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“NOW,” DESMOND SLOUCHED on Rosemary’s parlor settee, and gestured with his after-dinner aperitif, a G&T with more gin than tonic, “I want to hear how you’re faring these days, Rosie? I was very sorry to hear about your husband, and even more sorry to have been traveling and unable to attend the funeral.” He paused as if a thought had just occurred to him, and then flushed. “Maybe I shouldn’t have brought it up.”
“Don’t trouble yourself, and thank you for asking,” Rosemary said with a wave of her hand. “I’m doing much better now. Of course, it comes in waves, but that’s the nature of these things. At this very moment, I couldn’t be happier. I’m surrounded by caring friends, and I’m looking forward to our holiday abroad. Will this be your first time to visit Cyprus, or have you been there before?”
Desmond nodded. “I have, yes. Once, and I’m looking forward to a return visit. Very relaxing place. What more could anyone ask than sand, sun, and beautiful mountains? I hope you two will come on a hike with Freddie and me.”
Rosemary looked to Vera, who smiled thinly. “Luring Vera off the beach might be a chore, but if I can manage, you may count us in,” she said wryly. “What have you been up to the past few years, Des? All Frederick ever tells us is that you’ve been gallivanting around the world and that you spent some time in the States.”
“He would call it gallivanting.” Desmond shot his friend a withering look, and then returned his gaze to Rosemary. “I call it quite something else entirely,” he continued with a charming grin. “In pursuit of the lion’s share of my great-aunt’s inheritance, my father insisted upon my squiring her from one end of the world to the other. I hardly remember what it’s like to not live out of a steamer trunk these days.”
A short moment of silence followed the admission, and then Vera trilled out a laugh. “Around the world in eighty days with a maiden aunt. Sounds like a lukewarm adventure if ever there was one. Tell me, did it pay off? Did she decide to cut you in on scads of ready money when she toddles off into the next life?”
Frowning at Vera, Desmond admitted, “If you must know, after I got over feeling like a trained dog sent to fetch a bone, I came to quite like the old girl. I shall miss her when she goes, but I rather consider I’ve done my familial duty.”
Feeling warmly towards him, Rosemary said, “That’s quite interesting, Des. You will have to tell us all about it when we’re in Cyprus with nothing to do but lounge around and relax.”
Desmond laughed. “It may be interesting, but it’s nothing compared to solving a murder! Frederick told me about your exploits in Pardington, and I have to say, I’m impressed and intrigued. How did you figure out who killed that poor sod?”
Rosemary cast an appreciative gaze towards Vera. “The killer slipped up and tried to pin the caper on poor Frederick. None of us fancied him taking a ride on the end of a noose, so we put our heads together, and the rest was just a bit of quick thinking.”
“The moral of that story, my good man, is to avoid getting spifflicated and sleeping in the rough when someone’s plotting dirty deeds and trying to lay them on you.” As Rosemary expected, Frederick evidenced no chagrin. “If not for our Rosemary, I’d be but a fond memory by now.”
Vera insisted on being acknowledged for her contribution to the solving of the crime, and a short but friendly discussion ensued until Rosemary had had enough.
“I think it’s about time we dressed for the theater, don’t you, Vera?” Rosemary asked. Vera looked at the clock and jumped up from her chair.
“Where did the time go? We’ve just over an hour to powder our noses and shrug on the glad rags. That’s cutting it close,” she said and pulled Rosemary towards the parlor door.
Rosemary went to pull the door closed behind her, but paused when Desmond, apparently thinking she was out of earshot, spoke to Frederick.
“She seems to be doing quite well, all things considered,” Desmond commented thoughtfully.
Her brother grunted. “She puts on a good show, and this is certainly better than the catatonic state she was in just after Andrew passed away. I’d like to believe she’s moving on with her life, but I can’t say for sure. That’s part of why I wanted to accompany her to Cyprus. Mother and Father agreed that it would be best if I went along, and since work has become quite a chore, I jumped at the chance.”
Rosemary clicked the door shut silently, unsure whether she was glad to have people concerned for her, or irritated that they felt the need to supervise her.
“So?” Vera flopped down onto Rosemary’s bed and looked at her friend expectantly. “Does Desmond measure up to the memories you had of him, or is he looking a little long in the tooth nowadays?”
Rosemary cast her a wry glance. “You know good and well that’s not the case. You do have eyes, after all. If it’s possible, he looks even better than he did back then. Less boy, more man, I suppose.”
“Right, Rosie, but did he make you feel anything? Did you get the butterflies?” Vera prodded.
Rosemary contemplated the question. Vera would accept nothing less than total honesty from her best friend. “Yes, I suppose you could say something took flight, but I think it was simply a nostalgic figment of my imagination.”
Whether Rosemary thought she was being honest or not, Vera didn’t buy the line for a second.
“Yes, well, I suppose we’ll see, won’t we? A few weeks in Cyprus will give you more than enough time to tell if you like him.”
“I already know I like him, Vera, but that doesn’t mean I want to be handcuffed to him. I’m still not ready, and you know it. Involving Desmond now would be putting the cart before the horse.”
“At least it’s a stallion, Rose, and they’re rarer than a unicorn these days. All I ask is that you give him a chance,” Vera implored, even if her words fell on deaf ears. She wasn’t trying to be insensitive; it simply broke her heart to still see occasional traces of sadness in her friend’s eyes, and she missed the lighthearted, perpetually smiling woman Rosemary had always been.
Rosemary scoffed. “It doesn’t only matter what I think of him. He may not find me at all attractive, you know.”
“And you don’t seem to notice the way men look at you. You never have. It’s not one of your more redeeming qualities,” Vera retorted. “Modesty can only take one so far.”
Setting her lips against the smirk that wanted to surface, Rosemary merely sought to mollify her. “Of course, Vera. Whatever you say.”
While Rosemary stood under Vera’s fiery glare, Anna walked into the room carrying an armful of freshly laundered clothing. She didn’t say a word but juggled the load onto her other arm while she straightened up Rosemary’s dressing table. After a moment, she seemed to notice Vera.
“Oh, hello, Miss Vera. You look lovely,” Anna said, though her eyes darted around the room while she shifted from one foot to the other.
Rosemary raised a brow. “Are you quite all right, Anna?” she asked with genuine concern. Scatterbrained was not a word she would have used to describe her maid, at least under normal circumstances.
“What? Oh, yes, yes, I’m fine, nothing to worry about.” Anna looked down and started, as if noticing the bundle she carried for the first time. “I’d just lose my head today if it wasn’t attached.” She resumed puttering about, setting things to rights, and then stopped dead in her tracks as if she’d forgotten what she’d intended to do.
“You clearly aren’t fine, Anna,” Rosemary pressed. “Whatever it is, you can talk to me about it.” Anna was a good maid and a fine girl. Not much more than a teenager, she’d been in Rosemary’s employ for several years, and they had shared a closer relationship than was typical between a servant and mistress. In fact, the term ‘mistress’ was one Rosemary preferred not to use, and the sentiment behind her choice was part of what made her different from other employers.
Still, Anna simply gave her a wan smile. “I’m just feeling a little frazzled, that’s all. Nothing to worry about, I’ll be right as rain and ready for our travels, don’t you worry.” Frazzled was an understatement, Rosemary thought when Anna brushed off her concern once more.
She let it go, and allowed Anna to beat a hasty retreat, but vowed to speak with the girl and dig out the problem at her earliest opportunity.
