think he’s English and she’s American, or maybe it’s the other way around. They met when they were both working for a big American hotel chain, and they quit and opened an English-style bed-and-breakfast in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Then they had a chance to buy Cuttleford House, so they sold the place in Bucks County and took a shot at it.”
I told her about the place, parroting back the better part of what I’d read in the brochure.
“It sounds great,” she said.
“It does, doesn’t it?”
“It really does, Bern. It’s a shame Lettice couldn’t have postponed the wedding a week or two. She would have loved it.”
“I’d have enjoyed it myself.”
“Well, sure. Who wouldn’t?”
I sipped my beer, set the glass down, leaned forward. I said, “You know what?”
“What, Bern.”
“Let’s go.”
“Just like that? Well, let me finish my drink first, okay?”
“Finish it and have another. I don’t mean let’s blow this pop stand. I mean let’s go to Cuttleford House.”
“Huh?”
“Well, why the hell not? I’ve got the reservations and I already sent them a deposit, which will probably turn out to be nonrefundable. Why don’t the two of us make the trip? You’re not planning on getting married a week from Thursday, are you?”
“Not that I remember, but I’d have to check my book.”
“I hate the idea of canceling the trip,” I said, “just because the person I was planning on taking happens to be marrying somebody else. But it’s not the kind of place I’d want to go to alone.”
“I know what you mean.”
“So what do you say?”
“I don’t know if I can afford it, Bern.”
“Hey, c’mon. It’s my treat.”
“Are you sure?”
“Absolutely. I thought that went without saying.”
“In that case,” she said, “I can probably afford it.”
“So is it a deal? Are we going?”
“Oh, what the hell,” she said. “Why not?”
CHAPTER
Three
That was Tuesday night. The following day Carolyn bought the sandwiches and we ate them at the bookstore. After she’d washed down the last bite of felafel with the last sip of celery tonic, she cocked her head and said, “About next weekend, Bern.”
“What about it?”
“Well, I’ve been thinking.”
“We’re still on, aren’t we?”
“I guess so, but—”
“But what?”
“Well, I’m a little unclear about something.”
“What’s to be unclear? We’ll leave here Thursday afternoon and be back sometime Sunday night. If you’re wondering what clothes to pack—”
“I’ve got that worked out.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
“I’d sort of like to know why we’re going.”
“Why we’re going?”
“That’s right, Bern. That’s where it gets a little unclear for me.”
“I know why I’m going,” I said, “and I thought I’d told you. I’m going because I had it all planned, had my heart set on it, and I don’t see any reason to let a perfidious anglophile leave me stranded. Another reason I’m going is because I need a vacation. I can’t remember the last time I got out of the city, and I’ve been putting in long hours in the store, not to mention the occasional off-the-books enterprise at night.”
“I know you’ve been working a lot.”
“That’s why I’m going. As for you, I figure you’re going because you want to keep your best friend company in his hour of need. And you’ve been working hard yourself. How many dogs got a wash and set from you the week of the big Kennel Club show?”
“Don’t remind me.”
“So you can use a break, and how often do you get a chance to do a good deed for a friend and get a free vacation in the bargain?”
“Not too often.”
“So now we know why I’m going, and why you’re going, and if you put the two together, they add up to why we’re going.”
She considered the matter. I crumpled up one of the sandwich wrappers and threw it for Raffles to chase, then gathered the rest of our luncheon detritus and put it in the trash. When I got back, Carolyn had the cat on her lap and a determined expression on her face.
“There’s more,” she said.
“More what? More lunch? More garbage? What are you talking about?”
“More to the story,” she said. “You know that bit about the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? Well, I think you’re telling the truth, and I think you’re telling nothing but the truth, but I don’t think you’re telling the whole truth.”
“You don’t, huh?”
“No,” she said, “I don’t. Maybe I should just shut up and go along for the ride, because you know what they say about looking gift whores in the mouth.”
“What do they say?”
“They say not to. But I