Read Online The Darkest of Secrets by Kate Hewitt - Free Book Online

felt electric. ‘So these preliminary tests. What are they?’
    ‘I need to see what facilities are in the basement. Artwork, especially older artwork, needs to be handled very carefully. A few minutes’ exposure to sunlight can cause irreparable damage. But I would expect to analyse the pigments used, as well as use infrared photography to determine what preliminary sketches are underneath the paintings. If I have the right equipment, I can test for the age of the wood of the panels used. This is an especially good way of dating European masters, since they almost always painted on wood.’
    ‘The two in the back room are on wood.’
    ‘Yes.’
    ‘Interesting.’ He shook his head slowly. ‘Really quite fascinating.’
    ‘I certainly think so.’
    He shot her a quick smile and she realised how invigorating it was to have a man actually interested in her work. During their marriage, Loukas had preferred for her never to discuss it, much less practise her chosen profession. She’d gone along for the sake of marital accord, but it had tried her terribly. Too terribly.
    ‘I’d better let you get to it,’ Khalis said, and Grace nodded, pushing away her plate. She’d only eaten half a piece of toast, but she had little appetite.
    ‘Eric will escort you to the basement. Let me know if there is anything you require.’ And, with another parting smile, Khalis took his computer and left the room. Grace watched him go, hating that she suddenly felt so lonely.
    The rest of the day was spent in the laborious yet ultimately rewarding work of checking all the artworks against the international Art Loss Register. The results were dispiriting. Many of the paintings, as Grace had suspected, were stolen. It made her job of authentication and appraisal easier, yet it saddened her to think of how many paintings had been lost to the public, in some cases for generations.
    At noon the young woman who had served her meals earlier brought down a plate of sandwiches and a carafe of coffee. ‘Mr Tannous said you needed to eat,’ she murmured in hesitant English, and Grace felt a curious mingling of gratitude for his thoughtfulness and disappointment that she wouldn’t see him.
    Stupid. She hadn’t really expected to share another meal with him, had she? Last night had been both an introduction and an aberration. Even so, she could not deny the little sinking feeling she had at the thought of an afternoon working alone. It had never bothered her before; she was certainly used to solitude. It wouldn’t bother her now. Frowning, she turned back to her laptop with grim concentration.
    Immersed in her work, she wasn’t really aware of time passing until she heard a light tap-tap at the door of the lab across from the vault where she’d set up her temporary office. She looked up to see Khalis standing in the doorway. He had changed from his dark trousers and silk shirt of this morning into board shorts and a T-shirt that hugged the lean sculpted muscles of his chest. His hair was a little rumpled.
    ‘You’ve been at it for eight hours.’
    She blinked, surprised even as she felt the muscles in her neck cramp. ‘I have?’
    ‘Yes. It’s six o’clock in the evening.’
    She shook her head, smiling a little, unable to staunch the ripple of pleasure she felt at seeing him. ‘I was completely absorbed.’
    He smiled back. ‘So it would appear. I didn’t realise art appraisal was that fascinating.’
    ‘I’ve checked all the works against—’
    ‘No, no talk about art and theft or work. It’s time to relax.’
    ‘Relax?’ she repeated warily. Both Eric and Khalis seemed big on relaxing, yet she had no intention of letting down her guard, and especially not with this man. Last night’s headache episode had been bad enough. She didn’t intend to give him another chance to get close, to affect her.
    ‘Yes, relax,’ Khalis said. ‘The sun will set in another hour, and before it does I want to go for a swim.’
    ‘Please,