The Antiquarian Read Free Page B

called common. What surprised me was one of the document chests, which I think hadn’t been opened in years, packed with different works on religious themes, though not all of them Catholic. I’d say the owners of the library played the field when it came to religious philosophy.”
    â€œPlayed the field? You’ve uncovered the books of a converted Jew? A conspiring Freemason?” questioned Guillem.
    â€œThere are not enough volumes to consider them a representative corpus on religious matters. The most significant part are some manuscript translations of old Arabic, Greek, Latin and—this will interest you especially, Samuel—Hebrew tracts. Some are on magic, the occult, catechism; others are partial translations of the Koran or the Talmud. Also, inside the trunk I found another smaller chest locked with a key. It contained several handwritten letters from different periods, all from the Casadevall family, and what appears to be some sort of diary.”
    â€œCasadevall?”
    â€œThat’s right. Do you know that name too, Samuel?”
    â€œWell, it seems I remember a Casadevall, centuries prior to the Berguéses, but I couldn’t tell you exactly what they did.”
    â€œWhat about you two?”
    Enric and Guillem looked at each other and shook their heads.
    â€œThe first known Casadevall, and the one these papers refer to, was an assistant to the master builders who constructed the cathedral at the end of the fourteenth century. Most of the letters are about everyday affairs, but they still give us intriguing insights into the family’s goings-on. I’ve only analyzed a quarter of these letters, but I’m hoping to find a manuscript from one of the older ancestors.”
    â€œSounds like quite a mishmash,” Guillem cut in. “Would you mind telling us how on earth you always manage to come up with these treasures?”
    â€œAh, my friend, that’s the only professional secret that can’t be given away,” Artur answered, smiling. “Everything else can be learned, but not revealing your sources is as sacred to us as it is to journalists, or confessors, if you’ll allow the comparison, considering the circumstances.”
    â€œCome on, Artur! The last four or five lots of any worth to come onto the market have fallen into your hands, and the only one that got away was snatched up by this old Jew. It used to be,” he said, pointing at Samuel, “you were on par with the rest of the antiques dealers, maybe a notch above, but since you’ve partnered up with Mariola Puigventós, you been getting closer and closer to becoming the god of Barcelona antiquarians, sitting here before us, and soon neither of you will stoop to fraternize with us poor little mortals. At this rate, soon I’ll be selling old pinewood trunks, which will not allow me to afford my fabulously rakish lifestyle. Enric,” he said, looking directly athis young colleague, “I think the best thing we can do is to get out of antiques and into the restoration business. I hear it’s booming.”
    â€œThis old Jew respectfully suggests that you don’t spend so much money going out at night. That way you could spend your mornings cultivating your contacts.”
    â€œOh please, Samuel! If I didn’t go out nights, I’d have no ‘contacts’ at all!”
    They all laughed again. The truth was that Guillem’s shop was also among the most frequently patronized by decorators and antiques buffs, and Guillem himself was an outstanding and extremely refined professional. It could be said that the four men were among the elite in the Barcelona antiquarian community: competent, instinctive, and erudite.
    â€œWell, Artur, I’m dying to know more. You said some of the books were manuscript translations from other languages. Do you have any of them here?” Samuel asked.
    â€œYes, I was just working on them. I have the