“And held on to her position until she was fired last week,” Jack reminded her, as Nakamura bowed low to Arabella before climbing into the back of his limousine.
“And even better news, Stalker,” continued Anna, as she returned Mr. Nakamura’s wave. “Tina downloaded every document that might implicate Fenston onto her personal computer. She kept everything, from contracts to letters, even personal memos that Fenston thought had been destroyed when the North Tower collapsed. So I have a feeling that it won’t be that long before you can finally close the file on Mr. Bryce Fenston.”
“Thanks to you and Tina,” said Jack. He paused. “But she still lost everything.”
“Not everything,” said Anna, “because you’ll be happy to know that Arabella has given her a million dollars for the part she played in saving the Wentworth estate.”
“A million dollars?” said Jack.
“Not to mention the million pounds she’s presented to me, ‘for the labourer is worthy of his hire’ was how Arabella expressed it in her letter.”
“St. Luke,” said Jack. “ ‘And in the same house remain, eating and drinking such things as they give: for the labourer is worthy of his hire.’ ”
“Impressive,” said Anna.
“And I didn’t even get breakfast.”
“Well, perhaps I’ll take pity on you, Stalker, and let you join me for lunch in first class on the flight home.”
Jack turned to Anna and smiled. “I’d much rather you came to dinner with me on Saturday evening.”
“Your mother’s Irish stew night?” said Anna. “Now that’s better than first class. I’d certainly be up for that.”
“But before you agree, Anna, that there’s something I have to tell you,” said Jack, as Mr. Nakamura’s car disappeared down the drive and out of the gates.
“And what’s that?” asked Anna, turning back to face him.
“My mother is under the illusion that you’ve already been married three times, you have five children, not necessarily by the three husbands, four of them are on hard drugs, and the other one is currently serving a jail sentence.” He paused. “She also thinks that you work in a far older profession than art consultancy.”
Anna burst out laughing. “But what will you tell her when she discovers that none of it’s true?”
“You’re not Irish,” said Jack.
Author’s note
Although Van Gogh cut off part of his left ear with a razor following a row with Gauguin, it still remains a mystery why his right ear is covered with a bandage in both self-portraits.
Art historians, including Louis van Tilborgh, Curator of Paintings at the Van Gogh Museum, are convinced that the artist painted the picture while looking in a mirror.
Tilborgh points out that Van Gogh wrote to his brother Theo in September 1888, after buying a mirror to help him with his work (letter number 685 in the 1990 edition of Van Gogh’s letters, and number 537 in the 1953 (English) edition of his correspondence).
The mirror was left at Arles when the artist moved on to Saint-Remy. However, Van Gogh wrote another letter to J. Ginoux (May 11, 1890, 634a in the English edition, 872 in the Dutch edition), asking Ginoux to “take good care of the mirror.”
Van Gogh is known to have painted two self-portraits with bandaged ear. One can be viewed at the Courtauld Institute at Somerset House in London. The second remains in a private collection.
From Van Gogh’s letter to his brother, Theo, September 17, 1888
Copyright © Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent Van Gogh Foundation)
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