Joshua was in heaven, but Veronica still had a wet backside. “Can I change, please?”
Back inside the elevator, Miss Helen hit the button for the penthouse. “You can try these clothes on upstairs. I need a cup of coffee after the shock you gave me earlier, and you may partake as well, if you like.”
How generous. The woman was quite a pill.
Miss Helen led them into an office that reminded Veronica of the rooms at the Frick: large windows, tastefully restrained furnishings, the requisite portrait of Martha above the fireplace. Miss Helen seemed to read Veronica’s mind. “When I designed this, it was to keep the memory of my family very much alive. All of the hardware—hinges, doorknobs, light-switch plates, window levers—are from my father’s old bedroom.”
An odd choice, but Veronica stayed mum.
“Go try these on in my bathroom.” Miss Helen pointed to a door.
Inside, Veronica took a moment to collect herself. In all the chaos she’d completely forgotten about the pink diamond sitting in the pocket of her jeans. It felt hot to her fingers as she extracted it, even though she knew that couldn’t be possible. Her conscience was getting the better of her.
She pulled on the only skirt with pockets, which hung low on her hips, and placed the diamond carefully inside.
Back in the office, Miss Helen gave a nod of approval from the far corner where she was fiddling with a French press. “That does nicely. I don’t understand the appeal of the miniskirts so popular these days. There’s no need to show so much leg.”
“May I ask, why do you have multiple skirts hanging in the coat check?” Veronica asked. She’d heard of ties for underdressed diners at fancy restaurants, but skirts?
Miss Helen shot her a sharp look. “Because visitors to my library must conform to my dress code. No slacks, no short skirts, no spike heels on the women, and the men must wear jackets.” She nodded in Joshua’s direction. “If it were business hours, you would be in a jacket, young man.”
Veronica sat next to Joshua on the sofa.
“I have standards,” said Miss Helen. She set a tray holding coffee cups down on the low table in front of them. “What’s your last name?” The question was directed at Joshua.
“Lawrence.”
She went to her desk and pulled out a file. “Let’s see here.” She ran her finger down a sheet of paper. “Joshua Lawrence, intern, Brooklyn College.”
“That’s me,” he answered.
“Lawrence, anglicized from the French Laurent. A good, solid name. Ever since the Great War, I have washed my hands of all things Teutonic, and I would advise you young people to do the same. I live on a farm north of here, and believe me when I say no German visitor has stepped foot on my property. When I had the power, I refused German visitors entry to view the Frick Collection, and same with my library. I have softened in that aspect since. Reluctantly.” She settled her gaze on Veronica. “What’s your surname?”
Oh, no.
She could lie and make up a fake one, but her father had always been proud of their family ancestry. “Weber.”
Miss Helen recoiled as if she’d just been given an electric shock. “That won’t do. That won’t do at all.”
“You can’t be serious,” said Veronica to Miss Helen. “You’d dismiss an entire country of people?”
“I was proven correct in World War II, wasn’t I? Yet no one would listen to me. No one.”
“My parents are English,” Veronica said, as calmly as she could. “We’ve lived there for generations. I’m British, not German.” The fact that she had to defend herself against this insanity rankled her. “Not that it matters. All that was decades ago.”
“I saw firsthand what those heathens did.” She pointed to Joshua. “He can stay. But you, take off that skirt and get out of here. For all I know, you were here ransacking my father’s home, my father’s pride. Typical German.”
Veronica rose, her heart pounding. She had been ransacking the house. It was best if she gathered her things and got out of here as quickly as possible.
“Wait!” said Joshua, getting to his feet. “Miss Helen, we have something to show you. Something that we think is from your past.”
Joshua spoke calmly and evenly, as if approaching an excitable foal. He explained that they’d found clues to a scavenger hunt that appeared to have taken place decades ago, before the Frick residence became the Frick Collection.
Veronica expected Miss Helen to get even angrier at their discovery, but instead, she withdrew into herself as Joshua talked, becoming smaller in stature, weaker.