‘I think you’ve got the makings of a very good show. I think you need to add something a little more mainstream, so you don’t antagonise the more conventional members of the public, but you don’t need to go too far. A half-decent painter would do the trick.’

‘Not easy to find. I looked and looked, but it’s just not in fashion at the moment.’

‘It will be. When Rory’s had his show.’

There was a silence between them. For a while they’d forgotten they were in competition for the same ground-breaking young artist. Edward had Rory and Thea had the paintings. Thea felt that having Rory put Edward ahead, because she knew she wouldn’t be able to keep the paintings against everybody’s will. But Edward might not know she had them, which gave her a smidgen of advantage.

‘Edward, about Rory’s show.’

‘Yes, Thea?’

‘If you told him he could show with you afterwards, at some time in the future, he might well do the decent thing and stick with me.’

‘He might. And while I probably would always be happy to show Rory’s work, when I’ve got the space, I’ve no intention of telling him that.’

‘But why not? You know how hard I’ve worked for this. You know I discovered Rory in a shed in Ireland!’

‘You forget, I saw Rory before he disappeared. I was an admirer long before you were. By the time you found him he was easy to appreciate. He’d refined his art, done years of concentrated work. I saw the talent behind the rawness.’

Thea sighed deeply and tried again. ‘But you’re an established gallery. People will come here and buy from you whatever you put in it. You don’t need the recognition like I do.’

‘I have a reputation to keep up. People buy from me because they trust me to know what’s good, what will appreciate in value. You can afford to fail. You’ve only money to lose. I have my integrity – far more precious, I assure you.’

That’s the trouble with being fair-minded, thought Thea despondently. I can see Edward’s point of view perfectly. I know all about integrity, how important it is, how hard it is to acquire, how devastating to lose.

Possibly sensing her surrender, Edward went on, ‘But I will give you Rory’s telephone number. If you can persuade him to show with you and not me, I won’t hold it against him in future. Though I should warn you, Veronica has a lot of influence and she won’t use it to your advantage if you take Rory. She’s a scalp hunter and she won’t be able to display Rory’s if he shows with you first.’