Read Online The Harriet Bean 3-Book Omnibus by Alexander McCall Smith - Free Book Online

have no idea,” replied Aunt Japonica, who was too tired and too excited to do any mind reading.
    I waited until they were silent again and then, with a dramatic pull at the sheet, I exposed the painting. As the picture came into view, there were gasps from several of the aunts.
    “Oh my goodness!” exclaimed Aunt Thessalonika. “It’s that picture … the one that was never finished.” Aunt Majolica took several steps forward and examined the painting more closely.
    “I believe you’re right,” she said. “Yes, look at the barn! And look, I’m wearing my favorite bracelet—the one I got for my tenth birthday.”
    The other aunts crowded around to examine the picture and all of them seemed quite delighted.
    “I never thought I’d see it again,” said Aunt Majolica, reaching for a handkerchiefshe had tucked into her sleeve. “Oh dear! This is just all too much for me.”
    And at that, she burst into tears of emotion, closely followed by her sisters. I let them weep for a moment, and then I made my announcement.
    “I think we should have this picture completed,” I said. “We can find the painter, or if we can’t find him, we can find another. Then we’ll at last have the family portrait that grandfather and grandmother always wanted.”
    The aunts were silent for a moment as they considered my suggestion. Then, almost with one voice, they shouted their agreement.
    “A brilliant idea!” crooned Aunt Veronica. “Let’s contact the painter this very moment!”
    Of course, it was not quite that easy. Although Aunt Japonica remembered the painter’s name, he had long since left the house he was living in at the time when he had started the picture. Aunt Japonica and Aunt Thessalonika, however, pointed out thatif anybody could find him it would be them, and that the rest of us should give them two hours to do so. So they dashed off and only an hour and a half later they came back, looking flushed with excitement.
    “We’ve found him,” they announced proudly. “It wasn’t easy, but we found him.” They paused before continuing, “And what’s more, he has agreed to come to finish the painting first thing tomorrow morning.”
    There was general jubilation at this news, and the aunts all began to talk again. I left the room, leaving the painting propped against a wall. I was delighted to have found all my aunts, but I felt that it would be best to leave them to themselves for a little while.
    I could hardly wait, though, for the picture to be finished. I could already imagine it above the fireplace in our living room. I would show all my friends and announce: “My aunts!” Nobody would have as many aunts as that and I knew that everybody was bound to be very impressed. I must admit that this thought rather pleased me.
    The aunts talked late into the night, until well after I had gone to bed. Then, taking themselves off to the sofas and piles of cushions, which they had set up in various odd corners of the house, they went to bed. In the silence of the darkened house, Aunt Harmonica threw her voice once or twice, but she was told by Aunt Majolica that everybody wanted to get to sleep. So she stopped, and the quiet returned.

The Finished Painting
    The painter arrived early the next morning, exactly as promised. He was just as I had imagined him, although his mustache now drooped a little at the edges. When he saw the painting, his eyes lit up and he clapped his hands together.
    “So there it is at last!” he exclaimed. “And it’s exactly as I remember it. I’ve always wanted to finish it, and now I have the chance.”
    Without further ado, he hoisted the painting onto an easel and opened his large case of paints. Then, when he had struggled into a billowing white painting smock,which made him look just a little like a blimp, he arranged my father and all the aunts into two rows.
    “Don’t move,” he said. “It’s very important that you keep absolutely still.”
    I watched as he began to