conservatory testing a melody on the piano when I heard their voices.
The front door shut as I walked into the foyer. “There are my two favorite ladies.” They turned and smiled at me, both carrying shopping bags. “Have fun?”
Beth nodded. “Vivian took me to this really old bookstore that only carries vintage texts!” She hadn’t looked this happy since she arrived.
“Ahhh. There goes any hope of seeing you surface the rest of your vacation,” I teased.
“That is an exaggeration, sir.”
“We also went to the art museum,” my mother said.
“Is that what they’re calling clothing stores these days?”
“Hush.” Mother thrust her bags into my hands. “Be a good boy and carry these to my room.”
“Yes, Mum.”
They giggled as I walked away.
My girl and my mother bonding—no good could come from this.
I put Mum’s loot by her closet and left her room. Coming down the hall, I saw Beth enter her bedroom and slipped in behind her.
“Jacob!”
“What?” I took the bag out of her hand and wrapped my arm around her waist. “I missed you.”
“It was only a few hours.” Her breathing quickened when I nibbled on her neck. “Stop that.”
“But you like it,” I said, grinning against her throat.
“I don’t want a mark.”
“I can find a place that doesn’t show.”
She pushed me away. “We need to get downstairs.”
I sighed. “As you wish.” I’d get her alone later.
Mum was speaking to her cook about the night’s menu. “There you are. Does Chinese work for both you?”
“Sure.”
“She just means takeout, love.”
Beth’s lips formed a soundless O.
Mum shook her head. “Au contraire, darling. I’ve been collecting recipes since my last visit and Rose has kindly agreed to indulge them. Another fifteen minutes, yes?”
The cook nodded and went back to the kitchen. I preferred the one we employed when I was a child. This lady, while good at her job, rarely said a word or laughed.
Staff should be like family if they were living in your house twenty-four-seven.
“Jacob, you should show Elizabeth your old room while we wait,” Mum said.
“Aw, it’s not very interesting—”
Beth interrupted me. “I’d love to see it, if you come with us, Vivian.”
“’Vivian’?”
Two pairs of eyes settled on me.
“Yes, dear. Calling me by a title is entirely too formal.” She smiled at Beth. “Elizabeth is like family.”
“We’ve become good friends the past two years,” Beth added. “If I’m not being too bold.”
“Of course not.”
I waved in their field of vision. “Ladies? Still here?”
They glanced at each other with amused grins. Oh, definitely not a good sign.