amateur."
"Please to sit yourself," the contessa said.
He took a chair.
"Scusi. Non parlo molto bene inglese. I speak poor English."
"No, no. It's charming, charming."
"Grazie. Would you take perhaps coffee? Tea?"
"No, thank you, Contessa."
He could feel his stomach quivering. Was it too soon to bring up the subject of the emerald? He could not wait another second. "The emerald - "
She said, "Ah, s屑. The emerald was given to me by my grandmother. I wish to pass it on to my daughter when she is twenty-five, but my husband is going into a new business in Milano, and I - "
Halston's mind was elsewhere. He was not interested in the boring life story of the stranger sitting across from him. He was burning to see the emerald. The suspense was more than he could bear.
"Credo che sia importante to help my husband get started in his business." She smiled ruefully. "Perhaps I am making a mistake - "
"No, no," Halston said hastily. "Not at all, Contessa. It's a wife's duty to stand by her husband. Where is the emerald now?"
"I have it here," the contessa said.
She reached into her pocket, pulled out a jewel wrapped in a tissue, and held it out to Halston. He stared at it, and his spirits soared. He was looking at the most exquisite ten-carat grass-green Colombian emerald he had ever seen. It was so close in appearance, size, and color to the one he had sold Mrs. Benecke that the difference was almost impossible to detect. It is not exactly the same, Halston told himself, but only an expert would be able to tell the difference. His hands began to tremble. He forced himself to appear calm.
He turned the stone over, letting the light catch the beautiful facets, and said casually, "It's a rather nice little stone."
"Splendente, s屑. I have loved it very much all these years. I will hate to part with it."
"You're doing the right thing," Halston assured her. "Once your husband's business is successful, you will be able to buy as many of these as you wish."
"That is exactly what I feel. You are molto simpatico."
"I'm doing a little favor for a friend, Contessa. We have much better stones than this in our shop, but my friend wants one to match an emerald that his wife bought. I imagine he would be willing to pay as much as sixty thousand dollars for this stone."
The contessa sighed. "My grandmother would haunt me from her grave if I sold it for sixty thousand dollars."
Halston pursed his lips. He could afford to go higher. He smiled. "I'll tell you what... I think I might persuade my friend to go as high as one hundred thousand. That's a great deal of money, but he's anxious to have the stone."
"That sounds fair," the contessa said.
Gregory Halston's heart swelled within his breast. "Bene! I brought my checkbook with me, so I'll just write out a check - "
"Ma, no.... I am afraid it will not solve my problem." The contessa's voice was sad.
Halston stared at her. "Your problem?"
"S屑. As I explain, my husband is going into this new business, and he needs three hundred fifty thousand dollars. I have a hundred thousand of my money to give him, but I need two hundred fifty thousand more. I was hope to get it for this emerald."
He shook his head. "My dear Contessa, no emerald in the world is worth that kind of money. Believe me, one hundred thousand dollars is more than a fair offer."
"I am sure it is so, Mr. Halston," the contessa told him, "but it will not help my husband, will it?" She rose to her feet. "I will save this to give to our daughter." She held out a slim, delicate hand. "Grazie, signore. Thank you for coming."
Halston stood there in a panic. "Wait a minute," he said. His greed was dueling with his common sense, but he knew he must not lose the emerald now. "Please sit down, Contessa. I'm sure we can come to some equitable arrangement. If I can persuade my client to pay a hundred fifty thousand - ?"
"Two hundred and fifty thousand dollars."
"Let's say, two hundred thousand?"
"Two hundred and fifty thousand dollars."
There was no budging her. Halston made his decision. A $150,000 profit was better than nothing. It would mean a smaller villa and boat, but it was still a fortune. It would serve the Parker brothers right for the shabby way they treated him. He