TWELVE

  

The next four days went by without event. Jason left on schedule, and Hilda practically moved into the cottage. She played with Grace daily, taking her swimming, walking, and horseback riding, and reading to her in four languages: English, French, Italian, and her native German. As with most children, Grace picked up words and phrases quickly, and by day three she was saying and comprehending simple sentences. When asked if she was ready for bed, she’d say, “Nein danke, Tante Allison.” No, thank you, Aunt Allison. It always made Allison smile.

Allison took most meals in the cottage accompanied by Grace and Hilda. Even Elle joined them occasionally, digging into the robust meals delivered by Dominic. Wine, sausage, potatoes, cheese and meat dumplings with browned butter, and the ubiquitous, but delicious, Caprese salads the chef made with fresh tomatoes, basil, and succulent local mozzarella.

They developed a rhythm. Morning coffee and breakfast on the garden patio followed by a walk around the meadows and into the shallow forest near the horse stables. Then Hilda would take Grace while Allison met Elle at the castle. They would work until lunch and take a break for a light snack on the castle veranda. At three, they would break again and Allison would spend an hour or two by the pool with Grace. Allison avoided the other guests. After the incident in the woods, she had no desire to see Shirin and Douglas or Lara and Jeremy. She didn’t trust that her poker face would win her even one hand.

The afternoon of day four, Allison and Elle were finishing up a session when there was a strong knock at the door.

“Are you expecting someone?” Allison asked.

Elle shook her head. She’d been better since the incident a few days earlier, working her way through books and catalogs and helping Allison design her new look for her grand re-entrance into the American scene. Today she was skyping with Allison’s nutritionist about adopting a vegetarian diet, something Elle felt compelled to do. She’d just ended the conversation when the visitor arrived.

“Come in,” Elle said.

Allison instantly recognized the man standing in the double doorway as Sam Norton. He was shorter than Allison had expected, with a prominent chin and thick graying hair. He wore horn-rimmed glasses, Bermuda shorts, and a red Ralph Lauren Polo shirt, and around his neck was a thick strand of leather with something gold dangling from its center. He wasn’t handsome exactly, but he had the kind of distinguished air that some older men acquired. He smiled at his daughter, then at Allison.

“I see you’re busy.”

“What do you need, Daddy?”

“I’m just looking for Michael.”

Elle looked confused. “Michael left this morning. For California.”

It was Sam’s turn to look startled. “I thought he was going tomorrow.”

Elle shrugged. She met her father at the entranceway, took his hand, and led him gently out into the hallway, closing the doors behind her. She was back five minutes later.

“I’m afraid Daddy isn’t himself these days.”

“Is everything all right?”

Elle was silent for a moment. She tucked a stray strand of blonde hair behind her ear and then started to chew on her thumbnail. Thinking better of it—stopping that habit was goal number nine—she sat on her hand instead.

“My father has a condition. We’ve known about it for some time, but we still don’t quite understand what sets it off. The doctor thinks it’s a type of dementia.” She took a deep breath and stared at her lap. “Sometimes he’s perfectly fine. Other times, like now, he’s confused. He gets belligerent with the staff. We’ve had to move Hilda into a room in the lower south wing because he can be so awful to her.”

“Who cares for him then?”

Elle shrugged. “Sometimes it’s Hilda. Usually it’s Dominic or Michael.” She frowned. “Or Karina.”

Allison recalled the conversation with Karina what felt like weeks ago. The personal assistant had hinted at tension between her and her employer. Yet she was still here.

“You have a lot of people who seem to remain at the castle for long stretches.”

“You mean Jeremy and Lara? They’re here about the movie. Jeremy says he thinks better in the Dolomites. I know Daddy is hoping he’ll cast me in Baton Rouge.”

“How about Mazy and the Aldens?”

“What about them?” She smiled. “You mean why are they here?” When Allison nodded, she shrugged again. “Mazy is a control freak who wants a say in every aspect of the movie. She’s afraid if she leaves Jeremy will make some monumental decision without her.”

“And you let her stay.”

“I don’t let anyone do anything. She’s Daddy’s friend from way back” A mischievous glint shone in Elle’s eyes. “They were lovers.”

A point Mazy had failed to mention. Allison tried to picture the writer and the rock star together and couldn’t. “And the Aldens?”

Elle waved her free hand. “Shirin likes to feel important and Douglas enjoys screwing Lara.”

Allison nearly choked. Her face turned red.

“Oh, I know about those two, Allison. Don’t look so shocked. Everyone knows, except maybe Jeremy and Shirin.” She shook her head. “Who do you think showed them their love nest in the woods? Not purposefully, of course. He was leading a hike.” When Allison looked confused, Elle said, “Damien. Even he knew.”

“Surely the Aldens have some other reason for being here.”

Elle looked suddenly guarded. “Why do you say that?”

“Because Douglas must have a pretense for being here. He can’t simply tell his wife he wants to hang out at the castle and then go off and bang his girlfriend.”

“I don’t know what he tells Shirin,” Elle said after a moment. “But the board of the foundation meets regularly and Douglas always comes. He chooses grantees, though Damien and he rarely saw eye to eye on the recipients.”

“Why?”

“Damien said Douglas’s criteria were often arbitrary. Or he was too focused on space exploration—one of Douglas’s pet hobbies. Aside from screwing another man’s wife.”

“You don’t like Douglas Alden.”

“I guess he’s a necessary evil. Like root canals. Or acts of war.”

  

As luck would have it, Allison ran into Shirin and Douglas later that afternoon on the trail by the north side of the castle. Allison and Grace were taking a walk before the afternoon storms set in, and Grace was practicing her German by counting the sheep they saw along the way.

“That’s quite good,” Allison said to her niece after they passed sheep number dreizhen. Grace looked up at her, round eyes wide and pleased. For a moment, Allison recalled the little girl who had come to live with her months before. A little girl who woke up with night terrors and often wet the bed. A little girl who asked every day when her mother was taking her to the shelter. Allison knelt down to hug her niece, and when she stood back up Shirin and Douglas were heading toward them.

Shirin wore tiny black shorts and a tight black and brown printed tank. A gold belt cinched her waist. She’d slung a black leather bag over one shoulder, and she carried a large straw beach bag on the other. Douglas had a thick blue and white climbing rope coiled around one of his shoulders, and a chalk bag and climbing shoes dangled from a harness around his waist. He looked like he was ready to go mountaineering; his wife looked ready to attend a fashion show.

Allison acknowledged them, but she tried to keep walking.

Shirin stopped her. “We haven’t seen you at dinner.”

“Grace goes to bed early, so we haven’t been able to make late meals.”

Douglas, Allison noticed, focused his attention on Grace, the nearby sheep, the clouds gathering over the horizon. Anywhere but on Allison’s face. Allison felt herself getting angry. She didn’t particularly care for Shirin, but no woman—no person—deserved to be betrayed that way.

“Going for a jaunt in the woods?” Allison asked Douglas.

It was Shirin who answered. “Not me. Douglas was just out climbing. He loves the mountains.” She looked at her husband. “Right, darling?”

Douglas shifted his feet, picked at a thread on his nylon shirt. “Yes, yes, of course.”

“I made use of the pool.” Shirin lifted the beach bag from which a bottle of sunscreen and a novel protruded. “While Douglas played in the woods.” She nudged her husband’s foot with her toe.

“Good the weather held out,” Allison said, quickly shifting her gaze.

“Indeed.” Shirin elbowed her husband. “Bollocks, Douglas, you are being quite a bore today. No wonder Allison hasn’t joined us for dinner. Do show her you’re more of a conversationalist than this.”

Douglas managed a wan smile. “I’m afraid I’m a bit tired. From the climbing.”

Allison yawned. “I’m a bit tired myself, and this one—” she raised Grace’s hand “—really wants a walk to see the goats before dinner.”

Shirin asked, “Will we see you tonight then? It would be nice for you to get out. I’m sure the nurse can watch the girl.”

Allison bristled at the use of “girl.” “Her name is Grace, and she is my niece. But yes, if we get back in time, I’ll be there.”

The truth was, she would be at dinner that night. She’d promised Elle she’d go, and Hilda had promised Grace a girls’ night of movies, hamburgers, and American-style popcorn, which the castle chef was preparing. But Allison didn’t feel like admitting it to the Aldens. She’d rather watch movies with Grace than party with the grown-ups, but as a paid consultant, she needed to appease her client on occasion.

Douglas started back up the path toward their cottage without saying goodbye. Shirin lingered for another moment. She seemed about to say something else, but followed in her husband’s direction without another word.

  

Jason called while Allison was getting ready for dinner. She’d just zipped up her littlest black dress when the phone rang.

“Miss me yet?”

“Mmm,” she said. “Tons.”

“Any traction with Elle?”

“I guess.” Allison sat on the bed to strap on her sandals. They were new and red and Jimmy Choo, and she’d been waiting for a chance to show them off. “Can’t decide if this is Act Two or the real deal.”

“Does it matter?”

Allison paused. “I’d like to think it does.”

They chit-chatted a moment about Grace and the outings she and Allison had been on. “Any progress on the wedding?”

“Not really. Between Elle, my book, and Grace, I haven’t done much. Elle offered to have the reception here—”

“No.”

Allison laughed. “I figured you’d say that. I told her no. We have the restaurant reserved anyway.”

“That’s partly why I called. My mom is delayed. She will be a few days later than anticipated.”

“Oh,” Allison managed. She’d been counting on Mia’s help with Grace and to organize the wedding, as simple as it would be. Plus, she’d love her thoughts on Damien’s death—and the crazy family that surrounded her.

“Are you okay with that?”

“Of course.” She finished buckling her sandal and stood to find her jewelry. “Besides, what choice to do I have. What’s the holdup?”

“She didn’t say. I’m assuming it’s the farm.” Mia had moved to a small bungalow in the countryside outside Philadelphia after the tragic death of her daughter years ago. Since then, the sophisticated image consultant had become a nature buff. She grew vegetables, raised chickens, and adopted dogs…none of which she’d shown the least bit of interest in before her life fell apart. But the lifestyle suited her, even if it made leaving harder. So many things to tie her down.

“Without Vaughn,” Jason said, “everything’s a little tougher for my mother.”

“For them both,” Allison answered, thinking of Vaughn’s chronically depressed tone. Vaughn and Mia had been seeing each other for years, much of that time in secret. Their July-October relationship ended last fall. Neither had been the same since.

“How are things going there?” Allison asked. “Meet the CEO, Lara’s uncle?”

“As a matter of fact, I did. He looks nothing like his niece.” They both laughed. “It’s fine. A lot to learn. And while corporate life has its perks, I’d forgotten how different it is from the public sector.”

“Are you regretting your decision?”

Jason was silent for a long minute. “I wanted flexibility with my job. For when…in case…if, you know.”

If we have a child. Allison did know. She felt that familiar stab of longing and regret.

“This will be more work,” Jason continued. “But I think the change is good.”

More work. More time away from home. We’re still a family, Allison wanted to say. Even without a baby, we still need you. I still need you. Grace needs you. But she knew her fiancé was trying to deal with the fact that his body had failed him, and without the prospect of progeny, he was looking for new ways to define himself. She wished he felt differently, but pushing him would get them nowhere.

So instead of saying any of the things she was feeling, she said, “You’ll be incredible.”

She hoped her reticence to intervene wouldn’t come back to bite them both later.