Page 4 of Right Place, Right Time
‘I know what provenance means.’ Adam doesn’t sound at all irritated. ‘I’m not quite the idiot you think I am.’
‘I don’t think you’re an idiot,’ I say hurriedly, horrified if that’s the impression I’ve given him. ‘Whatever gave you that idea?’
Adam smiles. ‘Nothing … Glad to hear it. So what else do you write about in your little notebook?’ Adam is leaning casually against what’s likely quite an expensive Queen Anne chest of drawers. Seeing him treating this beautifully crafted piece of furniture in this way while he folds his arms in front of him is irking me greatly. But I try desperately to put it to the back of my mind and concentrate on the job in hand.
‘After I’ve noted a possible value to a piece, and its likely provenance, I write down what its history might be – which helps me date the item,’ I add, hoping this makes sense. I actually do a lot more than that, but it doesn’t seem necessary to tell Adam that right now. He’d probably only find that amusing too.
‘Right, I see,’ he says, nodding. ‘You go into a lot of detail, then?’
‘I like to – yes.’ I can stand it no longer. ‘Can I just say that chest of drawers you’re leaning against could be worth quite a lot of money.’
Adam stands up and looks down at the chest of drawers. ‘Really?’
I nod.
‘Best not lean against it then, had I?’ He winks at me. I quickly turn away to look at a painting hanging over the fireplace and I’m surprised to find my cheeks feel flushed.
‘If it helps you at all, it was only my grandfather who lived here,’ Adam says while I continue examining the painting. ‘He passed away at the end of last year. My grandmother passed away many years ago. So it was justthe old fella rattling around here on his own in recent times.’
‘I’m sorry to hear that,’ I say, turning back from the excellent oil painting of Trinity College in Cambridge that I know I’ll be able to sell easily in the shop.
‘Yeah, well, he was ninety-five, so he’d reached a good age.’
‘That is good. There’s a chap who has a shop near to mine – he’s about ninety. I just hope I’m in as good a shape as him if I ever reach that age.’
Adam holds my gaze and smiles, so I hurriedly scribble something about the painting in my notebook.
‘Unfortunately, it took me a while to get back here so I could begin sorting the house. I’m the executor of his will. Have you ever been an executor of a will? There’s so much paperwork and forms to fill in.’ Adam pulls a pained expression, as if paperwork is the worst thing in the world. ‘There’s so many better ways I could be spending my time. But I guess it has to be done.’
I find myself wondering in what ways he might spend his time. But I quickly shake that thought away.Concentrate on the task in hand, Eve!
‘I was the executor on my grandmother’s will,’ I tell him. ‘She passed away a few years ago now, and before that I helped out a lot with my grandfather’s estate when he passed.’
‘Then you’ll know what a pain it is,’ Adam says, nodding.
‘Someone has to do it,’ I reply diplomatically. ‘It is a lot of work, but you don’t really mind too much if you cared for the person who died.’
‘That’s true.’ Adam agrees. ‘In my case, there was no one else. There’s only me left now.’
Again I want to ask more, but I stop myself. I have to get back to the court by five, I must press on with the rest of the house.
But as we move on to the next room, I can’t help wondering what’s happened to the rest of Adam’s family. I know from personal experience how it feels to be the last one. But I’m also aware that not everyone wants to share every part of their lives, especially with strangers.
‘You said before you’d only just been able to get here to arrange the clearance of the house. Do you live far away, then?’ I ask as I examine a large china cabinet full of interesting bits and pieces – I’ve already spotted some Beswick horses and some Royal Doulton figurines, and oddly among the more traditional and valuable items – a china fruit bowl filled with glazed red and green apples.
‘I’m live in London most of the time, but I don’t really have much of a permanent base because I’m away a lot.’
‘What do you do?’ I look around the rest of the room. I’m playing for more time in the beautiful drawing room we’ve just entered. There is so much here I’m interested in – as well as the china, there’s more paintings and some beautiful art nouveau furniture. But I’m beginning to wonder if this house clearance is going to be too big for me to cope with after all. My shop is only small; I will have to put some of this in storage until I have the room to sell it in the shop – either that or list it online for sale.
‘I work in music,’ Adam says. ‘So I travel quite a bit.’
‘Oh, yes, what sort of music?’ I say a little absentmindedly as I open up one of the cabinet doors, turn over a china dog and look at the maker’s mark underneath.
‘Can’t you tell?’
I put the dog down and turn to look at Adam. He’s standing with his legs apart, and his arms and hands out to the side, as if he’s asking me to guess.
‘Er … pop music?’
