Total pages in book: 143
Estimated words: 132834 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 664(@200wpm)___ 531(@250wpm)___ 443(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 132834 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 664(@200wpm)___ 531(@250wpm)___ 443(@300wpm)
I could forgive everything that had happened. Her accusations, the way she’d undermined me and enabled him. I could forgive, but I wouldn’t forget. I wouldn’t be fooled by Lydia’s hug and wide smile, but I could play the game long enough to find out why she was here.
Lydia led me to the table as we followed the hostess, and I sat compliantly in the chair she pointed to. Might as well let her have her way when it didn’t matter. I needed to hear what she wanted before I started to push back.
Our waitress came by, and Lydia gave her the same sunny smile she’d aimed my way, as if she couldn’t be more pleased with the world. “It’s a brisk day out there, isn’t it?” she asked, not waiting for an answer. “A perfect day for hot tea.”
“I’ll have the same,” I said. I needed the soothing familiarity of tea.
The waitress nodded and left. Lydia turned her attention to me, scanning me from the top of my head all the way to my booties, craning to the side to see around the table.
“That scarf looks nice on you,” she said finally.
“Thank you,” I replied, trying to force a polite smile. “You gave it to me for my birthday. Before Nicky was born.”
She hummed in the back of her throat, her eyes locked on my face, studying me so intently I had to resist the urge to wipe my nose and check my teeth. If I hoped wearing the scarf would soften her up, I was out of luck.
“You look tired. Are you still working in that hotel serving food?”
She said it as if she’d never heard of anyone being a waitress before. As if it were slightly distasteful, but she was determined to be nice about it.
“Not anymore,” I answered in the most polite tone I could manage. “Do you remember me telling you about Heartstone Manor?” I asked.
“Of course,” she said as our waitress set two teacups in front of us, and we selected our tea from a wooden box. After a brief look at the menu, we ordered lunch. I got the lobster bisque, a special I remembered from visits with my mother. Not that I’d be able to eat. Despite my outward calm, my stomach was still a tight knot of tension.
“Heartstone Manor,” Lydia said musingly. “Your mother used to be a maid there.”
I gritted my teeth, drawing in a slow breath, trying to get my temper under control. “My mother wasn’t a maid. She managed a forty thousand square foot historic home, housing over twenty-five people and a sizable staff,” I said stiffly.
Lydia took a sip of tea and didn’t comment. I ordered myself to relax. Lydia could poke at me all she wanted. She was trying to get the upper hand. That didn’t mean I had to give it to her.
Taking my own sip of tea, I swallowed, inhaling the calming scent of earl grey and lavender. It was the same variety we stocked at the Manor, blended by a local tea company. Remembering that anchored me. Lydia was the interloper here. We might be in Asheville instead of Sawyers Bend, but this was still my place, not hers. I didn’t need to let her push me around.
“My mother retired from her position at Heartstone Manor a few years ago,” I said. “The family patriarch passed away recently, and his heir offered me her job managing the house. It’s been a wonderful challenge,” I said truthfully, “And a fantastic working environment. Heartstone Manor is a beautiful house.”
“You grew up there, didn’t you?” she asked, as if she didn’t already know.
“I did.” I offered a blandly polite smile. If she wanted to act like we were strangers, I could play along. “I’ve always loved Heartstone. The Manor was neglected for a few years, and it’s been hard work getting it back into shape, but I’m enjoying it.”
“I’m sure you are,” Lydia said with a saccharine smile, “but what about Nicky? Is Nicky enjoying it? Living there as the son of the help? A second-class citizen?” She gave me a superior look, as if she’d scored a point. As if she understood anything about what that meant.
While being the housekeeper’s daughter had stung at times when I was growing up, I didn’t think Nicky would have any such problems. Griffen’s household bore little resemblance to Prentice’s.
I gave a genuine laugh, shaking my head at Lydia as if she was confused and not trying to be a bitch. “It’s nothing like that, Lydia. There are other young children in the house, so he has company and plenty to do. The family completely renovated a historic cottage on the grounds for us, and it’s absolutely beautiful. Nicky has a lovely room with his own bathroom, but he’s just a short walk across the lawn to his friends in the Manor. He’s enjoying his first year of real school—”