- Alternative
Steele4/2
- Shocked silence greeted Daniel's
announcement. Bannister's three cousins looked at one another
before Trevor Bannister, the eldest of the three, spoke in a
cultured voice that revealed his Oxford education.
"Are you QUITE certain that's her, Mr. Chambers?" he
asked.
- "Yes," his sister Rachel
agreed. "You've no idea how many times someone told our
poor cousin that they had found his daughter, only to be dreadfully
wrong." She was a tall, raven haired beauty, her manners
impeccable.
- "It's her," Daniel
informed them. "The tests have all been done, and everything
checked out." He placed his briefcase on the table and opened
it, bringing out some papers.
- Handing them to Trevor, he said,
"As you can see, Mr. Bannister, her blood type is AB-, just
as Annabelle Bannister's was. She was adopted as an infant -"
- "What about the birthmark?"
Clarence Hartford asked. He was a nervous little man, as fair
as his cousins were dark, who wore thick round lenses in wire
frames.
- "She has it, verified by
a doctor -"
- Trevor glanced up at him. "Where
did you find her?"
- "In the United States,"
Daniel told them noticing Rachel lift her perfectly sculpted
brows in a show of distaste. "She was working in a diner
-"
- "A- diner?" Clarence
repeated, clearly unfamiliar with the term.
- "A small, VERY informal,
eating establishment," Trevor clarified. "And just
WHERE is she now, Mr. Chambers? You would think, with her father's
death - IF she's really Annabelle -"
- "Oh, she is." Daniel
consulted his watch. "They should be arriving any moment.
Annie wanted to stop off at the Tower of London-"
- Trevor looked even more uncertain.
"THEY?"
- Daniel lifted his shoulders.
"Her fiance is with her. I should warn you that Annie is
a bit-" he paused, as if searching for the right word. "Rough
about the edges. " He saw Rachel roll her eyes as the front
door chime signalled for the butler's attention.
- Jarvis, the very correct and
proper English butler, opened the front door and frowned upon
seeing the petite, brown haired, gum chewing young woman clad
in denims and a tight sweater that had obviously seen better
days. She was accompanied by a tall, dark haired man who was
wearing what appeared to be motorcycle leathers. "May I
help you?" he asked in his most disapproving tone, which
was usually more than enough to dissuade anyone begging money.
- "Yeah, Jeeves," the
girl said in a crude, loud voice. "Is this Ainsley Bannister's
place?"
- "It WAS," Jarvis confirmed.
"Mr. Bannister passed on early this morning- May I ask what
business-"
- The man with her put a finger
into Jarvis' chest. "Look, Guv, I'd suggest you be nicer
to the lady. She's goin' t'be signin' your payslip from now on."
- Jarvis winced at the Cockney
accent as he heard Daniel Chambers' voice. "Annie. Do come
in."
- Jarvis stepped aside to allow
the couple entry, ignoring the man's glare. He closed the door
and retreated to the kitchen.
- "Didn't think the dragon
was going to let us in," Laura said, her eyes moving around
the hall before she gave a low whistle. "This is SOME place,
right honey?"
- Her companion had wandered over
to look at a painting on the wall, and when Laura called, Harry
turned around, brushing his elbow against a vase nearby. It wobbled,
then started to fall, saved only by Clarence's quick grab. "You
clumsy lout," Trevor said. "That vase is worth over
a million pounds. You might've broken it."
- "Cool off," Harry said,
then frowned at the vase that Clarence still held in his arms
like a baby. "Million pounds, eh?" He winked at Laura.
"Imagine the beer and chips that would buy, luv." Then,
turning to Clarence, he said, "'Ave a care that someone
doesn't nick off with that."
- Laura put her arm around him,
resting her head on his shoulder, then looked at Trevor. "Guess
you must be one of the cousins, right?"
- Daniel came forward as he saw
Trevor drawing visably away. "Trevor Bannister, his sister,
Rachel, and Clarence Hartford. May I present Jimmy Dawes, and
Annabelle Bannister."
- "That remains to be seen,"
Trevor commented, barely taking Laura's hand before releasing
it.
- "Everything is QUITE in
order, Mr. Bannister, I can assure you," Daniel said.
- Harry retained hold of Rachel's
hand a bit longer than was necessary. "'Aven't I seen you
in a pub somewhere? I remember. The Bull and Blood -"
- Rachel pulled her hand away,
her expression haughty. "I seriously doubt it."
- Laura wandered into the main
parlour, eyes full of wonder, and Harry, noticing she was gone,
called, "Annie - where're you going?"
- "To look around, of course."
- "If you'll wait, Miss,"
Trevor said, "I'll be more than glad to give you a tour
later- I'm sure you and your- friend are tired from you trip
from America-"
- "Not at all," Laura
told him, but Harry put his arms around her waist from behind,
and lowered his head to kiss her neck. She giggled. "On
second thought, maybe it might not be a bad idea to see what
our room looks like, right Jimmy?" He grinned lecherously,
and Laura twisted in his arms to meet his lips.
- Trevor rang for the butler. "Yes,
Mr. Trevor?" Jarvis asked, managing not to look in the direction
of the couple still locked in each other's arms.
- "Show the young lady and
her -friend up to the blue room, please. And open the green room
for Mr. Chambers."
- "Whatever you think best,
sir," Jarvis said, clearing not approving of anything. He
turned toward the door, then stopped as he realized that the
couple wasn't following him.
- Daniel cleared his throat loudly,
causing Harry to lift his head. "Sorry. Got carried away,"
he said, but his eyes were void of any real remorse. He winked
at Rachel, then followed Laura from the room.
- "This won't do, Mr. Chambers.
I want to see those papers again. She can't possibly be Cousin
Ainsley's daughter."
- "She's the right age,"
Daniel pointed out, returning the papers to him. "The colouring
is right -"
- "But she's so- crude,"
Rachel said.
- "You have to realize that
she was raised in America from the time she was an infant by
lower class parents."
- "How did they get her?"
- "I haven't been able to
trace any involvement on their part with the kidnapping. Certainly
they never had any of the ransom money. Annie swears that her
adoptive father worked as an automobile mechanic until he was
killed after a car fell on him when she was sixteen, and that
her mother, who died when she was fourteen, worked cleaning other
people's houses. They scarcely had money to pay the rent and
buy food. It was after her mother's death that she went to work
in a diner to help with household expenses."
- Trevor frowned, angry, as Rachel
looked at him. "Well, Trev? What do you think? Is she really
-"
- His lips thinned. "Apparently
so. At least, according to these reports, she is. But I shudder
to think about that young woman in charge of Ainsley's estate.
Especially with that - man - Perhaps she could be pursuaded to
accept someone else's guidance -"
- "I shouldn't try to come
between Annie and Mr. Dawes," Daniel warned. "I made
that mistake after I first met him. She's - quite attached to
him." He rubbed his cheek, as if remembering her slap across
his face. "In fact, she threatened to tell him that I was
attempting to cut him out if I mentioned it again."
- "Who IS he?" Rachel
asked, and Daniel rubbed his hands together, seeing the look
of interest in those eyes.
- "I haven't completed my
investigation into his background," he told her.
- "How on earth did they meet?
He's obviously not American."
- "He used to race motorcycles,
I believe. Left England in some sort of scandal a few years ago.
He was injured in a race, happened to stop into the diner where
Annie was working - "
- "Does he DO anything now?"
- "Not that I've seen- unless
you count taking bets on sporting events."
- "He's a BOOKMAKER?"
Trevor exclaimed, clearly put out by that news.
- Daniel shrugged. "Either
that or a drug dealer. And since he hasn't enough money to be
doing the latter, I assume it's the former."
- Clarence sat down heavily. "What
are we going to do, Trevor?" he asked in a shaking voice.
"They'll destroy everything it took Cousin Ainsley so long
to build."
- "Shut up, Clarence. I'll
think of something."
- Daniel closed his breifcase and
bowed slightly. "If you will excuse me, I think I'll go
to my room and rest. It was a long flight, and I'd hoped to be
here in time to introduce Annie to her father." He took
Rachel's hand and bowed over it. "Allow me to again offer
my deepest condolences."
- "Thank you, Mr. Chambers."
- "If there is anything I
can do, just let me know."
- "I will." She smiled
at him, watching him leave the room. "He's quite charming,
isn't he?"
- "He's a male. ANY man is
charming to you, Rachel," Trevor ground out. "If you'll
please turn your attention back to OUR little problem -?"
- "I don't see that there's
anything we can do, Trev," she pointed out, sinking back
into a chair. "According to everything that Mr. Chambers
discovered, that woman upstairs IS Annabelle. We'll simply have
to -"
- "Stand back while she does
as Clarence so WONDERFULLY pointed out and destroys everything?
Over my dead body," he declared. "I wonder what she
would do if she were to find her 'friend' in a compromising situation
with another woman?"
- Rachel shook her head as she
caught his meaning. "No, Trev. He's an - animal. So crude
and -"
- "And exactly your type,
dear sister. I'll detain dear little Annabelle this evening while
you take Dawes out to show him the garden. Shouldn't be too difficult
to get him into your clutches, Rachel. His type isn't very choosy."
-
- Upstairs, Laura grinned widely
as Harry locked the door behind them. Pulling her into his arms,
he spoke in a low voice that couldn't carry beyond the door,
just in case Jarvis was lingering out there. "You're very
good at this."
- "So are you," she told
him. Looking behind him, her eyes widened as she saw the huge
canopied bed.
- Harry turned to see what was
causing that expression, and smiled. "Care to check it out,
Annabelle?" he asked, sweeping her off her feet into his
arms and stepping onto the raised platform which held the bed.
During dinner in the main dining hall, Laura maintained a steady
stream about how terrible the service was, how slow it was taking
for the servants to get the food to the table. "They certainly
wouldn't get a tip from me, let me tell you. Right, honey?"
she asked Harry, who was sitting to her right, his eyes focused
on the expanse of white flesh exposed by the low cut gown of
Rachel Bannister. She slapped him on the shoulder to get his
attention. "Jimmy-"
- He winked at Rachel, who quickly
lowered her eyes to her plate. "Did you say something, luv?"
he asked. "Sorry. My mind was on something else -"
- "I KNOW what your mind was
on, honey."
- "The servants don't expect
a tip, Annabelle," Trevor pointed out. "They're paid
quite handsomely to do their job."
- "I'll have to check into
THAT," Laura said. "I don't think they're earning their
wages."
- She emptied her glass of wine,
then, realizing that there was no one there to refill it, she
turned toward the kitchen door. "I need some more wine!"
she called out, and even Daniel winced. He sent her a look not
to overplay TOO much, but Laura simply smiled back at him. "Who's
been in charge of things while the old man was so sick?"
she asked, drawing a shocked gasp from Clarence.
- "Annie, please," Daniel
said. "Some respect -"
- "Sorry. It's hard to be
sad that someone's dead when you never even knew they existed
until a few days ago."
- Trevor sighed. "I was taking
care of things for Cousin Ainsley during his illness," he
informed her. "If you would like, I could show you some
of the books after dinner- if you think you'll understand them
-"
- Harry gave a loud laugh. "Annie
'ere's been taking care of the diner's books for a couple of
years now, right luv? She could probably show YOU a thing or
two."
- "I'll look forward to it,"
Trevor said, but his voice revealed something less than excitement.
-
-
- As Trevor led Laura into the
study, followed by Clarence and Daniel, Rachel touched Harry's
arm. "You're just going to bored in there," she told
him.
- Harry grinned at her. "You
got something else we could do?" he asked, his eyes moving
over her.
- "Thought we might- go for
a walk in the garden. It's really very lovely in the moonlight."
She saw him look toward the closed study door. "Unless you're
afraid of what Annabelle might say -"
- Harry narrowed his eyes. "What
Annie doesn't know can't 'urt 'er, can it?"
- "No, I suppose not,"
Rachel said. "This way."
- Harry followed her into the garden,
but didn't spend any time appreciating the layout, the flowers.
Instead, he pulled Rachel into his arms and kissed her. He could
feel her fighting with herself not to respond to him, but as
his lips became softer, more caressing, her arms slid around
him. "I've been watching the way you looked at me all evening,"
he told her. "I knew you fancied -"
- Rachel opened her eyes. "I
really should slap you," she told him, but she made no move
to leave his arms.
- "Go a'ead," Harry dared
her. "But be sure you're ready for me to pay you back."
-
- Clarence stood beside Laura,
pointing out something in the ledger that Trevor had opened before
her. Laura's eyes widened and she whistled. "This is more
money than I've made in all my years at the diner," she
told them. "And it costs this much just to keep this place
running?"
- "Y-Yes," Clarence told
her.
- "I don't think it should
take THIS many people," Laura insisted. "Jimmy, honey
-" she looked up, suddenly realizing that "Jimmy"
wasn't there. "Where's Jimmy?" Her eyes moved around
the room. "And Cousin Rachel? Where is she?"
- "I believe she's probably
in the garden. She usually spends her evenings there," Trevor
said. "I've no idea where Mr. Dawes has gotten to. I just
hope he hasn't stolen the silver," he muttered to Clarence
as Laura turned toward the doors and went to the open doors that
led to the garden, bursting out into the quiet night. She heard
a soft voice, followed by a deeper one, and moved in that direction,
coming upon Harry and Rachel sitting on a bench, engrossed in
each other.
- "I might have known,"
she sneered.
- Harry's head came up, his eyes
filled with humor. "Annie, luv. Rachel was just showing
me the garden-"
- "I KNOW what she was showing
you," Laura said, moving toward Rachel with fire in her
eyes.
- Rachel rose slowly, her eyes
wide, and moved behind Harry to stand back, near her brother.
"Trev. DO something."
- Laura's eyes narrowed. "Keep
your blue blooded hands off of him, do you hear me?"
- "I didn't so anything,"
Rachel insisted. "I invited him out here to show him the
garden, as he said. He -"
- Harry tried to grab Laura, but
she brought her hand up to slap his face. "And YOU - "
- Daniel covered his mouth to hide
his smile. Laura hadn't pulled that punch one ounce. He should
have warned her that Harry tended to immerse himself in a role,
he supposed. Without another word, she turned and ran back into
the house.
- "Annie, luv!" Harry
called after her. "I can explain - Annie!" he insisted,
following her.
- Rachel was shivering. "I
thought she was going to kill me."
- Daniel put a comforting arm around
her shoulders. "I don't think she would have done anything
that drastic," he said. "Why don't we go inside out
of the night air?" he suggested.
- She leaned against him. "Thank
you, Mr. Chambers. You're so kind."
- "Well, it's quite easy to
be kind to you, my dear," Daniel told her, knowing that
her brother and cousin were close behind.
- As they passed the stair, they
could hear Harry yelling at the top of his lungs. "Annie!
Annie, you let me in there, or so 'elp me, I'll break this bloody
door down!" His threat was followed by the sound of his
fists hitting the door. "ANNIE!"
- "Maybe we should do something,"
Clarence said, swallowing heavily. "Call the police, perhaps?"
- "Don't be such a ninny,
Clarence," Trevor said. "I'm not going to have the
local authorities spreading the word that Cousin Ainsley's daughter
is involved with someone like that."
- "Alright, Annie! You asked
for it!" There was the sound of something hitting the door,
then Harry swearing loudly.
- Everyone below heard the door
to Laura's room open and her voice as she said, "Are you
all right?"
- "No, I'm not bloody all
right!" Harry exclaimed. "I think I may've broken my
shoulder!"
- Their voices faded, and the door
closed again. "So much for that plan, Trev," Rachel
said, seeing the look of anger on her brother's face. "Apparently
she's going to take him back."
- "We'll just have to try
something else," Trevor decided. "Mr. Chambers, have
you gotten any further word on Dawes' history?"
- "I'm still waiting for the
results," Daniel said. "I'm expecting a call from my
operative tomorrow at the latest."
- "All we can hope is that
he's wanted somewhere and get him away from her. I think without
his influence, we might be able to control Annabelle -"
He saw Daniel's expression.
- "Perhaps control wasn't
the correct term. Turn her into a proper heiress for Cousin Ainsley's
estate. As soon as you find out anything, Mr. Chambers -"
- "I'll be certain to let
you know," Daniel assured him.
-
- The grandfather clock in the
hall struck once, and Clarence jumped as he surveyed the books
on the library shelves. So much had happened today that he was
wide awake. A sound from the doorway caused him to look in that
direction, and he felt the blood drain from his face as he saw
Annabelle leaning against the frame, clad in a very flimsy, short
robe. Her brown hair was tousled, her lips swollen. "Having
trouble sleeping, Cousin Clarence?" she asked in a sultry
voice.
- Clarence held the book before
him like a shield. "I - I was just looking f-for s-something
to read," he managed to say as she came toward him, backing
him against the shelves.
- "Cousin A-Annabelle -"
- "What's wrong, Clarence?
Do I make you nervous?" Laura asked, noticing that the man's
glasses were starting to fog over. She reached up and took them
off.
- "Wh-Where's - your fiance?"
- "Jimmy? Sleeping it off.
Had a little too much to drink at dinner, I think. Never could
hold his liquor." She slid her arms around his neck and
pulled herself against him. "I got lonely -"
- "You should get a book to
read -" Clarence said, feeling lightheaded. Her robe had
opened a bit, revealing that she very likely didn't have anything
on underneath.
- Laura shook her head, smiling.
"I have a much better way of getting to sleep, Clarence,"
she told him. "Shall I show you what I mean?" When
he didn't move, Laura stood on her toes to press her lips to
his, then ran her hands down his chest.
- "Cousin!" Clarence
said, finding the strength to pull away from her and start backing
toward the door. "I don't think this is a good idea."
- "Of course it is, Clarence.
You can't sleep, neither can I -"
- Clarence grabbed his book and
started toward the door again. "No, I-"
- "You're forgetting something,
Clarence," Laura said in that voice again.
- Clarence turned around to find
her VERY close - and his glasses dangling from her fingers. "Th-Thank
you," he said, taking them and putting them back on.
- She placed a finger on his chest.
"You're sure I can't convince you to stay for awhile?"
She glanced at the long table behind them.
- The man's eyes widened. "You
mean- <here>?"
- "Why not? I've always wanted
to make mad, passionate love in a library. This is pretty close,
isn't it?"
- Clarence was out the door in
a flash, leaving Laura standing in the middle of the room, smiling
after him. Turning off the light, she went back upstairs, only
to find Harry awake and waiting for her.
- "How did it go?" he
asked.
- "He ran like a scared rabbit.
He'll probably tell Trevor all about his close call first thing
tomorrow morning." She unfastened the robe and dropped it
on the end of the bed before straddling his legs. "I wonder
how much longer this is going to take?"
- "The last time Daniel and
I did this, it was almost six weeks before the cousins decided
to get rid of me."
- "Six weeks? I don't know
if I can keep this up for that long. We'll just have to find
something that will make them really desparate to be rid of me."
She ran her fingers through the hair on his chest, and then a
slow grin spread across her face.
- "What's that about?"
Harry asked.
- "I was just picturing their
reaction if they walked into the library and found us making
love on the table in there."
- Harry pulled her down on top
of him. "I'll keep it in mind," he told her before
covering her mouth with his.
-
-
- "She did <what>?"
Trevor asked Clarence.
- Clarence shrank from his cousin's
tone. "She tried to - to seduce me. In the library, last
night."
- Trevor moved away. "It wasn't
enough that she brought that - man into this house. Now she's
no better than he is. A common little guttersnipe-"
- "What are we going to do,
Trevor?" Clarence asked, jumping as the door to the study
opened and Harry burst into the room.
- "There you are, you little-"
He came toward Clarence, backing him into a corner and then lifting
him but the front of his shirt.
- "I - I "
- "Put him down-" Trevor
said, but Harry ignored him. Daniel and Rachel appeared in the
doorway.
- "You stay away from my woman,
little man. Or I'll break you in 'alf next time I 'ear you've
been messing around with 'er. You got that?" He shook Clarence
for good measure.
Clarence nodded, obviously terrified. Harry released him and
left the room, giving Rachel a glance as he did. Clarence nearly
slid to the floor before Trevor caught him and helped him to
a chair. "The nerve -"
- "I was coming to tell you,
Mr. Bannister," Daniel began, coming forward, "I just
finished speaking to my operative. Jimmy Dawes left England six
years ago after being accused of killed another man in a drunken
brawl over a motorcycle fight. The charges were dropped, but
he decided to leave for greener pastures, as it were. He went
to the states and began racing there on a limited basis - until
an accident ended that. Since then he's not kept a steady job.
He likes to drink, and has an eye for the ladies."
- "No warrants for his arrest,
then?" Trevor asked.
- "I'm sorry. He's not wanted
for any crime, apparently."
- "He just threatened Clarence,"
Trevor reminded him. "We can't allow this to continue. There
has to be someway to get rid of them - to make her withdraw her
claim on the estate-"
- "She'll never do that,"
Rachel insisted. "You heard her at dinner last evening.
She's already planning to redecorate -" She shuddered at
the memory of the ideas Annabelle had put forth.
- "I might be able to help,"
Daniel said into the quiet room. All eyes turned toward him.
- "Mr. Dawes doesn't like
the idea of Annie's remaining here. He's worried that she'll
decide she doesn't need him. With sufficient incentive, he might
be able to pursuade her to return to America, give up all future
claim to Ainsley Bannister's estate. Of course, she'll need something
as well -"
- "You're suggesting that
we pay them off?" Clarence asked, his eyes wide behind the
thick lenses. "Trevor, is that a good-"
- "Shut up, Clarence. It might
be the only way out of this mess. I mean, can you just see the
sort of people they'll have tracking in here? Can you imagine
trying to introduce her to society? It would be a disaster. We'd
be a laughingstock throughout England - if not farther afield.
How much do you think would do the trick, Mr. Chambers?"
- "A quarter of a million
for him- and half a million for her. American dollars. And there's
<my> fee, of course."
- "Trev-" Rachel objected
as her brother looked thoughful. "You can't seriously consider-"
- "What choice do we have,
Rachel? I suppose cash would be best, is that right, Mr. Chambers?"
- "Oh, indeed. Less questions
that way."
- "Very well." Trevor
Bannister quelled the looks his sister and cousin were giving
him. "I'll make the arrangements. IF Dawes can convince
her to leave before the funeral this afternoon, then we have
a deal."
-
- Harry let Daniel into the bedroom.
"Well?" he asked softly.
- "They've taken the bait.
Now it's up to Jimmy Dawes to convince his Annie to leave and
go back to America before Ainsley Bannister's funeral this afternoon."
He smiled at Laura and Harry. "Think you're up to it?"
- The couple smiled at each other.
"I think so, Daniel," Laura assured him.
-
-
- She came downstairs dressed in
a black leather mini skirt, see through black nylon blouse, black
stockings and heels. Rachel, wearing a conservative black sheath,
felt her mouth open in shock. "You can't mean to wear that,
Cousin Annabelle. It's a funeral. Not a visit to a singles bar."
- Laura looked down at her clothes.
"Is there something wrong with it? It's black, isn't it?"
- She grinned at Clarence, sidling
toward him. "Don't you like it, Cousin Clarence?" she
asked, laughing as he scurried away, his eyes meeting Harry's
ice cold blue ones.
- Harry took Laura into his arms.
"I like it, Annie," he told her, then frowned when
she pulled away.
- "You're going to muss my
hair, Jimmy," she protested.
- "You never worried about
your 'air before we came 'ere," he reminded her. "I
don't like the way you've been changing, Annie."
- "I haven't changed, Jimmy,"
she insisted, putting her hand on his chest that was covered
by a tight black tee-shirt tucked into equally tight black leather
pants. "You're still -"
- "I don't think I am. I think
we should go back to America, luv. Just you and me. Like it was
before that fancy tec found you and filled your 'ead with dreams
of being rich."
- "Don't you want to be rich
too, Jimmy?"
- "Not if it means losing
you -" he said, glaring at Clarence again. He pulled her
into his arms and kissed her long and hard. "I'm going 'ome,
Annie. You can either come with me, or stay 'ere. But if you
stay, you'll never see me again -"
- Laura looked at him for a long
moment. "I can't just walk away now, Jimmy. I-"
- "I have a paper you could
sign," Trevor said quickly, "stating that you make
no claim on Cousin Ainsley's estate after recieving a settlement
of half a million American dollars."
- "Half a mil?" Laura
repeated, then whistled before putting her arms around Harry.
"Think we could manage on half a million, honey?"
- "I think we could,"
Harry told her.
- Laura turned back to Trevor.
"Okay. Where do I sign, and when do I get the money?"
-
-
- Harry opened a bottle of champagne
as they sat in Daniel's house in London, pausing in pouring the
effervescent wine as Laura asked, "What's next?" while
she watched Daniel count the money once again before dividing
it up three ways.
- "Next, we take a little
trip - get out of London for awhile. I'm going back to the villa.
The two of you are welcome to join me-"
- Harry shook his head, lifting
Laura's hand to his lips. "Thank you, Daniel, but Laura
and I are going to the Greek Isles for at least a week."
- Daniel gave them their share
of the take. "You did very well, Laura. Exceeded my expectations."
- "Thank you."
- "You have a natural talent
for this. If you'd come along when you were younger, -oh well
-" He lifted his glass. "To Laura's first con-and her
success."
- Harry and Laura both drank. "If
it hadn't been for Harry playing such a crazy character, it wouldn't
have worked," she reminded him. "To you, Harry. And
to Jimmy Dawes." She smiled at him. "I think I'm going
to miss him, just a little."
- Harry bent to kiss her quite
throughly as Daniel emptied his glass. "Well, I'm going
to go pack. I'll see the two of you when you return." He
wasn't sure they heard him. He sighed, then left the room, closing
the doors behind him. Laura might just work out after all.
- Seeking Mary out, he suggested
that she not disturb Harry and Laura, then told her he was going
to the villa for a while.
- When Harry lifted his head, Laura
realized that she was laying on the divan, with Harry on top
of her. "Harry - " she said as he kissed her brow.
- "Hmm?"
- "Is there a long table in
the library here?" she asked, and saw Harry smile.
- He pulled her to her feet and
out into the entryway, passing a beaming Mary. "We'll be
in the library, Mary," he told her. "Reading."
- Mary heard the key turn in the
lock, then heard a soft, feminine giggle before she returned
to her kitchen domain. She could forgive Laura for her meddling
in Daniel's past -as long as she kept kindling that light in
Harry's eyes.
-
- To Alternative Steele5 Part
1
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- Original content ©2001
by Nancy Eddy