As You Wish (The Summerhouse 3)

“We’ll climb Pete’s Tower and see who it is. And if Young Pete is already there we’ll throw him over the side.”

The two of them took off running, going on the far side of Camden Hall to reach the tower that stood guard by the front gate.

Elise bounded up the stairs like a young colt, while Olivia followed.

At the top, Elise looked down the stairs. “You are never going to believe this!”

“What is it?” Olivia stepped onto the open platform. They could clearly see the cute little summerhouse. In front of it was a black town car, the kind that came with a driver. Ray was standing by the back door talking to a woman. Even from this distance they could see that she was very pretty, with lots of red-blonde hair, and she was round and curvy. Not at all fashionably thin.

At the back of the car, the driver was putting Ray’s big leather suitcase in the trunk and taking out a couple of bags that had an elegant brown on brown design.

“I’ll bet that’s Kathy,” Olivia said.

“If those are her cases, why’s the driver taking them out of the car?”

“Maybe she’s going to drive his car back to New York.”

“Then why doesn’t she drive him to the airport?” Elise asked.

Olivia shrugged and they watched Ray set his wife’s suitcases inside the house.

“She’s staying.” There was anger in Olivia’s voice. “He’s leaving that poor woman with us. How are we going to look at her without pity? She’s going to know something is up. We can’t hold in this huge secret.”

Elise narrowed her eyes. “He wants us to tell her. That SOB thinks he’s won us over, and now he’s giving us the job of telling her that her cheating husband wants to dump her.”

“There’s a gate on the other side of the pool. We can head him off on the street.” Olivia was the first one down the stairs and she almost outran Elise’s young legs.

The side gate was hidden by azalea bushes, but Olivia knew where it was. When the swimming pool had been put in years before, an exit had been cut into the wall.

Both women had to pull on the old door to get it open and when they heard the crunch of the car on the gravel drive, they became frantic. They burst through just as Ray’s car rounded the corner.

Elise leaped into the road in front of the vehicle, making the driver slam on the brakes.

The driver threw open the door. “What the hell do you think you’re doing? I almost hit you!”

When Olivia tapped on the back window, Ray lowered the glass.

“Olivia.” His voice happy. “I left you a note. I have to go to Australia. If I don’t, Bert will and we’ll lose the account. Listen, it was great meeting you two. You’ll have to come to dinner someday, but right now I have a plane to catch.”

Elise had come around the side and she shot her hand through the window to grab him by his necktie. Ray seemed quite amused by her action. “You left your wife with us!”

“I did. Kathy wanted to stay and I didn’t think you’d mind. You’ll be three ladies together and you can do lots of complaining about us men.”

Elise yanked on his tie. “You expect us to tell her, don’t you?”

“No.” His face was serious as he removed Elise’s hand. “I don’t want you to say anything. Just let her have a good time. Make her laugh. Take her out shopping.” He looked at Olivia. “Does this town have any stores? I know, take her to Richmond and you two can buy yourselves some things. My treat. Now I really do have to go.” He nodded to the driver.

“We can’t—” Elise began, but Ray was putting up the window and she jerked her arm back.

He waved to them, then he was gone.

As they went back through the gate, Elise looked at Olivia. “If I call my father, he’ll send men in white coats to get me. I’d alm

ost rather do that than face Ray’s wife. What about you?”

“I could go listen to Kevin and Hildy cry poverty. Hey! I could write them a check. It would be days before they were told it was insufficient funds.”

“That might make them so angry that they’d have you jailed.”