Page 84 of Nobody Told Me Thrift Shops Sell Stolen Dragon Heirlooms

Max, angel of impeccable timing, rested his chin on my knee.

“I see why Miriam likes you,” Dr. Sorel said.

“Max?”

“You,” she said.

“Oh.” I swallowed. “Thank you.”

“And Max,” she added.

He accepted this as his due.

Dr. Sorel exhaled and turned to Rafe. “The board will resist full return.”

“I assumed as much.”

“Several donors will object.”

“I object to several donors.”

Miriam made a small sound that might have been a laugh trying to behave.

“You are very much your reputation, Mr. Virelli,” Dr. Sorel said.

“I have found reputations are often built by people standing too far away.”

That seemed to please her.

“All right,” she said. “Here is what I can offer tonight, without board approval and without creating a governance issue that will make everyone less reasonable by morning.”

Rafe’s attention sharpened.

“The museum will place the sword under an internal hold while your claim is reviewed,” Dr. Sorel said. “Your petition will be the only matter before the provenance committee. No sale, transfer, conservation move, loan renewal, or third-party inquiry will proceed until they have issued a recommendation.”

“That’s a start,” Rafe said.

“It is a significant start,” Dr. Sorel corrected. “And I’ll personally review your provenance materials with Elaine and our collections counsel this week. Not my assistant alone. Me.”

Rafe glanced at me.

I gave him the smallest nod. Take the opening. Please take the opening.

“What’s the timeline?” he asked.

“Send the full packet tomorrow. I’ll meet with you and your counsel Friday morning. If the provenance is as strong as you believe, I’ll recommend a structured return to the board, with terms to be discussed.”

Rafe’s face gave almost nothing away, but I’d started learning the language of him: the slight release at his brow, and his shoulders lowering a fraction. Hope, for him, seemed to arrive carefully, as if it needed to pass inspection before entering.

“And the current exhibit language?” I asked, trying not to look like an intern who had just overstepped in front of a museum director, a dragon client, and the woman who could probably have me socially removed with one elegant finger. “If the claim is under serious review, then the language should reflect that. Even temporarily. Something such as, ‘The museum is currently reviewing a restitution claim related to this artifact.’ It signals transparency without projecting an outcome.”

Miriam’s smile went bright and proud, which felt generous from a woman who had known me for less time than it took most people at this gala to finish a canapé.

“That,” Dr. Sorel said, “is not unreasonable.”

Coming from her, it sounded like a parade.

“Thank you,” I said.