"We have an opportunity here," he said. "Materials from the Carrington estate have been offered to the museum, for a very reasonable price. It seems his daughter wants to make certain artifacts, collections, and archives available to the public. I'd like to thank Mrs. Chubb for suggesting our museum to her." He nodded in the direction of the simpering woman. "Of course I will be drawing upon your expertise, Ava, in the coming weeks. Should negotiations be successful, and I have every reason to believe they will be, the documents are practically signed already, there will be alot of work involved in integrating the Carrington materials into our collections, and in making the best use of them for our exhibits. I will be depending on you to oversee much of that work."
"Mrs. Chubb and I will handle negotiations with Carrington's daughter, and will make the preliminary assessments of the value and use of the materials. This could be very good for the museum. Ava, get Sarah to do some research on Carrington right away, we'll need it. And that concludes our meeting--any questions?" Theodore was already edging back towards his desk, moving as if to reach for the telephone. He didn't like to encourage questions, and he wanted to leave early this afternoon for a round of golf before supper, anyway.
Theodore had already given some thought to his own use of the Carrington estate. He had been approached by a private collector with an interest in the diaries. The daughter wanted all the material in a public collection, but there was probably a way around that.
Mrs. Chubb was thinking about the merest hint of a suggestion that someone was interested in the diaries. Something was up, she could feel it. Tonight was the Anderson party, perhaps she could learn more there.
Ava was calculating how much a Carrington exhibit could boost receipts. If the artifacts were good enough, she might arrange a tour at other museums--more revenue. And if some of it fell into her pocket, call it her commission.
Thoughtful, the "girls" filed out of Theodore's office.