Benedict Hall by Cate Campbell

Author:Cate Campbell [Campbell, Cate]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Historical, (¯`'•.¸//(*_*)\\¸.•'´¯)
ISBN: 9780758287595
Google: tHfhNAEACAAJ
Amazon: 0758287593
Goodreads: 16035619
Publisher: Kensington
Published: 2013-05-27T18:30:00+00:00

Frank watched the old Negro’s face. It was odd to be sitting here, in this gleaming kitchen, with someone like Blake. He experienced an irrational urge to tell him everything. He wouldn’t, of course. He had been raised to keep his feelings to himself. Even at dinner with Margot he had been constrained by his sense that to reveal anything of his feelings was to show weakness. And he had no idea how people normally dealt with servants.

The hired men at home were like family—they slept in the bunkhouse, or at least Danny Jones had, before he died in France—but they ate with the family, attended church with the family, went along with them to weddings and dances and picnics.

Blake was different from the hired men Frank had known. There was something elegant about him. Something refined and appealing.

When Blake looked up from his coffee cup, the expression on his face was one of sympathy and some other, more complicated emotion. Frank had the fleeting thought that Blake looked ashamed. But that was foolish, of course. What would he have to feel shame over?

“Major Parrish.” Blake’s deep voice resonated in the high-ceilinged kitchen. “I’m very sorry about your post at Boeing. I was under the impression things were going well there.”

Frank shrugged. “Not well enough, it seems.” Again he felt that absurd urge to tell this kindly old man everything—about his dinner with Margot, his confusion, the damned flowers, the insult Preston Benedict had thrown at his sister. Of course he couldn’t do that. Blake was no doubt as loyal to Preston as he was to Margot and the rest of the Benedicts.

And Frank didn’t want Preston’s words to reach Margot’s ears. It could only hurt her to hear what her brother had said.

He looked away, fearing his weakness would show in his eyes. He fixed his gaze on the large aluminum clock hanging on the kitchen wall. “I’ll find another position.”

“Of course you will. I’m sure Mr. Dickson would be happy to help.”

Frank wasn’t at all sure that was true. Unless he could set things straight with Preston Benedict, he feared his friendship with the family would be at an end.

He drained the coffee cup, and set it on the table. He stood up, automatically smoothing his left sleeve into the pocket of his jacket. “Thank you for the coffee, Blake. I’ll let you get on with your day.”

Blake stood, too. “Before you go—could I ask you something, Major?”

“Of course.” Frank stood, his hand on the back of the chair, as Blake took both their cups to the counter.

Blake turned to face him. “There was a man here. A man who was with Mr. Preston in the war. I wondered if you might know him.”

“You mean Carter.”

“So you do know him.”

“Not well. He was Preston’s batman. And I saw him when I—that is, I saw him the other day. With Preston.”

Blake nodded. “He was here the other night, very late. He said he needed money.”

Frank raised his eyebrows. “He asked you for money?”

“He wanted me to wake Mr.

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