Another Grave Matter (Christian cozy mystery) by Higman Anita

Author:Higman, Anita
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Forget Me Not Romances, a division of Winged Publications
Published: 2015-03-05T05:00:00+00:00

22 – An Intricately Orchestrated Plan

“I’m sorry.” I’d never made a man cry before, so I felt shocked that I had done such a dreadful thing. I wanted to reach out to him, but I wasn’t sure if that was appropriate. “Are you okay?”

The count put up his hand up with a flourish. “I will recover momentarily.”

I waited until he’d gotten his emotions under control. Then I said, “I do apologize.” Should I call his bluff or let the man alone?

He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and patted his eyes. “My dear Miss Walker, I have a confession to make.”

“Oh?”

He took a sip of his coffee and then looked at me. “I am a count legally, but the honor was acquired through the services of a business enterprise that specializes in offering such titles for certain. . .monetary sums.”

“Meaning you bought it on the Internet.”

He winced.

I leaned forward in my chair, my interest growing. “If you don’t mind me asking, what’s your real name?”

“I used to be Lou Maroni, but even though I didn’t inherit a title, I am still legally Count Maroni and hope to be referred to as such.” He kept his tone polite, almost agonizingly so.

“And you’re not really from Belgium then.”

“I’m from Arkansas.” He held up his finger. “But I did love your grandmother. In fact, she was the sole reason for my purchase of the title.”

“And what purpose could that possibly serve?”

“Actually, I had met Minna once before. . .briefly. When she paid no notice of me, well, I did whatever I could to impress her. Love does that. . .makes fools of us all, I suppose.”

“Granny never liked people who put on airs.” I straightened my shoulders. “So, I’m afraid you wasted your money.”

He picked up his cane and tightened his palm around the ivory elephant. “Well, I won’t argue that point, since I don’t want to insult your grandmother’s integrity or your superior opinion. For whatever reason, the second time we met, a closeness formed right away. It was heaven, and I’ve never recovered.”

I took several sips of my beverage just to give myself something else to do besides writhe in anger at the man for his deception. If Granny were alive, she would have walked away from him faster than he could say, “Count.” She had compassion, and she had generosity, but she had no patience with fools. “If it’s all right with you, I think I’ll go home now.”

“Please allow me to say one more thing.”

I nodded. “All right. One more thing.”

“Except for a friend or two over the years, I’ve spent my life alone. No wife. No children. I can’t tell you how I was looking forward to having a wife and a granddaughter. Marrying Minna would have been the highlight of my entire life, and it would have meant having a family and a house again.”

“A house?” He must have meant Volstead Manor. Granny had sold all her other homes and had lived in an apartment toward the end of her life.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.