The sun rose cautiously, as though not wanting to disturb the scene inside Sir Nigel's office. Elizabeth and Malcolm were huddled together, taking inventory of the items in the two canvas bags; so far, it appeared that the only thing missing was the Fabergé egg. Rebecca was sitting by herself in a corner, staring into her tea. Alexis had changed into slacks and a light sweater, and was pacing restlessly back and forth. Finally, she could stand it no longer.
"I'll be right back," she said. No one responded. She smiled to herself and left the house, pulling her coat from the hall closet on her way out the door.
The morning air was clear and clean. Alexis took a deep breath. Somehow, she'd expected it to be tainted by the night's affair. Shaking her head, she stepped onto the footpath that led to the topiary.
As she neared the centre of the garden, she caught sight of a dark red object resting on top of the sundial. There was a fluttering, too; a piece of paper, signed in an elegant, flowing script: Lupin the Third. Alexis picked it up, and the heavy object in the red velvet bag. The note read:
'Thought this might come in handy. Thanks for the memories. - L3'
Alexis opened the drawstring bag and looked inside. Her laughter rang through the garden, and she collapsed on the iron bench. It was her mother's Fabergé egg. The Russian client would be most pleased.
Wiping tears of mirth from her eyes, she lifted her head and sniffed the air. Cigarette smoke. Looking over her shoulder, she saw Jigen walking towards her from the far end of the garden. She smiled at him as he drew closer.
"You didn't go with him?" Alexis asked, as he sat down on the bench beside her.
Jigen shook his head. "He's headed back to Beirut. Poor bastard just can't stay away from Fujiko," he said with a wry smile.
"I guess not," Alexis said. "And do you still have business in London?"
Jigen nodded and drew deeply on his cigarette. The smoke drifted slowly in the still morning air. "Mm-hm. I'm here 'till Tuesday," he said with forced casualness.
"That's ... nice." Alexis fixed her gaze on the sundial. "And where are you staying?" she asked idly.
"The Ritz, on Piccadilly," Jigen said, in an off-hand sort of way.
They were doing a fine job of skirting the issue. "There's a very good pub near the Ritz," Alexis said. She folded Lupin's note and stuck it in her pocket.
Jigen lifted the brim of his hat and looked over at her. "How do you feel about being seen in public with a complete prat?" he said, grinning crookedly at her.
Alexis turned to face him. "I think I could survive the shame," she said. Her smile outshone the sun. "I'll buy, this time," she added, holding up the Fabergé egg in its red velvet bag. "I have a feeling I'm going to come into some money very, very soon."
-fin-