Chapter 66
Although James never really warmed up to Jason, the long–standing friendship between their families compelled him to make an effort. So, he forced himself to chat with Jason, keeping up polite small talk while Briony wandered off on her own.
As the two men talked, Briony lost herself among the stalls. Suddenly, something caught her eye. She crouched down, pointing at a delicate porcelain bowl. “How much for this one?” she asked.
The vendor glanced over. “It’s got a chip, so I’ll give you a deal–five grand, flat.”
Without missing a beat, Briony said, “Wrap it up for me.”
The vendor stared, wide–eyed. That chipped, unimpressive bowl had been gathering dust in a corner for ages–he’d practically given up hope of ever selling it. In a place crawling with experts, only a real pro would snap it up at asking price, no questions asked.
He hesitated, scratching the back of his head, about to say something. But Briony cut him off, “I’ll give you ten. It’s the real deal, but it’s flawed. If you don’t sell it to me, it’ll just sit here collecting dust.”
He fell silent. She was right. Several collectors had shown interest, but all of them had walked away because restoring it would be a nightmare.
In the end, Briony bought the bowl for ten thousand, just as she wanted.
As she turned away with her purchase, she found herself face–to–face with Jason’s mocking gaze.
“Seriously? Only someone with more money than sense would pay that much for a damaged piece.”
Standing beside James, Jason slipped into full lecture mode. “Listen, antiques aren’t really for women to dabble in. I know you want to impress Mr. Delaney, but don’t waste your hard–earned cash on junk just to keep up appearances.”
Briony stared at him, speechless. Who was really putting on a show here? The nerve!
She couldn’t be bothered to answer and turned instead to James.
James pressed his lips together, struggling not to burst out laughing.
Briony sighed. “I’m done here. Can we go?”
“Of course, let’s head back.” James gave Jason a friendly pat on the shoulder. “Mr. Prescott, I’ll catch you later. Enjoy the rest of your shopping.”
Jason frowned. “Leaving already, Mr. Delaney? I was hoping to show you the treasure I just picked up.”
James paused, a little curious despite himself. “Well, with your eye for antiques, I’m sure it’s something special.”
Eager to impress, Jason produced a porcelain statue from his bag. “Check this out–a late Medieval Christ figure! Real masterpiece!”
A porcelain Christ figure?
Briony and James exchanged a look, then turned their eyes to Jason’s “treasure.” Silence hung between them.
After a few seconds, their glances met again, and without a word, both were thinking the same thing: What an idiot.
James finally spoke. “Out of curiosity, Mr. Prescott, how much did you pay for this?”
“One hundred eighty grand!”
James choked. “How much?!”
“One–eighty,” Jason repeated, brimming with confidence. “The vendor started at two–fifty, but I bargained him
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Chapter 66
down. Lucky number, you know? That’s how you win in the antiques game!”
James could only nod. “That’s… certainly lucky.”
Briony just shook her head, biting her tongue to keep from laughing.
Afraid he’d burst from holding it in, James hurried through his goodbyes, grabbed Briony’s arm, and hustled her out of there.
Back in the car, James collapsed onto the steering wheel, laughing until tears streamed down his face. “Oh my God, what a sucker. I bet that vendor still can’t believe his luck! I swear, if the Prescott family ends up in this guy’s hands, it’s doomed.”
Thank goodness Jason had two older brothers who actually had their heads on straight.
Briony, for her part, took Jason’s antics in stride. She offered a dry assessment: “He may be clueless, but at least he’s got confidence.”
James sputtered, nearly choking on his water. “Briony, that’s savage! You’re going to be the death of me.”
Thanks to Jason’s unintentional comedy, the drive back was filled with laughter.
When they got to the studio, Briony unwrapped her new porcelain bowl. James’s eyes lit up at the sight. “This is a real find. If you can restore it, it’ll fetch millions at auction. But the craftsmanship is so rare, and the materials are even harder to come by than that porcelain Christ statue Jason bought. As far as I know, no one here has ever managed to pull off a restoration.”
James warned her, “If you can’t restore it, that ten grand is as good as gone.”
“I know,” Briony replied. “I’ll set it aside for now–when I have time, I’ll see what I can do.”
James watched her, suddenly realizing Briony might not be as aimless as people said. Maybe she was just willing to take a gamble–after all, turning ten thousand into millions was a risk worth taking.
Either way, the fact she’d spotted that bowl among piles of fakes and junk spoke volumes about her skill. For the next five days, Briony threw herself into restoring the Christ statue.
James hung around the studio from dawn till dusk under the guise of “supervising,” but really, he just wanted to watch a master at work.
Briony was so absorbed that she barely noticed anything outside her project. James even took care of all their meals, ordering food so she wouldn’t have to break her focus.
In those five days, James witnessed not only Briony’s expertise but her total dedication to her craft. He finally understood why their mentor had insisted on bringing her in.
On the sixth day, with the restoration nearly finished, Briony had just finished lunch and was heading back to the studio when a familiar voice rang out from outside.
“Mom! Mom, I’m here!” Irwin pressed his hands and nose to the studio’s glass door, shouting at the top of his lungs, “Mom, I missed you! Open up, Mom!”
