SEVEN
One thingyou could say about Lady Haverston and her granddaughter, Violet, was that they didn’t settle for anything less than the best. When the women flew, they went first class, and the cars they rode in cost as much as some small homes. Don’t even get her started about the hotels they checked into. The three-bedroom suite they’d returned to tonight was larger than Maddie’s first apartment. Far nicer too.
“My grandmother won’t budge about staying longer.” Violet dropped onto the sofa across from her.
Good.
Over the past six weeks, something close to a friendship had developed between Maddie and Violet. And it wasn’t uncommon for them to chat about various topics, especially when Lady Haverston wasn’t around. Maddie liked both women, and overall her time with them had been possibly the easiest assignment she’d had during her time with Elite Force. But she could only handle so many shopping trips, Broadway shows, and art exhibits—although, she wasn’t sure some of what they saw could be called art.
Paintings and sculptures were not her thing. Still, Benjamin Kress, who’d painted the pieces in the first exhibit they attended in California weeks ago, had been spectacular. Somehow, Kress had not only painted the models, but he’d captured their personalities. And Maddie understood why wealthy art collectors paid enormous sums for his work.
She couldn’t say the same about the artwork they’d viewed last night. Maddie had received better paintings from her niece Phoebe, who was a kindergartener. She suspected interest in Camila Kegan’s work had less to do with her talent, if you could call it that, and more to do with her last name. Grant Kegan, Camila’s father, was the president of the New York Stock Exchange. Camila’s grandfather, former Governor of New York Bob Kegan, was the current US Ambassador to the United Kingdom, and United States Congressman Ted Kegan was her uncle. If all those names weren’t enough to catch people’s attention, her uncle Jerry Kegan was one of the top ten movie producers in Hollywood, and her mom was the star of a popular long-running television drama. So yeah, Maddie would say the woman’s popularity had more to do with who she knew than what she painted on canvases.
“Do you have to go back with your grandmother?”
They were both adults, so even though they’d arrived together, Maddie didn’t see why Lady Haverston and Violet needed to leave together.
Violet leaned her head against her hand and sighed. “Unfortunately. Gran hates traveling alone. That’s part of the reason I came with her. If I don’t fly home with her on Friday, my dad won’t be happy with me.”
If Violet remained here, her grandmother wouldn’t be doing much traveling alone. Friday morning, Maddie would accompany the countess to the airport and stay with her until she boarded the private plane they’d charted to take them back to England. And Lady Haverston had no doubt arranged for someone to pick her up when she landed in London.
“My mom’s not a fan of doing it either.”
“Since I can’t stay, Callie, my cousin’s wife, offered to look at any places I’m interested in until I can come back.”
Maddie didn’t know why Violet felt it necessary to point out who she referred to. Even if she hadn’t met the woman weeks ago, Maddie would know Callie was her cousin’s wife. It’d been all the media could talk about when Violet’s cousin, Dylan Talbot, married President Sherbrooke’s daughter a few years ago.
“Hopefully, I can do that next month.”
“You’re thinking about moving here?”
New York City offered residents some things you wouldn’t find anywhere else in the United States. Perhaps even the world. Still, the city ranked relatively low on her list of places she’d want to live. It was far too busy and crowded.
“At least for a little while,” Violet answered. “Have you ever felt like you need a change but you’re unsure what kind?”
Who hadn’t? Most people, however, couldn’t pick up and move to another country. “Not recently, but yes.”
“I’ve felt that way for three or four months. Moving here feels right. My father won’t see it that way, of course. And I might not tell him until after I’ve purchased something. But I’m still going to do it.”
Maddie’s parents weren’t perfect, but they always supported her decisions. “Are you thinking house or condo?”
“Either. Callie’s going to look at a brownstone I like on East 19th Street. It looks brilliant in the pictures.” Picking up her cell phone, Violet brought up the real estate listing and then handed Maddie the device. “There’s also a condo in Callie and Dylan’s building that I’m interested in.”
When they’d visited Dylan and his wife, they’d gone to their estate in Greenwich, Connecticut, where the couple spent most of their time rather than their New York City penthouse. But Maddie imagined the condos in their building looked nothing like the ones most people in the city called home.
Maddie scrolled through the listing. Built in 1855, both the pictures and the price tag took her breath away—not that she’d expected anything less. All real estate in New York City, regardless of the square footage and number of bedrooms, was crazy expensive. It was just another reason she’d never want to live there.
“It looks gorgeous.”
No sooner did Maddie hand the device back than it rang. And after saying good night, Violet answered the call and disappeared into her bedroom.
Alone for the first time since she got dressed this morning, Maddie followed Violet’s lead and headed to her room. Unless an emergency occurred, she wouldn’t see either woman again tonight. So rather than switch on the television, she dug out her e-reader and headed into the bathroom so she could take advantage of the hot tub in there. Much like the full kitchen, the private bathrooms attached to each bedroom were just one of the hotel suite’s many luxuries.
Once submerged in the warm, bubbling water, she turned on the e-reader and returned to perhaps her all-time favorite novel. One she owned both paperback and digital versions of, and she’d read so many times she now skimmed over those scenes she deemed irrelevant. And no matter how many times she read it, Maddie loved the scene where the hero and heroine saw each other for the first time in five years. As she read, Maddie could imagine the young knight walking into the castle’s family chapel and seeing the woman he’d loved for years kneeling in front of a saint and praying.
Just as the heroine turned, expecting to see the knight’s younger brother, Maddie’s cell phone interrupted the silence and pulled her out of the story.
Groaning, Maddie dropped her head back and considered ignoring the text message until she was ready to get out. Since Ax knew she was out of state with the countess and her granddaughter and wouldn’t be back until tomorrow, the message probably wasn’t from him. Except for Lisa, who’d sent her a message earlier, her friends didn’t know she was out of town, so it could be one of them wanting to grab a late dinner. But if she didn’t get back to them right away, they’d assume she was busy and go about their evening. Then again, it could be Keith. She hadn’t heard from him since Monday. He’d left her a short voice mail letting her know he was headed to Miami on a kidnapping case.