.” He walked over to a small writing desk. “This is an eighteenth-century German Rococo
Toilletentisch
. This little table had many uses in its day. Primarily it would have been a dressing table, which is why it has a mirror in the center. Inside, below the mirror, the wash utensils would be stored.” He opened up the small drawers. “And to the sides, jars, combs, and jewelry. But that's not all. There's space for writing and working, playing card games. These tables are light enough to be easily carried from room to room. Mechanical fittings enable them to change use, for example from tea table to games table. It's a fine example from the workshop of Abraham and David Roentgen, specialists in constructing such furniture.”

“Why, it's ingenious!”

“Isn't it?” he agreed. “But that's not why someone would buy it. Someone would choose this little table over all the other little tables on this street for one reason alone: because it belonged to Maria Anna Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's older sister. Because this little table, with all its uses, sat in the same room, day after day, with the world's greatest composer as he learned his scales as a boy.” His hand rested tenderly on the delicate inlaid wood top. “She wrote in her diary here, the same diary that her brother would later steal and fill with false entries about himself, all in the third person.”

“Really?” Suddenly I pictured it in a room with a harpsichord and a violin, overlooking the cobblestone streets of Salzburg, snowflakes dancing in the icy winter air. “How do you know all that?”

Mr. Kessler gave a little shrug. “You doubt me? I believe it because that's what I'm told. Just as I believe you're from Albany and used to type all your father's letters.”

My heart skipped a beat, and I felt the heat rising in my cheeks. “Why . . . I'm not sure what you mean . . .”

He raised a hand to stop me. “A good counterfeit is as much a work of art as the real thing. Perhaps even better, May with a
y
. You see, I spoke to the lady at the agency yesterday afternoon. She rang to say she had a nice, reliable girl for me named Roberta, but she needed my address again because someone had stolen my card.”

I opened my mouth but nothing came out. I'd pushed it too far.

“And that, Miss Fanning, is how you sell an antique table. With a story and a smile and a healthy dose of truth and lies.” He cocked his head to one side. “The woman from the agency also told me to be on the lookout for a very determined redhead. I'm beginning to wonder, is your hair really blond?”

“Well, it is now!” I headed to the door.

“Where are you going?” he called.

I whipped round. “I beg your pardon?”

“You're angry!” Mr. Kessler chuckled. “Well, that beats all!”

“You think I'm
funny
?” Embarrassment vanished; now I was furious. “There's nothing funny about it, Mr. Kessler! I'm flat broke, and I need a job!”

“And I still need a clerk. In fact”—he ran his fingers through his beard—“a blonde from Albany would suit me very well.”

“Ha, bloody, ha!” I flung open the door.

“Hold on a moment! I need a girl who can make sales and keep the books, and who fits in with my customers.”

“What about Roberta?”

He gave a distinctly Eastern European shrug, a kind of slow roll of the shoulders that came from centuries of inherited resignation. “I doubt Roberta has your dramatic intuition. Now calm down and close the door. Let's see your dress.”

“Why?”

“Come now!” He made a soft tutting noise, as if he was luring a stray cat with a saucer of milk. “No one's going to hurt you.”

I closed the door and took off my coat, careful to hold it so the label showed. I was wearing the navy blue knit. It was the nicest outfit I owned, and even at that, I'd spent the night before darning moth holes beneath the arms.

Mr. Kessler opened up the jewelry cabinet and took out a long string of pearls and a pair of pearl clip-on earrings. “Here,” he said, handing them over. “You can wear what you like from the display, as long as it goes back at the end of the day. If a man comes in, he likes to see the jewelry on a pretty girl. It's the easiest way to sell it.”

I wasn't sure I understood. “Are you
hiring
me?”

“If you can keep the fiction for the customers, you might be rather useful. I'm looking for someone adaptable, with a pragmatic disposition. And I have to admit, your stories have flair.” He winked, tapping the side of his nose. “The bit about the persistent beau was clever. You'll be good at selling.”

“But . . . but aren't you afraid I'm going to steal something?”

He gave me a rather surprised look. “Are you?”

“Well, no.”

“You're an actress, May with a
y
. Not a thief,” he informed me. “A real thief doesn't warn you of their intentions.”

I followed him back behind the glass counters to a room
divided into two offices. He hung his coat up in one and pointed to the other. “You can use that desk. It's Mr. Winshaw's.”

“Won't Mr. Winshaw need it?”

“Mr. Winshaw isn't here. Do you drink tea or coffee?”

“Coffee, please.”

“So do I.” He gestured to the back storage room. “There's a sink in the bathroom and a kettle on the hot plate.”

Then he went inside his office and closed the door.

I stood there, unsure of what exactly had just happened.

Then I slipped the pearls over my head. There was no mistaking the real thing. They were heavy with a creamy golden-pink luster. The echo of some long-lost perfume clung to them; sensual, sharp, and sophisticated, it could be muted by time but not silenced.

Instantly they transformed that old blue knit; when your jewels are real, your dress doesn't matter.

But no sooner had I put them on than an eerie feeling came over me, at once familiar yet anxious and uncertain.

The pearls reminded me of someone—the girl on the far ward.

BINGHAMTON STATE HOSPITAL, NEW YORK, 1931

S
he was wearing pearls. That was the first thing I noticed about her. Large and even, perfectly matched, falling just below her collarbone over the thin blue cotton hospital gown. She strolled into the day room of the Binghamton State Hospital with its bare, institutional green walls and floor stinking of strong bleach like
she was wandering into the dining room of the Ritz. Willowy and fine boned, she had blue eyes fringed by long, very black lashes and deep brown hair cut in a straight bob, pushed back from her face. A navy cardigan was draped casually over her shoulders, as if she were on her way to a summer luncheon and had turned back at the last minute to grab it, just in case the weather turned.