Dead Cold Mystery Box Set 3 by Blake Banner

Author:Blake Banner [Banner, Blake]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: General Fiction
Amazon: B07HWYR4NR
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

TWO

We stepped into a vaulted, Gothic entrance hall. The floor was tiled in a black and white checkerboard pattern, and a magnificent stone staircase rose directly in front of us, and then split in two to ascend, right and left, to a galleried first floor landing. Immediately on our right was a reception desk and coming out from behind it as we entered was a man in his early thirties in chinos and a blazer, with blond hair swept back from a face that was intelligent, but too kind to be handsome.

He held out a large, soft hand and smiled as we approached. “Mr. and Mrs. Stone, I imagine. How splendid that you could join us. We have a full house this summer.”

There was no trace of an accent and I figured he had been educated at an English boarding school. We shook hands and he added, as though we had asked, “Charles Gordon. My father insists on calling me Junior, because he is also Charles. So we call him Senior. He’s an American, you know. Now!” He gave each of us a broad grin and held out his arms like he was about to hug us. “I imagine you will want to freshen up after a long journey. Brown will show you to your room and we’ll be having cocktails in the drawing room…” He gestured across the hall to a set of walnut doors. “At seven. Then you’ll be able to meet our other charming guests. We’ll be going in to dine at about half seven or eight.”

Dehan frowned. “Half seven?” Then she grinned. “What’s that, three thirty?”

Charles laughed.

I said, “Seven thirty, smart ass. Thank you, Charles, that sounds perfect. I’ve heard you have an exceptional range of whiskeys.”

“Second to none, old chap, and I’ll guide you through them with great pleasure. I’ve put you in the tower, in the honeymoon suite. I trust you’ll find it comfortable.”

The honeymoon suite was everything you’d expect from a Hollywood rendition of a Scottish castle. There was a gigantic mahogany four poster bed with drapes, there were gabled, leaded windows overlooking the formal gardens, a stone fireplace big enough to house a small family and vast, bare wooden rafters overhead. The walls were oak paneled and on the bedside table there was a silver bucket filled with ice, holding a bottle of Bollinger and two Edinburgh crystal glasses.

Once Brown had put our cases on the bed and left, Dehan stood looking around with a big smile all over the right side of her face. “Oh man,” she said. “Stone.”

I took off my jacket and she crossed the room to poke her head into the bathroom. “There is a free standing tub, with clawed feet and gold taps.” She turned and winked at me. “Open the champagne, big guy, we’re going to have a bath, Scottish castle style…”

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