“Touché.”
Ted came over and took our dessert and coffee orders. I ordered a Chocolate Insanity, which proved to be a chocolate mousse filling in a cookie crust. Lonna opted for crème brulée.
I had deliberately averted my eyes from the bar, so when I glanced up after dessert, I was surprised to see Leonard and Kyra still there. Whatever disagreement they’d had seemed to have been resolved, and they laughed as he tucked a stray ebony curl behind her ear. I tried to ignore the finger of pain that poked my heart. Robert had loved to do just that as we talked over after-dinner drinks. On the nights his wife had been out of town. I envied Leonard and Kyra their freedom. They looked like lovers who didn’t care that others knew they were together.
Ted’s voice startled me out of my observations. “Your check has been taken care of.”
“By whom?” I asked.
“Your admirer.”
“ My admirer?” He was definitely looking at me.
“He said to tell you he hoped you enjoyed your dinner.”
“Wow,” Lonna said. “I wonder who it could be.”
As we left, I glanced toward the bar. For an instant Leonard’s eyes flicked our way, and when they met mine, my heart skipped a beat. I wondered if that’s what it felt like to be enchanted. It only lasted the moment it took to walk out of Tabitha’s and into the cool night air.
“Where to now?” I asked.
“I guess we should stop avoiding it. We have to go back to your grandfather’s house sometime.”
“I know.” I sighed and wished we had explored the place during daylight. Who knew what might lurk there after dark?
Lonna had driven to the restaurant. I was concerned her Grand Cherokee would roll down the mountain after a too-fast curve, but she might as well have been behind the wheel of a sports car the way the large vehicle responded to her touch. It was a good thing she drove because her first question would have startled me into a tree.
“Have you ever thought of suing Robert?”
My heart skipped a beat. “For what?”
“Sexual harassment. He was your boss.”
“Nope. It was completely consensual. I could never perjure myself.”
“That’s too bad. He deserves something for what he did to you.”
“I don’t know.” I smiled and imagined him tucking my hair behind my ear. “I usually enjoyed what he did to me.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
We reached the front gate, and I clicked the remote Galbraith had given me. The squat brick gatehouse stood lonely and forlorn just behind the gate on the left, and I wondered how much staff my grandfather had kept while he was alive. I remembered not being completely alone in the house with him, but I couldn’t remember who exactly was there or why.
As we rounded the first curve, I caught my breath. I thought we had turned everything off, but light blazed from the windows.
“Is there a timer?” Lonna asked.
“I don’t know.” I was glad I didn’t have to go upstairs in the dark, but I was wary of the house itself. It seemed to have a mind of its own.
“Well, I guess we’ll find out.” She rolled to a stop in the drive between the fountain and the front steps. “This place was built for parties,” she commented as I hopped down from the passenger seat.
“That’s the funny thing about it. I don’t remember him ever having any.”
“You said there was a ballroom?”
“Yep.” I turned the key in the lock. “It’s in the back on the lower level.”
“That’s strange.”
“Everything about this is strange. Did you move our suitcases?”
“No, I left them right here.”
“Bon soir, mademoiselles.” A hearty male voice greeted us from the top of the stairs, and I jumped. For a moment it looked like Galbraith, but a closer look revealed someone younger and with a lot more personality.
“Who are you and what are you doing in my grandfather’s house?”
“My name is Gabriel, and I am your butler.”
“Butler?”
“Lawrence Galbraith didn’t tell you?”
“He left that bit out.”
Gabriel shrugged, his tailored suit coat moving perfectly across his broad shoulders. I guessed him to be about forty with a wild mane of light brown hair and a twinkle in his eye. He seemed to have more of a sense of humor than most butlers—at least the ones I’d seen on television.
“I only flew in from vacation this afternoon. Otherwise, I would have met you on your arrival.”
Lonna and I looked at each other, and he seemed to take our surprise as hesitation.
“Would you like my references?”
He handed me an envelope, and I gave it to Lonna. She slit it open with one long thumbnail and pulled the papers out. Gabriel lounged against the end of the banister, his arms crossed.
“It looks in order,” she said. “According to this, he was contracted by your grandfather six months ago.”
“Do you know when he’ll be home?” Gabriel asked.
I looked up from the papers. “Never. He’s dead.” Saying it finally drove the words home, and I felt my knees go weak. Until then, it had felt like he was just away somewhere and would return soon, and I would hear his confident step in the front hall before bolting down the stairs to meet him. A wave of dizziness washed over me, and I reached out with numb fingers to grab on to some sort of support. In an instant, Gabriel was there, his hand under my elbow, and helped me into the sitting room, where a fire blazed merrily.
“I’m sorry to hear that, Doctor Fisher. He was a very kind man.”
“When was the last time you spoke with Galbraith?” asked Lonna.
Gabriel shrugged again, his favorite gesture, I was to learn. “A month ago, perhaps two. He only wanted to confirm I was happy with the position and to let me know he’d renewed my green card. He told me there was no need to worry about anything and I was to arrive today.”
“If you’ll excuse me, I need to make a phone call.” Lonna went into the kitchen.
“Your grandfather spoke very highly of you,” Gabriel said. He walked to the bar, which faced the fireplace on the inside wall of the room, and began to sort through bottles. “I went into the wine cellar and found some of the reds he said you favored.”
“How…” All this was making my head spin. I took a deep breath and began again. “I haven’t seen my grandfather since I was a teenager. How could he know what I drink?”
“Ask your friend.” Gabriel inclined his head in the direction of the kitchen.
“My grandfather hired a private eye?”
Another shrug. “Perhaps. Or maybe he knew one of your colleagues.”
“If he did, why didn’t he tell me?”
“He was a smart, enigmatic man. He had his secrets.”
I recognized the evasion and decided on a different strategy. “How did you know him?”
“I did some work for him in Europe. He liked me and invited me over.”
“Your accent isn’t quite British?”
“Scottish.”
“I should’ve recognized it.”
“It’s become a bit muddled, I fear. I had to fake an English accent for a while to gain entry into the butler academy.”
I couldn’t help it—I giggled. He handed me a glass of Australian shiraz on a tray. I sipped it and studied him. He gazed into the fire, apparently lost for a moment in memory.
“Well, he’s legit,” Lonna said as she came through the door. She took the glass of wine he offered from the same silver tray.
“How do you know?”
“Called Galbraith. The poor man was asleep. I also checked with the National Registry of Domestic Help, and they were kind enough to verify that yes, he is a real butler with impeccable history.”
“Thank you, mademoiselle.”
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