Garden of Scandal by Jennifer Blake

Author:Jennifer Blake
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: MIRA Books
Published: 1997-12-16T16:00:00+00:00

She didn’t expect him the next evening until after ten, and she wasn’t disappointed. She had finally figured out that he waited for darkness to cover his approach. With it being Beltane—May Day in the old style, on the night of the full moon—he would have plenty of light to guide him when he returned for the evening. The secrecy seemed a little cloak-and-daggerish to her, but she didn’t mind. She was beginning to look forward to pretending to be nothing more than his employer all day, then letting him in at night like a secret lover.

She had lemonade ready, as well as some soft, buttery sugar cookies that Maisie had made that afternoon. They ate them sitting on the back steps, talking in a desultory fashion. He wanted to know if her housekeeper had said anything about his night vigil. Maisie hadn’t, as he was being so discreet, leaving no unmade bed, no extra plate and cup in the sink, nothing. Apparently no one had spotted his bike or seen him coming and going, either. At least, no whisper of gossip had yet placed him there at night. Warranted or not, Laurel had the comfortable feeling they were getting away with something.

She knew they shouldn’t press their luck, however, and so they didn’t linger where they might be seen. Laurel read for a time after she went back into the house—a fascinating medieval romance Maisie had recommended. But it wasn’t long before she turned out her light. She lay for a while, wondering if the porch floor under Alec’s sleeping bag was too hard, if he needed a pillow, or if he was too hot and could use the small electric fan in her closet. She could get up and check, and as a concerned hostess probably should.

Excuses. Ordering herself to stop and go to sleep, she flounced over onto her back and did deep-breathing exercises until she drifted off.

She was jarred awake perhaps an hour later. She was groggy with sleep, but alert enough to know something wasn’t right. Some sound lingered at the edge of her consciousness. She couldn’t quite grasp it, but knew full well she should not have heard it.

Heaving up on one elbow, she flung back the sheet that covered her and slid from the bed. Her caftan lay across the foot of the mattress, and she reached out to drag it on. Barefoot, sure of her way, she crossed the dark room, listened a moment at the door, then pulled it open and stepped into the hall.

At that instant, the knob of the front door turned with a discreet, stealthy rattle. She stiffened, going completely still as she recognized the same sound that had awakened her. Whipping around, she sped down the hall in the opposite direction. She put both hands on the back door as she eased it open, trying to keep the old-fashioned hinges from shrieking. As she slid out onto the porch, she could see Alec’s sleeping bag. It was empty.

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