The White Schooner by Antony Trew Read Free Book Online Page B

He’s keen on buying a finca and converting. A large one. He’ll want a lot put into it. Several bathrooms, central heating, guest suites, big reception rooms. That sort of thing.’
    Haupt frowned. ‘Has he seen an estate agent? Is it a particular finca he has in mind?’
    ‘No. He wants to be outside Ibiza, but within ten kilometres of the town. He’s left it to me to find out what’s available and what conversion costs are likely to be. He’s coming here in June. Wants me to do the spade work before he arrives.’
    ‘And you wish me to …?’ Haupt paused.
    ‘Give me an idea of what conversion might cost.’
    Haupt held out his hands in a gesture of futility. ‘ Impossible ! I must know the finca and what has to be done. It could be anything. Half a million pesetas. A million. Two million, anything.’
    ‘I’m told you’ve already done the conversion of a big finca on a …’ Black sought for words. ‘A very generous scale.’
    ‘You mean Altomonte?’
    ‘I am not sure of the name. Does it belong to a man called van Biljon.’
    Haupt nodded. ‘That is Altomonte.’
    ‘I am told it is a magnificent conversion.’
    Haupt gave a little bow. ‘Thank you.’
    ‘I gather,’ said Black, ‘that van Biljon doesn’t permit visitors. No chance of my getting to see it, I suppose?’
    ‘None at all,’ said Haupt. ‘If there was I would offer to arrange it for you.’
    Black came straight to the point. ‘What did that conversion cost?’
    Haupt thought for a moment. ‘That was more than ten years ago. To-day it would cost—let me see,’ he pencilledfigures on a note pad. ‘About four million pesetas.’
    Black did some mental arithmetic. ‘Nearly twenty-four thousand pounds. That’s a lot of money.’
    ‘A lot of work was done. It was exceptional.’
    ‘It must have been an interesting job.’
    ‘Marvellous.’ Haupt’s tired eyes shone momentarily. Expense was no object. Van Biljon was the perfect client. He knew basically what he wanted, but left the interpretation to me. Gave me a free hand. It was fabulous.’
    ‘This could be, too,’ said Black. ‘My friend in England is like that. He knows what he wants. Is prepared to pay for it and wouldn’t interfere. Anyway, he’s far too busy. He might fly out occasionally to see how things are going, but you’d have a free hand if you got the job.’ Black took out his notebook and pencil and wrote, Altomonte, conversion, 4,000,000 pesetas. He left the notebook open and laid the pencil on it.
    ‘I think,’ he said, ‘it would help if we took Altomonte as an example.’
    Haupt hesitated. ‘I don’t follow.’
    ‘Well, if I could see the plans and discuss them with you. Get some idea of what the finca was like originally, and what you made it into. And perhaps some of the main items of cost. That will give me something definite to work on.’
    Haupt’s first reaction was to refuse firmly but courteously to produce the plans. He explained that it would be unprofessional , that van Biljon would never forgive him if he knew that they had been used to do business with a third party. Van Biljon, he said, owned a good deal of property in Ibiza, and apart from any other consideration Haupt could not afford to fall out with him.
    Black pointed out that there was no question of copying the Altomonte design, that it was to be used only for purposes of discussion, and that he would under no circumstances reveal that he had seen the plans, not even to his friend in England.
    He appealed to Haupt to help him settle the matter in such a way that he would not be obliged to go to another architect. ‘You know, having heard what a marvellous job you did on Altomonte, I’m particularly anxious to see you get this.’
    Slowly Haupt gave ground and before long locked the door to his office, produced the plans and spread them on a table by the window. For the next hour the two men sat over them, Black making rough notes of layout and cost. By the time hewas