"Pinewood marriage chest with groove joinery and hand-forged hinges in the shape of tulip buds." "Walnut sideboard." "16th-century French decorations of herms and griffin-shaped cartouches." "Embellished deplorably in the 19th century." "A pair of oak veneer cabinets in the Flemish style." "Upper section with two doors, featuring carved anthropomorphic figures and caryatids." "Something wrong, Mr. Oldman?" "Is it something important?" "If you were kind enough to let me have this as a gift," "I'd be delighted to accept." "I don't remember that object." "It may look like a useless piece of mouldy wood, but centuries ago, beneath the mould, there must have been a painting." " Good evening, Mr. Oldman." "How are you?" " Very well." "The management and staff of Steirereck would like to offer our very best wishes, Mr. Oldman." "Happy birthday, Mr. Oldman." "This year, our chefs wish to dedicate in your honour an ancient recipe of a Renaissance dessert made of choux cream and bitter almonds." "Enjoy." " Most likely a rash or something." " lt must be that." "Was it not to your taste, Mr. Oldman?" "Quite the contrary, but you see, my birthday is tomorrow." "It is now 10:35 p.m. and I'm very superstitious." "Pretend I had accepted." "The day after tomorrow, then." "The director of the Vatican Museums would be grateful if you could call him back." "The reliquary attributed to Cellini, I presume." "In any case, the report on this is ready." "There's a pile of gifts." "What shall I do with them?" "Send them all to my house except the mobile phone." " Only one this year." " Good." "Word's out that I hate those things." "Unless you've changed the habits of a lifetime, you'll have to answer that yourself, Virgil." "It's the first call on your birthday." "Tradition." "Hello." "Please, believe me." "I have no wish to waste your time." " Who's speaking?" " It's me again, Claire Ibbetson." "Please, please don't hang up on me again." "You're Mr. Oldman's secretary, aren't you?" "You can speak to me." "It makes no difference." "You see, I don't know anybody." "I'm on my own." "I'm sorry, Miss lbbetson, but this is not a charity helpline." "I'm not explaining myself very well." "You see, I'm not in the habit of speaking to people very much." "Believe me, that's a considerable stroke of good fortune." "Talking to people is extremely perilous." " Well, I'm desperate" " However, it was you who made the call, so you're running the risk." "It's about furniture that belong to my parents' villa." "They... about a year ago." " You see?" " I understand." "An estate of great..." "Well, I've always heard it referred to as being of..." "Extremely valuable." "Very rare pieces, including paintings." "Unfortunately, I have no photographs." "So what?" "To be honest, I haven't decided yet, but I would like to have a..." "Oh, I'm out of my depth." "What's the word?" " Valuation." " Exactly." "That is why I asked to speak to Mr. Oldman." "To make an appointment." "Does Mr. Oldman already have the pleasure of knowing you?" "Oh, no, not at all." "He doesn't know me." "But I know a lot about him." "Mr. Oldman's assistants are responsible for preliminary assessments." "If you hold on, I'll put you through." "Perhaps I didn't make myself clear." "I must speak to Mr. Oldman in person." "Mr. Oldman never presides over early appraisals." "But you see, before he died," "Dad told me that if I decided to sell everything," "I should entrust the auction sale to Mr. Virgil Oldman." "In his opinion, the best." "Sold!" "Ladies and gentlemen, it gives me great pleasure to present lot 231, an ancient refracting elongated telescope constructed by the Italian scientist Galileo Galilei." "And it's still in perfect working order." "Can we open bidding, please, at €1,000,000?" " 1,100,000." " 1,100,000." "1,200,000." "1,300,000." "1,400,000 on the telephone." "1,500,000 back in the room." "1,600,000." "1,700,000." "1,800,000 in the room." "1,900,000." "€2,000,000." "At €2,000,000!" "Gesundheit." "Was that a bid, sir?" "At €2,000,000. 2,100,000." "2,300,000 on the telephone." "2,500,000." "I can sell it." "2,700,000." "At 2,700,000." "Any more?" "Are we all done?" "At €2,700,000 euros." "Sold!" "Congratulations, sir." "Lot 232." "Disciple of Boris Gregorian, Thurst." "Oil on canvas, 60 x 70." "This one will go to the best offer." "€1,000." "€2,000." "€3,000." "€4,000." "€5,000 online." "€6,000." "€7,000." "€8,000." "9,000 on the telephone." "10,000 back in the room." "€11,000 online." "12,000. 13,000 online. 14,000. 15,000." "This is not doing my neck any good, you know." "At €15,000." "€20,000." "At 20,000 euros." "Any more?" "Sold!" "Beautiful, isn't it?" "Yes." "Very." "You never miss a trick, do you, governor?" " Who is it really?" " Yansky." "A Russian painter who died young in the late '30s." "An outstanding landscape painter." "But among his many splendid landscapes, he painted three portraits." "Only three in his whole life." "And this is one of the three." "It's double, all right?" "How long have we known each other, Virgil?" "Quite a while." "We've pulled off some sharp tricks time after time." "Remember Milo Hensen?" "You were the only one who knew from the start he was going to be really big." "We got that portrait of his mother for a song from under the noses of that bunch of idiots." "Must be worth a fortune now." "You almost sound bitter you didn't get a bit more." "Have we ever talked about money, you and me?" " In all honesty, no." "Never." " It's been good enough for you." "It's always been good enough for me, your misery." "What matters is that you're satisfied." "My only regret is never being able to persuade you that my paintings are evidence of a great artistic talent." "The love of art and knowing how to hold a brush doesn't make a man an artist." "You need an inner mystery." "A knack, my dear Billy, you've never possessed." "You're right." "Double wasn't enough." "In all my 36 years in this business, never has anyone had the gall to keep me waiting 40 minutes under the rain." "It's a disgrace!" "An appalling display of bad manners!" "Please, let me explain." "I tried to call you office." " Be quiet!" "There's no excuse." " I tried to call your office." "Never come near me again, do you understand?" "But nobody answered and I don't have your mobile number." "I do not possess a mobile phone." "It's the lbbetson woman on the phone." " Tell her to go to hell." " She's crying." "Sounds desperate." "Serves her right." "She was hit by a car." "She was on her way to meet you." "So much the worse for her." "It's no concern of mine." "She said she was left unconscious." "She was lying in a pool of blood when the ambulance arrived." "All right." "Put her through." " Yes?" " Thank you." "Please forgive me." "I had no intention to be in any way disrespectful." "Nothing too serious, I hope." "No." "Fortunately, they'll let me out tomorrow." "Good." "Well, I hope you make a speedy recovery." "Would you consent to make a new appointment?" " Please." " All right." "But I must tell you I'm sending an assistant." "I hope it's the same one that I spoke to last time." "What do you mean?" "Well, I can't explain it, but I understood from the outset that voice could only have been yours, Mr. Oldman." "Truly surprising, wouldn't you say?" "We think we'll be able to bring out the whole face, part of her dress and the left side of the background." "Incredible!" "But what made Mr. Oldman think that it would?" " What period would you say it's from?" " Too soon to say." "Perhaps Mr. Oldman will be able to work this out more quickly and better than us." " It's a fake." " How is that possible?" " It's beautiful!" " I didn't say it was ugly." "I said it wasn't authentic." "From an initial analysis of the pigments and wood, we thought it was pre-17th century." " Even older, if that matters." " Then it must be worth something." "It is a work by Valiante, the celebrated female forger of the 16th century." "She copied the masterpieces of her day, but she couldn't sign them, because she was a woman." "So she marked them with a personal code hidden in the folds of the drapery or in the present case, in the gaze of the subject." "The beam of light on the iris is nothing if not a V." "That is Valiante." "It is worth something, but nothing compared to the original." " Are you Mr. Oldman's assistant?" " Yes." "I'm Fred, the caretaker." "Pleased to meet you." " Please, come in." " Thank you." "And Miss lbbetson?" "Miss Ibbetson sends her apologies, but during the night she was running a temperature." "She should have called me." "I could have spared myself another wasted trip." "Well, give her my best wishes." "Miss Ibbetson asked if you would go ahead with the valuation." "She's instructed me to show you around the house." "Everything's at your disposal." "Come with me." "In fact, Miss lbbetson was hoping to meet your boss." "It doesn't matter, considering your mistress didn't show up either." "Fair enough." "Anyway, I suppose it'll get the job done quicker." "Forgive the mess." "It's gone to wrack and ruin ever since Miss lbbetson's parents died." "Let's go up." "How long since the owners died?" "By the look of the place, you'd think it was centuries ago, but it's only been one year." "First Mrs. Ibbetson and then, scarcely 45 days later, poor Mr. Ibbetson." "You have a good look." "Take your time." "Just getting these curtains open." "Too many windows in this room." "Okay." "How many brothers and sisters does Miss lbbetson have?" "None at all." "She's an only child." " Is she married?" " No." " Has she ever been?" " No, no." "I don't think she even has a boyfriend." " Grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, in-laws?" " No, none at all." "As far as I know, Miss lbbetson is on her own." "So many rooms." "You know, I've never managed to count them all." "Have there been other valuations before me?" "Absolutely none." "Yours is the first." "Miss lbbetson is extremely fond of this house." "Maybe too fond." "She would have prefer to keep everything, but what can you do?" "The empire crumbles." "A woman on her own can't cope." "Is she thinking of putting the house up for sale as well?" "That, I don't know." "Maybe a part of it." "I don't think she'll get rid of the whole place." "What kind of work does Miss Ibbetson do?" "I couldn't say." "I only dealt with her parents." " May I see the cellars?" " It's this way." "It's a long way down." "Go ahead." "I honestly don't get it." "In all the months I've known you, Robert, I've never seen you beaten." "I've watched you produce all manner of weird and wonderful gadgets from the most unremarkable ironwork." "Optical or arithmetical devices, water clocks..." "Even that hairdryer that probably dried the locks of Jules Verne's wife." "But you've nothing to say about this curious contraption?" "I'm surprised that an art connoisseur like yourself can get so carried away by a banal piece of ironwork." "It's not the object in itself that arouses my curiosity, but it's contradiction." " Contradiction?" " Look." "I found it in this position in contact with damp flooring, but the rust is all along the top of the cogs, nowhere near the damp." "What does all this mean?" "That the object plainly hadn't been there for very long." "Probably got rusted in some other place." "Or someone turned the thing upside down." "That's all, nothing more than a useless exercise in deduction." "Hi, Robert." "Did you manage it?" "Did you ever doubt me, huh?" "This works perfectly now." "And I transcribed the recording from the tape." "You're a genius." "How much do I owe you?" "Oh, nothing." "So maybe one day you'll invite me to diner." "Count on it." " Can I give you a kiss?" " Yes, you can!" "That is one thing I am good at." " Good evening." " Good evening." "William Adolphe Bouguereau, The Birth of Venus." "Authentic." "Umberto Veruda, The Honest, 1890." "You've been the talk of the town lately." "I was hoping to see you on television." "I don't like to appear." "I prefer to remain in the shadows." "We're much the same that way." "That doesn't mean we'll be able to agree." "My secretary's been going mad looking for you." "How do you know that an unknown painter will become famous and collectable?" "Intuition, Miss Ibbetson." "The same intuition that makes me doubt your intentions." "Sorry if I've given you that impression, but I've already entrusted you with my belongings." "That's not how things work." "There has to be a signed contract before an inventory can be drawn up." "It's a lenghty process, and unless you stop fooling around and decide to come out into the open, it will never even get started." "Go ahead with the inventory, Mr. Oldman." "The day you begin, I'll meet you at the villa." "And we'll reach an agreement." "You have my word." " Take these paper samples." " Yes, sir." "Be careful!" "I'm not sure, but it looks German to me." "Austrian." "Careful with that." "It's almost 11:00, the appointment was for 8:30." "Oh, she's not answering her mobile, but if she said she'll come, she'll be here." "It doesn't look like the piano needs restoration." "Quite so." "We only have to check the keyboard, but we don't have the key." "Well, here it is." " Last time there was no key on the lock." " Looks good." "Mr. Oldman!" "Would you help me with the bookcase?" "Italian bookcase in solid wood." "First half of..." "Who smashed this?" "Nobody, Mr. Oldman, it was already broken." "Is this part of the house inhabited?" "Why?" "There have been some changes." "I don't know why" "No, no, Mr..." "I'm sorry, I'm not sure of your name." "I thought you were..." "It doesn't matter who I am." "But I assure you nobody lives here." "Be that as it may, if your mistress is not materialised by midday," "I will have no option but to suspend operations and remove myself." "Mr. Oldman!" "Miss lbbetson." "Hello, Mr. Oldman?" "Mr. Oldman, can you hear me?" "Mr. Oldman, I don't know how to apologise." "I don't know what must you think of me." "At least spare me the self-serving justifications." "Please, let me speak." "I cannot lay a hand on your possessions without a signed contract." "Is that clear?" "Would you be so kind and leave it on the table in the hallway?" "You'll find it signed." "I accept all your conditions." "Yes, but I do not accept yours, Miss Ibbetson." "I'm not in the habit of doing business with the phantom of a silly, superficial woman!" " Be careful!" " Be careful!" "I can quite understand your exasperation, Mr. Oldman." "But please believe me I didn't mean anything by it." "It's been a series of unfortunate, unintentional mishaps." "So what exactly happened today, Miss Ibbetson?" "My car was stolen and I had to go to the police to report it." "Which police station did you go to?" " The one in the city centre." " Whereabouts in the city centre?" " On the main square." " Which square?" "That's enough of this interrogation!" "No more of this!" "Who do you think you are?" "!" "Are you here, Miss lbbetson?" "What do you mean?" "What kind of question is that?" "Are you here?" "I don't understand." "I don't understand." " lf you're here, come out at once and explain" " Stop it!" "the meaning of this senseless game, which I do not find in the least amusing." "Call me tonight at around 9 o'clock." "I'll explain everything." "Well, it's the same material and the same workmanship too." "Yeah, there is no doubt these belong to the same system." "There's no signature, no mark, no inscription?" "I mean, I've got the rust and the oxidisation off the other piece." "There's nothing." "I can do the same with these, but, I mean, right now, I can't see anything." "What have you found?" "The technique, in which the cog has been attached to it's axis." "I mean, it's old, really old." "I've never seen anything like it." "Here, look." "Have a look." "It's 18th century." "We could be onto something big here." "Could you hazard a guess as to what it is?" "Three pieces of the mosaic is just not enough, Mr Oldman." "In the last few years the old couple were both unwell." "The house was in a terrible state even then." "Mr. Ibbetson was always saying that sooner or later they'd have to sell something." "And Miss Claire." "How old is she?" "About 27." "What else can you tell me about her?" "Nothing really." "I've never had much to do with her." "I don't really know her at all." "And yet you've been in the service of the lbbetsons for about 10 years." "Well, 11 years to be exact." "But as I was saying, I didn't have much to do with her." "I've talked to her a thousand times at all hours, but..." "But?" "To tell you the truth, I've never seen her." " How could that be?" " It's the truth." "Not once." "Why?" "Because Miss Claire suffers from a very strange illness." " Hello." " Good evening, Miss Ibbetson." "It's Oldman here." "I was expecting you to call." "Believe me, I have no wish to quarrel and I'm sorry if I was rude today." "It doesn't matter." "But if on one hand I confirm I am available, at the same time I cannot permit this joke in poor taste to continue any longer." "I wish to tell you to cease all involvement in my affairs." "I apologise for the trouble I've caused you." "Let me have your bill for expenses." "Good night." "Lot 93." "Valiante." "Portrait of a Lady." "First half of the 16th century, inspired by the Portrait of a Young Girl by Petrus Christus." "Oil on wood. 30 x 40." "I have here an opening bid of £20,000." " 22,000." " 22,000." "24,000." "26,000 on the telephone." "28,000 in the room." "30,000." "35,000." "Thank you, sir." "40,000 on the telephone." "45,000 in the room." "50,000." "55,000." "60,000." "65,000 on the telephone." "70,000." "At 70,000." "Any advance on 70,000?" "75,000." "80,000 on the telephone." "Any more?" "All done at £80,000." "All done at 80,000." "£90,000." "Any more?" "Sold!" " Thank you, sir." " I offered £90,000 too." "Mr. Oldman should have been aware of that." "I don't believe so, Mrs. Durane." "Mr. Whistler made the bid of £90,000." " He was the only one." " They bid simultaneously." "She got her bid in first." "I saw it." "What should we do, Mr. Oldman?" "I am the biggest collector of Valiante forgeries and I'll sue you!" "You were too slow, Billy!" "That's all there is to it!" "You didn't get in with your bid in time!" "And you were too late!" "Too late!" "You didn't keep up with me for Christ's sake!" "The old trout was behind me." "If I'd seen her, I'd have committed another bid." "You're losing it!" "You're losing it!" "You're losing it!" "Maybe you're right, maybe I'm not up to it like I used to be, but it's not the first time we've messed up." "It's the way things go." "Never went into a rage like this before." "That wasn't a Valiante forgery." "It was the genuine one article by Petrus Christus." "It'll be worth £8 million." "Woe be me." "I'm sorry." "Honestly." "But even when we lost Van Gogh's Lady With The Fan, you didn't take it this hard." "What's going on, Virgil?" "642." "729." "918." "1,011." "1,119." "1,320." "1,404." " What will you have?" " 1,581." "Tea, thank you." "8,109." "8,725." "Sorry, darling, 8,625." "8,725!" "8,725!" "Take a closer look, you moron." "Shit, You're right!" "8,725." "Well done, girl!" "That's it?" " Bye!" " Bye!" "I gave them a thorough clean with this special fluid." "And I have studied them millimetre by millimetre." "And look what's come up." "Vaucanson!" " I can't believe it!" " Jacques Vaucanson." "18th century constructor of automata." "When I was a student, I did my thesis on him." "That's incredible!" "It seems one of his most famous androids even managed to talk." "Exactly." "People would pay money to ask it questions." "The android would move its head, bow, and give its reply." "You know, I bet there was someone hiding inside." "A dwarf maybe." "Just like Edgar Allan Poe suspected in the case of Maelzel's Chess Player, huh?" "More than likely." "But the mystery that nobody was ever able to explain was how Vaucanson's automaton always got it right." "Of course there was some trickery in making the automaton talk." "But everything it said was true." "You bring me all the pieces, and I promise I can put them back together exactly how Vaucanson had them." "I don't doubt it, but I fear I've lost the chance of getting my hands on the missing pieces." "Well, they must be in the same place that you found these." "And all I need is 80% of the elements, and I can work out the rest and rebuild it myself." "It's not that easy." "I'm sorry, Mr. Oldman." "That's my girlfriend." "Hey, Sarah." "Sarah, this is Mr. Virgil Oldman." "Pleased to meet you, Sarah." "It's a pleasure." "Robert has told me so much about you." "I thought young people had more exciting things to talk about." "Listen, why don't you come and grab a bite with us?" "That's very kind." "Another time, thank you." "All right, we won't insist." "But it's a promise." " Bye." " Goodbye." "Cancel the trip to New York and tell the Alphasons to meet us here." "It was us who called the meeting." "So we've changed our minds." "Is that a problem?" "All right, Mr. Oldman." "Claire lbbetson's been on the phone." "What does she want now?" "She asked whether you could meet her today at 2:30." "Meet her where?" "At the lbbetson villa." "Where else?" "I'm extremely grateful to you for accepting the invitation, Mr. Oldman." "How did you know it was me?" "Fred has a limp." "You don't." "Ah." "To be honest I didn't expect you'd want to speak to me." "I know you can't stand my excuses." "If I were you, I wouldn't either." "In fact, your beh..." "How should I put it?" "Speak frankly." "Don't worry." "I won't deny that your whimsical little ways are getting a bit tiresome." "I hope not too tiresome." "But I wanted to say sorry for..." "well, for my behaviour." "Typical of a "silly, superficial woman", as you put it." "Why do you systematically avoid meeting me?" "Nothing personal, believe me." "Of course I wouldn't assume you'd want to do business with a person who arouses such deep seeded aversion in you that you can't even look him in the face?" "It's not easy to explain to you, because I know you won't believe me anyway." "If I didn't believe you, I wouldn't be here playing hide and seek." "I don't meet many people." "It's been a long time now." "I see nothing serious in that." "Everybody has moments when they prefer solitude to the multitudes." "I haven't left this house since I was 15." " I don't think I understand." " You understand perfectly." "This is my room." "If there's somebody wandering around the house or in the villa," "I lock myself up in here." "I've always done that, even when my parents were here." "I hardly ever saw them." "I don't see anybody." "But why?" "Why do you go around with your hands covered by gloves?" "It's a simple question of hygiene." "I don't see the connection." "You're afraid of touching others." "It disgusts you to put your hands near their possessions." "I'm afraid of going to places where other people live." "These seem to me very similar personal choices." "You'd like me to believe that for 12 years you haven't walked along a street?" "I see you know my age." "Wanting to be a hermit and employing a caretaker in the house doesn't add up." "I walk about quite a bit, if that's what you want to know." "Inside the villa when there's nobody here." "Which is often now." "But I never go out." "The very idea paralyses me." "I hope you understand me now." "And I hope that, within the limits of your profession, you'll help me." "You have my word, Miss lbbetson." "As to any agreement between us," "I leave it to you to set your fee." "I trust you blindly." "Leave the contract on the table." "You'll find it signed next time." "Now, please, I'm very tired." "Apart from your fondness for my gloves, what made you decide to call me again?" "I haven't been particularly kind to you." "I was taken by the way you were looking at my house yesterday from the bar opposite." "You found the missing pieces." "In the meantime, you'll have to make do with just this one." "How much would the automaton be worth, if we managed to put it together and make it work?" "Think of a really, really high figure." " Do you have one in mind?" " Yes." "You've probably made the mistake of pitching it too low." "You know, you're very good at talking without actually saying anything." "I'll take that as a compliment." "In any case, should things go the way I trust they will, you'll be very handsomely rewarded." "Listen, I didn't mean to talk about money." "It's a real privilege for me." "Where did you on earth find these rarities?" "There are very precise rules in the world of antiques." "It's forbidden to reveal one's sources." "There's a few more gears but bigger in that corner." "Gather them together." "I'll take care of the cataloguing myself." "Of course." "Candlesticks." " Which period?" " 17th-century." "Repair." "Mr. Oldman." "Mr. Oldman." "Yes?" "What have you decided about the furniture in this wing?" "We're only at the stage of drawing up the inventory." "After that, you can tell me what to leave out." "Thank you." "Listen, Miss lbbetson, I can't help thinking about your situation." "I'm sorry to have intruded on your thoughts." "That's not the point." "I've been wondering how you can live like this." "I'm quite organised and totally self-sufficient." "I don't need any help, but I appreciate your concern." "You're welcome." " See you soon, then." " Have a good day." "Mr. Oldman!" "Your contract." "I read it and it seems fine to me." "I initialled every page and signed the last." "That's how it's done, isn't it?" "Perfect." "But I see your personal details are missing." "Take them from my passport." "But it expired quite some time ago." " Personal details never expire." " That's true enough, I suppose." "I was just a girl then, but it'll do for your purposes." "I wanted to mention that in certain critical cases my advice is to proceed directly to restoration." "You know best." "It means the whole thing will take a little longer." "We can widen the scope of the valuation." "I understand." "You dye your hair." "I never noticed." "I'm disgusted by people who don't trust the colour of their own hair!" "I trust even less people who have such a high opinion of themselves that they won't even poke their nose outside the door!" "Ah, sir, there'll be no more caretaker service as from Monday." "I'll just come in to bring Miss lbbetson her shopping." " The matter is of little interest to me." " These are the keys for the house." " Why give them to me?" " It's what Miss lbbetson wanted." "In case you needed access for further inspection." "When you come in, slam the door, otherwise she'll get scared and panic." "I'm going off my head trying to work out the alignment of these devices, you know, just trying to figure out which one fitted into which." " That can't be easy." " But not impossible." "You know, gearboxes are like people." "If they've been together long enough, then, eventually, they take on each other's forms." "So, you believe time can make any kind of co-habitation possible?" "Yeah, well, absolutely." "You've reminded me of a friend of mine, who met a much younger girl." "She was inflicted with agoraphobia." "What's that?" "Fear of open spaces and distances?" "Exactly." "She lived for years locked up in an apartment on her own." "Recently, she gave him the keys to her house and ever since, he's been in a state of permanent anxiety." "What did I tell you?" "Now he's gonna be constantly worried about her." "He's gonna be thinking," ""What does she need, shampoo, medicine, tights, yoghurt?"" "It's beautiful, isn't it?" "I'm not so sure." "Now, you tell your friend to stay calm, 'cause time is already working on their gearboxes." "And there you are, Mr. Oldman." " Are you angry with me?" " Why should I be?" " What I said about your hair." " Not at all." "I was just calling to ask if you wish the sale of the furniture to be identified by your family name." "Or do you prefer anonymity?" " Anonymity, anonymity." " Good." "This time, I did see you." " Oh?" " On TV." "I don't generally give interviews, but I was forced to." "You're more intriguing this way." "You'll be a great success with the ladies." "So, we go to Lot 132." "Gustave Rett, Portrait of a Woman With a Hat." "1956." "Oil on canvas. 80 x 100 cm." "This one goes to the best offer." "£10,000." "Fred, any news from Miss lbbetson?" "She hasn't answered the phone in days." "It's been a while since I heard from her too." "I've been in bed all week with pneumonia." "Who's been bringing things to eat?" "Miss lbbetson?" "Miss lbbetson?" "Miss lbbetson, answer me!" "Claire?" "Claire, are you all right?" " Oh, no!" "Please!" " No, no." " It's me, Claire." " Get out!" " It's me, Mr. Oldman." " Get out!" "Go away!" " Listen to me, it's Mr. Oldman." " Get out!" "There's nobody else here." "Calm down." "Claire, what's wrong?" "Tell me what happened." "I wasn't well." "I didn't know who to call." "Nobody answered." "And then I fell." "I fell and I hit my..." " Claire, open the door!" " No, no!" " You need to see a doctor!" " No, please!" "Please!" "Please!" "Please, no!" "Can you fix a broken auctioneer as well?" "I wouldn't know where to begin." "It's good to see you again, Mr. Oldman." "Is something wrong?" "You seem more preoccupied than usual." "Too many woodworms and spider webs and too few masterpieces." "Could we put it that way?" " So, how's our toy coming along?" " Ah." "Well, I've managed to put some sections back together." "But, I mean, there's just still too many pieces missing." "The entire exterior." "And we still can't establish what kind of character he is." "Like that friend of mine and his girl in the tower." "Yeah, well, maybe." "Although we've never seen our android." "We're still groping around in the dark." "So is he." "He speaks to her but through a closed door." " Closed door?" " Yes." "If there's anybody moving about in the house, she barricades herself in her room." " You mean he's never seen her face?" " Not only him, no one has." "That's a bit like when two young people meet on the internet." "The first day they get to know each other, and then they reveal themselves." "She won't reveal herself." "Maybe that's because he hasn't got a good strategy." "So, it's more difficult for my friend to succeed in his enterprise than for us to reconstruct the Vaucanson automaton?" "Depends on the number of rusty pieces you're able to bring me." "Well..." "Here's one more." "That's a mobile phone." "This is brand new." "I'm the one that's rusty, because I don't know how to use it." "Do you think you could teach me before your girlfriend gets here?" " Hello." " Good evening, Mr. Oldman." "It's Claire Ibbetson." "Am I disturbing you?" " Is it too late?" " No, not at all, Miss lbbetson." "I told you, from now on, you can call me any time you like." "I wanted to thank you for everything, really." "No need." "All that's important is you're feeling better now." "Yes, it was just a small cut on the head." "I'm much better." "I wanted to tell you, I looked over the inventory." "Oh!" "What do you think?" "You've done a great job." "Really, you have." "But I'm troubled by so many doubts." "I'm not sure if it's a good idea to sell." "What would you advise?" "I couldn't say." "I don't really know what your plans are." "Why did you decide to sell in the first place?" "Out of necessity in order to start life afresh or some other reason?" "All of the above, I suppose." "I'd even sell the house." "It's too big for me now." "Sometimes, I feel as though I were in a public square." "I'd like something smaller." "But the idea of having to leave here and go somewhere else fills me with dread." "How would I manage it?" "Wear blindfolds?" "Have myself carried out while asleep?" "I'd get into a state and end up putting everything off again and again." "You have all the time in the world to make up your mind, Miss Ibbetson." " You think?" " Well, I mean until the catalogue is printed." "Don't torment yourself." "Think of yourself, your future." "That's the biggest torment of all." "When I think about it, I can't even work." "I didn't know you were working." "I write." "I write novels, stories, things like that." "I'd like to read them." "I'll buy some." "Luckily for both you and me, you'll never manage to." "Why not?" "Because I write under a pseudonym and I loathe what I write." "Artists always loathe what they produce, Miss lbbetson." "Yesterday, you called me Claire." "I wasn't aware." "I was in a state of alarm." " Sorry." " I'd like you to continue." ""I'd like you to continue." She said it to him, just like that." "Well, what did he say?" "He was taken back, but he went along with what she wanted." "What else could he do?" "I would have asked her to do the same, call me by my first name." "That's not his style." "Besides, I don't think my friend intends to court her." "Well, then he'll never get her out of there." "Besides, I don't think my friend intends to court her." "Besides, I don't think my friend intends to court her." "What a horrible voice!" "I'd have thought he'd at least have desired to see her face." "Desired's probably not the right word." "Curious to see her, perhaps." "Yes, I could understand that." "But the chances of it happening seem to be really remote." "Well, there might be a way." "Just depends on how brave your friend is." " The French bureau with the chiming clock." " Yes." "The table inlaid with brass on elm." "The one with the roll top." "No, I'd like to keep that." "Well, that's it." "Next time, we'll do the paintings." " Okay." " One last thing, Claire." "You'll have to decide whether we do the photography here or in a studio." "Better in a studio." "I don't want too many people around the house." "That's the best solution." "Well, I'm off now." " Anything you need?" " No." "Thank you, Mr. Oldman." "When will we next see each other?" "You mean, when do you see me, since I am not given that privilege." " Forgive me." " But soon." " Have a good day." " You too." "Hello?" " I can't believe it!" " I couldn't sleep at night, Virgil." "I had to do something to make you forgive me." "But how did you get it?" "I heard that Mrs. Durane had fallen on hard times." "So I persuaded her to sell it to me for £250,000." "Not exactly cheap!" "I thought it was a reasonable price." "You were talking about 8 million." "This way, everyone gets a good deal." "How much do you want, Billy?" "I don't want a penny more than I gave the old girl." "Now you're really losing your grip." "I just want to get back to where we were." "When I was your friend, your accomplice, your trusted procurer of women." "If you're doing all this to win back my trust, Billy, it's been a bad deal for you." "Because you never lost it in the first place." "This is great!" "This is great!" "You found some really important stuff here." "The best bit is this." " An ear." " A big step forward, wouldn't you say?" "I'd say!" "I'd say we're at a turning point." "Now, look." " Huh?" " Excellent!" "The pieces are beginning to attract each other." "So..." "How did things go with your... your friend?" "How many seconds did it take you to realise I was talking about myself?" "Quite a few, to be honest." "Let me confess, I didn't follow your advice." "There was something too contorted about it, too imprudent." "Yeah, okay, I see your point." "The mathematical set of a 6-day week." "The mathematical set of a 51-minute hour." "What will you have, sir?" " Have you thought of anything else?" " Tea, please." "The length of a point." "The direction of a circle." "Your tea's ready, sir." "The edge of a circumference." "The centre of space." " The area of a segment." " Amazing." "Well done!" "The vertical position of a sphere." "I brought you the valuations of the furniture and paintings." "Cast your eye over them carefully, because you'll have to authorise them." " I don't know a thing about this." " I know." "You'll have to trust me, Miss lbbetson." "I noticed you've been spending time in the cellars recently." " Is that why you had the locks changed?" " I have them changed them every six months." "And I take care to double-check, compare and correct, especially when dealing with discarded odds and ends in cellars." "It's how I work." "If it upsets you, speak now." "You'll find the new keys on the table." "Please take them." "Thank you for your trust." "Were you offended at being locked out?" "No, but I was worried." "You're right, I should have told you." "I'm sorry." "Claire, you're ruining your life for reasons which are beyond me." "This illness of yours is so absurd, it almost seems unreal." "Even my mother thought I was faking it the first time." "We were abroad." "I was so afraid of walking at the foot of the Eiffel Tower that it paralysed me." "I started screaming, fell to the ground." "I was just a little girl, but it kept on happening more and more often." "And she had to believe me." "Has there ever been an open space where you weren't overcome by anxiety?" "Only one." "During a school trip to Prague." "I was 14." "The square with the astronomical clock." "I must have walked across it a hundred times." "It was beautiful." "I remember a restaurant with very strange decor." "If there's one place in the world I'm nostalgic for, it's that restaurant." "I was really happy there." "It was called "Night and Day"." " You've never been back?" " Never." "Why not go now?" "I'd be happy to take you." "Well, you don't seem too pleased." "We're almost there." "Our automaton is about to emerge from the shadows." "No, I'm delighted." "You're a force of nature." "It's just that... this is one of those evenings when one feels like this contraption here." "Incomplete." "Why did you never marry, never have kids?" "The regard I have for women is equal to the fear I've always had of them." "And to my failure to understand them." "If that's the rule, then Miss lbbetson gives every impression of being the exception." "I'm afraid so." "Have you really never set eyes on her?" "Just once." "What's she like?" "I suppose feeling a certain interest in a person necessarily engenders a conviction that she's beautiful." "Up to a point." "It's her birthday in two days." "I'd like to get her something useful." "Yeah." "I don't think useful is probably your best approach." " You don't?" " Not the first time." "It's better to get her something more..." "traditional." " Morning, sir." " Morning." "Hello, sir." "Hey, Mr. Oldman." "Look what I found in the cellar." "I saw you were interested in this old junk." "Oh, the supports for the big Murano chandelier." "My colleagues couldn't find them." " If you give me your keys, I'll put them in your car." " That's very kind." "Wait." "Oh, thanks." "Morning, Mr. Oldman." "I took the liberty of remembering it's your birthday." "Happy birthday, Claire." "I read the valuation documents." "Did you manage to understand some of it?" "Of course!" "Ridiculous sums of money." "Even a backwards child could realise she's being cheated!" "I did warn you those figures require interpretation." "Those are the starting bids." " There'll be higher bids after that." " And suppose there aren't?" "Unlikely, but in that case, we'll even things out, by raising the margins we make on the more important pieces." "A gamble?" "!" "Where I'm the only one that can lose?" "You're trying to cheat me, Mr. Oldman!" "It's all to your advantage." "You're a fucking thief!" "I'm willing to resign the commission forthwith!" "Huh!" "I'll have them replace all your mediocre bric-a-brac immediately!" "And do me the favour of disappearing completely from the face of the earth!" "1984, sir." " Hello." " I behaved so badly." "I feel so stupid." "I constantly have to offer justifications." "I've never been given flowers before." "I don't know what this says of me." "There's no need for this display of anguish." "I'm not angry with you." "My birthdays have always been so horrible." "And you..." "Since you came along, you've turned my life upside down." "The other day, I went downstairs." "I opened the main door and looked out onto the garden." " Did you go out?" " No." "I was afraid." "I felt terrible." "But I never even got that far before." "Do you want me to come over?" "I already know it's pointless." "There are new treatments nowadays." "They might help you." "I'd rather talk to you than to some shrink." " Should I take that as a compliment?" " Yes." "I see you've brought up the portrait of the dancer." " It's one of the things I want to keep." " No great value." "It's a portrait of my mother." "She was about my age when she had it done." "Do you look like her?" " She was prettier, I can assure you." " Regrettably, I cannot judge." "All right, Claire." "I'll go." "Don't hesitate to call if you need anything at all." "Thank you, Mr. Oldman." "See you soon, I hope." "Hello?" "Oh, it's you, director." "No, I would've called you." "It's just that... clearing out the furniture has been more complicated than I expected." "Yes." "Oldman is dealing with it." "What's he like?" "Not as old as you might think." "He dresses in an odd way, but he's still a good-looking man." "And I know I can trust him." "Why?" "Are you jealous?" "In love?" "No, I don't think so." "He's too put off by my illness, like everybody else." "Oh no, it's nothing." "I hurt my foot." "Can we talk later?" "Who is it?" "Who's there?" "!" "No, get out!" "No, please, get out!" "Go away!" "Get out!" "Get out!" "Please, leave me alone!" "Get out!" "Get out!" " Hello?" " Please, help me." "Please." "Please." " Calm down, Claire." "What's happened?" " Please." "Please." "No, no, no!" "You have to help me!" "Help me!" "Help me!" " I'll be there as soon as I can." " Please, Virgil." "Claire!" " It's me." "I'm here." "What's happened?" " There's somebody in the house!" " Please get them out!" " Calm down, Claire." "There's nobody here." " There's somebody in the house!" " Calm down, Claire." " Get them out!" " It was me before, Claire." "It was me." "It was me." "I hid in the room so I could see you." "You were spying on me?" "Get out!" "I want nothing more to do with you!" "Get out!" "Please, Virgil." "Don't go." "Believe me, I don't normally behave like this." "Neither do I." "So I'm bound to make some mistakes." "But nothing in the world would make me want to hurt you." "It's just that I can't help myself." "I need to see you." "You should've seen her." "Pale, like a Durer etching." "She had the look of some creature terrified of the universe." "And I could read my own terror in her eyes." "Every man on earth would like to be as terrified as you at this moment." " You've worked a miracle." " Well, it's too soon to tell." "And you be careful, all right?" "This is when mistakes occur." "When you think you've made it with a woman, that is when you lose your grip on strategy." " And what strategy would that be?" " Never stop surprising them." "Do things that they couldn't have foreseen." "Take a gamble, run a risk." "You're asking me to behave in a way that just isn't me." "That's precisly why you have to do it." "As long as you're playing according to her rules, you're always gonna make her feel like..." "like a patient." "She needs to be treated like a woman." "What do you think?" "Do you like it?" "I don't know." "What do you think?" "It looks marvellous on you, Claire." "Perhaps the smaller size." "Yes." "I think so too." "It's been a long time since I got a present like this." " Long overdue, don't you think?" " I don't know." "I'm a little, you know, taken a back." " I'm sorry, I can't..." " What?" "Oh, certainly." "I'm sorry." "I didn't understand." "I don't honestly know if I deserve all this." "Let me be the judge of that." "If we don't set a date for the auction in Stockholm, they'll shoot themselves." "It's too far." "Let them shoot themselves." "Then we have to schedule the meeting with the director of the Hermitage and the auctions in San Francisco and Madrid." "Ditto." "Too far away." " We can't abandon them like this at the last minute." " There are auctioneers galore in the world." "They'll find somebody else." "And it will cost them less." "As you wish, Mr. Oldman." "Lambert, are you married?" "Yes." "Nearly 30 years." "What's it like, living with a woman?" "Like taking part in an auction sale." "You never know if yours will be the best offer." " This one." " Very well, sir." "What do you think?" "Have I made myself pretty?" " Beautiful." "You've done very well." " You're a liar." " Claire." " I haven't done this for centuries." " I've completely forgotten how to do it." " Your hand is a bit unsure," " I look like a monster." " but it's not bad." "Trust me." "You need some practice and you'll be wonderful." "And you'll take me to one of your auctions, and to galas full with elegant people, and to the most refined restaurants in the world." "That's the reason for your presents, isn't it, Virgil?" "To help me recover little by little, and then take me out." "Isn't that right?" "No!" "Claire, don't be like this." "Let's talk." "Maybe we did get the last moves wrong." "I was a bit rash." "Oh, don't blame yourself." "It's her who always manages to pull everything apart." "Robert, my aunt's gone missing again." " You're kidding!" " Beg your pardon me." " We found her in the Central Park." " I'm so sorry, Terry." "It was no good trying to reset this thing." "It was much more easy just to make a new one." "This one has a much wider range." "She can wander off as much as she likes, and you'll never lose touch with her." "Just make sure you reprogram the PC, okay?" "I can manage that." "You're an angel." " Thanks, darling." " No worries." "I'll see you tomorrow night, yeah?" " Yes." " Okay." "What you need is an idea that's gonna excite her, but at the same time it's gonna reassure her." "Any idea you like, she's still going to see through it as some deceitful therapy." " You should invite her to dinner." " Oh, yes!" "To the Noma in Copenhagen!" "And at the romantic climax of the evening, by candlelight, you tell her she's far more beautiful than her mother." "Yes, and after diner you'll come and have coffee with us." "If you want to invite me, why not?" "Joking apart, I'd be glad if you did see her, hear her talk." "I'm sure you'd understand far more than I." "Who said anything about joking?" "129,403." "Your champagne." " See if you can cope with this." " Thank you." " Thank you, sir." " 12,624,831.333..." "Unbelievable!" "You're radiant, Claire." "You did all this?" "I can turn my hand to interior decorating." "You've done a wonderful job, Virgil." "Thank you." "I can't tell you how long I've been wanting to spend time alone with you." "Somewhere quiet, far from the madding crowd." "To your serenity, Claire." "To your irony, Virgil." " And now I feel I can finally tell you." " What?" "You are more beautiful than the dancer." "Dinner is served." " Please be seated." " Thank you." "But I warn you, as a waiter I'm not of the highest class." "I offer no guarantees." " I'll take the risk." " Somewhat foolhardy of you." " Why?" " Because if the service were not to be to your liking, next time I would be obliged to make a reservation at the finest restaurant in town." "Let's not ruin this evening, Virgil." " Please, let's not talk about me." " All right." "Instead I'd like you to tell me about you, about your past." "You see, Claire, there's nothing very original about my life." "A child loses his parents, a horrible orphanage, that sort of thing." "The only point of interest is that the nuns would punish the boy by forcing him to work with a restorer, who had a workshop in the institution." "That's beautiful." "And since he loved to observe this craftsman, the little boy started to get up to all sorts of mischief to ensure that he would be punished as frequently as possible." "So he became acquainted with works of art, the various techniques of painting, how to tell a forgery from an original, etc, etc." "You know, in an old article of yours I found the other day on the internet, you said," ""There's always something authentic concealed in every forgery."" "What did you mean by that?" "That in simulating another person's work, the forger cannot resist the temptation to put in something of himself." "Often it's just a trifle, a detail of no interest." "One unsuspected brush-stroke, by which the forger inevitably ends up betraying himself, and revealing his own, utterly authentic sensibilities." "I really love the way you talk." "You couldn't have been more convincing." "Huh?" "A born seducer." " So you'd give me a pass?" " A+." "With distinction!" "Sorry, you've been a bit neglected lately." "You haven't said anything about Claire." "If I didn't know about her problems, I'd say she was a completely normal woman." "And she's much more beautiful than you described." "Really, I liked her." "So, now, you're going to make me jealous?" "If you want my advice, Virgil, you pray that girl never gets better." "Mr/ Oldman, do you want lots 87 and 88 done separately?" "No, together." "Always together." "That's important." "How can I help you?" " It's about Robert." " What's going on?" "Don't be afraid to tell me." "We're not getting on so well, that's the problem." "All those girls hovering around him." "I guess I'm just... I'm afraid of losing him." "Is there anything I can do?" "Do you want me to talk to him?" "For a while now he's been talking about someone called Claire." "Claire?" "I don't understand." "With him, everybody's got to be on their guard, all the time." "That goes for you, too." "I feel so stupid." "Promise me you won't say a word to him." "I promise." "Have you been waiting there long?" "If you'd 've phoned, I wouldn't have kept you waiting." " I prefer to speak to you in person." " Why, is something wrong?" "One of my assistants will come by today." "Kindly hand over the Vaucanson as it is." "All right." "Whatever you want." "Tell him how much you're owed for your work." "He'll pay you on the spot." "I think I'm at least due an explanation, aren't I?" "You're not the trustworthy, discreet man I thought you were." "It's weird seeing them all so perfect and polished up." "It's as if they weren't mine." "I believe nothing is missing." "There is something missing." "How could you have lived the best years of your life in here, my darling?" "I don't know." "I don't know." "It was just the right thing." ""Was"." "It still is." "It always will be." "Always." "You have to get out of here and you have to do it by yourself." "I don't have the courage." "It's a spider's web that I'll never know how to break free of." "It's an old collection my father was very fond of." "I never did understand what it was." "Hello?" "Good morning, director." "Yes, I'm nearly finished." "But I would like to rewrite the last chapter." "A more upbeat ending." "If that's all you want." "Yes." "Talk to you soon." "Thanks." "I wouldn't rule out them being part of something of some value, but exactly what I wouldn't be able to say." " I often wonder if..." " What?" "If you're more interested in my furniture and paintings than in me." "How could you say that?" "I shouldn't have let you in here." "I shouldn't have." "I've found all the missing pieces." "How do you feel about finishing the job?" "Well, it's your problem." "Sarah came to see me a few days ago." "She seemed very upset about your relationship." "You are here to advise me now, are you?" "I wouldn't dare." "When it comes to women, you're the expert." "All right." "We can pick up where we left off, if you like." "But on two conditions." "And the first is that you just stop involving me in your private life." "And the second?" "Is that you take this back." "I didn't get excited about your Vaucanson for the money." "I brought it back." "It's in the car." "And the new pieces too?" "You'll have to be patient a bit longer for those." "They're tied up with my private life." "I don't know and I don't want to know." "If you were forced to choose between Claire and the automaton, today, which would you take?" " This one." " An excellent choice, Mr. Oldman." "If it's not the right size, please inform the lady to pass by whenever she wishes." "Thank you, I'll let her know." "Claire, it's me." "Claire, I've brought lunch." "Claire!" "Claire, answer me!" "Claire!" "Claire!" "Claire!" "Are you down here?" "Claire!" "Excuse me, but have anyone of you seen a woman going out the gate of the villa across the road?" "No, I can't say I have." "Has anybody seen someone coming out of the villa?" "A young woman." "Medium height, light hair." " A bit pale." " I think I saw her." " Yes." " I didn't actually see her go out, but she was walking away from the gate." " When?" " This morning I was having breakfast." " What else can you tell me?" " I don't know what to say." "She seemed a bit weird." " Weird?" "Which way did she go?" " That way." "Towards the park." "231." "Idiot!" "Hello?" "Helo, Virgil?" " She's gone." " Who?" "What's going on?" " Claire, she's disappeared." " You're kidding!" "I've looked everywhere." "They saw her leave this morning." " Okay, listen." "Do you want me to come over?" " Please." "Has this ever happened before?" "I tell you, she never even appeared at the windows." "Just behind the shutters." "Did she have friends, people she could've gone to?" "She always used to sit at the computer communicating with somebody, but under different names." " If she's gone out, she can't have gone far." " Let's hope so." "I've already been round three times." " Hello?" " Mr. Oldman." " Oh, listen, Lambert, has Miss lbbetson phoned?" " No." " lf she calls, let me know immediately." " I will." "Mr. Oldman, I wouldn't like to think you'd forgotten." "Forgotten what?" "It's over an hour!" " There he is." "Here we go." " Lot number 1." "Late Baroque, Venetian, mid-18th-century mirror." "Inlaid wood with gold leaf, carved with adornments, floral motifs and festoons." "Upper frame richly..." "Inlaid wood with gold leaf, carved with adornments, floral motifs and festoons." "Upper frame richly engraved with whirls." "Can we say €130,000?" "€140,000." "150,000, gentleman on my left." "160,000, lady up the back." "170,000." "180,000 on the telephone." "200,000, gentleman on my left in the room." "220,000." "250,000 on the teleph..." "Still nothing, Mr. Oldman." "I'll keep looking here." " Robert's looking further afield." " All right." " I'll call you later." " All right." " He's gone crazy." " 280,000." "€310,000." "Any more?" "Sold!" "Virgil, listen, I'm doing the rounds of the hospitals, but there's nothing here." "Just keep looking." " We'll find her." "I'll keep in touch." " Thanks, Robert." "Lot number 2." "The extraordinary 17th-century Fassadenschranke wardrobe in walnut, maple, oak and ash." "The carved frame surmounts an inlaid stripe, and two doors engraved with architectural motifs, surrounded by carvings of fruit and masks." "Three spiralled, tapered columns flank the doors." "The lower body has two drawers." "There's nothing for it but to call the police." "It'll be all over the papers." "They'll drag me into it." "Let's wait a bit longer." "What do you hope's gonna happen?" "That she'll come back or turn up." "Or they'll find out where she is." "Someone with her problems doesn't just disappear into thin air." "Well, that depends." "It doesn't matter how deeply rooted it is, sometimes a phobia can just disappear by itself." "So, why did she run away?" "Maybe something happened between you two." "And that drove her to take that kind of decision." "You know perfectly well that's impossible." "You're the only person in the whole world who knows everything that happened between us." "Excuse me a minute." " Hello?" " I'm sorry, Mr. Oldman." "I've called all the publishers in existence, but not one of them knows who she is." "They all said that often even they don't know the identity of authors who use pseudonyms." "I would never have guessed that you would have ended up in a mess like this." " I don't even know how I can help you." " All you had to do was listen." "Considering the lady's illness, it seems highly unrealistic that she's just run away." "I'd say, I don't know, she'd been abducted or something like that." "That's not likely." "I don't think she had any enemies." "It could be somebody became so besotted with her that he carried her off by force." " But who?" " I've had my doubts lately about Robert." "The young guy?" "The way you describe him, he doesn't seem the type." "From the literary point of view, he fits the bill." "The young knight rescuing the damsel from the clutches of the old man incapable of love." "Literature, exactly." "Don't go overboard, Virgil." "She could have had her own reasons for disappearing." "I can't imagine what reasons." "Recently, she's been experiencing emotions and feelings that are incompatible with flight." "I wouldn't be so sure, if I were you." "Human emotions are like works of art." "They can be forged." "They seem just like the original, but they're a forgery." " Forgery?" " Everything can be faked, Virgil." "Joy, pain, hate." "Illness, recovery." "Even love." " Hello?" " Listen, Virgil." "There's something that hadn't occurred to us." "Are you sure there are no other secret rooms in the villa?" "I don't remember of being any other doors like the one to Miss lbbetson's room." "Claire!" "The only place we haven't looked at is the attic." "If you want." "Did you know that Miss Claire was a writer?" "I heard her parents talk about it." "She used a pseudonym for her books." "I never knew that." "To tell you the truth, I've never seen the books." "I don't think she ever wanted them around the house." "Claire!" "We're just wasting time." "There are no other secret rooms." "You've come back." " We should" " Quiet!" "You've..." "You've come back." "You've..." "You've come back." "You've..." "Claire?" "Claire, I can feel you're there." "Answer me." "You've come back." " You've come back." " Of course I have." "Were you afraid I wouldn't?" "I thought you'd abandoned me." " Like last time." " Last time?" "When we got back from Prague." "Claire." "I will never abandon you." "I'd been happy in Prague in that very odd restaurant." "I was there with my first and only boyfriend." "He was older than me." "When we got back from that excursion, one afternoon, we were walking in the city centre." "A car crashed into us." "When I came to, he wasn't there anymore." "I went back home and I never went out again." "I've never slept with a woman." "In fact, I didn't close my eyes." "I spent the whole night just looking at her." "It was wonderful." "Well, welcome to the grown-up club." "You've succeeded in making her fall in love." "I had a good teacher." "Finally, I understood where the dwarf hid." "Look, there must have been a sunken pedestal here." "The little man would crouch in there and his voice would reverberate inside the body." "It must have made a deep impression." "Robert, do you think it's possible that love can be faked?" "Well, in keeping with what you say about art forgeries," "I'd just say it can't be completely faked." "If one could say love is a work of art." "It'd be amazing if it were, wouldn't it?" "It could be sold off at an auction." "The highest bidder could relive the greatest love stories in history." "I hope I haven't destroyed your love story with Sarah." "Oh, no problem." "No problem." "A new valve, two hinges, one fuse..." "It'll be good as new." "Just like on the first day." "What do you think you're going to do now?" "I want to coax her out." "Yeah, I wouldn't push too hard if I were you." "She's too fragile." "You'll see." "When you least expect it, things will just fall into place quite naturally." "No!" "Hello?" "Hello?" "Virgil?" "Virgil, is that you?" "Virgil!" "Virgil!" "Virgil?" "Help!" "Help!" " Hold it up!" " It is up!" "Why do you say don't you love it?" "I've never felt it to be a real home." "More like a hotel." "You come home a night, sleep if you can." "Next morning, you're off somewhere else." "Let's go back inside." "Seems to have been planned to welcome a lot of people." "Yes, but the plan was never realised." "Except for the inaugural reception." "I was so distrustful of other people that I kept them strictly away from the perimeter of my personal hotel." "I was a fool." "Even now, I still get upset when I see the housekeeper and the maids walking about." "After dinner, I send them home." "I wasn't wrong when I said we were very similar." "Yes, you were right." "And thanks to you, I understood." " Where are you taking me?" " You'll soon find out." "Close your eyes." "I'll tell you when you can open them." "Don't be afraid." "I'll lead the way." "I never liked games where you had to close your eyes." " Mind the step." " Gently, please." "We're almost there." "Stop now." "Open your eyes." "I don't believe it." "It's overwhelming." "I've been collecting them all my life." "So, I'm not the first." "You have had other women" "Yes." "I've loved them all and they loved me back." "They taught me to wait for you." "And now that you're here, we'd like you to come and live with us and make this beautiful hotel your home." "Oh, Virgil." "If anything should ever happen to us," "I want you to know that I do love you." "I love you too." "The catalogue for the auction sale of the paintings and furniture of Ibbetson Villa is ready." " Congratulations, Virgil." "This is a lovely volume." " About time!" "I wonder who's gonna buy this wonderful stuff." "Oh, sorry." "I can't conceal my anxiety to know what you think about it." "Don't you like it?" "No, it's just that ever since I decided to come and live with you..." "I've been thinking I don't want to sell anymore." "I'd like to leave everything the way it was." "I understand." "Are you sure?" "Believe me, if I were you, I'd do the same thing." "Tomorrow, everything will be back in its place." "All right, Virgil, yes!" "To the most tortured and most fortunate catalogue of my career." "That's saying something." " Here, here." " Cheers." "And since you've become my family," "I too have an important announcement to make." "Next week, I have an auction in London." "It will be the finest of my career and the very last." "They say he's been seen recently in female company." " No!" " Who?" "Virgil?" " Yes." "It's finally come home to him that the worst sexual perversion is chastity." "How do you feel now that you are on stage for the last time?" "I've never felt better." "There's a whiff of anticipation in the air." "All my colleagues have come to see me off." "That's nice of them." "The reason for this outburst of affection is they know they won't have to put up with me anymore." "Anyhow, I'm happy, Claire." "I just wish you were here." "Me too." "But I'm not ready to travel yet." "I got dizzy in the car yesterday." "Don't let it get to you." "We have all the time in the world to travel." " We're ready, Mr. Oldman." " I'm coming." "Have you heard from our young friends?" "Constantly." "I'm never left on my own, if that's what you're worried about." "Good." "Give them my love." " I can hear you've got to go." " Yes." " But I can't wait to get back home." " Good luck, my darling." "£12,100,000." "Any more?" "£12,300,000." "Any advance?" "12,500,000 on the telephone." "Any more?" "All done at 12,500,000." "Sold for £12,500,000." "Ladies and gentlemen, I thank you." " Good to see you." " Thank you." "Not a bad price." "Am I allowed to say hello to you in public?" "Oh, Billy!" "You were fantastic, my friend." "I'm happy for you." "I'm going to miss you." "You say it as though we're never going to meet again." "Of course we will." "But I'm feeling nostalgic thinking about all our exploits." " You'll get over it." " Virgil?" "To remind you of what a great artist I could've been if only you'd believed in me, I've sent you one of my paintings." "I promise I won't burn it." "Claire." "Claire, I'm back." "Hello?" " Have you seen Miss Claire?" " No, sir." "Claire?" "Where are you?" "Claire?" "Mr. Oldman, she must have gone out." "It was the same yesterday." "Sarah and Robert came to get her, and then came back for lunch." "All right." "There is always something authentic concealed in every forgery." "I couldn't agree more." "That's why I'll miss you, Mr. Oldman." "There is always something authentic concealed in every forgery." "I couldn't agree more." "That's why I'll miss you, Mr. Oldman." "There is always something authentic concealed in every forgery." "I couldn't agree more." "That's why I'll miss you, Mr. Oldman." "There is always something authentic concealed in every forgery." "I couldn't agree more." "That's why I'll miss you, Mr. Oldman." "There is always something authentic concealed in every forgery." "I couldn't agree more." "That's why I'll miss you, Mr. Oldman." "There is always something authentic concealed in every forgery." "Good morning, Mr. Oldman." "We have visitors today." "Isn't this nice?" "Look who's come to see you!" "How are you, Mr. Oldman?" "I've brought your mail, some newspapers and a few magazines." "A few days ago, they brought some pieces of furniture to the villa opposite." "Did you notice?" "I think so, but I don't see much from in here." "Ask her." "Claire..." "Listen to what this gentleman wants to say." "Yes." "And the day after, other workmen came and took everything away again." "The day after?" "In 18 months, three deliveries and three removals." "I was here a while ago." " Do you remember?" " Nine." " What do you mean?" " You've been here nine times." "Today makes ten." "I was wondering if you saw a woman leave the villa." "Medium height, light hair, a bit pale?" " Yes." " That time was 231." "Are you sure?" "Then another 6." "In a year and a half, I saw her go out 237 times." "What did I say?" "She's a phenomenon." "She remembers everything." "It's not possible." "You were at the villa 63 times." "36 during the day and 27 at night, excluding the night of the accident." " 1-4-4." " 1-4-4?" "The telephone number for the ambulance." "The villa is free now." "If you're interested, I'll get you a good deal." " Who owns it?" " Me." "But I don't know what to do with it." "I often rent it out to cinema people." "Cinema people?" "For the past two years, it's been taken by the engineer who does the lift that takes me up to my house." "He's really nice, that boy." "He can do anything." "There's nothing he can't fix." "And he's always kissing me." "Bringing me flowers." "The Paris Express is now arriving at platform 7." "Your attention, please." "The Berlin-Prague Blue Arrow is running 40 minutes late due to fog on the line." "Come in, sir." "We furnished it exactly as you requested." "And tomorrow, your trunks will be delivered." "And later, I'll pass by with a copy of your contract." "If there's anything else, please don't hesitate to call." "Oh, Virgil." "If anything should ever happen to us, I want you to know that I do love you." "Are you on your own, sir?" "No." "I'm waiting for someone."