I gave her a slight smile, which had no more effect than it would on a statue, mainly because she was tight as a bowstring. The girl certainly had pluck, but this whole ordeal could not havebeen easy for her. I wondered what it was like to be in a position as helpless as that; ruefully admitting I had not the slightest idea and never would unless someone shipped me off to some barbarous colony after amputating both legs above the knee.
“You have done well, Miss Smith. This is what I seek,” I said, in the probably vain hope it would make her less nervous.
“That is good,” she said, and I could see she was eager to have the business concluded.
I could have made things easier for her but suspected this was far from her last effort in this vein, and the next man might not be so honourable. I was not all that busy, so thought I might just educate her a tiny little bit.
“How much are you asking for this?” I said, perfectly aware it was a tremendously unfair question.
“I was hoping for… £50?” she replied nervously.
“What makes you believe it is worth that much?” I asked harshly, just to test her mettle.
She clenched her teeth and balled her fists while I waited to see what she would do. I was being slightly cruel, but the next man she dealt with was likely to be worse.
“I suppose it is not. Give it back and I will find another muttonhead to buy it,” she finally snapped angrily.
I let out a chuckle, which made her stand up, slap the desk, and speak in a hard-edged whisper that was quite intimidating for such a little slip of a thing.
“Give. It. Back!” she said with a tone that could grind rocks.
I knew I was skating on thin ice, since Ididwant to buy the thing far more than she wanted to sell it, and she could easily get £50 from almost any gentleman… though, obviously with considerable effort, given how hard it had been to meet with me.
I had to admit something that quite surprised me:I liked the little spitfire! She had spunk!
“Peace, peace, Miss Smith,” I said in my most placating voice, palms up, and trying my best to look contrite, which wasnotan act I often practised.
She was still seething, but at least sat and stopped looking at me like she had a club in the valise she was itching to use (not out of the realm of possibility).
When she seemed calm, I started again. “I like your spirit, Miss Smith. I really do. I have a younger sister, and I hope she has half your gumption when she grows up.”
“Unlikely, unless you are a far worse businessman than you seem.”
That was good, since she recognised the business tactics I had unfairly used on her but was still unintimidated.
I glanced at the clock and decided I had a little time. “May I offer you a bargain, Miss Smith?”
“As long as it is more than £50,” she replied emphatically.
Good! She recognised the price was too low. She would need that kind of insight if she continued this mad endeavour.
“Fair enough. How about this? I applaud your efforts. I suspect most men pat you on the head and suggest you go back to your embroidery often enough. I amimpressed, and I am seldom impressed by children.”
Shewasa child, but I could tell the word grated at her, and I wanted to see how she handled it. She got mulish for just a moment but then calmed far quicker than I expected.
“Name your terms, sir.”
“I appreciate the fact that you are offering me a fair bargain, and you are not trying to run up the price, which I suspect you now understand you could… correct?”
She still looked stubborn but nodded.
“In honour of your bravery, I offer to pay what this isworth to me, bearing in mind that it is worth far more to me than other men, and I will then give you a little lesson on negotiation.”
“What do you want in return?” she asked suspiciously.
“Not very much. The first is absolute silence about the transaction, which I suspect the anonymity covers, but it is best to be explicit. You cannot tell anyone, even your most trusted relatives. The other is that, if you have more things to sell, you give me first chance at them.”
She seemed stunned by the offer, which was hardly surprising since I had stupefied myself. I had not the slightest idea where that thought came from, nor how it got all the way to my mouth without my good sense intervening.
