Chapter 19: Aye

At six o'clock we sat down at Nana's poker table and used the matchsticks to plan a boardroom.

Nana laid out nine for the chairs.

She set a short one at the head for Ambrose and a long one at the foot for Sabine.

"The transfer," said Cordelia, tapping the felt. "Tell her, Nana."

"I lost a hand of gin to your great-uncle on Sunday night," said Nana. "On purpose. The pot was a folder."

"You gave him the transfer?"

"I let him win it. A man believes anything he wins."

I looked at my sister.

"You signed it the day before the gala."

"I signed a transfer that takes effect only when Thorsby has paid the full price in cleared funds."

"So if the sale doesn't close," said Tiernan, "the thirty percent never moves."

"And Ambrose never read the second page."

"Ambrose has never read a second page in his life," said Nana.

I put my chin on my fist.

"So we have to make Sabine walk before ten."

"Yes."

"With what?"

"A fake diamond," said Tiernan, from the doorway. "A shaft full of ore. And an uncle with a boat."

He came in carrying the paper bag with the rock in it and set it down beside the matchsticks.

"The foreman's sample is real," he said. "The Star under that silver dome is not. Sabine's man is inspecting it tonight at ten."

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