Reluctant Deception - Cambria Smyth Page 0,13

in.

The hallway was quiet, except for the sound of her footsteps echoing off the marble tiled floors. She stopped by the butler's pantry to announce her arrival to Mrs. McElroy, but found the room empty. Thinking the friendly woman might be discussing something with Christopher Darnell in his office, Libby made her way over to the former dining room and peeked inside.

He was seated at the table with his back to her, gazing out the French doors past the overgrown brick patio to the river beyond. One of the doors was open, allowing a gust heady with the scent of spring to fill the room, rustling the plans and blueprints lying in front of him.

She could barely see his face, but it was obvious he was deeply in thought, contemplating something important or disturbing. Although his arms were casually draped on the arms of the chair, both fists were tightly clenched as though he were fighting an invisible foe. To Libby, he appeared cold, threatening, and unreachable.

Summoning all the courage she could find, Libby knocked lightly on the open door.

"Come in, Miss Reed," Chris called out to her without turning around. The words were spoken brusquely and with authority as he waved a hand at one of the side chairs, indicating for her to sit down at his right.

Libby looked at Chris expectantly, waiting for the words of discovery she knew to be on the tip of his tongue. Deceiving him from the beginning was a risk she had to take, but now she felt great remorse; it really wasn't in her nature to lie to anyone and if she had to, she would confess the truth. Hopefully, he would still let the historical society use Harte's Desire for its fundraiser. She would step down as chair, issue a public apology, do anything to ensure his continued permission to use the mansion. Restoration of the schoolhouse must not suffer because of any rivalry between the two of them.

Feeling somewhat better about how she would cope with the ordeal ahead, Libby watched Chris collect his thoughts before speaking.

"Miss Reed, er, Elizabeth, I'm glad you could meet with me today on such short notice."

He watched her settle into the straight-backed chair and noted silently how pretty she looked with her hair down, how much larger her brown eyes seemed when framed by masses of golden waves. It occurred to him that she would look great no matter what she wore and with unaccustomed restraint he stopped himself from imagining her lovely body with no clothes on at all.

"Your secretary made it sound like a matter of some urgency," Libby replied, trying to keep her voice steady. She hid her hands under the massive dining room table so he couldn't see their trembling.

"Yes, I had a very upsetting phone call this morning from the state Office of Historic and Natural Resources." He paused as her eyes widened in recognition of the name. "Do you happen to know anybody in that office?"

Dear heaven, Libby thought with an inward groan, she knew everyone there. Her work often involved buildings owned or regulated by the state and all of her National Register nominations were reviewed by that office. Someone must have told Chris about her.

"Yes, I know some people who work there." It was the truth. Not exactly the whole truth, she chided herself, but as much as she wanted to divulge. "Why?" she queried, mentally preparing for the onslaught to come.

"I had a long discussion with the head of that office today, and I received some very bad news," he exclaimed tersely.

Libby started to panic at his words. This was going to be worse than she envisioned. He was going to drag this out, take his time, like a cat toying playfully with the mouse before devouring it in one ferocious swallow.

"And just what were you told?" she asked, hoping he’d come right to the point.

"I was informed that before I can demolish Harte's Desire, I have to provide them with thorough documentation of the building as it now exists."

A deep frown settled on his face as he addressed her.

"They want to have a record of it for their files, they say. Interior and exterior photos, written descriptions of the rooms and furnishings. They even want," he paused to look through the notes he had taken, "a history of the building and a statement of its significance, whatever the heck that is. They acknowledge they can't prevent me from razing the building, but they're making