Midnight Creek Tales

#4. The Duchess' Lost Portrait / Chapter 2

The next two minutes were, for the most part dull. That was until they finally brought out the next piece of art, which was a sculpture of the Greek god Poseidon holding up his large golden trident. Many of the people marveled at its beauty, and even I was stunned for a second by its excellent detail and artistry.

If during in the night Payne were to bid, I would increase the amount every single time until he couldn't afford it. It was a cheap but effective tactic to sucker frauds out of their money.

"Ladies and Gentlemen we have a marvel! A sight so spectacular that Poseidon himself would be lost in awe! The starting price for this masterpiece is £50,000."

I raised my hand instantly, expecting Payne to raise his hand behind me. However, to my surprise, I was the only one in the room who had raised their hand. At first, I was confused, but then out sprung another hand, but it wasn't Payne's. It was Mr. Woolclock! A young, wealthy new businessman who probably shouldn't have been bidding even over £10,000 let alone £50,000! And to be quite honest I didn't care who it was; I just wanted to hassle him, even if it meant potentially winning the statue...

The bidding felt like an eternity - a long and dragged out one at that. We were neck and neck, and the price was slowly but steadily increasing until it reached a minuscule £300,000.

It was his turn, "£310,000," he said giving me a nasty grin.

I thought for a second... I came to a wise but tricky decision. Now it was true that I had never backed out of a bid, so he probably wanted to squeeze me out of all I had.

But that's where I knew I had him in the right spot. Yes, he would win the auction, but in the end I would win.

Mr. Woolclock was lying right through his teeth. He would never be able to pay off the funds of the statue, and this was a serious auction. Once you placed a bid that was it. You had to pay it. If you couldn't back up the payment the community shunned you, but even worse, men from mobs would come for you.

So I gave back a dirty grin to Mr. Woolclock and declared the words that would probably end his life in disgrace, "I'll pass on the bid."

The whole room erupted into shock! I looked at Mr. Woolclock, and I could see on his face that he wasn't smiling anymore. He was now in a financial hole that he could not escape.

His wife patted him on the back and kissed him on the cheek, but he remained still and lifeless as if the air in his lungs had been kicked out of him. "I knew for sure he would've kept going! He never backs out..." I could hear him murmur to himself.

I couldn't help but laugh at his silly misfortune and the only way maybe to pay off the debt would be to sell his mansion, which would be pretty rough. But hey, he messed with the king, and he got what was coming to him.

The auction carried on, and it seemed to be playing out very mediocre. Some of the abstract paintings looked like rubbish, and nothing exciting was coming onstage. With that as the night rolled along I could tell the auctioneer was beginning to sound a bit tired of the auction and soon became less enthusiastic and more monotone in the way he directed his speech to the audience.

The auction panned out as so until the very last piece of art was presented. This piece even caught the eye of the auctioneer himself, as the crew brought in the portrait. With him suddenly springing back to life, he carried on to explain, "Well folks it looks like we have a treat here, we've saved the best for last!" The crew gently put down the portrait onto the stand, and everyone stared mesmerized at the beautiful flawless painting.

"This painting dates back to over 500 years ago." He paused to get another look at the piece of art and continued, "This is the portrait of the Lost Duchess of France. Legend has it she was kidnapped from her carriage on her wedding night. The authorities of the kingdom had never found her body, and the only thing they could scavenge at the crime scene was this work of art..."