as casually as possible. “I think Meredith said you’ve been here for almost thirty years?”
The housekeeper nodded, meeting Jillian’s eyes with a small, polite smile. “Yes, that’s right.”
“So you must have known Kathleen Sutton.”
“Mrs. Sutton is the one who hired me. I came here when she did.”
“Oh, really?” Jillian said as if she didn’t know. “Where are you from originally?”
For the first time, Grace hesitated, the pause long enough to be noticeable. “Philadelphia,” she said.
Jillian wondered about her reluctance. Was it that she simply didn’t want to share anything personal, or was there something particular about that piece of information? “Is that where Mrs. Sutton was from, too?”
“Yes.” Grace quickly turned her attention back to her plate.
“I’d love to hear more about her and Jacob. His love for her is so inspiring. It would be great to find out more about them as a couple.”
Jillian almost wondered if she imagined the way Grace seemed to tense, the reaction so slight it was nearly imperceptible. “They loved each other very much. They were very happy here.”
“What was she like?”
Grace appeared to consider the question. “She was very kind,” she finally said, her voice softening in a way Jillian had never heard before. “Quite beautiful as you could see from the portrait in the main hall. Generous. Well liked. Well loved. And, I suppose...irreplaceable, really.”
It was a strange choice of words, especially toward someone who’d been her employer. Irreplaceable. It almost seemed to indicate attempts had been made to replace her and come up short.
Studying the woman’s downcast eyes, it occurred to Jillian that, as the head of the household, Grace herself had essentially been Kathleen Sutton’s replacement. In every way but one.
And that was when Jillian knew.
Grace had loved Jacob Sutton.
Her choice of that word and the way she said it told Jillian everything she needed to know. It made sense. Grace had stayed here for thirty years in this isolated location, taking care of him, never leaving to have a family or life of her own away from here, away from him. Loyalty to her employer could only explain so much.
Jillian remembered the way Grace had been staring at the portrait of Jacob Sutton yesterday. Was that the reason for the look on her face, because she’d been in love with him? If it was true, it would seem her affections hadn’t been returned, especially if Jacob had spent his final years sitting on that balcony, thinking about his late wife.
A Sutton man loves forever.
Maybe a romantic sentiment to some. But not for someone in love with a Sutton man who would forever love someone else.
“What about you?” Jillian asked. “Do you have any family?”
“No,” Grace said flatly.
“Thirty years is a long time. You never wanted to live anywhere else? Try a different job?” Love someone else, especially since Jacob Sutton was gone?
Grace lifted her head. Her face never shifted, the slight, enigmatic smile still on her lips, her expression as cool and composed as ever. No one else in the room would have seen the change. Only Jillian, who was staring directly into Grace’s eyes, could have seen the hardness that entered her stare as Grace looked back at her with a sudden coldness that chilled her to the bone. “This is my home.”
“And we’re glad to have her,” Meredith said finally into the silence that followed.
“Of course you are,” Jillian said. “I’m sorry,” she told Grace. “I didn’t mean to pry.”
The woman smiled thinly, meeting Jillian’s eyes with a look that said she knew perfectly well that was exactly what Jillian had been doing.
The door to the kitchen suddenly swung open, and Rosie emerged, carrying a tray with four bowls on it. Ed followed close behind her. “Who’s ready for dessert?”
“I’m not sure any of us have room after that meal,” Meredith said with a smile. “Rosie, you outdid yourself.”
Rosie practically glowed at the praise. “Well, no meal is truly finished without dessert, so you’d better have room. I made a nice rice pudding.”
The husband-and-wife team began moving around the table, Ed taking the used plates and utensils and placing them on the tray he carried, Rosie following closely behind and setting a bowl and clean spoon in front of each of them.
“I do apologize, though,” Rosie said. “I was going to bake a cake, but Ed didn’t come back from town with the sugar I asked for.”
“I’m afraid I forgot,” Ed said lightly, a hint of sheepishness in his voice as he took Jillian’s plate.
“Even though I