“That’s better.” Edward grinned. “He’s having a dinner party at the Briar Rose for New Year’s Eve. He invited us.”
“I don’t know if I’m up for a party,” I admitted.
“I thought you might say that,” Edward said. “I told him I would only come if you were there.”
“No! You should go,” I jumped in, realizing my mistake too late.
“Sorry. We’re a package deal.”
“You don’t want to drag along your sad sack best friend on a date with a hot French chef,” I told him.
“It’s not a date,” he said in a quiet voice, making me regret my choice of words. “He was just being nice.”
I clamped my mouth shut, knowing that this was about so much more than self-esteem issues. Edward wasn’t ready to think about things like dating yet, and I couldn’t blame him. But even hanging out with a hot, single guy seemed like a step in the right direction. “I don’t think I should leave Smith alone on New Year’s. It is sorta our anniversary.”
We’d eloped in New York two years ago, but our friends had surprised us weeks later with a second wedding during a New Year’s Eve party. It had also felt more like our real anniversary to me, because everything about it reminded me of the power of a fresh start. Smith had been where my life had truly begun. He was the beginning of everything for me.
“He’s invited,” Edward said, looking at me like this was obvious.
“Who is watching the baby?”
“You’re the one with a household staff,” he reminded me. “And your aunt will be here by then.”
“When my aunt hears there’s a dinner party, she’s going to expect an invitation. Just take her with you.” I couldn’t imagine asking Jane to skip a party to change nappies. I wasn’t even sure if she knew how to change nappies, come to think of it.
“Belle, it’s okay for you to do something normal.” The hesitation in his voice sounded like I wasn’t the only one he was trying to convince.
Maybe he was right. “I’ll talk to Smith. I’m not sure he’ll go for it.”
“He’s going to have to take a risk someday,” Edward said.
“Maybe.” I couldn’t help but wonder if that were true. When it came to his family, Smith Price wasn’t inclined to gamble—and, in the last few days, I’d made him even more protective. There was no way he would leave Penny for that long with just Nora. Edward would go to New Year’s with Jane, and we’d stay here to serve our sentence. I needed to get used to being a prisoner in my own house as much as my own mind. It wasn’t a choice I had made. It was simply the way things had to be.
6
Smith
Belle’s aunt arrived in a flurry of silk and fur and energy that reminded me of the chaotic pace of the city we’d left behind. Belle had been apprehensive about the choice to invite her, worried that the house was reaching maximum capacity. But there was something about Jane that made it impossible to feel negative in her presence. I’d filled her in on what had happened at Thornham, but she’d acted completely normally since her arrival. She was exactly what my wife needed.
“Your Feng Shui is all wrong in this room,” she announced as Belle and I gave her a tour of the estate. “We’ll have to fix that. You’ll sleep better.”
Belle rolled her eyes over her aunt’s shoulder, but the wide smile that accompanied her reaction spoke volumes to how she really felt.
“Whatever you need,” I said. “Just tell me where to move things.”
“I do like a man who’s willing to jump in and get a little sweaty.” Jane nudged Belle in the rib with her elbow. “I hope you put him to work often.”
There was no mistaking the double entendre in her words. I took that as a sign to excuse myself to my study. “I’m sure you two want to catch up,” I said. “I have a few matters to attend to. Call if you need me?”
I leaned over to kiss Belle, but she turned her head slightly. She was still a little upset with me for turning the estate into a boarding house. But I couldn’t help thinking the more normalcy I could give her, the better. We were used to being surrounded by friends and family. Perhaps, surrounding her with people now would help her feel more like her old self.
There were plenty of things to attend to in my study. Bills to be paid. Calls to be returned. I’d put opening the law firm on an indefinite hold while we sorted through what was going on in the house.
Georgia was in my study when I entered, feet propped up on my desk, leaning back in my chair and studying what appeared to be my files.
“Make yourself at home,” I said dryly.
“I did.” She didn’t bother to look up from the file folder in her hands.
“Anything interesting?”
“I think so.” She closed the folder and placed it back on the desk. Georgia leaned and crossed her arms on its surface, leveling her dark gaze at me. “I was looking at the names of the people that were interviewed after the disappearance and I found some curious coincidences. What’s the name of your housekeeper again?”
“Fuck, I was afraid you’d say something like that,” I muttered, circling around the desk to pick up the folder she’d been looking at.
Georgia leaned over and rifled through the papers until she landed on a particular report from the police interviews. “Winters.”
“She’s not that old,” I said. “It couldn’t be her.”
“No,” Georgia agreed. “But what if her family worked here before? Did she mention it?”
I frowned. “It’s hardly an unusual name.”
“Maybe.” That seemed to be Georgia’s newest noncommittal response. Maybe. But I didn’t need her to commit to more. I knew exactly what she was thinking without her having to say it directly. We’ve seen too much in our years to believe in things like coincidence.
“What else?”
“The rest of your staff,” she said, moving more folders on my desk to show she’d been looking through the employee files. “All of them had family who worked here, except Rowan and Nora.”
“So two of them? That’s hardly a conspiracy.”
“Hold up a sec, Price. Nora has no connection to Thornham. She’s young. A college student.”
“I’ve met her,” I reminded Georgia.
“But Rowan,” Georgia continued, without acknowledging my insertion, “he worked here.”
“I think I knew that.” I screwed up my memory trying to keep straight what had been said during interviews. “He’s only one old enough to have worked here. I remember it coming up.”
“That’s good,” Georgia murmured absently, moving his file to the other side of the desk.
“I don’t really see what this has to do with our problems.”
“I just find it odd that you’ve got a household staff full of people with connections to the original owners.”
“I doubt there’s a lot of jobs available locally for people in their lines of work,” I pointed out. “I hardly think that means they’re out to get me. Besides, I don’t know any of them. Why would they come after us?”