“Then I saw Sara sitting alone at a table. I said, ‘Oh heavens, there’s my friend. I’ll join her.’ So I went to Sara and she played along with it all.”
“It was the accent,” Sara said. “Of course I told the snobby man that she was my dearest friend in the whole world.” She smiled at Bella. “And that was that.”
“Yes.” Bella smiled back. “The poor waiters! How annoyed they were that we wouldn’t leave.”
“We talked for hours,” Sara said. “We had such a lot in common. Bella grew up going to top-drawer English boarding schools and living in a mansion, while I grew up in the slums of Lachlan, Florida. She was married and had a child and I had a life of writing and not much else. We were a perfect match.”
The two women were smiling fondly at each other.
“I think it was our differences that were attractive,” Bella said. “And Sara’s fascination with history. I must say that my friend was very modest. She told me she’d written a few books. She didn’t tell me she was a superstar in the publishing world. But maybe I should have guessed since I was staying downtown in a shabby little hotel while Sara was in a suite at the Helmsley Palace. I assumed it was a once-in-a-lifetime holiday.”
“I was doing a new contract,” Sara said, “and they wanted me there.”
“I was in New York for an international hotel convention. I’d been in the business all my adult life and I was trying hard to interest someone in restoring Oxley Manor and making it into a five-star hotel.”
“But you agreed to give her the money.” There was no humor in Jack’s voice.
“Not then,” Sara said. “In fact, Bella didn’t even tell me what she was trying to do until years later.”
“I had too much pride to admit the truth to a stranger,” Bella said. “Sara invited me to tea in the Gold Room the next day. That’s when four women came up to us and asked for her autograph. Only then did I realize how successful she was. I, uh... I hid my own situation from her.”
Sara smiled. “Four or five years later, after we’d exchanged a zillion emails, I came to England to do research and I saw this place. It was in bad shape.”
“Sara is being kind,” Bella said. “It was rotting. The roof was nearly gone. I’d given up trying to find a backer to repair it. The National Trust didn’t want it as there was no money to go with it. And besides, in England, Oxley Manor is small, with no historical significance.”
“What about the chapel?” Kate asked. “I haven’t seen the inside, but surely it’s important.”
“If it were in the US,” Sara said, “it would be a tourist attraction, but here those places are a dime a dozen. Look at Savills website some time. Houses like this, in perfect condition, are always for sale.”
“So you decided to take on the project,” Jack said.
Sara narrowed her eyes at him. Sometimes his self-appointed role of being a protector was too much. “There have been several businesses that I have invested in.”
Since Jack’s construction company was one of them, he knew he’d been put in his place. When he drank from his wineglass, his eyes were glittering in amusement. Sara sure knew how to slash and burn.
“Should we go into the drawing room for coffee?” Bella asked, then looked at Sara. “Or the very strong tea that you like?”
“It’s late so I think I’ll say good-night.”
“Me too,” Jack and Kate both said.
Minutes later, they were heading up to their rooms. The main staircase was wide and impressive. They went up side by side. At the top, Sara turned to them and in a low voice said, “What is it that you two are dying to tell me? Other than insinuating about my friend, in front of her, that she’s trying to rob me?”
“Uh...” Jack said.
Kate stepped forward. “He’s just a worrywart is all. We want to ask if you’d mind if we went on the trip to Scotland right away.”
“That’s why I made the reservations.”
“But we thought you wanted help with the mystery,” Jack said.
She put her hand on his arm. “My darling boy, that was an excuse. I’d love two weeks in an empty hotel. Yes, there’s a mystery to solve but I can do that. I think it will be an entertaining weekend with those people who are coming. You’re sure you don’t want a chance to sing with Byon Lizmere?”
Jack glanced at Kate. “I’m sure.”
“Go then. You have my blessing. When you get back I’ll have a story of great passion to tell you.”
“Put it on paper and sell it,” Jack said.
“I’ve taught you well.” She kissed his cheek. “Now go to bed. Don’t stay up late. Get some sleep. I’ll see you two tomorrow.” She kissed Kate’s cheek.
They left her outside her bedroom, not even staying to see the big room, but hurrying upstairs.
Jack and Kate were a bit awkward outside their doors. Tomorrow they were going away. Together. Just the two of them.
Kate repressed a yawn. Jet lag was catching up with her.
“See you in the morning,” Jack said. “If you need anything, you know where I am.”
“Right beside me. I mean—”
“I know.” His hand was on the knob. “You can lock the connecting door if you want.”
“I don’t think I will,” she said, then quickly went into her room and shut the door. The tall princess bed was gleaming in the light of a single lamp.
Suddenly, the long day hit her and she was exhausted. It took only minutes and she was in her pajamas and in the bed. Visions of men in kilts and the sound of bagpipes danced in her mind. She went to sleep smiling.
Six
Jack was in bed, sound asleep. “Get up,” he heard Sara say. He glanced at the windows. The heavy curtains were drawn but he could see that it wasn’t daylight. “Too early to leave,” he mumbled, and turned over.
“We have to go.” She sounded urgent.
Alarm ran through him. “Kate?”
“She’s fine.” Sara’s camera was around her neck and a sling bag at her back. Wherever she was, she went out early to take pictures. “It’s your buddy Puck. She wants us outside. Now, before daylight.”
Quickly, he got out of bed and pulled on a pair of jeans. “Is she okay?”
“Yes, my rescuing knight, she’s also fine. She’s waiting for us. I’m going to get Kate. Make no noise.”