[00:00.00]UNIT5
[00:13.66]The Fraud
[00:14.97]Flushed with excitement, Kate stepped
[00:17.93]into the spatial vestibule and
[00:19.79]was immediately dazzled by the scene
[00:21.98]before her. The inlaid marble floor
[00:24.60]paved the way to a circular staircase
[00:26.90]rising three levels above her.
[00:29.52]In a fountain in the center
[00:31.93]of the entryway stood a bronze
[00:34.12]dolphin balancing on its tail,
[00:36.42]its snout pointed to
[00:38.38]the lofty domed, stained glass skylight
[00:40.68]forty feet above. A massive chandelier,
[00:43.75]luminous in the bright sunlight,
[00:46.48]cast rainbow fairies dancing
[00:49.00]through the pink, green, and
[00:50.96]gold floral patterns of the floor
[00:53.26]and around the snowy white walls.
[00:55.56]Before she could fully appreciate
[00:57.97]the beauty of the intricate
[00:59.94]plaster work decorating the edges
[01:01.80]of the shallow niches installed
[01:03.88]in the walls to frame
[01:05.52]the numerous paintings, or,
[01:06.83]indeed, to appreciate the canvases
[01:08.91]themselves, her host, Victor Stone,
[01:11.97]approached. Small by North American standards,
[01:16.13]he was perfectly proportioned.
[01:17.88]Slightly balding at the forehead,
[01:20.84]his silver hair curved onto
[01:23.02]the collar of his pale
[01:24.99]blue shirt at the
[01:26.41]nape of his neck.
[01:27.94]Laughing blue eyes startled her
[01:29.80]with their clarity. A straight,
[01:31.34]aristocratic nose rose to meet
[01:34.07]his slightly arched brows.
[01:36.26]His carefully manicured hands bore
[01:38.78]a single gold pinkie ring.
[01:40.53]He held out his
[01:42.39]hand to take hers.
[01:43.48]“Thank you so much for coming,
[01:45.01]Kate. I am glad you
[01:46.76]could make it,” he said cheerfully.
[01:48.07]She had never met this
[01:50.04]charming little man before
[01:51.47]and knew him by reputation only.
[01:52.78]Among his contemporaries, he was
[01:55.19]known as a shrewd entrepreneur,
[01:58.25]able to diagnose at a glance,
[02:00.66]the prospects of those
[02:02.41]seeking his backing. She was
[02:04.71]anxious to learn why he had
[02:06.67]invited her to come to
[02:08.10]meet him at his home.
[02:09.30]“Thanks for asking me.
[02:10.94]Nice place you have here.”
[02:12.47]She felt stupid saying something
[02:14.12]so absurd, but she was,
[02:15.97]at that moment, stumped.
[02:17.94]Her ego wouldn't let her
[02:21.12]admit she'd never in her whole life,
[02:23.31]been so impressed by a foyer.
[02:25.82]She hoped that he would realize
[02:27.79]she'd had little experience
[02:29.43]with the elite, take pity
[02:30.96]on her, and show her around.
[02:33.59]“Would you like to see more
[02:35.89]of the house?” he asked, politely.
[02:37.86]“Would I? You bet!” She was
[02:39.71]happy he gave no indication
[02:41.47]that he thought she was
[02:42.67]not in his bracket.
[02:43.98]She left her briefcase
[02:45.95]on the settee near the door
[02:47.59]and followed him through
[02:49.34]the foyer to a stairway
[02:50.55]to a stairway leading
[02:51.97]to a lower level of the house.
[02:53.17]They began the tour
[02:54.37]in the wine cellar. A heavy,
[02:56.34]double thick door opened
[02:57.76]to reveal row upon row
[02:59.30]of gleaming glass bottles
[03:01.71]of vintage wines, all lying
[03:04.00]on their sides, cradled by
[03:06.19]the solid oak racks. The steady
[03:08.16]hum of machinery broke the silence
[03:10.57]of the insulated room.
[03:12.10]Victor explained that it was
[03:14.18]necessary to control the ventilation,
[03:16.80]temperature and humidity of the cellar
[03:18.77]to achieve optimum conditions
[03:20.63]for conserving the flavors
[03:22.38]of the expensive wines.
[03:24.14]The small but luxurious audio-visual theater
[03:27.96]was adjacent to the wine cellar.
[03:29.93]Leather upholstered reclining chairs
[03:32.56]were casually arrayed about the room,
[03:34.53]all with an unimpaired view
[03:36.50]of the retractable screen.
[03:38.90]The stereo, silent at that moment,
[03:41.20]was state?of?the?art, with speakers
[03:43.61]tactically installed for maximizing
[03:45.25]sound effects. Black walnut wood paneling
[03:48.86]and a baffled ceiling averted
[03:50.83]the possibility of overly loud
[03:52.47]entertainment disturbing others in the mansion.
[03:55.21]Sliding glass doors led from
[03:58.27]the lowest level of the
[03:59.36]living area to the enclosed
[04:01.11]kidney?shaped swimming pool.
[04:03.41]Turquoise and white ceramic tiles outlined
[04:06.03]with gold covered the deck area.
[04:08.55]Pillars of quartz topped with
[04:10.52]milk glass spheres provided illumination
[04:12.38]should anyone choose to swim
[04:14.02]after dark. A changing booth
[04:16.54]was discretely hidden behind
[04:18.29]a screen of ornamental floor plants
[04:19.82]and cascading vines. Here, too,
[04:23.02]a baffled ceiling prevented
[04:24.66]the hollow resonance of the pool
[04:26.30]room from disturbing others.
[04:28.49]At the moment, the games room
[04:30.57]was arranged for gambling.
[04:32.32]An authentic roulette wheel,
[04:34.29]a craps table for dice,
[04:35.82]and various card tables were
[04:37.57]set up for a benefit evening
[04:39.21]that was being held the following night.
[04:41.18]Checkers, chess and other board
[04:43.70]games augmented the games of chance.
[04:45.34]Comfortable furniture and soft lighting
[04:48.40]lent a romantic atmosphere to
[04:50.04]the terrace garden. Kate had noticed
[04:52.89]earlier that Victor had
[04:54.31]a slight limp. As they
[04:55.95]progressed on their tour, she realized
[04:57.70]he was quite lame
[04:59.02]on the right side
[05:00.11]and needed to rest.
[05:01.20]They sat to chat
[05:02.41]for a few minutes.
[05:03.50]“How much do you know
[05:05.03]about me, Kate?” he asked.
[05:06.45]“Only what I've read.
[05:08.32]And what I have discerned
[05:10.39]in the past half hour.
[05:11.59]I think you are a man
[05:13.35]who has made your home
[05:14.55]into a diversion from
[05:15.53]the real world. Your taste
[05:16.63]is implicit, subtle. Everything
[05:19.36]I have seen has been chosen
[05:21.33]with a keen eye, not to overwhelm,
[05:23.85]but to invite. I think
[05:26.36]you choose things for
[05:27.57]their intrinsic value, things that
[05:29.65]are esthetically pleasing to you.
[05:31.72]I don't think there could be
[05:33.37]an imitation or a fake item
[05:34.90]in this whole place.
[05:36.21]You love your home and
[05:37.63]enjoy sharing it with others.
[05:38.95]Am I right?”
[05:40.26]“You are perceptive! Come.
[05:42.01]Let?s go to the sitting room
[05:43.98]and have a cocktail.” He led
[05:45.62]the way back into the library
[05:47.59]with its mahogany shelves filled
[05:49.99]with leather bound matched
[05:51.53]sets of first editions
[05:52.73]and volumes of encyclopedia.
[05:55.03]On a sturdy table under
[05:57.11]a reading lamp an illuminated manuscript
[05:58.97] with gold metallic page edging
[06:02.03] was lying open to
[06:03.35]display its vibrant art.
[06:05.53]Kate felt compelled to mention
[06:07.94]this beautiful piece. He said
[06:10.24]an obscure monk during the Renaissance
[06:12.21]had copied and illustrated
[06:13.96]the Book of Revelations.
[06:15.37]It had been quite shabby
[06:17.33]when it first came into
[06:18.54]his possession but he had
[06:20.07]it restored and planned to
[06:21.39]donate it to a museum.
[06:23.02]The door to a powder room
[06:24.77]stood ajar. Inside Kate noticed,
[06:26.96]again, the careful attention to
[06:29.59]detail manifest in the rest
[06:31.12]of the house. The doorknob
[06:32.87]was hand painted porcelain.
[06:34.95]The ivory?colored fixtures were
[06:37.47]shell-shaped and gold-trimmed.
[06:39.76]A large bowl of sweetly scented
[06:42.17]flowers was centered on the vanity.
[06:43.92]Next to the flowers sat
[06:45.67]a piece of hand-carved fossilized ebony.
[06:48.18]Kate was stunned by the size
[06:50.38]of the spacious sitting room.
[06:52.23]Several groupings of furniture
[06:53.87]lent themselves to seating
[06:54.97]as few as two guests
[06:56.28]or as many as ten. Here, too,
[06:59.45]ornamental plasterwork decorated the walls
[07:01.86]and ceilings. The raspberry colored
[07:05.03]velvet upholstery covering the couches
[07:07.22]and chairs complemented the pale
[07:09.41]green oriental carpets and lightly
[07:11.93]textured draperies. The gold-colored lamps
[07:15.10]with their creamy white shades,
[07:16.85]the paintings in their
[07:18.49]ornate alcoves, and the open
[07:20.46]fireplace with family pictures
[07:22.54]on the mantel, gave Kate
[07:24.18]an overwhelming feeling
[07:25.38]of comfort and peace.
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