I stood in the bedroom trying to figure out where to put things because there were no closets. Eventually I figured out that the wall with a bank of four triple rosewood armoires was there for a reason.
I heard myself say, “Duh,” out loud.
Each of the armoires had space for hanging clothes on either side of a stand of drawers with pretty brass pulls and there was no smell of decay that sometimes accompanied old furniture. Someone had thoughtfully provided a selection of wood and felt-covered hangers.
I was committed to one night. I fished out clothes to wear to dinner, shook them out, and hung them up. Everything in my luggage had that strange travel smell and I wished I could launder it all. It was a nice day. So I decided to take the dress and jacket I was planning to wear to dinner down to the garden and hang them out in tree branches.
The scene of my clothes hanging from the trees brought a smile to my face. It struck me as fanciful and fun and I was sure they were having a better time than they ever had with me. I was thinking that, since the space was walled in, there would never be a breeze, but when I turned to go back inside, I felt a breeze ruffle my hair.
“Huh,” I said out loud. Again, talking to myself as I was trying to imagine how that was possible. Science hadn’t been my favorite subject in school, but I was pretty sure that air didn’t make a habit of moving around in an enclosed space without cause.
CHAPTER TWO Jodhpurs and Jugular John
Keys in hand, I decided to lock up and walk around to the front of the shop as opposed to going through the door that connected the store to the residence. I slipped the keys in my pocket and cinched the scarf tighter around my neck because the air had a little more chill than earlier. When I turned the corner, I couldn’t help but notice a striking bay mare tied to a hitching post by the green. Her coat gleamed like it was someone’s full time job to brush her.
I walked into the store. Maggie was nowhere in sight, but the place wasn’t empty. A man turned when I entered and closed the door. He was bona fide, daytime series, tall, dark, handsome, and wearing a riding costume. His face was a sculptor’s dream and as void of expression as if it had been carved in stone.
“Hello,” I said with a slight nod.
He stared but made no reply.
After an awkward pause, I said, “Are you a customer?”
“No,” he replied.
His eyes were so dark I couldn’t discern where pupil ended and iris began. They were also hypnotic, so much so that I almost missed the fact that I was in the middle of an awkward pause. After a slight internal shake, I said, “Do you need help?”
“No,” he replied, continuing to stare without blinking.
My exasperation was growing in direct proportion to my self-consciousness and the rate at which I was running out of questions. It had been a long time since a handsome gentleman had found me mesmerizing to the point of being speechless. Okay. So that had never happened, but what’s imagination for?
I decided the best course of action was to call on snippy Rita. I didn’t know why he was staring, but it wasn’t a prelude to flirtation. The phrase ‘out of my league’ came to mind. Because the man was odd, but devastatingly attractive.
“Well, perhaps you’d tell me why you’re standing in the middle of the shop?”
At long last he blinked, which was a relief because I was getting worried about his eye health.
“Perhaps. Perhaps not,” he said in English, but with a trace of accent that gave away foreign origin.
I didn’t especially care for that answer no matter how Valentino he might be. “The thing is, this is a business. We sell things here. So unless you want to buy something…”
“What if I simply required help with directions?”
“Do you need directions?”
“No.”
“Is this a game?”
His face might have altered to allow for a ghost of a smile, but it was hard to tell. His eyes finally left me long enough to scan the premises and come to rest on the statue of Eros.
“How much for that?” he asked, pointing at the archer.
I hoped there was a price tag since I didn’t know any more about it than he did. A quick check and