AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Cara turned to face him. “You like this room,” she said.
“I do. How can you tell?”
“You seem more relaxed, as if this is your space.”
“It is a space I enjoy,” he agreed. “It’s one of the few rooms untouched by different renovations, although the paneling had to be replaced in the early 1950s due to damage during the war.”
“Was the house bombed?”
“No, but the family was asked to give it to the government who turned it into a boarding school for children that needed to be moved from London, and then later it became a hospital. Staff and family boxed up the artwork, books, and valuable heirlooms, and from 1940 until 1949, the house served the greater good. As you can imagine, after housing dozens of young children, and then hundreds of rehabilitating soldiers, bookshelves were gone, paneling demolished, ceilings and moldings destroyed. The challenge, of course, was restoring it when finances were strained. But Langley Park wasn’t the only one, and in the end, it’s just a house.”
“A house you’re quite fond of.”
“Yes.”
Her lips twitched. “A house you would never, ever sell.”
She was impossible as well as impossibly charming. He, who didn’t like to smile, was smiling far too often now. “Are you sure your family didn’t send you to England just to have a little break?”
Cara laughed, the sound filling the room. “You figured it out. Well done, Sherbourne. You broke open the case.”
Alec just shook his head, and yet on the inside he was laughing, too.
Chapter Six
Alec didn’t sleepwell, his dreams intense, disturbing, and he woke up Thursday morning feeling ill at ease. He also had a splitting headache requiring coffee and silence. But when he entered the smaller dining room, his preferred breakfast room, he saw there was only one place setting at the table. His place setting.
When Mrs. Johnson appeared a few moments later to fill his coffee, he asked about Cara.
“She’s gone into Bakewell, sir. She struggles with jet lag and so she’s up early, and likes to take a walk where she rewards herself with a latte.”
“Does she know you can make her coffee?”
“Yes, she does. But she enjoys her walks, and she said this gives her a chance to explore the town, and take photos and just generally use up some of her endless energy.”
Alec thanked her and enjoyed his solitary breakfast, food and coffee beginning to help his head. He was definitely feeling better by the end of breakfast, and turned on his tablet to read, even as Mrs. Johnson returned to clear his plate and bring him a fresh second cup of coffee.
He turned his attention back to the article in the business section of theLondon Times. In London, he preferred a real newspaper but at Langley he read all his papers online. He was focused on the economist and not aware of anything around him until Mrs. Johnson pushed through the door, emitting a wail of distress.
He immediately looked up. Mrs. Johnson wasn’t the rock Mrs. Booth was, but she rarely whimpered. “Mrs. Johnson, what has happened?”
She was practically wringing her hands. “My mother has had a fall. The ambulance has already come for her but my sister is beside herself. The paramedics said she’s broken her arm, and there may be more.” Mrs. Johnson drew a breath. “She’s been very frail and my sister has already found it very difficult caring for her—”
“You must go to them right away,” Alec said decisively, rising. “I know your brother-in-law was going to come for you on Saturday, but I’ll arrange for Trimble to drive you to your sister’s, as soon as you’re ready.”
“But the house tour is tonight. I can’t leave you—”
“We’re serving champagne, not a five-course dinner. I’ve no desire to offend you, but we can manage champagne without you,” he said.
“But sir, it’s a terrible time for me to leave you.”
“It’s a terrible time for your poor mother. So, please go, and we will see you when your mother is on the mend—”
“Oh, no, I’m coming back tomorrow. I will not abandon you before your family’s annual Christmas dinner. You do need me for that.”
“Not if your mother or sister needs you more, Mrs. Johnson.”
“And how will you entertain your family then for their Christmas dinner? Do you know how to cook a goose, sir?”
