Stroke of Midnight by Bonnie Edwards

Author:Bonnie Edwards
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Carina Press
Published: 2011-08-23T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Six

Jaye tried not to gape at the half mile drive that wound through a series of gardens that fronted Alex’s Berkshire home. Carl drove Alex’s Bentley with sedate control. Intrigued by what lay beyond the last gentle curve in the drive, she held her breath. When she saw the elegant stone mansion it reminded her of old British movies where the staff rushed out to wait for the carriages of the fancy pants people coming home from the ball. “Why didn’t you tell me you own a castle?” Jaye demanded.

“Technically, it’s not a castle. It’s a country estate.”

Sheesh.

“Well honey, to someone who lives in the La La Land Mobile Home Park, this qualifies as a castle.” She barely restrained herself from pressing her nose against the window to gawk at the sheer expanse of the building. There were more windows on each floor than she could count. It looked more like a school or a dormitory than a house.

“It’s a good thing we’re not staying here longer,” she said. “If I had more than one night to deal with I’d probably wander down a hallway and never find my way out again.”

“There’s an intercom you can use if you get into a wing you don’t recognize.”

“There are wings?” No wonder the immigration people took his word when he vouched for her. He likely owned the land the airport sat on.

“Each side of the front door, and one straight out the back. It’s built like a T. The stables are behind the east wing and the kitchen’s at the base of the T.”

“Stables?”

“No horses, though. I don’t spend enough time here to ride them.”

She closed her eyes and saw her entire living room and kitchen combo in her double wide. She blew out a breath. No thinking. Not about this place, not about her own place. Not about his position in the world and certainly not about her own.

“You’d better show me how to use this intercom.”

He laughed.

“I’m serious. I’ll get turned around in there and never find my way out.”

“I won’t let you out of my sight. I promise.”

Carl stopped the car and climbed out to open the rear door for them. She took his hand and suppressed a giggle at the idea of alighting from a carriage in a long gown wearing a tiara.

Like that would ever happen.

Inside the front door, the staff lined up in uniforms awaiting inspection. Her fantasy wasn’t that far off after all. There was the butler who had opened the door, a cook, a couple of maids and a gardener at the end. His hands were rough, callused, but his eyes smiled kindly.

She smiled back. “Hi, how you doing? Mr.…?”

“Jeffries, Miss.”

She shook his hand warmly.

Alex was giving the butler some private instructions so she took a moment to look around the foyer. High ceilings, higher staircases that seemed to wind upward forever and landings on the two floors above. “A girl could get dizzy just looking straight up,” she said.

“Yes, Miss,” Jeffries said with an amused expression.

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