The Best Offer Page #5

I'd like something smaller.

But the idea of

having to leave here

and go somewhere else

fills me with dread.

How would I manage it?

Wear blindfolds? Have myself

carried out while asleep?

I'd get into a state and end

up putting everything off.

You have all the time in the

world to make up your mind.

- You think?

- Well, until the catalogue is printed.

Don't torment yourself. Think

of yourself, your future.

That's the biggest

torment of all.

When I think about it,

I can't even work.

I didn't know you were working.

I write. I write novels,

stories, things like that.

I'd like to read them.

I'll buy some.

Luckily for us, you'll

never manage to.

Why not?

Because I write under a pseudonym

and I loathe what I write.

Artists always loathe what

they make, Miss lbbetson.

Yesterday, you called me Claire.

I wasn't aware. I was

in a state of alarm.

- Sorry.

- I'd like you to continue.

"I'd like you to continue." She

said it to him, just like that.

Well, what did he say?

He was taken back but he went

along with what she wanted.

What else could he do?

I'd have asked her to do the

same, call me by my first name.

That's not his style.

Besides, I don't think my

friend intends to court her.

Then he'll never get

her out of there.

I don't think my friend

intends to court her.

I don't think my friend

intends to court her.

Horrible voice!

I'd have thought he'd at least

have desired to see her face.

'Desired's probably

not the right word.

Curious to see her, perhaps.

Yes, I could understand that.

But the chances of it happening

seem to be really remote.

There might be a way.

Just depends on how

brave your friend is.

- The French bureau.

- Yes.

- The table with the roll top.

- No, I'd like to keep that.

That's it. Next time,

we'll do the paintings.

- Ok.

- One last thing, Claire.

You'll have to decide whether we do

the photography here or in a studio.

In a studio. I don't want

many people around the house.

That's the best solution.

Well, I'm off now.

- Anything you need?

- No. Thank you, Mr. Oldman.

When will we next

see each other?

You mean, when do you see me? Since

I am not given that privilege.

- Forgive me.

- But soon.

- Have a good day.

- You too.

Hello?

- I can't believe it.

- I couldn't sleep at night, Virgil.

I had to do something

to make you forgive me.

But how did you get it?

I heard that Mrs. Durane

had fallen on hard times,

so I persuaded her to sell

it to me for 250,000.

Hmm, not exactly cheap!

I thought it was a

reasonable price.

You were talking

about 8 million.

This way, everyone

gets a good deal.

How much do you want, Billy?

I don't want a Penny more

than I gave the old girl.

Now you're really

losing your grip.

I just want to get

back to where we were.

How was your friend,

your accomplice,

your trusted procurer of women?

If you're doing this to win back my

trust, it's been a bad deal for you.

You never lost it

in the first place.

Oh!

This is great. This is great!

You found important stuff.

Best bit is this.

- An ear.

- A step forward, wouldn't you say?

I'd say! I'd say we're

at a turning point.

Look.

- Huh?

- Excellent.

The pieces are

attracting each other.

So...

How did things go with your...

friend?

How many seconds did it take you to

realize I was talking about myself?

Quite a few, to be honest.

Let me confess, I didn't

follow your advice.

There was something too contorted

about it, too imprudent.

Yeah, Ok, I see your point.

The mathematical set

of a six-day week.

The mathematical set

of a 51-minute hour.

- What will you have, Sir?

- Tea, please.

Have you thought

of anything else?

The length of a point. The

direction of a circle.

Your tea's ready, Sir.

The edge of a circumference.

The Centre of space.

- The area of a segment.

- Amazing. Well done!

The vertical position

of a sphere.

I brought the furniture

and painting valuations.

Look at them carefully because

you'll have to authorize them.

- I don't know a thing about this.

- I know. Trust me, Miss lbbetson.

You've been spending time

in the cellars recently.

- Is that why you changed the locks?

- I change them every six months.

And I take care to double-check,

compare and correct

when dealing with odds

and ends in cellars.

It's how I work. If it

upsets you, speak now.

You'll find the new keys on

the table. Please take them.

Thank you for your trust.

Were you offended at

being locked out?

No, but I was worried.

You're right, I should

have told you. I'm sorry.

Claire, you're ruining your life

for reasons which are beyond me.

This illness of yours is so

absurd, it almost seems unreal.

My mother thought I was

faking it the first time.

We were abroad.

I was so afraid of walking at

the foot of the Eiffel Tower

that it paralyzed me.

I started screaming,

fell to the ground.

I was just a little girl, but

it kept happening more and more

and she had to believe me.

Has there ever

been an open space

where you weren't

overcome by anxiety?

Only one. During a school

trip to Prague. I was 14.

The square with the

astronomical clock.

I must have walked across it a

hundred times. It was beautiful.

I remember a restaurant

with very strange decor.

If there's one place in the world

I'm nostalgic for, it's that.

I was really happy there.

It was called Night and Day.

- You've never been back?

- Never.

Why not go now? I'd

be happy to take you.

Well, you don't seem too

pleased. We're almost there.

Our automaton is about to

emerge from the shadows.

No, I'm delighted. You're

a force of nature.

It's just that...

this is one of those evenings

when one feels like this

contraption here...

incomplete.

Why did you never marry?

You know, never have kids?

The regard I have for women

is equal to the fear I've

always had of them...

and to my failure

to understand them.

If that's the rule,

then Miss lbbetson

gives every impression

of being the exception.

I'm afraid so.

Have you really never

set eyes on her?

Just once.

What's she like?

I suppose feeling a certain

interest in a person

necessarily engenders a

conviction that she's beautiful.

Up to a point.

It's her birthday in two days. I'd

like to get her something useful.

I don't think useful is

probably your best approach.

- No?

- Not the first time.

It's better to get her

something more... traditional.

Morning, Sir.

Hello, Sir.

Hey, Mr. Oldman. Look what

I found in the cellar.

I saw you were interested

in this old junk.

The supports for the

Murano chandelier.

My colleagues

couldn't find them.

- I can put them in your car.

- That's very kind.

Wait.

Oh, thanks.

Morning, Mr. Oldman.

I took the liberty of

remembering it's your birthday.

Happy Birthday, Claire.

I read the valuation

documents.

Did you manage to

understand some of it?

Of course. Ridiculous

sums of money.

Even a backwards child would

know she's being cheated.

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