Read Online Cruel as the Grave by Dean James - Free Book Online Page B

you’re wearing now is fine.” His eyes moved appraisingly—and approvingly—over Maggie’s figure.
    Coloring slightly—whether from irritation or pleasure, she wouldn’t stop to decide—Maggie posed her second question before she lost her nerve. “What should I call you? I’ve never known a butler before—if that’s what you are, because I’m really not sure—and I have no idea what you prefer.” That sounded pretty ditsy, she told herself. Now he thinks you’re a complete idiot!
    He pursed his lips to keep from laughing. “You can call me whatever you like. Worthington, or Adrian, if you prefer. The family isn’t very big on formality, you may have noticed.” He opened the door, and Maggie stared at the muscles in his shoulders. The polo shirt fit his body very nicely. “And butler will do just as well as anything for a job title.”
    “Um, thank you for all the information... Adrian.” She collected her thoughts enough to say this before the door shut behind him. He gave her a wink in farewell.
    Limply, Maggie sat down on her bed. Adrian, as she now forced herself to call him, definitely intrigued her. His manner of speaking marked him as well-educated, and he had an assurance of manner with nothing servile about it. Perhaps a little probing of Helena—discreet, of course—would yield some information about his background.
    Yes, she was interested in him. And, for some reason, she thought he might be interested in her. Otherwise, why would he come up to her room to deliver Harold’s message, when he could as easily have called her on the efficient house telephone system?
    Shrugging aside her speculations, Maggie decided to explore her grandmother’s—correction, her—collection of books before dinner. She was touched by her grandfather’s gesture, and it was one she hadn’t the heart to refuse. This link with the grandmother she had never known was a precious one, and these books were a gift she would always treasure simply because they had been loved by her grandmother.
    In complete happiness Maggie lost track of time exploring the contents of her new collection, finding several wonderful surprises. With a start, she noticed the time around six- fifteen. Hurriedly she went into the bathroom to wash her hands and face and to brush her hair again, deciding as she did so that her traveling clothes would have to do for dinner, because she didn’t want to spend time dithering over what was suitable to wear. Besides, Adrian had told her the family didn’t really care about formalities such as dressing for dinner.
    Downstairs, she found that Adrian had meant what he said. Helena had changed her red running suit for one in strident purple. Of them all, only Retty appeared to have “dressed” for dinner, this by having added a cashmere sweater to her outfit of the day.
    The food was superb and plenteous. Afterward Maggie couldn’t remember what they had actually had to eat, because the conversation was so lively she never had time to concentrate on what she was putting into her mouth. The fact that Adrian was sitting beside her again occupied her thoughts more than did the food.
    Retty and Gerard kept them all laughing with a mock argument over the virtues of life in Houston. Helena couldn’t resist baiting her elder sister, and Harold jumped in loyally to support Helena when Retty thundered a broadside in her direction. The mood of the dinner was rather frenetic, and Maggie and Adrian sat quietly while the others kept the conversational ball zipping around the room. Claudine Sprayberry joined them as they were all sitting down at the table. In contrast to the nurse’s white uniform she had been wearing earlier, she now wore a bright yellow, sleeveless dress. Across her shoulders, Maggie noticed enviously, she wore a scarf interwoven with streaks of blue, red, and green. As cool air from the house’s overly efficient air-conditioning system drifted across her shoulders, Maggie wished that she