Matched Steele

Part Thirteen

Mildred looked up from her desk as Remington Steele and Daniel Chalmers came from the former's office. "We're going to lunch, now, Mildred," Remington informed her. He took out his watch, checking the time. "Laura's supposed to meet us at L'Ornate once she and her mother finish with the seamstress."

"Okay, Mr. Steele," Mildred nodded, smiling.

Remington paused, his blue eyes narrowing slightly. "Is that a new hairstyle, Mildred?" he asked at last.

The receptionist lifted a self conscious hand to touch her new 'do. "Why, yes. It is."

"Suits you," he decided, turning toward the other man. "Don't you agree, Daniel?" he asked.

Daniel's smile practically oozed charm. "Oh, indeed, my boy. Indeed," he agreed, winking at Mildred as Remington turned away.

Remington's smile faltered a bit when he saw who was standing just inside the glass doors. "Murphy?" Recovering quickly, he held out his hand. "You're here earlier than expected. Laura was going to meet you at the airport tomorrow afternoon -"

"I took an earlier flight," Murphy explained, giving Remington's hand a perfunctory shake. "I wanted to talk to you before I see her."

Remington studied him carefully, trying to gauge the depth of the water. "I see. Uh, Daniel, you remember Murphy, don't you?"

"Of course," Daniel agreed, holding out his hand as well. "Laura's former partner, right?"

"Chalmers," Murphy said, barely shaking the older man's hand as he gave him a disapproving glare.

"And this is Mildred," Remington said. "Mildred Krebs, Murphy Michaels."

"Miss Krebs," Murphy said, turning his attention back to Remington. "Can we talk, Steele?" He glared again at Daniel. "Alone?"

"Of course, of course. My office?" he suggested, waiting until Murphy was out of earshot before turning to Daniel. "Why don't you go on ahead and meet Laura, Daniel? I'll try to catch up later."

"You're certain, Harry?" Daniel asked. "I can wait-"

"No. This might take awhile." He moved toward the door, looking, Mildred thought, like a man about to do battle. She watched the doors close behind him, thinking that she'd finally had the chance to meet Murphy Michaels. All American, clean cut, boy next door type- and not all Laura Holt's type, thank goodness.

"Mildred?" Daniel said. When she didn't respond, he tried again. "Mildred?"

She smiled at him. "Sorry. I was just thinking about -"

"I know. Why don't you join me for lunch?" he suggested. "I do hate to eat alone."

Mildred didn't have to be asked twice. She grabbed her purse and stood up, taking the arm he offered. "Let's go."

**********

Remington stood by the closed door, watching Murphy studying the pictures on the wall behind the couch. "Now, Murphy. What can I do for you?"

Turning to face Remington, Murphy said, "You can start by convincing me that Laura's not making a mistake by marrying you."

"Some things never change, do they, Murphy? You never learned to trust me, never even gave me the chance to earn your trust. You simply wrote me off as a con man, a thief, who would ultimately break Laura's heart."

"That about sums it up," Murphy agreed. "You'll never be the man that Laura deserves, Steele-" he began.

"I'm aware of that, Murphy," Remington admitted in a quiet voice. He moved toward his desk, a thoughtful expression on his face. "As hard as it may be for you to believe, I love Laura." He glanced around in time to see the skepticism, but still he pushed on. "I would never do anything to purposely hurt her- or make her unhappy. Laura is the best thing that ever happened to me. She gave me a name, a chance to start my life over doing something important, and I can never repay her fully for that." When Murphy didn't speak, Remington asked, "If you distrust me so much, Murphy, why did you leave her three years ago?"

Murphy shrugged. "I'd gone as far as I could with Laura," he explained. "She really didn't need me as a partner anymore. She hadn't for a long time, truth be told. Besides, she had you: the great detective, Remington Steele," he said, sneering.

"I had no idea that your- resentment of me went so deep, Murphy," Remington said.

"It's not - resentment," Murphy said. "It was- jealousy," he admitted, obviously against his will. Seeing Steele's frown, he tried to explain. "I spent four years at Havenhurst, working my tail off, learning how to be a detective. You walked in here and learned in a few months what it took me years to master." He sighed, shaking his head. "And then there was Laura herself."

Remington's blue eyes were on the other man. "You were in love with her, weren't you?"

Murphy sat down, elbows on his knees. "From the first day I met her, I thought she was something really special. But she never saw me as more than a friend - a big brother. I hoped, after she and Wilson Jeffries split up - " he shook his head. "But she threw herself totally into her work - never taking time for a personal life. I was just starting to make some headway with her, I thought, convincing her to go out for pizza or a burger on the weekends, take some time for herself -" He looked up at Remington. "And then there you were, bigger than life. Hell, that first evening, Laura accepted a bottle of champagne from you-"

"It was a magnum," Remington corrected automatically.

"The point was, she'd always told me that she didn't like champagne. Suddenly she was spending all of her free time with you. I knew she'd fallen- hard-"

"And you didn't want her to be hurt when I walked out of her life the same way her father and Wilson had," Remington guessed.

"Yeah."

Remington met his gaze squarely. "I'm still here, Murphy," he said quietly. "It's been four years - and I'm still here. I'm not going anywhere - unless you count walking down the aisle with Laura in three days."

Murphy looked up at him. "You really do love her, don't you?"

"Yes, Murphy. More than anything on the earth." He waited, watching the expressions that flitted across Murphy's face, and then remained where he was as Murphy rose and held out his hand.

"Okay. I'm convinced." He grinned, but there was a decided glint of hardness in those eyes. "But if you ever do anything to make that lady unhappy-"

Remington shook the offered hand. "I'll consider myself warned."

Murphy stepped back. "Now what's this Laura was telling me? That Daniel Chalmers is your long lost father?"

"Why don't you join us for lunch?" Remington suggested. "And I'll explain on the way?"

**********

"Are you free to have dinner this evening, Mildred?" Daniel asked as they finished their meal. "Harry and Laura have planned a quiet evening -" Of course, with young Michaels' early arrival, Daniel thought, those plans could change. He hoped not. Due to a series of events: he and Harry moving to Malibu, Laura's mother's arrival and insistence upon staying with her younger daughter, Harry and Laura had been able to spend precious little time together. And Daniel had noticed the rising frustration with the situation on both of their faces. "Harry put me onto a charming little Italian restaurant-"

"What time?" Mildred asked, looking past him to find Laura entering the dining room - accompanied by her mother. "Uh-oh," she muttered. She and Abigail Holt hadn't hit it off from the start. It wasn't just that they both wanted Daniel's attention, Mildred reasoned. Laura's mother seemed to resent Mildred's being included in the wedding plans.

"What is it?" Daniel asked, seeing her frown, and then turned, rising when he saw the two women approaching the table. He gave Laura a kiss on the cheek. "Laura, dear." His gaze turned to Abigail Holt. "Why Abigail. What a delightful surprise," he said, pulling out a chair on his left, Mildred already seated on his right.

Laura smiled tightly. "When Mother found out that I was meeting you and Remington for lunch, she simply insisted that she join us," she explained. The morning had not gone well. Abigail had managed to criticize every choice she'd made- even the wedding dress hadn't been good enough- and it had belonged to Laura's Grandmother Holt. Now, she sent Daniel and Mildred a look of apology as she sat across the table. "Hello, Mildred."

"Miss Holt. How'd the fitting go?"

"Don't ask," Laura said, shuddering.

"Really, Laura," Abigail scolded. "You sound as if you were being forced to do something against your will." She picked up her menu. "Mildred. I'm surprised to see you here. Who's watching the office?"

Mildred very nearly asked what business it was of hers, but she bit her tongue. "Mr. Steele was there when Daniel and I left, Mrs. Holt," Mildred informed her.

Laura frowned. "Remington didn't come to lunch with you?"

"He was going to," Daniel told her. "But someone arrived just as we were leaving and asked to speak to him."

"About a case?" Laura asked, seeing a way out of having to spend anymore time with her mother. She rose slightly. "Maybe I should -"

"I don't think it was a case, my dear," Daniel quickly assured her. "Harry will no doubt be along any moment, I'm sure." His eyes met hers. "Don't go." Laura hid her smile at the hint of desperation in his voice. Being caught between Mildred and Abigail was beginning to get to him, apparently.

"As a matter of fact," Mildred pointed out. "He just walked in the door."

Laura didn't look directly at Remington, but instead noticed the heads turning in his direction as he moved through the room. Mostly female heads, and Laura smiled, glad that he was all hers- she finally moved her gaze to him, then gasped as she saw who was with him. "Murphy?" she said, getting up as they stopped at the table. "Murphy!" she said again, throwing her arms around his neck. "You weren't supposed to arrive until tomorrow," she reminded him. "Unless I've missed a day." She looked at Remington. "Please tell me that I haven't missed a day?"

"Not at all," Remington assured her, indicating that Murphy should take a seat between Laura and her mother, then pulled a chair from a neighboring table to place it between Laura and Mildred. "Murphy just decided to come out early, isn't that right?"

"Yeah. Finished a case, decided it was as good a time as any -"

"You look wonderful. Denver must agree with you."

"Whoever said you can't go home again was wrong," Murphy assured her. "Mrs. Holt."

"Murphy. It's good to see you again."

"Same here." He nodded at Daniel and Mildred.

"Where are you staying?" Laura asked him.

"I took a room at the Hilton," he said.

"I'm so glad you're here, Murphy."

He looked at her, and smiled. "So am I, Laura."

Daniel put his napkin on the table, and rose. "If you will excuse Mildred and I, she has to get back to the Agency- and I have some errands to run this afternoon. -"

Abigail turned a surprised look in Daniel's direction. "You're leaving?"

"Sorry, my dear. I'll see you later," he assured her, bending to take her hand for a moment.

"Don't forget that appointment with Mr. Barrington at two fifteen, Mr. Steele, Miss Holt."

"We'll be there, Mildred," Remington assured her, picking up his own menu as the waiter approached to remove Daniel and Mildred's empty plates. He noticed the way Abigail followed Daniel and Mildred's progress toward the exit.

"I don't know why you put up with that woman, Laura," Abigail sighed. "She's rude -"

"Mildred is an invaluable asset to the Agency, Abigail," Remington explained, studying the menu. "In irreplaceable, intregal part of what makes Remington Steele Investigations the well oiled machine that it is." He smiled, closing the menu. "I think I'll have the fish -" he decided.

Murphy and Laura exchanged a glance. "You were right earlier, Steele," Murphy said.

"About what?"

"Some thing never change," he said with a broad smile.

**********

After lunch, Abigail took her leave to go and visit Frances in Tarzana, and Laura looked up at Murphy. "Why don't you come back to the office with us?" she suggested.

"Thanks, but- I've got some other people I want to visit while I'm here. How about dinner tonight?" he asked. "My treat."

"That would be-" Remington grabbed Laura's arm, breaking off her acceptance as he pulled her to his side.

"Now, Laura, love. We have that important meeting this evening, remember? The one that we've been planning for ages?"

"If you're got something else to do," Murphy began, eyes narrowed suspiciously.

Laura hated lying to Murphy. It wasn't something she'd ever been very good at. "Uh, well, -"

"We can do it tomorrow evening," Murphy assured her. "Unless you're tied up then, too?"

"No. No, I think we can manage tomorrow, can't we, Remington?"

"I'm sure we can," Remington said. "In fact, why don't you come out to the house for dinner tomorrow evening, Murphy?"

"I'll do that. I'm looking forward to seeing this house that Laura told me about. I can't quite picture you on the beach in Malibu, Steele."

"Yes, well, people change, Murphy."

He nodded, then gave Laura a quick hug, before turning to walk toward his rented car. Remington opened the drivers side door of the Rabbit, then realized that Laura was still standing beside the car, her gaze following Murphy's car down the street. "Laura?" he said. "Laura!" She jumped. "Are you going to get into the car?"

"Oh, yes. Of course."

He waited for her to close the door, then steered the small car into traffic. "Nice to see Murphy again, isn't it?"

"Hmm. Yes. It is." She turned her head to look at him. "What did he want to talk to you about at the office?"

"Old times," Remington assured her, smiling. "Would you really have accepted his dinner invitation?"

"I wasn't thinking," she admitted. "It was so nice to see him again - "

Remington downshifted. "Laura, were you ever in love with Murphy?"

She laughed. "In love with Murphy? No. No, I wasn't. Why?"

**********

Remington was basting the duck when the telephone rang. Realizing that Daniel wasn't going to answer, he frowned and juggled the potholders, baster, and oven door as he picked up the cordless telephone. "Steele here."

"Remington? It's Abigail."

"Hello, Abigail. What can I do for you?"

"Is Daniel there, by any chance?"

"Just a moment." He pressed the "Hold" button on the telephone, then lay the other items on the counter before going in search of his father. "Daniel-" he said, finding the man out on the deck. "It's Abigail."

He saw Daniel's sigh and grinned. "Don't envy you, mate," he muttered, as Daniel took the telephone.

"Abigail. To what do I owe -" He frowned. "This evening? Well, I - I've already made other plans, my dear -" He winced. "Tomorrow, perhaps?"

Remington turned back to the house, shaking his head. As he closed the sliding glass door, he heard the front door open, and moved in that direction. "Hello," he said, smiling as Laura removed her jacket and hung it on the coat tree beside the door.

"Hello," she returned, sliding her arms around his neck to give him a kiss.

When the kiss ended, Remington observed, "With a beginning like that, I think I'm going to enjoy this evening."

"I hope so," Laura teased, then turned her head toward the back doors as she heard them open. "Daniel's still here?"

"Umm," he told her, turning her toward the kitchen. "Your mother called."

"Oh." Daniel entered the kitchen from the other doorway to return the telephone to its cradle.

"Good evening, my dear," he said, obviously distracted. Then he frowned. "Is it that late already?" he asked, glancing at the clock. "Oh, my. I'd better go if I'm going to pick Mildred up on time."

"Fred should be out there with the limo," Remington assured him. "Enjoy your evening."

"Likewise," Daniel said, picking up his coat and leaving the house.

Remington opened a bottle of champagne as Laura's laughter filled the room. "What?"

"Poor Daniel. I think he'll be glad when this wedding's over and Mother goes home."

"I know Mildred's looking forward to that," Remington told her, pouring two glasses of the wine. "What shall we drink to?" he asked.

"How about - enjoying the evening?" she suggested, her eyes aglow.

"To enjoyment," he agreed, sipping his drink. "Dinner's almost ready," he told her.

"Smells delicious," she sighed, watching as he finished gathering ingredients for a salad. "Anything I can do to help?"

He grinned at her. "How about putting some music on the stereo," he suggested. He knew better than to ask her to help in his kitchen.

Laura lifted her glass and wandered into the living room to the stereo system and picked out something soft, easy to listen to. As she turned, Remington carried the salad into the dining room, then stopped to light the two candles, his eyes meeting hers across the room, and he smiled at her before going back into the kitchen.

The look he'd given her sent her temperature up by several degrees, and Laura took a drink of champagne. It was going to be a perfect night, she decided.

To Be Continued----