said in mock horror. “If I’d known you were looking…”
“Oh, you knew,” he growled. “Maybe when you come back, you could give me another peek at—”
“Sorry to interrupt,” Nora’s voice called, and we broke apart to find her head popping out of the Range Rover’s back seat, a low cry filling the air behind her. “But she’s not fond of her car seat.”
“On my way!” I ducked under Smith’s arm, throwing a kiss over my shoulder at him. It was the first time in weeks I felt like he meant his flirtations. He hadn’t chosen each word carefully. He hadn’t avoided touching me. I’d begun to worry that he didn’t see me the same way after Penny was born. It’s not like I could blame him for being tentative after that. Truthfully, I rarely found myself even thinking about things like sex these days. Why had I waited so long to bring Nora on? I already felt more like my old self.
That feeling fled from me as I climbed into the driver’s seat to discover Penny was no longer fussy, but pissed.
“Sorry, darling,” I called.
“I think I better stay back here,” Nora said. “She’ll calm down once we get going.”
I hesitated for a moment. I should be the one back there, trying to calm her down. What if she just got more and more upset? But more than anything I wanted today to be as normal as possible. She’d calm down like Nora said and I’d have a moment of normal for the first time in weeks, I decided as I shifted into drive and started toward the village. It was time to get back to the real world.
16
Smith
“Detective Longborn called,” Humphrey informed me as I stepped into the mudroom. The first time I tracked mud into the foyer I’d learned the hard way that this was Mrs. Winters’ house—I only happened to live here.
“What did he want?” I loosened the twin straps at the top of my boot, giving me enough room to yank it off. I left the pair of them on a berber rug by the back door. Shucking off my jacket, I ran a hand under the collar of my wool sweater to soothe the goddamn constant itching it caused.
“Apparently, there’s been some development regarding the situation in the wine cellar,” he said meaningfully.
“The bones?” I asked. I had barely thought about them in weeks. I’d been too distracted with everything else going on at Thornham to worry about someone else’s tragedy.
“He’d like to meet with you.”
I heaved a sigh. The trouble with living in the countryside was that people were constantly inventing drama out of sheer boredom. No wonder half the country’s television programs were about little old ladies solving murders in idyllic country towns. “I’ll phone him.”
I’d only gotten a few steps inside the kitchen when Mrs. Winters confronted me, a long wooden spoon resting ominously in her palm. If Belle thought the old housekeeper—who doubled as our cook, per her own request—disliked her, she hated me and did little to hide it. Part of me wondered what she had against me. At first I’d thought it might have to do with being Scottish, but she’d been warm enough to Rowan, who took pride in his heritage to a concerning level. I suspected she simply disliked working in a less than traditional household.
“Mrs. Winters, how are you?” I asked, doing my best to be polite as my patience wore thin. I’d had very little sleep last night. Belle had taken to sleeping through Penny’s cries until I shook her awake. At least, she was acting more like herself during the day.
“Well, that depends, Mr. Price,” she said in a stern voice, and I braced myself, “on whether my services are actually needed in this house?”
I frowned. There was no way we could keep on top of all this space, especially with a newborn demanding most of our attention. “Of course. You’re essential.”
“Then, you don’t like my cooking?” she demanded.
I blinked. “Your cooking is fine.”
“Then what time would you like dinner served every night?” she asked through gritted teeth.
I’d guessed it was about something as simple as this. Belle and I weren’t likely to start living a traditional country lifestyle anytime soon, not while her business was growing so swiftly or I was starting my own practice, but if we didn’t make some changes, we were going to have a mutiny on our hands. Rowan wanted to be left to do his work in peace.