‘I’ve approached all eleven private owners,’ continued Beth, ‘and asked if they’d be willing to support the exhibition. Three have agreed, but under the most stringent conditions, four have turned me down, and the other four didn’t even bother to reply.’

‘Why wouldn’t they be willing to loan their pictures?’ asked Marjorie, ‘when, as William says, it would only add value to the works.’

‘The Mellons and Rothschilds of this world are well aware of that and are always supportive of major exhibitions. The rejections often come from owners who are concerned their artworks might be damaged in transit. That’s why I’m having so much trouble convincing Mr Morita to part with his magnificent Hals self-portrait that hangs in the Sony collection in Tokyo.’

‘And those who haven’t bothered to reply?’ asked Marjorie.

‘Often criminals who don’t want to draw the taxman’s attention to the fact that they own valuable works of art,’ said William. ‘The late Miles Faulkner is a typical example.’

‘Or not so late,’ said Sir Julian.

‘Why do you say that?’ asked William cautiously.

‘Booth Watson doesn’t appear in court as often as he used to, but as he still dines at the Savoy every day. He’s either taken early retirement, which seems unlikely, or he’s on a large enough retainer from a private client to be sure he doesn’t have to seek regular work like the rest of us. You have to remember that few people employ a lawyer unless they have to.’

‘Especially lawyers who continually interrupt their wives when they still have several more questions to ask about Frans Hals,’ said Marjorie.

‘Forgive me,’ said Sir Julian. ‘I’m becoming a legal bore.’

No one attempted to disagree with him.

‘You mentioned that works sometimes have to be transported from one side of the world to the other,’ said Marjorie. ‘That must be very expensive.’

‘Sometimes prohibitive,’ said Beth. ‘There are very few companies in Britain who are considered reliable enough to handle works of such importance. I know of one curator who insists that the painting is never let out of his sight, so, like him, it has to fly first class and not be put in the hold. That doesn’t come cheap – and that’s before you start worrying about the insurance premiums. The reason you can never borrow a Leonardo or a Michelangelo from the Vatican is because Lloyd’s of London are unwilling to insure them, and the Pope has decreed no exceptions.’

‘Can’t the government help in those circumstances?’ asked Marjorie.

‘Sometimes they can be more of a hindrance,’ said Beth. ‘If the Foreign Office has reservations about the country you want to loan a picture to, they can refuse to grant you an export licence.’

‘Understandably,’ said Sir Julian. ‘I can just imagine the outcry if the National Archaeological Museum in Athens asked to borrow the Elgin Marbles – just for six weeks.’

‘And then there’s the Jewish problem,’ said William.

This silenced even Sir Julian.

‘There are several major works hanging in public galleries that were stolen from their Jewish owners by the Germans during the Second World War. Some of them were later “liberated” by the Russians, and can now be seen in the Hermitage in St Petersburg, as well as several other well-known museums tucked safely behind the Iron Curtain.’