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“I know all sorts of things because I read. You ought to try it some time. It might give you an idea for how to extricate yourself from your predicament without getting bogged down in another one.”
He closed his eyes and groaned. “Your lectures are worse than Jonathon’s. At least he softens the blow with brandy.”
Jonathon and I agreed on something, for once.
I knew I wouldn’t get back to sleep now. It was five-thirty, and while there was always someone on duty in the kitchen to take orders for room service, it was too early for my breakfast. Besides, I liked to have it with Harmony, and she usually came between seven and eight. I ordered a pot of tea instead. I didn’t ask for an extra cup. If Floyd felt like some, he’d have to use mine.
It turned out not to matter. He’d fallen asleep by the time I turned away from the speaking tube, and was snoring softly with his mouth open.
He wasn’t awake by the time Harmony arrived at seven-thirty with our breakfast tray. I asked her to return later.
She tried to peer past me. “Have you got a man in there?”
“Just Floyd. He needed to talk when he came home.” I took the tray from her. “Why did you jump to the conclusion that I had a gentleman friend in here?”
She shrugged. “Well, you say you’re not getting married…”
“That doesn’t mean I want to be someone’s mistress.”
“Why not? Seems like a good solution to me.”
I opened my mouth to disagree then shut it again. I couldn’t think of a winning argument.
I carried the tray into the sitting room and set it down on the table. I poured coffee from the pot into one of the two cups and sipped gratefully. I certainly needed strong coffee today after my early start.
Floyd stirred on the sofa. A moment later, he yawned and opened his eyes. “That’s good of you to order breakfast for me.”
“It’s not for you.”
“Who is it for?”
Too late, I realized my error. I couldn’t tell him I ate breakfast every morning with one of the maids. For one thing, he might suggest docking her wages to pay for it. At the very worst, he could order me to stop our ritual. While he wasn’t as miserly as his father, he wouldn’t like one of the maids to take advantage. At his core, he was still the hotel owner’s son.
“Me,” I said. “I like a big breakfast.”
“With two cups?”
“They sent one extra in error.”
“And the two plates and two sets of cutlery?”
I scrambled to think of something to explain it, but my mind went blank.
“Whoever it’s for, just make sure he’s gone before my father sees.”
“He? Floyd!”
He snatched a piece of toast off the plate and chewed around his smug smile. “I can’t help it if I jumped to the first conclusion to enter my head. You said you’re not intending to marry, so…”
The rotten sod. He’d overheard Harmony and decided to tease me. At least he’d proved me wrong and was joking about it, not threatening to dismiss her. I wanted to be sure, however.
“You won’t tell your father, will you? Or Mrs. Short? Harmony’s a hard worker and much liked among the other staff.”
“It’s all right, Cleo, I won’t get her into trouble. But if I know one thing, it’s to be careful who you choose as friends. Don’t let her take advantage of your good nature.”
Considering his friend was Jonathon, I didn’t think Floyd was well qualified to give out advice about friendship. On the other hand, Jonathon had told me some time ago that he was worried about Floyd, so as a friend, perhaps he was worthy.
I let Floyd think his advice was noted then watched him leave. A moment later, there was another knock on my door and Harmony entered without waiting for me. She left her housemaid’s cart in the corridor and carried a jar labeled furniture polish in one hand and a cloth in the other. She smelled faintly of vinegar and lemon juice.
