by Nora Roberts
"Ha! You'd as soon see Satan himself on the doorstep." Leaning on a glossy, gold–tipped cane, she marched across the threshold.
Max saw a tall, rail–thin woman with a mass of luxurious white hair. She wore an elegant white suit and gleaming pearls. Her skin, generously lined, was as pale as linen. She might have been a ghost but for the deep blue eyes that scanned him.
"Who the hell is this?"
"Urn. Urn."
"Speak up, girl. Don't stutter." Colleen tapped the cane impatiently. "You never kept a lick of the sense God gave you."
Coco began to wring her hands. "Aunt Colleen, this is Dr. Quartermain. Max, Colleen Calhoun."
"Doctor," Colleen barked. "Who's sick? Damned if I'm going to stay in a contagious house."
"That's a Ph.D., Miss Calhoun." Max offered a cautious smile. "It's nice to meet you."
"Ha." She sniffed and glanced around the hall. "Still letting the place fall down around your ears. Best if it was struck by lightning. Burned to the ground. See to those bags, Cordelia, and have someone bring me some tea. I've had a long trip." So saying, she clumped off toward the parlor.
"Yes, ma'am." Hands still fluttering, Coco sent Max a helpless look. "I hate to ask..."
"Don't worry about it. Where should I take her luggage?"
"Oh, God." Coco pressed her hands to her cheeks. "The first room on the right on the second floor. We'll have to stall her so that I can prepare it. Oh, and she won't have paid the driver. Tightfisted old... I'll call Amanda. She can warn the others. Max–" she clutched his hands "–if you believe in prayer, use it now and pray that this is a very short visit."
"Where's the damn tea?" Colleen demanded in a bellow and thumped her cane.
"Just coming." Coco turned and raced down the hall.
Pulling all her rabbits out of her hat, Coco plied her aunt with tea and petits fours, dragged Trent and Sloan away from their work and begged Max to fall in. Arrangements were made for Amanda to pick up Lilah and for Suzanna to close early and pitch in to prepare the guest room.
It was like preparing for an invasion, Max thought as he joined the group in the parlor. Colleen sat, erect as a general, while she measured her opponents with the same steely eye.
"So, you're the one who married Catherine. Hotels, isn't it?"
"Yes, ma'am," Trent answered politely while Coco fluttered around the room.
"Never stay in 'em," Colleen said dismissively. "Got married quick, wouldn't you say?"
"I didn't want to give her a chance to change her mind."
She almost smiled, then sniffed and aimed at Sloan. "And you're the one who's after Amanda."
"That's right."
"What's that accent?" she demanded, eyes sharpening. "Where are you from?"
"Oklahoma."
"O'Riley," she mused for a moment, then pointed a long white ringer. "Oil."
"There you go."
"Humph." She lifted her tea to sip. "So you've got some harebrained notion about turning the west wing into a hotel. Better off burning it down and claiming the insurance."
"Aunt Colleen." Scandalized, Coco gaped at her. "You don't mean that."
"I say what I mean. Hated this place most of my life." She shifted to brood up at the portrait of her father. "He'd have hated seeing paying guests in The Towers. It would have mortified him."
"I'm sorry, Aunt Colleen," Coco began. "But we have to make the best of things."
"Did I ask for an apology?" Colleen snapped. "Where the hell are my grand–nieces? Don't they have the courtesy to pay their respects?"
"They'll be along soon." Desperate, Coco poured more tea. "This was so unexpected, and we've–"
"A home should always be prepared for guests," Colleen retaliated with relish, then frowned at the doorway when Suzanna came in. "Which one is this?"
"I'm Suzanna." Dutifully she came forward to kiss her great–aunt's cheek.
"You favor your mother," Colleen decided with a grudging nod. "I was fond of Deliah." She shot a look at Max. "You after her?"
He blinked as Sloan struggled to turn a laugh into a cough. "Ah, no. No, ma'am."
"Why not? Something wrong with your eyes?"
"No." He shifted in his chair as Suzanna grinned and settled on a hassock.
"Max is visiting for a few weeks," said Coco, coming to the rescue. "He's helping us out with a little–historical research."
“The emeralds." Eyes gleaming, Colleen sat back. "Don't take me for a fool, Cordelia. We get newspapers aboard ship. Cruise ships," she said to Trent. "Much more civilized than hotels. Now, tell me what the hell is going on around here."
"Nothing, really." Coco cleared her throat again. "You know how the press blows things out of proportion."
"Was there a thief in this house, shooting off a gun?"
"Well, yes. It was disturbing, but–"
"You." Colleen hefted her cane and poked it at Max. "You with the Ph.D. I assume you can articulate clearly. Explain the situation, briefly."
At the pleading glance from Coco, Max set his unwanted tea aside. ' "The family decided, after a series of events, to investigate the veracity of the legend of the Calhoun emeralds. Unfortunately, news of the necklace leaked, causing interest and speculation among various people, some of them unsavory. The first step was to catalogue old family papers, to verify the existence of the emeralds."
"Of course they existed," Colleen said impatiently. "Haven't I seen them with my own eyes?"
"You were difficult to reach," Coco began, and was silenced with a look.
"In any case," Max continued. "The house was broken into, and a number of the papers stolen." Max skimmed over his involvement to bring her up to date.
"Hmm." Colleen frowned at him. "What do you do, write?"
Max's brow lifted in surprise. "I teach. History. At, ah, Cornell University."
Colleen sniffed again. "Well, you've made a mess of it. The lot of you. Bringing thieves under the roof, splashing our name all over the press, nearly getting yourselves killed. For all we know the old man sold the emeralds."
"He'd have kept a record," Max put in, and had Colleen studying him again.
"You're right there, Mr. Ph.D. He kept account of every penny he made, and every penny he spent." She closed her eyes a moment. "Nanny always told us she hid them away. For us." Fierce, her eyes opened again. "Fairy tales."
"I love fairy tales," Lilah said from the doorway. She stood, flanked by C.C. and Amanda.
"Come in here where I can see you."
"You first," Lilah muttered to C.C.
"Why me?"
"You're the youngest." She gave her sister a gentle shove.
"Throwing a pregnant woman to the wolves," Amanda muttered.
"You're next."
"What's that on your face?" Colleen demanded of C.C.
C.C. wiped a hand over her cheek. "Motor oil, I guess."
"What's the world coming to? You've got good bones," she decided. "You'll age well. You pregnant yet?"
Dipping her hands in her pockets, C.C. grinned. "As a matter of fact, yes. Trent and I are expecting in February."
"Good." Colleen waved her away. Steeling herself, Amanda stepped forward.
"Hello, Aunt Colleen. I'm glad you decided to come for the wedding."
"Might, might not." Lips pursed, she studied Amanda. "You know how to write a proper letter, in any case. It reached me last week, with the invitation." She was a lovely thing, Colleen thought, like her sisters. She felt a sense of pride in that, but would have bitten off her tongue before admitting it. "Any reason you couldn't marry a man from a nice Eastern family?"
"Yes. None of them annoyed me as much as Sloan."
With what might have been a laugh. Colleen waved her away.
When she focused on Lilah, her eyes burned and she had to press her lips tight to keep them from quivering. It was like looking at her mother, with all the years, and all the hurt wiped away.
"So, you're Lilah." When her voice cracked, she lowered her brows, l
ooking so formidable that Coco trembled.
"Yes." Lilah kissed both her cheeks. "The last time I saw you I was eight, I think. And you scolded me for going barefoot."
"And just what are you doing with your life?"
"Oh, as little as possible," Lilah said blithely. "How about you?"
Colleen's lips twitched, but she rounded on Coco. –"Haven't you taught these girls manners?"
"Don't blame her." Lilah sat on the floor at Max's feet. "We're incorrigible." She glanced over her shoulder, smiled at Max, then set a companionable hand on his knee.
Colleen didn't miss a trick. "So, you've got your eye on this one."
Tossing back her hair, Lilah smiled. "I certainly do. Cute, isn't he?"
"Lilah," Max muttered. "Give me a break."
"You didn't kiss me hello," she said quite clearly.
"Leave the boy alone." More amused than she would have admitted, Colleen thumped her cane. "At least he has manners." She waved a hand at the tea things. "Take this business away, Cordelia, and bring me a brandy."
"I'll get it." Lilah unfolded herself and strolled over to the liquor cabinet. She winked at Suzanna as her sister wheeled over the tea cart. "How long do you think she plans to make our lives a living hell?"
"I heard that."
Undaunted, Lilah turned with the brandy snifter. "Of course you did, Auntie. Papa always told us you had ears like a cat."
"Don't call me 'Auntie.'" She snatched the brandy. Colleen was used to deference–her personality and her money had always demanded it. Or to fear–the kind she easily instilled in Coco. But she enjoyed, tremendously, irreverence. "The trouble is your father never lifted a hand to any of you."
"No," Lilah murmured. "He didn't have to."
"No one loved him more than I," Colleen said briskly. "Now, it's time to decide what to do about this mess you've gotten yourselves into. The sooner mended, the sooner I can rejoin my cruise."
"You don't mean–" Coco caught herself and hastily rephrased. "Do you plan to stay with us until the emeralds are found?"
"I plan to stay until I'm ready to leave." Colleen aimed a look, daring disagreement.
"How lovely," Coco said between unsteady lips. "I believe I'll go in and see about dinner."
"I dine at seven–thirty. Precisely."
"Of course." Even as Coco rose, the familiar chaos could be heard racing down the hall. "Oh, dear."
Suzanna sprang to her feet. "I'll head them off." But she was a bit late as both children came barreling into the room.
"Cheat, cheat, cheat," Jenny accused, eyes brimming.
"Crybaby." But Alex was near tears himself as he gave her a brotherly shove.
"Who are these hooligans?" Colleen asked, interest perking.
"These hooligans are my children." Suzanna studied them both and saw that though she had tidied them herself less than twenty minutes before, they were both grimy and grim faced. Obviously her idea that they spend a quiet hour playing a board game had been a disaster.
Colleen swirled her brandy. "Bring them here. I'll have a look at them."
"Alex, Jenny." The warning tone worked very well. "Come meet Aunt Colleen."
"She isn't going to kiss us, is she?" Alex muttered as he dragged his feet across the room.
"I certainly will not. I don't kiss grubby little boys." She had to swallow. He looked so like her baby brother, Sean. Formally she offered a hand. "How do you do?"
"Okay." Flushing a bit, he touched the thin–boned hand.
"You're awfully old," Jenny observed.
"Quite right," Colleen agreed before Suzanna could speak. "If you're lucky, the same problem will be yours one day." She would have liked to have stroked the girl's shiny blond hair, but it would have shattered her image. "I'll expect you to refrain from shouting and clattering about while I'm in the house. Furthermore..." She trailed off when something brushed her leg. Glancing down, she saw Fred sniffing the carpet for crumbs. "What is that?"
"That's our dog." Seized with inspiration, Alex reached down to heft the fat puppy in his arms. "If you're mean to us, he'll bite you."
"He'll do no such thing." Suzanna put a hand on Alex's shoulder.
"He might." Alex pouted. "He doesn't like bad people. Do you, Fred?"
Colleen's skin went even whiter. "What is his name?"
"His name is Fred," Jenny said gaily. "Trent found him on the cliffs and brought him home for us." She struggled the dog away from her brother to hold him out. "And he doesn't bite. He's a good dog."
"Jenny, put him down before he–"
"No." Colleen waved Suzanna's warning aside. "Let me see him." Fred wriggled, smearing dirt on Colleen's pristine white suit as she sat him in her lap. Her hands shook as they stroked his fur. "I had a dog named Fred once." A single tear spilled over and down her pale cheek. "I only had him for a little while, but I loved him very much."
Saying nothing, Lilah groped for Max's hand and held tight.
"You can play with him, if you want," Alex told her, appalled that someone so old would cry. "He doesn't really bite."
"Of course he won't bite." Recovering, Colleen set the dog on the floor, then straightened painfully. "He knows I'd just bite him back. Isn't someone going to show me to my room, or do I have to sit here all day and half the damn night?"
"We'll take you up." Lilah tugged on Max's hand so that he rose to help her to her feet.
"Bring the brandy," Colleen said imperiously, and started out stumping with her cane.
"Delightful relatives you have, Calhoun," Sloan murmured.
"Too late to back, out now, O'Riley." Amanda heaved a relieved breath. "Come on, Aunt Coco, I'll help you in the kitchen."
"Which room have you stuck me in?" Only slightly breathless, Colleen paused on the second–floor landing.
"The first one, here." Max opened the door, then stepped back.
The terrace doors had been opened to let in the breeze. The furniture had been hastily polished, a few extra pieces dragged in from storage. Fresh flowers sat atop the rosewood bureau. The wallpaper was peeling, but paintings had been culled from other rooms to hide the worst of it. A delicate lace spread had been unfolded from a cedar chest and adorned the heavy four–poster.
"It'll do," Colleen muttered, determined to fight the nostalgia. "Make sure there are fresh towels, girl. And you, Quartermain, is it? Pour me another dose of that brandy and don't be stingy."
Lilah peeked into the adjoining bath and saw all was as it should be. "Is there anything else, Auntie?"
"Mind your tone, and don't call me 'Auntie.' You can send a maid up when it's time for dinner."
Lilah stuck her tongue in her cheek. "I'm afraid it's the staffs year off."
"Unconscionable." Colleen leaned heavily on her cane. "Are you telling me you haven't even day help?"
"You know very well we've been under the financial gun for some time."
"And you'll still not get a penny from me to put into this cursed place." She walked stiffly to the open doors and looked out. God, the view, she thought. It never changed. How many times over how many years had she envisioned it? "Who has my mother's room?"
"I do," Lilah said, lifting her chin.
Very slowly, Colleen turned. "Of course, you would." Her voice had softened. "Do you know how much you favor her?"
"Yes. Max found a picture in a book."
"A picture in a book." Now the bitterness. "That's all that's left of her."
"No. No, there's much more. A part of her is still here, will always be here."
"Don't talk nonsense. Ghosts, spirits–that's Cordelia's influence, and it's a load of hogwash. Dead's dead, girl. When you're as close to it as I am, you'll know that."
"If you'd felt her as I've felt her, you'd know differently."
Colleen closed herself in. "Shut the door behind you. I like my privacy."
Lilah waited until they were out in the hall to swear. "Rude, bad–tempered old bat." Then with a lazy shrug, she tucked her arm t
hrough Max's. "Let's go get some air. To think I'd actually felt something for her downstairs when she held Fred."
"She's not so bad, Lilah." They passed through his room and onto the terrace. "You may be just as crotchety when you're eighty–something."
"I'll never be crotchety." She closed her eyes, tossed back her hair and smiled. "I'll have a nice rocking chair set in the sun and sleep old age away." She ran a hand up his arm. "Are you ever going to kiss me hello?"
"Yes." He cupped her face and did so thoroughly. "Hello. How was your day?"
"Hot and busy." But now she felt delightfully cool and relaxed. "That teacher I told you about was back. He seems overly earnest to me. Gives me the willies."
Max's smile disappeared. "You should report him to one of the rangers."
"What, for sending off bad vibrations?" She laughed and hugged him. "No, there's just something about him that hits me wrong. He's always wearing dark glasses, as if I might see something he didn't want seen if he took them off."
"You're letting your..." His grip tightened. "What does he look like?"
"Nothing special. Why don't we take a nap before dinner? Aunt Colleen exhausted me."
"What," Max said very precisely, "does he look like?"
"He's about your height, trim. Somewhere around thirty, I'd guess. Wears the hiker's uniform of T–shirt and ripped jeans. He doesn't have a tan," she said, frowning suddenly. "Which is odd seeing as he said he'd been camping for a couple of weeks. Average sort of brown hair, well over the collar. A very neat beard and mustache."
"It could be him." His fingers dug in as the possibility iced through him. "My God, he's been with you."
"You think–you think it's Caufield." The idea left her shaken so that she leaned back against the wall. "What an idiot I've been. I had the same feeling, the same feeling with this man as I did when Livingston came to take Amanda out for dinner." She ran both hands through her hair. "I must be losing my touch."
Max's eyes were dark as he stared out at the cliffs. "If he comes back, I'll be ready for him."
"Don't start playing hero." Alarmed, she grabbed his arms. "He's dangerous."
"He's not getting near you again." The complete and focused intensity was back on his face. "I'll be taking your shift with you tomorrow."
