“And you do it very well,” Jared said, smiling at her.
She handed him the basket of flowers. “Put some outside her door. Do you know how to make pancakes?”
“I know how to drive to Downyflake.”
“Good enough.” Toby walked back to the greenhouse, checked the thermometer, and turned out the lights.
“How’s your love life?” Jared asked. “Weren’t you dating … Who was that?”
“The eldest Jenkins boy, and ‘boy’ is the key word.”
“I used to date a cousin of his. She was—” He didn’t finish that thought.
“Not someone you’d take home to meet the family?”
“Toby, you’re a born diplomat. Can’t Lexie fix you up with someone?”
“I’m fine,” Toby said. “Really, I am.”
“Waiting for Prince Charming?”
“Aren’t all women? And you’re waiting for Cinderella.”
“Actually,” Jared said slowly, “I’m rather hoping to find the Evil Queen. I think she’d be much more fun.”
They laughed together.
Chapter Six
When Alix awoke, her first thought was to wonder if Montgomery-Kingsley had left the island yet. Has he gone back to his pickup and his project that’s being constructed from a plan in a magazine? she thought. She couldn’t help feeling a resurgence of anger at his lies.
She got out of bed and glanced at the tall portrait of Captain Caleb, but she didn’t really see it. No feathery kisses this morning.
She went into the bathroom to shower and wash her hair. Now what do I do? she wondered as she lathered. Being lied to by HRH Montgomery shouldn’t make any difference to being on Nantucket. Before she came, she hadn’t even known he was on the island. And never in her life had she thought that she’d meet the man in person. Of course she’d planned to apply for a job in his firm, but so had most of the other students.
She got out of the shower, blow-dried her hair, pulled it back, put on a touch of makeup, then went back to the bedroom to get dressed. The clothes Izzy had bought for her were still in their bags in a corner of the room. She emptied one from Zero Main onto the end of the bed, opened the tissue paper, and couldn’t help smiling. The clothes were simple, and of the most exquisite fabrics she’d ever seen. How very Nantucket, she thought. Just like the houses. There were two shirts, a knit top, a scarf, black linen trousers, and a box containing some turquoise earrings.
“Might as well go out and see this island,” she said aloud and glanced at the big portrait. “What do you think, Captain? The blue shirt or the peach one?”
Alix wasn’t surprised when the collar on the blue shirt moved. It had been folded so it made sense that it would go back into place. But Alix preferred to think that the Captain had done it. “Thanks,” she said. Just thinking that she wasn’t alone in the big house made her feel better. That her housemate had died over two hundred years ago wasn’t something she was going to think about.
When she was fully dressed, she took a breath and opened the door. The first thing she saw was a daffodil on the floor. Under it was a large white envelope.
Her first thought was that her dad had sent it to her. Second thought was that maybe Eric had found her.
Opening it, she saw the distinctive lettering that came from years and years of drafting.
Please accept my apology for the misunderstanding.
Jared Montgomery Kingsley VII
Alix stared at the note. The seventh! Who had a name that was the seventh one?
But of course, his name wasn’t the issue. Last night he had flat-out lied to her about what he did for a living. He’d known she was coming and that she was a student of architecture, so he’d done everything to keep from talking to her about what they both loved.
There were more flowers on the stairs and she picked them up one by one, and by the time she got to the bottom, she was smiling. She took them into the kitchen, knew where the vases were kept, and filled one with water. The cheerful daffodils looked lovely on the kitchen table.