Page 38 of Intrigued
He bowed again. “And Miss Holly, a garage door opener will be placed on your nightstand during turn-down service.”
“Thanks,” I said, still smiling. “Oh, and William, could you please take the Miss out of Holly?”
He frowned. “I’m sorry. I don’t understand.”
“It’s just Holly, not Miss Holly.”
William pursed his lips. I waited for him to say something. The fact that he had something to say was in his eyes. To help him along, I raised my eyebrows.
“Ma’am, I appreciate your invitation for informality, but my job entails strict reserve.”
I respected the way he put me in my place. I nodded. “I understand.”
After one more bow, he walked down the hallway. I watched him until he was out of sight.
* * *
I needed to pace.After that last interaction with William, I had to rethink my next plan of action. I was kicking myself for having been in the house for two days without learning the location of everyone’s room. My glower fell upon the cabinet Jasper kept entering my room through. There was no need to question my judgment. Plus, exploring the mansion’s secrets had always lived at the back of my mind. So I switched my high heels for my running shoes. Figuring it would be cold in the dark hallways, I put on my long coat and grabbed my cell phone to use for extra light. Then I entered the cabinet.
The first roomI entered was some sort of parlor, which had two scarlet leather sofas with a lacquered coffee table between them. The room smelled faintly of cigars. There was no more to the space than that, so I quickly went back into the dark, chilly halls.
I was walking down a hallway on the second floor and stopped to press my ear against the next door. There was no sound, not even the faint noise of open space. Slowly, carefully, I turned the handle. I was starting to understand that there was a tight, dark space before each room of the house I was entering.
After clearing the darkness, I carefully entered another closet. I could hear a woman moaning and a man grunting. Two people were having sex. For some reason, my heart sank.Could that be Jasper and another woman?If he wanted to hurt me, banging another woman would do the trick, at least while I was still in the house.
“I love you,” the man said, grunting. He was definitely coming.
“I love you too,” the woman said.
I stood up straight. That was Bryn.What the hell?When I’d asked if she were seeing someone, she wouldn’t cop to it. I fought the urge to barge into her room and say, “Aha! Caught you.” But I couldn’t very well do that when I was sneaking through the hidden hallways of the Christmas mansion.
“Damn you, Bryn,” I muttered before shifting back into the hallway.
At the end of the hallway was another door. I discreetly turned the knob and crept into the darkness.
“You know what your fucking problem is? Randolph made you believe you control this whole fucking situation, and you don’t,” a man said.
“I control who comes in and out of this mansion,” Jasper said. “And you were uninvited.”
The other man laughed sharply. “I’ll own this fucking place if you keep fucking around with me.” He sounded like a wise guy.
I waited for Jasper to say something. Finally, he did, but his voice was so low that I couldn’t hear what he said. I pressed my ear to the door. That was when I heard him say “journalist.” Then he said my name. I closed my eyes tightly so I could really concentrate on his voice.
“You don’t think she knows who you are?” Jasper asked. “She sees you in here, and she’ll start asking questions.”
“That’s your problem, not mine,” the other guy said.
“It becomes your problem if I’m not good to you anymore, Art.”
There was silence again, the thoughtful kind.
“How’s he doing anyway?” the guy named Art asked.
“Not well,” Jasper replied. “He’s on his last leg.”
“Can I see him?”
“No.” Jasper’s tone was final. It was difficult to tell who actually had the power in their conversation.
