"We owe her presence here to two very special people over a century apart. One is a lady you will meet in a few minutes. The other is an intrepid Englishman by the name of C.J. Piper."
I hear a gasp nearby and turn to see Anna looking white as a sheet. Indeed, I think she's going to faint. Cybil grabs her and tries to comfort her, but Anna stands there, staring first at the podium and then in my direction, opening and closing her mouth as if gasping for air.
"I guess she can't stand the crowds," Diana whispers. "Poor thing." I have no idea what she's talking about, but right now my attention is riveted on the man at the podium. I notice only that in a moment or two the crowd parts to let Anna and Cybil through.
"It is Piper," Karoly goes on, oblivious it seems, to the little drama in the crowd, "who in 1900 set off from his comfortable existence in England to travel and to study in Europe, eventually stopping in Hungary, what was then the Austro-Hungarian empire. It is he who found our lady in the cave in the Biikk Mountains, a fact he duly recorded in both his diaries and in a paper he presented to a learned society in London on his return in 1901. That paper came with illustrative material that clearly places our Venus with a grave in a cave in that region. We cannot know for certain which cave, but we do know the country, and it is the country and its people for which she is named. Henceforth, she will be known as the Magyar Venus. To have her here at this museum is an extraordinary happening. Think about it. This lady lay hidden for about twenty-five thousand years! That she should be here now is a most happy event." The crowd murmurs its approval.
"You can probably tell from my description that I am rather enamored of the Magyar Venus," Karoly says as the crowd settles down. "She will draw visitors to the Cottingham and to this great city from all over the world. But in truth, I am in love with a much, much younger woman. While we owe C. J. Piper for her initial discovery, the Venus would not be here without her. Ladies and gentlemen, it is my great honor to introduce the love of my life, the little lady who donated the Venus to us: Lillian Larrington. Come up please, Lily, and be recognized."
To a roar of approval and huge applause, a tiny lady of about eighty in a pale pink pantsuit, comes up to the stage. She wears a corsage of pink and white carnations, her hair carefully coifed, and she blushes at all the attention, as Molnar kisses her hand.
"Oh dear," she says. "Can you hear me?" The microphone squeals in an unpleasant way. "Is it on?" she asks. Karoly assures her it is. "I just want to say how happy I am to be able to bring the Venus to this museum," she says. "I don't think I deserve all this attention. Karoly is the person who should be thanked. He is very persuasive," she adds, and everyone laughs. "I can't imagine anyone else talking me into this. Anyway, it is my pleasure. I'm glad I could do something. I wish my dear husband could be here tonight. He died a year ago." The audience murmurs. Karoly puts his arm around her shoulders.
"Don't forget the book," Frank calls out from behind. Karoly looks startled, and Courtney rushes to the microphone.
"Lily is right. Karoly is being much too modest," she says. "He has neglected to mention his role in the rediscovery of the Venus. It is the Cottingham's own executive director who found not only the scientific presentation of Piper's findings, but Piper's diaries themselves. He has edited the diaries with a commentary on the Venus and her discovery. The book is just out, and we have it for sale in the shop downstairs. I'm sure he'll sign your copy, won't you, Karoly?"
Karoly looks suitably embarrassed. "I must protest," he says. "Despite the fact that my publisher, Frank Kalman is here," he adds, gesturing in Frank's general direction. "I have to tell you that the book tells the story of Piper's finding of the Venus in his own words. The Traveler and the Cave contains Piper's diaries. My input really is minimal. But I'd be thrilled if you'd all buy a copy because part of the proceeds are going to support the Cottingham." The crowd applauds again.
"Are you a publisher?" I say to Frank.
"Sure," he said. "Kalman and Horst. That's me."
"No kidding!" I said. "Kalman and Horst. I thought… Didn't I read?" I stop myself from saying anything else.
"You thought Kalman and Horst had gone bankrupt?" Frank says. "Or was about to be bought up by one of the giants? It was that close. Fortunately I got some more financing."
"Where's my wife?" Major Cottingham says suddenly from the stage.
"I'm right here, dear," Courtney says.
"Not you," Major says. "My real wife."
The audience shuffles uncomfortably. Morgan catches my eye. "Alzheimer's," she mouths.
Karoly takes things in hand. "And now, Lily," he says, leading her off the platform to the display case, as Major is hustled off the other way. "The moment everyone has been waiting for. Will you do the honors, please."
Lily tugs at the cover, and in a second, the Venus is revealed. "Ladies and gentlemen," Karoly says. "The Magyar Venus!"
She rests in the spotlight, a figure maybe three inches high. It is a head and elongated neck and part of the torso only, large, pendulous breasts carved into the ivory, now darkened with age. Another crescent shape, a horn perhaps, or a crescent moon has been carved into the shoulders at the back. She is, indeed, beautiful. Her face has few features, just the eyes and a line for the nose but no mouth, and her hair looks to be in braids. One side of the torso, such as it is, has been eaten away by time. But there is something so expressive about the carving, something that speaks across millennia. I am as enchanted as everyone else. The crowd files past the case, oohing and ahhing, before going back downstairs for another drink.
ACT TWO, SCENE two: Back in the lobby. I grab a proffered glass of champagne and look for the others. I can't find Anna, nor Cybil, and the Cottinghams have vanished from their own party. I head for the powder room, and there I hear, in one of the cubicles, the sound of someone sobbing.
"Are you all right?" I call out, and in a second or two Anna replies. "Leave me alone," she says.
"Anna," I say, "please, come out. Talk to me."
"Leave me alone," she says again, this time almost a howl. "Please go away." Reluctantly I do, but set out to find Cybil in hopes she can reason with her friend. I realize I've left my glass of champagne in the bathroom.
ACT TWO, SCENE three: As I walk down the hall toward the party, I pass what is obviously Karoly's office, and turn down a little hallway toward the sound of his voice. As I approach the door, I realize that Morgan is in the office, and she is holding what looks to be a check, half extended toward Molnar. "I suppose you think I am one of those harlots who reveal all their charms at once," she says.
"Morgan, please don't make a scene," Karoly says. "I thank you for your donation. Let's leave it at that."
Morgan turns on her heels and heads for the door. "Bastard," she hisses. I don't want her to see me there, so I quickly pull at a door at the end of the hall, and when it mercifully opens, I go in. I find that I've taken another door into the offices of the executive director. I'm standing in what is probably the reception area, now dark, and I don't know what to do. I have a feeling that despite my efforts, Morgan may know I was there and wonder what I've heard. Should I just go in? I hesitate for a second, and hear footsteps coming down the hall, Morgan returning perhaps. But it isn't.
"Why won't my key work in my office door?" Diana says.
"Because you're fired," Karoly replies.
"What do you mean, fired?" she says.
"Dismissed, sacked, let go," Karoly says. "Fired. Effective immediately."
"I want to know why," she says.
"You know perfectly well why," he says. "A bookkeeper is in a position of trust. You are lucky I haven't called the police. Now get out of here before I change my mind and call them in."