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Chapter 12 by porneia porneia

Do you believe her?

Yes, that makes sense.

Normally, you would never forget your phone, but this has hardly been a normal night. The breathtaking nature of meeting the gorgeous Ms. Klye has certainly upended your world, so it's easy to believe you could've left your phone behind. Walking through the metal detector, you and Pops, then escort your date into the elevator and take her up to the top floor.

Andrea Decar, the Exhibitions Manager, greets you looking rather displeased. Though very organized and skilled at her job, Ms. Decar is a pricklish and dour woman of extraordinary plain appearance and personality. One look at the voluptuous reason for the interruption of her schedule causes her visage to become arctic.

“This is highly irregular, Dr. Anderson.” Are the first words out of her mouth as she refuses to even to acknowledge Ms. Kyle.

“I understand.” You take the highroad. “And my apologizes for any inconveniences. Ms. Kyle is a noted fine art appraiser from Gotham and I appreciate your cooperation.”

“I can spare a few moments.” Decar frowns, “The collection is not secure, so nothing can be handled or touched.”

“We understand.” You nod and lead Kyle and Pops to the surrounding display tables.

Walking over to the largest table Decar points at a brooch, ring, bracelet, earrings and necklace collection and then intones, “Maybe Ms. Kyle would care to appraise this set for us?”

Kyle looks down at the jewelry, “A exquisite parure from the 17th century belonging to Henrietta Hyde, Countess of Rochester, I believe. The necklace's pendant is set with an earlier Jacobean brooch, with similar pieces having been found in the Cheapside Hoard of 1912. The girandole earrings are clearly the most valuable piece in the set. I would estimate the total worth around 2.3 million.” Your date straights up and looks at Decar waiting for a reply.

Perturbed, Decar moves on to the next table without a word.

“I like her.” Kyle leans over and whispers playfully into your ear, “She's feisty.”

The tour goes on as Decar tries to out knowledge Kyle, who simply plays along, while Pops and yourself watch the appraisal cat fight with growing amusement. It's a close fought battle until your date finally stumbles.

“That's a very interesting piece.” Kyle points to a rather gaudy thick silver necklace with a large bright green crystalline jewel set in the middle. “17th century Egyptian?” She asks.

“Hardly!” Decar proudly declares, finally realizing victory. “It's a piece of glass from late 19th century England. Anyone with a half-trained eye can see that.”

“Are you sure?” Kyle asks.

“Of course I am!” Decar picks up the necklace and flips it upside down. “You can clearly see the setting is nowhere near that old. Here, see for yourself!” She thrusts the necklace into Kyle's hands.

Do you save your date from further mockery?

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