"Thirty pounds once ... thirty pounds twice ... thirty pounds! Congratulations to the gentleman in compartment seven, in three days Mr. Scott will be reporting to your ship, I hope you get along well."
Lorraine gave Ramos a distant salute.
He heard Ramos's strings. Ramos, or the Piddick family, would front for him and create a good atmosphere for his meeting with Keren. Scott's meeting to create a good atmosphere.
That's the power of friendship.
The auction continues.
The hot finale, originally valued at twelve to fifteen pounds, became a climax at first glance because Lorraine, a charter class, unexpectedly joined the lower bidding.
This is good for the auction house.
The rest of the auction was smooth and enthusiastic, with fourteen lots sold in an hour and no unsold lots.
Three pewter pieces from Lorraine came on the market in succession, and sold for an average of twelve pounds, with premiums on a par with the general climate of the day, at about twenty to thirty per cent.
Lorraine also chipped in with what appeared to be another bid, taking an antique octant for five pounds twelve shillings.
The octant is the navigator's specialized distance measuring tool and is the predecessor of the sextant. The difference is that the former has an angle of only forty-five degrees (one-eighth of a circle), while the latter has sixty degrees (one-sixth of a circle), and measures latitude and longitude more accurately than the latter.
There is no doubt that a sextant, though expensive, is better than an octant, but for Lorraine, an octant is at least better than a protractor, and both are happy.
After another half hour, the atmosphere of the auction house turned colder by the day.
Lorraine's fourth pewter piece went for only ten pounds, the fifth for a mere six pounds fourteen shillings, and the whole time no one in the upper part of the booth raised a hand at all.
One of the most important lots is coming up this morning ...
Ramos cleared his throat.
"Gentlemen, ladies. Rabbi. Mr. Hooker is a top offshore merchant who has made a name for himself all over North and West Europe, in the North Sea, the Baltic Sea, the Straits of Dover, and the Cantabrian Seas."
"Last month, he had a double celebration, his sixtieth birthday and the addition of his eldest grandson, so he decided to retire." Ramos took a deep breath, "He commissioned the auction house to dispose of his retirement, including his own North European charts with the Brigantine-type merchant ship Beautiful Fish, both of which will be put up for bidding today and tomorrow."
"Today, let's get a glimpse of Captain Hook's charts!"
With his rousing words, two workers slowly pushed up a wooden box covered in navy blue velvet.
The velvet cloth was uncovered, and there were a dozen rolls of collected charts stuck diagonally in the center of the wooden box, looking unobtrusive, yet valuable to the black market seafarers.
Lorraine had inquired about Captain Hook's past in the past two days.
This was a Dutchman, who had gone to sea at the age of twenty-three, had been mixed offshore for thirty-seven years, and had been a captain for twenty-four years, with his main area of activity in the North Sea, and to a lesser extent in the Cantabrian waters on the French-Spanish border.
The fact that he didn't choose to offer his charts separately indicated that they had both high and low value, but given the extent of his comfort zone, Lorraine continued to hold a keen interest in this chart.
Taking a deep breath, Lorraine took the sign from Hina.
Ramos announced from the stage, "Captain Hooker's hand-drawn charts for his own use, starting at fifty pounds, each increase, ten pounds!"
"A hundred pounds!"
Room four was the first to bid, followed by three, nine, and eleven in succession.
The price of the charts climbed like a rocket, and in a short while it broke through two hundred pounds, and bore down toward two hundred and fifty pounds.
The only other thing going on in the entire venue is a couple of large packages that are taking turns.
For most of the merchants in the lower classes, two hundred pounds might be all they had, and even if they dumped their money, they might not be able to spare two hundred pounds in cash.
The composition of seafarers has never been a pyramid structure of rich and poor.
Two hundred and twenty pounds, and room nine is out of the running.
The gentleman across from Lorraine stood up and bowed regretfully and with poise to all the packs and left the room in a whirlwind.
Two hundred and seventy pounds, and the gentleman in room eleven rose and bowed out.
The gentlemen in the third and fourth rooms talked and laughed across the barricade while gently raising their cards in turn, and soon raised the price of the chart to four hundred pounds.
That's more than all the cash Lorraine has, and Lorraine hasn't had a chance to make a move so far.
Frowning, he asked Mr. Piddick, "Sir, is the auction house settlement after the morning dispersal, or after tomorrow's finale?"
Piddick smiled knowingly, "It's tomorrow's final."
Lorraine nodded gratefully to him and gently raised the card in her hand.
"Four hundred and ten pounds! Four hundred and ten pounds for booth number seven! Gentlemen of the third, of the fourth, would you be willing to cut your losses to the gentleman of the seventh?"
The gentleman in booth three looked up at Lorraine, then sideways, exchanged glances with Piddick, smiled, stood up, bowed with his female companion, and left the room.
Lorraine was half amazed by this glance.
Piddick said softly, "Sir Vermi is one of the three main members of the MC and a good friend of mine."
"I see." Lorraine came to a realization, "Mr. Piddick, does Sir Vermi like tea?"
"Very much so, very much so."
That left only number four bidding against Lorraine.
It was a chubby French gentleman who liked to adorn his tuxedo with colored feathers, just as an Englishman would use an umbrella instead of a short staff, both special features for easy identification by others.
Fermi's exit brought him great pressure, his forehead began to sweat, and he was less determined to hold up his cards.
Lorraine asked softly, "Mr. Piddick, across the way?"
"The manager of the Elgen Exchange of the Desai family. He's not a big shot. As I recall, the Deasy family seems to have given him a mandate of five hundred and twenty pounds."
"Yeah? ..."
Lorraine was more relaxed, crossing her legs, fingers crossed, and smiling.
The two men shouted a few bids at each other, and when they got to four hundred and fifty pounds, Lorraine suddenly said, "Five hundred pounds."
There was a chorus of gasps from the room.
Mr. Desai of the fourth private room stared at Lorraine in a daze for half a day, trying to discern the reality of this strange young man across from him who was meeting him for the first time.
Lorraine just had a smile on her face and raised her glass to him.
Mr. Desai gave up.
He couldn't see Lorraine's reality, and instead of being at the end of the mountain and being a laughingstock, he should have retired with a smile with humility and leeway like a qualified gentleman.
He raised his teacup as well, "Mr. Opposite, may your voyage be a smooth one!"
Lorraine stood up and returned the salute, "Thank you for your humility and generosity, a French gentleman possesses heartwarming virtues."
The dust has settled.
For five hundred pounds, Lorraine bids for Captain Hooker's complete set of charts.
As he watched Mr. Desai leave the stage, Lorraine let out a soft, long breath.
Mr. Piddick smiled and came over, "It's a shame Desai doesn't have enough authorization. I would have liked Vermiel to have stayed, and for me to see just how much authorization your family has given you."
"Where's the authorization for that? All told you, I'm an outcast."
"England's nobles have always been old-fashioned, and every family has a few outcasts like you. Then again, isn't it only through the efforts of the outcasts that your family can maintain a decent life?"
"Truly nothing can be hidden from you." Lorraine couldn't help but smile bitterly, "In any case, thank you for your assistance today, and I'll also trouble you to take the trouble to introduce me to Sir Vermi, thank you."
"Are you ready to return?" Piddick reached over and shook Lorraine's hand, "For today's lot, I'll have Ramos personally deliver it by evening time. As for the meeting with Vermi, next week, you'll be a bit busier this week."
Lorraine smiled and nodded, "I look forward to it from the bottom of my heart."