Lightning Strikes (Hudson 2)

He did the same. "Pleased to meet you."

His wife appeared in the entryway, wiping her hands on a lace apron and smiling at me.

"This must be Rain," she said softly. She did have beautiful eyes, I thought, so vibrant and intelligent.

"Yes. Rain, my wife Leanna."

"How do you do," she said. "Alexandra, would you show Rain to the sitting room. It's such a nice day," she told me, "I thought we'd have our tea in the garden."

"Yes, it is a nice day. I've learned to cherish them while in London," I said and both she and my father laughed.

"Getting used to English weather was the hardest thing for me, too," he said. "Even harder than the driving, not that I do all that much. We have a rather good public transportation system here, as I'm sure you've discovered. I'll be right along," he added. He looked to Alexandra who waited for me to follow her into the sitting room.

It was a cozy, yet elegant room with a rustic cottage feel. Fresh flowers were in vases on every table. The walls around the fireplace were covered with books, mostly leather bound, on built-in polished paneled shelves. All of the walls were painted coral with a group of china plates displayed on the wall to my left. The furniture was done in a floral chintz with a large butler's table in the center. There were two Oriental rugs adding a splash of color to the glossy wooden floor. A panel of lace curtains was drawn over the bay window which faced the street. I immediately thought to myself that this was where Lemma had spotted me watching the house.

I smiled at William, who stared at me intensely. "Please, have a seat," Alexandra said, indicating the settee.

I did so and she sat in the chair across from me. William continued to stand and stare.

"Sit, William," Alexandra ordered. "And it's not polite to stare," she added.

He looked away quickly and sat. He was dressed in a pair of slacks and a crisp white shirt. His hair was neatly brushed back with a prominent part on the right. I thought he was very cute and well on his way toward being a handsome young man.

Alexandra took after her mother with the same small facial features, hair color and eye color. She wore a pink and white dress and had her hair woven in a tight French braid.

"How long have you been in England?" she asked me.

"A few months."

"I hope to go to America soon, especially New York City."

"You're not going soon," William corrected sharply.

"I hope to," she said. "Daddy says we will go before too much longer."

"He said in a few years."

"Well, that's not too much longer, is it? Our father has relatives in New York. Once a cousin came here. He was much older."

"And fatter," William added.

"William," she barked, glaring her chastisement at him. Then she turned to me and shook her head as if she was years and years older than he was. "My brother speaks before he thinks sometimes. Maybe, most of the time," she added, glaring at him once more. She turned again, her posture remarkably perfect.

"How old are you?" I asked her.

"I'm twelve and William is eight, although he often behaves like a two-year-old," she fired in his direction. He screwed the corners of his mouth in tightly. She turned back to me. "Daddy says you're studying to be an actress."

"I'm in a school for the performing arts. I don't know if I will ever really be an actress."

"Daddy says you have to want something with all your heart before you set out to do it or you'll never succeed," she replied.

"He's right about that."

"I'm going to be a big game hunter and live in Africa," William declared. "With relatives."

"We don't have relatives in Africa. I keep telling him that, but he insists that we do because some friend of his at school told him our daddy's family comes from Africa. They did come from Africa, but that was very, very long ago, William."

"What do you think?" he asked me.