Family Jewels (26 page)

61

S
tone landed at Manassas, Virginia, at three
PM
, and what with traffic, arrived at the West Wing entrance to the White House a little before five, carrying his suitcase and a shopping bag. Holly came from her office to meet him, already dressed for dinner.

“The gentleman is waiting for you in the Situation Room,” she said, kissing him. “It was the only room available. What’s in the shopping bag?”

“You will see shortly.”

She led him down the hall and into an ordinary-looking conference room.

“
This
is the Situation Room?” he asked. “I thought it would be underground and festooned with video monitors and flashing lights.”

“Nope, this is it.”

A well-dressed man was seated at one end of the table. He rose and offered his hand.

“Stone, this is Dr. Anthony Bill, the secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. Dr. Bill, this is the President’s friend, Stone Barrington.”

The two men shook hands, and they all sat down. “I must say, Mr. Barrington,” Dr. Bill said, “I’m a bit mystified as to the purpose of our meeting.”

Stone set the shopping bag on the table, removed the rosewood box, and set it before Dr. Bill. “I wish to make an anonymous contribution to the Smithsonian,” he said, then opened the box.

Bill gazed at the necklace for a moment. “My goodness,” he said. “Of course, I recognize it. I watched the sale on closed-circuit television.”

Stone took a legal-sized envelope from the shopping bag, opened it, and handed him a document. “This is a deed of gift, which states that only you may know the identity of the donor,” Stone said. “It also provides that the necklace will reside at the White House, except at times when the Smithsonian wishes, with the permission of the President, to display it. It also specifies that the necklace is for the exclusive use of female presidents of the United States, first ladies and first daughters, and others, at the discretion of the President. If you find those terms acceptable, we can complete the transaction at this time.”

Dr. Bill read the document quickly, took a pen from his
pocket, and signed both copies. Stone signed them, gave one to Dr. Bill, then closed the box and returned it to the shopping bag. “Now, if you will excuse me, Dr. Bill, I will deliver this to the President.”

“On behalf of the Smithsonian,” Dr. Bill said, “I accept your incredibly generous gift, and I thank you most sincerely.” They shook hands, Dr. Bill left, and Holly led Stone toward the family quarters.

“I guess this means that I’ll never get to wear the necklace,” she said.

“Perhaps the President will make an exception in your case.”

“Did you really pay all that money for it, like the papers said?”

“Well, my fee as executor of Carrie Fiske’s estate was a small percentage of its value, so it all evened out pretty well.”

They took the elevator upstairs and were admitted to the family quarters by a Secret Service agent.

The Lees were seated in the living room, along with the British prime minister and his wife. Introductions were made and drinks ordered.

“Madam President,” Stone said, reaching into the shopping bag. “I’ve brought you something to wear to the dinner tonight, if you choose to do so.” He handed her the rosewood box.

Kate opened the box, and her jaw dropped. Stone handed her the deed of gift, and she read it and handed it to Will. She stood up and removed her necklace. “Stone, will you do the honors?”

Stone stood, placed the necklace around her neck, and secured it.

Kate looked in the mirror behind her. “A perfect fit,” she said, then turned to her husband. “You, my darling, have a lot of catching up to do come Christmas.”

I am happy to hear from readers, but you should know that if you write to me in care of my publisher, three to six months will pass before I receive your letter, and when it finally arrives it will be one among many, and I will not be able to reply.

However, if you have access to the Internet, you may visit my website at www.stuartwoods.com, where there is a button for sending me e-mail. So far, I have been able to reply to all my e-mail, and I will continue to try to do so.

If you send me an e-mail and do not receive a reply, it is probably because you are among an alarming number of people who have entered their e-mail address incorrectly in their mail software. I have many of my replies returned as undeliverable.

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Writer’s Market
at any bookstore; that will tell you how.

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please visit my website, www.stuartwoods.com, where the tour schedule will be published a month or so in advance. If you wish me to do a book signing in your locality, ask your favorite bookseller to contact his Penguin representative or the Penguin publicity department with the request.

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A list of my published works appears in the front of this book and on my website. All the novels are still in print in paperback and can be found at or ordered from any bookstore. If you wish to obtain hardcover copies of earlier novels or of the two nonfiction books, a good used-book store or one of the online bookstores can help you find them. Otherwise, you will have to go to a great many garage
sales.

Stuart Woods
is the author of more than sixty novels. He is a native of Georgia and began his writing career in the advertising industry.
Chiefs
, his debut in 1981, won the Edgar Award. An avid sailor and pilot, Woods lives in Florida, Maine, and New Mexico.

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