Page 85 of Beyond Her Manner

“No. There was nothing of value amongst the rest, unfortunately. I wouldn’t call any art worthy of the bin, but in the case of those…” She let out a light chuckle. “I can see why they were left in the attic. The Gentileschi on the other hand, someone missed a trick.”

“Indeed.” Viola smiled, thinking of Gillian’s disdain for it just because her husband had bought it.

“We’re happy to temporarily store the Gentileschi here if you wish. I’m assuming you don’t have insurance since you didn’t know what it was.”

“No, I don’t. I would be grateful if you would, thanks.”

The thought that Gillian had likely thrown the painting in the attic, where it lay discarded for however long, made her shudder.

“No problem. When you’ve decided what you want to do with it, we can arrange transportation. We can also prepare it for sale if you want to go down that route, as it needs some cleaning and restoration.”

“Thank you,” Viola answered, trying to keep track of the conversation even as her head was buzzing with it all.

“One last thing. The painting will garner interest from the media and the art world. Are you happy for us to announce its discovery and handle any PR?”

“Please do.”

“We’ll keep your name out of it,” she confirmed.

Having said goodbye to Georgina, she dialled Caroline, who answered immediately.

“And?” came the immediate demand.

“Erm, it’s an Artemisia Gentileschi.”

The line went quiet. Viola checked her phone to make sure they were still connected. Caroline eventually spoke.

“Seriously?”

“Yes, have you heard of her?”

“Of course.” Caroline scoffed. “You know, she has quite a story.”

“My contact at the Courtauld Institute mentioned she was raped.”

“Yes, by a family friend. Her father took him to court for damages done to his ‘property’; she was then tortured to make sure she was telling the truth. The case was found in her father’s favour, but the perpetrator never served his five-year banishment from Rome, and in the end, she was the one who left.”

Viola rolled her eyes. “Typical.”

“What are you going to do? Sell it?”

“I can’t. It’s not mine, is it?”

“Whose is it?” Caroline questioned.

“Gillian’s. You think she would have left it in the attic if she knew what it was?”

“I guess not, no.” Caroline paused, then continued, “You know what this means?”

“No,” Viola replied, not having had a second to think about anything.

“If you do sell Kingsford, Gillian could be in the market for a new home, or an old one. A Gentileschi could be worth a fortune.”

“Millions, according to my contact,” Viola corrected.

“There you go then. Gillian will be overjoyed. Everything will be as it should.”

How would everything be as it should if she didn’t have Gillian?