50 Changying started handling two jobs

It was three weeks later, and Changying was firmly ensconced in an over-crowded office at an auction house attached to the galleries owned and maintained by Dante and Emilio. Her departure from the publishing house had been swift and brutal, but she had the satisfaction of knowing Chen had been fired too, due to the extraordinary amount of complaints against her by co-workers.

After four of the brothers had met and discussed the idea of Changying researching the family collection while already working on the family book it was decided she could do both. The idea appealed to her as she was certain one line of research would inform both projects, so she divided her day in half giving equal time to both projects.

She had worried that Ben, who seemed to be the family patriarch in his father's absence, would not be happy to have an outsider working with their family heirlooms. Wang said he had planned to take Changying to the farm for the holidays; he had then been enthusiastic about getting someone with a professional view to update the cataloguing of the treasures. He also suggested that when she was ready she contact the members of the family to find out which pieces they had in their homes to add those to the database she would create.

Changying was in heaven; this was a dream job in her chosen field and the fact that she felt so close to many members of the family only served to heighten her joy in coming to work every day. Wang had commented that she didn't seem to miss him at all, but she had kissed him sweetly and whispered, "Absence makes the heart grow fonder, and I hardly thought that possible until now." He had laughed and launched into a torrid scene of sexual use that had seen her so weak he had to carry her to bed afterwards, She still carried the bruising from the ropes that had bound her so completely a week before.

A regal looking woman with grey streaked brown hair walked into her office and stood looking at her for a moment. Startled Changying stood and said quietly, "Can I help you to find someone? I am only new here myself but..."

In a thick Italian accent, the woman said, "Oh, I am sorry dear; I was looking for Dante and Emilio," she walked forward and held out her hand in greeting, "I'm Antonia."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Changying said in a friendly voice. "I am afraid they have both gone to attend a family meeting. Could I give them a message for you?" Changying asked trying to be helpful and wondering how the woman had got past all of the people who worked here to make it to her office which was hidden away at the rear of the building.

"You could help me perhaps," the woman said looking around the room and taking a chair placing her handbag on the floor and picking up a large hat box. "I found this in a lovely little antiques store down on the coast in some little country town when I was visiting my sister. She opened the box and pulled out a well packaged neatly wrapped parcel. Carefully unwrapping it Antonia placed the porcelain mask on the desk before Changying.

"It's stunning!" Changying gasped at the beauty, "I can see why you bought it." She looked up and smiled at the woman. "May I?" she indicated the mask asking before picking it up.

"Yes, of course, that's why I am here in this place," Antonia laughed softly.

"I am not really an expert in porcelain," Changying admitted, "but I would happily research it for you, if you would like to leave it with me for a day or two," she began turning the mask over in her hands to see if there was a marking.

"Just tell me what you think and then we will see," Antonia was not about to let the girl off so easily.

"Well," Changying swallowed, "This mark here," she held the mask out and pointed, "I believe comes from an area in Italy called Daruta, but they have had many marks over time, and it would be almost impossible to date it precisely without looking up the makers mark, if I had to guess though I would think maybe late eighteenth century. It would only be an informed guess though." She smiled at the woman and placed the mask back on the desk looking at the intricate work in the vines and grapes surrounding its stark white face.

Antonia said nothing, but sat back appraising the girl, so Changying rushed on feeling uncomfortable, "Travelling minstrels used masks like this in harvest plays that long ago, but it could just be a very good copy there is no way to know without doing the background work."

"Yes, I have to agree, it always pays to check out the background of something before you acquire it but sometimes passion overrules good sense," she smiled.

"It's truly lovely though, even if it did turn out to be a copy, it would still be a piece worth owning if you were a collector," Changying stroked a finger lightly over the mask. "I am sorry I wasn't better help to you but I would hate to raise your hopes falsely."

"Well, it seems like I have some time to kill, did they tell you when they would return?" She asked pleasantly.

"It was a lunchtime meeting, I expect they will be at least another hour or so," Changying felt like she should apologise or something but couldn't work out why.