Chapter Thirteen

 

 

 

“You feeling better?” she asked, when the smile came back to his face, even though he kept his eyes closed.

“Much, thank you. In fact, I’m feeling downright smug.”

“And why’s that?”

“Well…” He opened his eyes and sat up, taking the water she offered him, still holding to the hem of her dress in one hand. “I only wanted to talk to you, to try to make things right. I wasn’t even sure you’d listen to me, but I actually got you to come home with me. Dillon would say I have the moves.”

“I would have. Listened, I mean.” Then she added, trying not to sound angry or hurt, “You could have told me who you are, you know?”

“And would that have changed how you treated me? I just wanted your help. Granted, it could have been that you didn’t know who the hell Alexander Valentine was. A lot of people don’t, but as it turned out, I was right to keep it from you.” Before she could comment further, he continued. “Look, there’s a lot about me and about my family you don’t know, and there are a lot of things the people who work for me and live with me have learned not to mention, not to refer to. If you feel you need to know, I’ll tell you what I can, what I’m able. If you’ll be my tutor again.”

“We didn’t get very far,” she said.

“You have no idea how far we got, how excited I was to be able to interact with another person…in that way.”

“I…took advantage.”

“No, you didn’t. You did exactly what I needed, and if I’d have felt for one minute that you were out of line, I’d have sent you packing.”

Before she could argue with him, the limo stopped in front of a house the size of the shopping mall in the town where she’d grown up, but much more elegant. “Wow!” she managed “Are you roommates with Bruce Wayne or is this Xavier’s School for the Gifted?”

“It’s actually the Valentine School for the Neurotic,” he said. Then he added, “Although my cook does moonlight as chef for the Avengers from time to time.”

“Nice! I had no idea art paid so well,” she said.

“I do all right for myself,” he said, “but this place, I inherited from my bastard of a father, who married my mother for it.”

“As one does,” she said in a really bad Pride and Prejudice accent.

He laughed. “Indeed.”

The door to the limo burst open before the driver was even out of the vehicle, and a woman, who might have passed for Mrs. Danvers, stuck her head in. But the minute she opened her mouth, it was clear she would have been no use to Daphne du Maurier where villainous household staff was concerned. “Are you all right, Alexander? Dillon called ahead to tell me what happened. I’m so terribly sorry. Can you walk? Do you need to sit a minute? Did you throw up?”

“Yes, no and no, in that order,” he said, shooing her aside so he could get out. “This is Kelly Blake.” He nodded in her direction.

She got out of the other side and scurried around to help him, though in truth there was little she could do but cheer him on, and Mrs. Danvers’ not-so-evil twin seemed to be doing a great job of that.

“Dillon told me that too. Ms. Blake, it’s such a pleasure,” she said, grabbing Kelly’s hand, which was safe to touch, and giving it a hearty shake. “Welcome to Mountain View. I’m V. Now hurry on in, both of you, but not too fast, Alexander, I don’t want you having a relapse. Cookie’s made your favorite Irish stew with carrot cake for dessert. Those schmooze-y kinds of events are exhausting under the best of circumstances, and these circumstances must have been pretty harrowing. You’ll be starving by now, I’d imagine.”

“Cookie? She the one who cooks for the Avengers?”

“Only part-time,” V said, without missing a beat. “When Alexander can spare her. Oh, I’m sure that Nick Fury guy would love nothing better than to hire her away, but she likes it at Mountain View because it’s so much more peaceful. She’s a cook, not a super hero, at least that’s what she tells everyone.” She moved ahead of the two, opening doors and straightening knickknacks that didn’t need straightening. “We so seldom get company, Ms. Blake, what with Alexander’s condition and his work and all, so we’re all in a bit of a dither.”

“Please, it’s Kelly,” she said to the woman.

“I hope you don’t mind that we all eat in the kitchen. I’ve told Alexander ad nauseum that it’s not right for the master of the house to eat with the servants, but well, you know artists are a quirky lot, Ms. Blake…er, Kelly.”

“Yes they are, V, and the kitchen suits me just fine,” Lex said.

Kelly had to rush to keep up with the woman, and Lex was right on her heels, seeming completely recovered from the incident at the gallery.

“Dillon will be along shortly. He was dealing with the press when he texted me. What was it he called it? Oh yes, playing spin doctor for the diva.” She raised a hand. “And, Alexander, you watch your language. He was only teasing. He’s just glad you’re all right, as are we all. Come along now, we don’t want to keep Cookie waiting.”

They took the straight path through the enormous house then made a sharp left down a corridor that was a little narrower and a little less opulent than the grand entry hall. Kelly had been so busy taking in all the marble and oak that she nearly ran into V, as she stopped in the middle of an enormous entrance through which she could view a kitchen that was bigger than her whole house. The floor was dark green tile polished to a mirrored shine and the wall a stuccoed terracotta that would not have been out of place in the Southwest somewhere. “Alexander’s mother had the kitchen designed herself. She loved to cook, even though his father frowned on it.”

“Enough of the family history,” Lex said. “Let the poor woman eat.” He nodded her into a room that made her mouth water with the scent of fresh stew and spicy carrot cake. She inhaled and closed her eyes with a moan.

At the battered trestle table in the middle of the floor, a tiny Hispanic woman who would have had to stand on tiptoe to reach five feet ladled the succulent stew into two bowls. A third place was set, no doubt for Dillon when he arrived. The woman offered her a bright smile and a nod then motioned them to the table with a stream of Spanish that Lex seemed to understand completely. Whatever it was the woman said made him blush heartily. “Speak English, Cookie, so our guest can understand you.”

“It’s a pleasure,” the woman said in English that was as good as her Spanish and completely without accent.

“You see why Nick Fury wants to hire her away from me, besides her fantastic cooking skills, the woman’s a polyglot,” he said, pulling out a chair for Kelly.

She figured to do so was really pushing the envelope for him, based on the wide-eyed stares of the two women.

“Dios mio,” Cookie whispered, crossing herself.

Lex rolled his eyes and shooed her away. “Go on, you two, leave us to eat in peace while you listen at the pantry door.”

There was another stream of what sounded like possibly Russian from V and the little cook responded in kind. Kelly heard her name and Lex’s mentioned before the two pushed their way through the door.

“It’s pretty clear they adore you,” she said.

A faint blush crawled up his cheeks, which were now flushed with health. “They know I let them get away with anything as long as they feed me, keep my house halfway clean and leave me to my work.” He motioned to the stew. “Please, eat, I’m starving, and you must be too. Save room for carrot cake. It’s one of Cookie’s specialties.”

The first few bites were eaten without conversation, in the presence of groans and sighs that always accompany good food, but it didn’t take long for Kelly to realize that Lex was watching her over his raised spoon.

“What?” she said, suddenly self-conscious as she covered her mouth with her napkin.

“It’s just, I was wondering what it would be like to be able to take you to a restaurant and maybe dancing. Do you like to dance?”

“I don’t know how,” she said.

He laughed. “Neither do I.” Then he was suddenly serious. “I was learning, actually when I…before…” He looked around as though he were searching for words. “And anyway at that age I hated it because I had to dance with girls, but my mother said that one day I’d be glad that I knew how.” The smile returned again. “Dillon said I could still learn. All I need is an inflatable doll, but well, with my situation being what it is, no self-respecting inflatable would be caught dead around me.”

They both laughed, and that was how Dillon found them, laughing over the last of their stew. “Dear lady, I thank you for getting my young charge home safely,” he said with a chivalrous bow. “He can be rather ill-behaved at times,” to which Lex responded with a raised middle finger.

“It was my pleasure,” she said.

Cookie brought Dillon’s stew and V buzzed in long enough to greet the man.

“Your secretary is a keeper,” Dillon said, “and she’s got great aim with a glass of wine. The wine baptism of Gale Ann Spaulding will be talked about around dinner tables and in back alley bars for many years to come.” He shoveled in a mouthful of stew, winced as he burnt his tongue and continued. “The party heated up after you two got things started, and those tight-assed philanthropists and rich moneybags let their hair down and loosened up.”

“You’re talking about us, you know, bro?” Lex said.

“Shh! Don’t tell her.” Dillon nodded to Kelly. “Maybe she’ll like us anyway.”

When Cookie delivered carrot cake, Dillon grabbed up his and made his excuses. “V,” he called as the woman passed in the hall, “I need to discuss something with you when you have a few minutes.” Then he turned back to the table. “Kelly, it might be wise for you to stay here tonight. After our little exhibition at the exhibition, the press was pretty rabid. Oh, not in a bad way, but now that they know who you are, well… I wouldn’t expect any problems, but you’re here and it’s a long way back into town. V will have a room made up for you.”

“It’s already been done,” V replied from her listening post in the doorway, large travel mug of coffee clutched in one hand, small iPad in the other. She turned her attention to Kelly. “When Dillon alerted me to the situation, well, with it being late and the circumstances being what they were, I thought your staying might be a prudent choice.”

Kelly looked from Lex to Dillon to V and back again. “I…to tell you the truth I hadn’t thought about anything other than getting Lex away from the crowd and that horrid woman.”

“And that horrid woman will make sure you pay for it.” Dillon waved his hand dismissively. “Not a big deal, I’m sure a word from Alexander Valentine’s people will make her look like the idiot she is, but the thing is, the rest of the press saw a woman coming to the rescue of her man, a man who’s already their hero.” Lex made a derisive sound, which Dillon ignored. “A man that, you must remember, they were all seeing for the first time. Everybody’s a closest romantic, and the two of you leaving in a limo together, well, need I say more?”

Kelly felt the muscles in her stomach tighten. “What did you tell them?”

Dillon held her gaze. “What did you want me to tell them, Ms. Blake, that you were Alexander Valentine’s sex tutor? It seemed prudent at the time, and your secretary agreed, to let the idea slide that the two of you were an item. The rich and famous have dalliances all the time. They usually don’t last long. You’ll be the talk of the town for a few days, a week tops, which can do neither of you any harm, probably sell you a boat load of books and get Lex a few more commissions he doesn’t have time to do. Gale Ann Spaulding will sling mud at your name, which will sell even more books, and get more commissions for Lex, then it’ll all blow over. No harm done.” He looked from Lex to her. “Whatever happens between the two of you, well, that’s between the two of you. Fair?”

“All right,” Kelly said, noticing that Lex was keeping his eyes on the remains of his cake. “I suppose I can stay here for the night. I don’t have anything with me, though.”

“Don’t worry,” V said, moving to refill her travel mug for at least the third time since Kelly’s arrival. “I’ve taken care of everything. I put you in the Meadowlark suite. Alexander, perhaps you could show her and help her settle in while I speak with Dillon?”

Kelly didn’t miss the sharp look that Lex gave his housekeeper, which only lasted long enough to dissolve into a blush that was little more than a flash of color. “Of course,” he replied, swallowing the last bite of his cake without chewing. “I’d like to get out of this monkey suit and take a shower.”

“I wouldn’t mind a shower too.” Suddenly Kelly found the expectant eyes of everyone in the room on the two of them. “If that’s okay.” Fuck, she sounded like a little kid asking for an extra piece of candy.

“I’ll take you up, then,” Lex said.

Almost before Kelly knew what was happening, he had pushed back his chair and moved to pull hers out.

There was a little gasp from Cookie, and something whispered under Dillon’s breath that she couldn’t hear, but clearly she and Lex were the center of attention.

“What?” Lex said, giving everyone a jaundiced eye. “I do know how to behave around women, even if I don’t entertain them very often.”

“Like never,” Dillon said with a bit of a tease in his voice.

Lex flipped him off again, and his PA chuckled.

“Doesn’t anyone around here have anything to do?” Lex said over his shoulder as he nodded Kelly out of the kitchen.