Midnight Jewels

admire the flower arrangement. It was quite perfect, austere and subtle. Isobel was no doubt responsible for it. But the more he looked at it, the more he found himself wondering how Mercy would have handled the flowers. He suspected she would have chosen a more brilliant shade of flower to start. And then she would have given full scope to the flower's inherent lush qualities in her design. The final effect would have been a bright, brash, intriguing counterpoint in the elegant room. Croft knew he would have been charmed by the result even if he did feel compelled to criticize it.
    Gladstone was in an engaging mood, talking animatedly with Mercy about books. There was no doubt but that the man was a devoted collector who knew his field. Mercy was once again hanging on his every word, participating eagerly in ate discussion while Croft and Isobel listened politely.
    "You must tell me how you came across
Valley
," Gladstone said as he helped himself to dry toast. "No offense, my dear, but I would have expected it to turn up in one of the East coast or English auction houses rather than a secondhand bookshop out in Washington. It is a rather valuable item."
    "That's the great thing about the book business, isn't it?" Mercy smiled happily. "You never know when you're going to unearth buried treasure. I got
Valley
in a trunkful of books I picked up at a flea market. I had no idea it was inside. I thought the whole trunk was full of used paperbacks and some assorted junk."
    "You must have been very excited when you realized what you had."
    Mercy nodded. "I wasn't sure at first, but I spent a few years as a librarian and I had enough training to know
Valley
might be valuable. I also had enough training to go about finding out if the book was really worth anything. As soon as I'd verified that it was an original and not just a clever reproduction, I put the ad in that catalog you happened to see."
    "Did anyone else call about the ad?" Gladstone asked casually.
    Croft saw Mercy blink, but she never missed a beat as she replied immediately. "No. No one else telephoned. I was delighted when I got your offer, believe me."
    "You must have wondered about my, er, interests when you got my call. Did you think I was the prurient sort?"
    "Of course not," Mercy said instantly. "It's obvious
Valley
is hardly an example of run-of-the-mill pornography. The copper plate illustrations are beautifully done and the writing is very literate. The original owner must have spent a fortune to have it bound in that beautifully tooled Moroccan leather. Many collectors who have a general collection would want such a fine example of, uh, curiosa on their shelves. That sort of thing is so rare."
    "It is, indeed. I didn't take the time to show you the other night, but I have some even more valuable examples of what might be termed curiosa down in the vault. There are one or two particularly fine seventeenth century Japanese painted scrolls. Not true books, perhaps, but I was unable to resist them when they came on the market. The Japanese have done some exquisite erotic art, as have the Indians and the Chinese. That section of my collection is not my chief area of interest, but I want it be as excellent as possible. I believe in acquiring only the best."
    Croft saw Mercy's gaze go briefly to Isobel, who didn't appear to notice. "You are fortunate to be able to indulge your interests. Not all of us can afford to do so."
    Gladstone chuckled. "Inheriting money from several generations of shrewd ancestors is extremely helpful." Without any warning he turned to Croft. "Tell me, Croft, do you share any of Mercy's interest in the rare and the valuable?"
    Croft looked at Mercy. "Occasionally I'm fascinated by rare and valuable things." Perhaps that explained his growing fascination with Mercy Pennington, Croft thought! She was so rare and so very valuable and she had absolutely no idea of her own uniqueness. She bloomed for him like one of the beautiful flowers in the mountain meadows, unselfconsciously delightful.
    "I have always sought to surround myself with the beautiful and the rare and the valuable," Gladstone went on conversationally. "Some people say we are what we eat, but I believe we are just as influenced by our environment. Do you agree?"
    Croft was watching Mercy eat a strawberry. She was thoroughly enjoying the fruit and it showed. He realized it gave him great pleasure to see her pleasured. Reluctantly he took his gaze from the sight of the