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sold without any help from you.”
    Jem’s eyes darted from side to side. He opened his mouth several times as if about to speak, then closed it again. Finally he let out a sigh and said, “All right, it’s true. My aunt painted every last one of them. But she had no business putting a condition in her will!” He sounded upset. “There’s nothing wrong with a guy wanting to make a few bucks. I should’ve been able to do whatever I wanted with her paintings!”
    He stopped talking for a moment. Then he gave a little shrug. “Anyway, no harm done,” he said, suddenly trying to make light of everything. “Why don’t I just gather up my paintings and get out of your way.” Then, with a few quick strides, he went over and took a painting down from the wall.
    But Mrs. Spencer wasn’t having any of that. “Not so fast, Jem Manchester! Aren’t you forgetting something? As I recall, Milly’s will makes it clear that if you try to sell her art, her paintings become the property of the Greenfield Public Library.”
    Replacing the painting, Jem headed for the door, muttering to himself. As he left, he called out, “You won’t be seeing me in here again!”
    “I’ll count on it,” replied Edmund.
    When the door slammed shut, the gallery owner turned to Margaret. “I can’t believe you’d take credit for someone else’s work,” he said. “How could you do something like that?” Edmund sounded more disappointed than angry.
    Rachel had an opinion about this. “For the money, no doubt.” She shook her head in disapproval. “Just like Jem Manchester.”
    Margaret’s dark eyes suddenly flashed. “That’s not true! Every dime from those paintings was going to Jem,” she shot back. “It was always about the money with him. It never was for me.”
    Edmund lifted his hands in bewilderment. “Then ... why?”
    Violet thought she knew the answer. “You wanted to make a name for yourself in the art world, didn’t you?”
    Margaret looked down shamefully. “Yes, I did want to make a name for myself,” she acknowledged. “My family always told me I was wasting my time painting. They wanted me to follow in my father’s footsteps and become a lawyer.” She swallowed hard. “I figured if I could win the art contest and get some good reviews from the art critics, my career would take off, and my family would finally accept my decision to become an artist.”
    “So you went along with Jem’s plan to sell his aunt’s paintings,” concluded Jessie.
    Margaret didn’t deny it. “I was shocked when Jem first mentioned it. Milly had taught me so much, and she’d always been so kind to me.” Her voice wavered. “I just couldn’t imagine betraying her like that — passing her work off as my own. I told Jem I wouldn’t do it. And I meant it, too.”
    “But then you changed your mind,” put in Henry, urging her on.
    “I really didn’t want to do it.” Margaret looked close to tears. “But my father refused to pay for my art studies at the college anymore. I was desperate to prove to him I could make it as an artist.”
    Margaret told the rest of the story quickly. Jem had concocted a scheme to make everyone believe his aunt’s works of art had been destroyed in a fire. Then Margaret signed her name to the paintings and entered them in the art contest sponsored by the Mona Lisa Gallery. It seemed simple enough. After all, Milly had never put her paintings on display anywhere, so very few people had ever seen them.
    “Jem’s plan seemed foolproof,” finished Margaret. “So I agreed.”
    “Nothing’s ever foolproof, Margaret,” said Edmund. “Now you’ll have to suffer the consequences of your actions.” His voice was stern. “It’ll be a long time before the art world will trust you again.”
    Margaret didn’t have a reply to that. She just hung her head and stared at the floor.
    Janice spoke up. “If you really want to stay in the art program, Margaret, you could put yourself through school.