“MADE IT!” HANNAH SAID as she pulled the car door closed. “Did anybody see you?”
Hannah smiled. “I don’t think so. Nobody said anything, and I think they would have if they’d seen me.”
“Makes sense to me. Just making sure.”
The smile widened. “Thank you for doing this,” she said. “All of it. Especially for helping me keep it all a secret. I know it’s silly, but it’s important to me.”
“I understand.”
“I thought I’d have a heart attack, though, crossing the grounds under those lights. I don’t think it gets that bright in the daytime. There’s a lot of electronic security stuff—Jimmy’s mother just had it put in a little while ago—but it’s all designed to keep people from getting in.” She laughed, something between a snort and a giggle.
The driver found it charming. She was a lovely girl.
“What are you laughing at?” he asked.
“I was just thinking it’s a good thing Mrs. Hudson doesn’t go in for Dobermans.” She said “Mrs. Hudson” as if she liked the sound of it. “I’m not sure we can keep doing this at night, though. I don’t know if this was such a good idea.”
“When else?” her companion asked reasonably. “You’re with your fiancée all day, aren’t you?”
“That’s true. He even wants to come shopping with me these days.”
“There you go. You just can’t do something like this, you know. You have to prepare. We need some time to work together.”
“I know,” she said. “It’s just that I think it might have been a mistake to try to do it this way. Not only with Jimmy. My parents would kill me if they knew I was doing this.”
“I hope you’re not getting cold feet,” the driver said. He had never been more sincere.
“No, of course I’m not getting—hey, we’re downtown, right? I recognize the statue. The guy on the horse in the middle of the fountain.”
“That’s General Sherman.”
“We ate at a restaurant near here tonight.”
“Did you have a good time?”
“The food was all right. Jimmy and my future sister-in-law’s boyfriend put on territorial displays. But where are we going? I thought it was in the other direction entirely.”
“One brief stop first. I have other people depending on me, too, you know.”
“Of course. I’m sorry. I’m just a little jumpy. All this cloak-and-dagger stuff seems so incongruous.”
“Please, don’t trouble yourself. As I said before, I understand. Besides, it will all be over soon.”
Hannah brightened. “That’s good news. How soon?”
The car rolled up to the curb and stopped. Roger smiled at her. “Before you know it,” he said, and reached for her neck.