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It was the question he’d been dreading. “Patience...” Staring at his hands, he searched for the right words. “Turns out she was keeping secrets.” Briefly, he told her about Patience’s arrest and her job at Feathers, doing the best he could to leave out the gory details. When he finished, Ana looked back to the letter that was on her lap. “I’m sorry, Tetya.”
“I figured her story had to be something pretty awful for her to lie about it.”
“She was afraid—” He whipped his head around. “You knew she was lying?”
“Of course, I did. Surely you don’t think I’m that naive.” Her glare chased off any possible response. “I could tell she was hiding something during her interview. It was obvious she didn’t know a thing about being a proper housekeeper. And the way she stuttered on about forgetting her agency paperwork...the girl is not a very good liar, you know. After she left, I spoke to the agency, and they told me the real candidate had gotten stuck on the subway.”
Stuart owed his aunt an apology. She was far sharper than he gave her credit.
“Wait,” he said, backing off that thought. “If you knew she was lying, why did you hire her? Why didn’t you call her out on the story?”
“Because the poor dear was clearly desperate. Leaping at the chance to clean house?”
“Still, for all you knew, she could have been trying to rob you.” The questions were moot at this point. He was simply looking for grounds to justify his mistrust. Hoping for some sliver of a reason to prove he wasn’t an arrogant, jaded fool.
“Nonsense,” Ana replied. “Patience couldn’t hurt a fly. Anyone who spends five minutes with her can tell that.”
Yes, they could. Even he, with all his suspicion, had recognized her gentle sweetness. It’s why he’d fallen so hard in spite of himself.
“Besides, Nigel liked her and he doesn’t like just anyone. That alone told me I could trust her. As for not asking her story...I figured when the time came, she would tell me what I needed to know.”
In other words, his aunt had decided based on the opinion of a cat who, sadly enough, was a better judge of character than he was.
“In a lot of ways, Patience reminds me of the animals at the shelter,” she told him. “Lost and looking for a place to call home. I know it was a rash decision—a dangerous one, even—but I couldn’t turn her away.”
“When you put it that way...” It didn’t sound so rash at all. Simply confident in the goodness of human nature. Something he’d always had trouble with. He thought he’d conquered his mistrust, but apparently not.
“She has a way of getting under your skin, doesn’t she?” Now the guilt arrived, strong and harsh. He’d managed to do what his aunt couldn’t: chase Patience away. He’d let her sweetness frighten him and turn him into a bully.
“I’ve really screwed things up, haven’t I?” he said.
“Yes, you have.”
Ana never did believe in mincing words. “What do I do?” He looked to her face, hoping in her wisdom she’d have a solution.
“For starters, you can get me my housekeeper back. I care too much for her to lose her.”
“Me, too,” Stuart whispered. He should never have overreacted the way he did when he’d read Bob’s report. If he’d acted calmly, Patience might be here with him right now. Instead, he’d let his heart give in to suspicion. And she was gone.
“She’s never going to forgive me.”
“You’ll never know until you try.”
When he shook his head, she reached over and took his hands, her gnarled grip stronger than he expected. “Listen to me. I had the chance to fight for my Nigel. I didn’t and I lost him forever. I don’t want to see the same thing happen to you. You have already missed out on so many years of happiness because of Theodore and that gold digger he married. Patience is your second chance. Don’t be like me, lapushka—fight for her.”
His aunt was right. He couldn’t give up on Patience. He had to find her if only to apologize for being an ass. “How did he track her down, though? He doubted she’d left a forwarding address at the bottom of her goodbye note. But....
There was one person Patience would contact no matter where she ran off to. One person she would never desert. And he had that person’s email address. A kernel of hope took root inside him.
Rising, he kissed Ana on the cheek. “I’ll be right back.”
“Where are you going?”
“I’ve got to send an important note to someone in France.”
