‘Women never do,’ said Miles. ‘Speaking of insurance policies, what’s Christina been up to lately?’

‘She’s been keeping her side of the bargain,’ said Booth Watson. ‘After her meeting with Beth Warwick, she came back with two fascinating pieces of information.’

Miles looked interested.

‘The Fitzmolean has recently been offered Caravaggio’s Fishers of Men by a Lord McLaren, but they couldn’t meet his asking price.’

‘Which was?’

‘Twenty million pounds.’

‘Why’s he putting one of Caravaggio’s most famous works on the market when it’s been in his family for generations?’

‘Having to put, is the answer to that question. It seems that the seventh Lord McLaren has been saddled with extortionate death duties.’

‘How extortionate?’

‘Twenty-two million, seven hundred thousand pounds.’

‘So now we know what he’ll be prepared to sell the painting for,’ said Miles.

‘You’re interested in buying it?’

‘Of course I am, but I’ll need someone to represent me because, unlike Christ, I can’t rise from the dead.’

Booth Watson smiled, ‘I’d be delighted to act on your behalf.’

‘I’m sure you would, BW,’ said Miles. ‘You said Christina had come up with two pieces of information.’

‘The Fitzmolean is mounting a Frans Hals exhibition next autumn, and Mrs Warwick has asked Christina to loan the museum The Flute Player for six weeks.’

‘It’s not hers to loan,’ said Miles defiantly.

‘Which is why I would counsel you to do so.’

‘Your reason?’

‘Mrs Warwick would then be convinced the collection is in Christina’s hands and, more importantly, so would her husband.’

• • •

‘Fishers of Men by Caravaggio,’ said the tour guide, ‘is without question the pride of the McLaren collection. Although the central figure in the painting is Christ, the eye goes immediately to the fishermen in the boat. The eminent art historian, Sir Kenneth Clark, wrote that the look of shock when the Apostles first see Christ walking on water can only be described as genius.’

‘What’s it worth?’ asked a young man wearing a T-shirt displaying a Warhol.

‘It’s quite simply priceless,’ said the guide, trying to hide his disdain, which raised a smile from an elderly gentleman seated in a wheelchair, his legs covered by a tartan rug.

‘Although,’ continued the guide, ‘it may interest you to know that the first Lord McLaren purchased the masterpiece from a dealer in Milan in 1786 for fifty guineas, and on returning to Scotland he hung it here, in the dining room, where it has remained to this day.’

Not for much longer, thought the man in the wheelchair.

‘That concludes the tour,’ said the guide, ‘which I hope you have all enjoyed.’ The generous round of applause that followed suggested they had.

The guide gave a slight bow before saying, ‘If you would like to visit our shop, enjoy some light refreshments in the café, or walk around the grounds, please feel free to do so. I hope you all have a safe journey home.’

The old man in the wheelchair thanked the guide and gave him a handsome tip, before his nurse pushed him slowly out of the dining room. ‘I’d like to visit the shop,’ he said.