Chapter 63: Chapter 63 – Troublemaker

If Oscar were asked about it, he'd say it wasn't worth a direct confrontation with that buffoon. If it were up to him, he would have preferred to return to the villa and, in any case, leave in the hands of the police what they couldn't solve. But Albert seemed so intent on confronting his false cousin that once they got to Oxford he didn't dare bring it up again.

And so, on the second day of their stay in the city, they found themselves at the right address before a building whose ground floor advertised a mysterious art gallery. It was mysterious, in this regard, because despite the fact that there was a sign announcing it, there were no shop windows or open doors through which one could peek into the interior of the premises.

So much secrecy was due, as they could immediately verify, to the fact that an invitation was required to enter. And it is that, when they went inside the building, they were received in a small room where there was hardly anything more than a desk and an old man with a face of few friends, who was precisely the one who indicated the amount of coins that they had to deposit let them cross the gallery.

"We're not interested in seeing the exhibition," Oscar had specified, without giving the old man time to expand on what they would have the chance to see in the adjoining rooms. “We´ve only come looking for the one responsible for it.”

"If you want to see him, you'll have to pay," the man behind the counter returned with the same story he had already told when, as soon as he entered the door, Oscar had mentioned his cousin's name. “Mr. Stevens is a very busy man, I can't get you out of his office for a trifle.”

"Busy, you say? Well, how strange, I don't see anyone here. And, certainly, I don't hear people from the other room either.”

“The gentleman is in a meeting, in his office on the top floor. And I have explicit orders not to let anyone interrupt … Although, for a small fee, I could make an exception.”

“Yes, of course. Now he not only wants to make us pay the entrance to the exhibition, but he also intends to extract a few shillings from us, just by making him go up some stairs and knock on a door.”

“Exactly. Those are not my functions, so I have to receive fair remuneration for it” interjected the guy, with total impudence; it seemed that the people Thomas associated with did not differ much from him in character. “In addition, to reach the office you´d have to go through the gallery. And I must not let anyone enter the gallery without paying!”

Oscar was going to protest, claiming for the thousandth time that they weren't there to look at the paintings, that for them they could even walk through the room with their eyes closed if it was vital that no one knew what was on display there, but Albert deposited some coins on the counter, before he could say anything. To the surprise of him and the receptionist, the villain sentenced:

“We have already paid. Now, please, if you could lead us to Mr. Stevens...”

The strangeness in the old man barely lasted a few seconds. Seeing that he could finally charge these rude visitors, he took the money before anyone could think to remove it from his table and, smiling for the first time since they arrived, he motioned for them to follow him.

Oscar was not convinced by the exchange that had taken place there, considering it a scam. But, under his breath, Albert had asked him not to insist. They weren't there to fight. Not yet, at least.

The receptionist led them through a couple of rooms overflowing with paintings and the occasional lopsided sculpture before he shrugged them off, claiming he was going to fetch the malevolent cousin and since they weren't allowed on the first floor of the building, they should wait for him there. Once alone, since the little man had disappeared upstairs, Oscar finally had room to complain out loud:

"What kind of place is this? They don't even have adequate staff! Did you notice there was a bucket of water and a brush set aside in a corner of the reception?”

"Surely receiving visitors shouldn't be one of that old man's duties," Albert conceded. “It is more likely that he has been in charge of the cleaning duties, even before this became a gallery, and they are only using it temporarily to receive clients.”

“No, yes, with the traffic there is, I'm not surprised that they use a concierge to act as a receptionist.”

It wasn't just the room next to the reception that was devoid of people. The three of them had covered a good part of the ground floor and hadn't met a single person on their way.

"I don't think the business depends on how many unwary people agree to pay such an expensive entrance fee to see these paintings," Albert commented, turning to one of the walls, where several samples of that unique art were hanging.

Oscar did not understand much about the subject, but those paintings did not seem like anything to write home about. Most were of everyday landscapes, without much color or distinctive lines, as if whoever had done them was still a beginner. There was some mediocre portrait done using some unidentified person as a model. Three or four abstract paintings were even seen, of which there was still less to say.

"They haven't even been able to blend the colors well with the background, in most of them," Albert pointed out. “To ask for more than three pounds for each work would be theft.”

“Knowing Thomas, I'm not surprised. He would be quite capable of charging the artists themselves to exhibit his work here, with the distant promise that he will give them a good part of what the gallery gets from selling passes to see it.”

But who would lend themselves to such a farce? Even if Thomas manages to fool a few, they will want to withdraw their merchandise from a gallery that is not profitable for them. It would be unheard of for the place to continue operating for months, unless there was another source of income that he was not aware of.

"Cousin, what a surprise that you came!" This one had exclaimed, with his best fake smile, walking down the stairs and approaching his visitors while the old man from earlier returned to his place at the reception. “You should have warned me in advance, he would have welcomed you in style. Oh, but Mr. Northrop has also come! What a nice coincidence, no doubt.”

"Is that all you have to say?" Oscar inquired with his usual skepticism, wishing that, for once in his life, that guy would take off his mask and start behaving normally, without having to resort to that act that he always played.

“I also wanted to tell you that you are forgiven for what you did to me last time. I was going to write to tell you, but then I thought that those things are better said face to face. For a future cordial relationship, don't you think?” Turning to Albert, he added. “Still, not that he can blame her. He was always so violent…! Since we were little, poor Oscar has a very ugly temper.”

“And another one of my ugly fits I'm going to have, if you don't stop fooling around.”

"See what I was saying to you? But it's okay, let's stop holding grudges. You came to see my gallery, right? You are in luck, because it seems that today I have no pending work and I will be able to stop to teach you everything calmly.”

“We've come to recover an item that was removed from my house without my knowledge,” said Albert, without getting excited, as if he had already anticipated that Thomas would make a fool of himself about it.

“Extracted? He asked  “Stolen, you mean?”

"If you want to put it that way, yes, it was." Before Thomas could further inquire about things he already knew, Albert went on. “There is no point in continuing to pretend ignorance about it. I know what Oscar told me, a version that my employees in Thornfield have also confirmed, when I asked them if you had stopped by my house before coming back to this city. I also remember perfectly where I placed that object that no longer appears anywhere in the mansion, before my own departure to London. And, if I trust the version my people give me, there could only have been one person who took it without asking.”

"I suppose there would be no way to convince you that it could have been anyone else." Thomas sighed, as if he was the one who was tired of having to deal with falsehoods. “But considering you took such a long trip just to talk to me about this, I'll do you a favor. I will not deny my share of guilt. I was going through a difficult situation, I found something that seemed to me that I would not miss too much if I took it, and I took it. There was no malice in my act! Although I confess that I did panic a little, seeing the reaction of my dear cousin, and making sure that the thing was important.”

"Then why didn't you give it back to me then?" Oscar murmured, irritated by such hypocrisy.

"I thought you could make that sacrifice for me! What I took from Thornfield was yours, after all. I'm not a thief, if I was I would have pilfered something more valuable and belonging to the Northrops!”

"Is there a difference between stealing from your cousin and stealing from me?" Albert asked this time.

"That's right, why should there be a difference? With how well you two seem to get along lately, more than neighbors who greet each other from time to time, you seem close friends” After a pause that he made sure to make short enough so that no one had enough time to affirm or dismiss anything, he added. “Although, what was that Miss Warren said the last time I visited you at your apartment, Oscar? Of course, I didn't comment on it then because of the courage I had (and because it didn't seem like a topic to discuss in front of a young lady either). But, now that we have a chance to look back on that day, I have to say that I find the point she made too suggestive.”

And how could it not be? Dianne had gone off the deep end to mention, so directly, the possibility of a romance between the two of them! At that moment, Oscar feared that Thomas was going to make some malicious comment, trying to dig deeper into the matter, taking the trouble to talk more with the author. But no, it must be true that his cousin was not thinking with a cool head at that moment, because he just left showing off his well-cared indifference, as if he had not heard anything abnormal.

Not even in the days afterward, when he might have occasion to do anything with such information, was he known to try anything.

This was weird in itself, considering Thomas's modus operandi: If he got useful information, he would use it for his own benefit. It didn't matter if doing so would be detrimental to those around him, for he always made it a priority to use his resources in a way that could benefit himself, either in the short or long term.

And, in this particular case, it seemed like Thomas's plan had been simmering. That, ultimately, the results he sought would need to be compiled in the not-so-near future. So Oscar had almost forgotten the matter when this malevolent cousin of his went on to say:

"I thought a moment ago that Mr. Northrop must have considerable affection for this supposed belonging of his that I took, if he chose to come and claim it rather than simply buy a new one to replace it. And I don't understand it because, let's see, it's true that it's a little expensive, but nothing crazy. I think even my dear cousin could afford one just like it with, I don't know, two or three months' salary?”

"It's not a question of money, if it were, I wouldn't be here wasting my time in your gallery. Otherwise I would have left the task in the hands of the police,” Albert was forced to clarify, in a tone that indicated that he was beginning to get angry. “I just want you to return what you stole. And, if possible, that it be done without the need to get into lawsuits. Then, about whether or not the stolen thing is important to me, I'm afraid the answer to that is none of your business.”

"Oh, I understand, you´re shy and doesn't want to reveal it to me. But does he know? Nothing happens! As you have said, enough confirmation has already been that you have come here.” Glancing around to make sure that no one was there, as an act of precaution more theatrical than necessary, he continued to lower his voice a little. And, once we've established how important that object is, would it be okay for me to just let it go?”

"That would be nice of you, yes. What's more, it could be seen as the least bit of kindness he could have after you´ve managed to drag us here.”

Albert said this, but from the way he spoke it was obvious that he himself didn't believe his words, making a superhuman effort to be cordial.

"But then again, if I took it it was because I was short of cash," Thomas went on, ignoring him. “And, even if I had sold it, that wouldn't have been enough to pay all my expenses. What use could my sneaking into Thornfield have, then? Unless, of course, any of you offered me a modest sum to get it back.”

“Now you dedicate to blackmailing or how is it going?” Oscar scoffed; If it were up to him, this little fellow wouldn't see a penny of his share.

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“Nonsense. Blackmail sounds terrible, completely classless! I would rather consider it a formal exchange between gentlemen.”

"And why would Albert pay for something that he already owned from the beginning? Do not be ridiculous.”

“How much do you want?” Seeing that Oscar was looking at him perplexed, about to inquire what the hell he was up to by following such a brazen game, Albert clarified just for him. “I only asked how much, I still haven't said I was willing to pay.”

"How much do I want... I don't know, how much could I ask for? It is not a matter of swindling such an illustrious individual, of course. But one can't be fooled about the obvious value of this, either," Thomas pretended to reflect before settling down. “How about we leave it at fifty pounds?”

“Somewhat expensive. So much so that I don't know if it would be more profitable to report you for theft, despite all the hustle that entails.”

"I wouldn't if I were you. As much as my cousin would have liked it to be so, I'm not stupid, much less blind. I know about your relationship. I have the evidence to prove it in my possession and, also, if I wanted I could get witnesses. So yes, it is true that you could go to the police and try to report me, but what would they say if I told them a couple of things that I know? It may not be enough to arrest you for sodomy, but it would cast doubt and therefore I am sure that they would be much more interested in investigating the veracity of my words than the whereabouts of a certain object which value is not comparable to that of, for example, a bank safe.”

"Thomas, I don't know what you've been studying at university or if you studied at all, but it certainly doesn't seem to have been of much use," Oscar pointed out, despite those words, though annoyed, he didn't feel threatened at all. “Let me see if I have understood correctly: You base blackmail on an unprovable statement, made by a person you have rarely dealt with and then ask for an exorbitant sum for… What is that that was going to prove your point? You won't even let us see it. How do we know you still have it?”

Not to mention that the Oxford police, tipped off to the sodomy affair or not, couldn't do much about the removal of the pen either. After an unsuccessful search of Thomas's property, it would be enough for him to tell them that he had no knowledge of the matter for them to retract and instigate the complainants to investigate in the town where the crime occurred, before turning their eyes to this town.

"I guess you'll have to take my word for it," Thomas had said with a smile, returning to his meek human act. “Cousin, you should know better than anyone that I would never part with anything that was important to you.”

“Sure, you wouldn't get rid of it. You'd just steal it and then try to resell it to me for double or triple its original price.”

 "If you say it like that it's going to sound like I'm desperate for money, which I'm not at all! I mean, maybe it was when I came to ask you for help that you so heartbreakingly denied me, but the tables have turned in these months! Shortly after I got back from Snodland, Bowman (one of my partners) found a new promoter. And, thanks to the economic lifeline he has provided us, this place has been growing little by little. We still have some bills to pay, of course, but we're not nearly as rushed as when I contacted you in January.”

"That being the case, what is the need?"

“Just give the damn thing back!” he would have liked to exclaim. But he knew that Thomas wouldn't, even if keeping it didn't benefit him. If this cousin of his wished to make his life a little more miserable, there was no doubt he would. As useless as it sounded from an outsider´s perspective.

"Have a little fun, maybe? It's like, since we're all here, let's play!” Stepping away from Oscar deliberately, as if he had seen the subtle gesture he made perhaps to try to grab and hit him, he added. “But let's play without violence, please. Being so anxious leads to nothing but trouble!” Turning to the villain, he inquired. “What do you say? Do you accept the deal?”

Oscar's first instinct may have been to reject Thomas's offer immediately, without half measures. But Albert instead chose to ask:

"Can I have a few days to think about it?"

“Of course you can, what's more, I insist! What kind of businessman would I be if I didn't give one of my best clients time to think about whether he would take a deal? You can come back whenever you please with an answer. I would, however, appreciate it if you would do so before I return to Snodland, or else I will assume that the deal is not to your liking, and therefore I will be forced to tell the world what I know. But I don't think we have to go to that extreme, do we?”

No one denied or affirmed anything at that point. Like someone who asks a tour guide an irrelevant question, without really being interested in the area's merchandise, Albert did not want to make any promises or threats regarding blackmail. And, after a couple of more sentences through which he was assured that Thomas had no intention of revealing any more details about the whereabouts of what was stolen or his own plans from here, he chose to leave the gallery.

No, really, it was not convenient for him to appear again in this dismal place without having established a plan.

"As I see it, there are two options," said Oscar, once outside and far enough from the premises to be free of Thomas or any of his still unidentified associates listening to them. “The first, recover that object on our own. Complicated thing, because even if we could successfully sneak into the gallery and search their rooms it wouldn't guarantee we'd find anything. My cousin can be quite cunning when it comes to these things; I doubt very much that, possessing something of value with which to get even more out of what he has already done, he would have it stored in an easily accessible place.”

“Perhaps we should have informed the Snodland authorities, at least at this point it would have been easier…”

"No, you were right not to contact the police if it wasn't a matter of money or if what Thomas took wasn't a piece of the family treasure. I mean, imagine what a scandal that would have been. And with him in Oxford, with plenty of time to dispose of the stolen goods, wouldn't that have been alarming people for no reason?”

"I admit it's complicated," Albert conceded, thinking of the amount of gossip that would circulate through the town if they knew about Thomas and how badly Oscar's uncles might think of him if they took their son's side. “One false step and we could be liars.”

"That's why there's my second option: Let's do nothing and go straight back to Snodland. That asshole Thomas hasn't mentioned anything about his college or the evidence one could easily get against him, but we have it. So what prevents us from appearing before my uncles with this? Even if my cousin decided to accuse us of something (which I doubt, because it would not be profitable for him from a financial point of view) his own credibility would already be diminished.”

A third option could have been to give in to the blackmail and pay the requested amount. But Oscar hadn't counted it as a possible way, given how stupid he seemed. It was not only that at such an hour they were on a par with the enemy —if not that they already had a certain superiority, having obtained those documents that partially unmasked him—, it is that he knew well that the last thing they had to do was give him wings before such a proposal. No matter how screwed up they were.

It was the nature of the blackmailer to be a hoarder. Just as nothing assured them that Thomas still had something in his possession with which to threaten them, what made them think that the blackmail would cease after a first and supposedly last payment?

Not to mention that paying it would be like admitting that they had done something wrong...

"I know the latter is the best option," Albert reflected. “I assume that, despite not having said anything, your cousin already knows what the other reason was that we came to Oxford, and therefore it would be best to return to Snodland as soon as possible to make the most of the information acquired. But still, I'd like to try to recover what I lost before we leave.”

Oscar sighed upon hearing this. During those weeks he had already established that Thornfield's theft was not something extremely expensive, but it did have a certain sentimental value for its owner. He imagined that he would receive an answer like that and, therefore, he could not help but inquire:

"What do you propose to do, then?"

'Thomas asked us to contact him again within a week. Wouldn't it be worth trying to find it before that deadline was up?” Realizing something, this criminally insane villain added. “Of course, it would be a legal investigation. Without threatening anyone or sneaking onto someone else's property. If after three or four days if I don't find what I'm looking for, I'll give it up as unrecoverable and we'll go back to Snodland.”

"Okay, but… 'I give', did you say? In singular?”

“E-er… Would you mind leaving this search to me?”

“Don't you want me to go with you?”

This was new. Since Albert had returned from London and, discounting the moments in which due to some greater obligation - like Oscar's job at the newspaper - they had to separate, both had spent a good part of their time together. It wasn't as if they were in each other's company every spare second, but if there was a chance to see each other unimpeded for a while, neither was willing to waste it.

"I need to handle this matter on my own," he explained, without specifying anything. “But when I'm done, I'll explain everything to you.”

"I see, then I won't be able to go." Oscar said this more to himself than to the villain.

It wasn't a reproach at all, he was just thinking that he was going to get bored alone in a strange city. Although that wasn't a negative answer, Albert shouldn't have taken it as a completely favorable answer either. So he took Oscar's hands as he promised:

"I'll be back at the hotel by dinner time, whether or not I can get it back."

"I expected no less," laughed Oscar. “I couldn't imagine you going hungry for pleasure and then sleeping on the street.”

That finding that Oscar made in a good mood must have encouraged the villain to do whatever he had to do. And, effusively, he thanked him for understanding, promising again not only that he would be back by nightfall, but that he would update him on everything once he achieved his goal. Then, Albert left in the opposite direction from which they had come, with a destination already in mind, leaving him alone with his thoughts.

What the hell was wrong with him?

Oscar couldn't even imagine it, but it was enough of a shock to him that a man who usually didn't show his feelings in public was holding his hands in the middle of a busy sidewalk. Not only that, it is that he had been so animated after knowing that he approved of his plans to recover that mysterious object, that he could have sworn that Albert would have kissed him right there if it were not because in this society he was frowned upon .

But anyway, what was he already surprised about? Still shaken by what had just happened, feeling that some passers-by were still looking at him as he passed, Oscar walked towards other directions.

It wasn't even noon so, he thought, maybe he could use the day to do some sightseeing.

 

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