Read Online On Sparrow Hill by Maureen Lang - Free Book Online Page B

must go to bed. A glass of milk would help.
    To her surprise, she spotted a light already on as she neared the kitchen. She quickened her step. Surely Helen wasn’t still there, fretting over the meal she’d served? Though Elise Hollinworth hadn’t liked the setting, she’d spoken nary a word against the food. Helen should have been glad for that, considering Elise obviously didn’t hesitate to say a negative word if one popped into her mind.
    Rebecca stopped abruptly, nearly slipping on the cool kitchen tile. Not Helen at all. There, at the wide wooden table where Rebecca had watched Helen prepare meals and shared plenty, sat Quentin.
    “I saw the light,” Rebecca said by way of explanation for her hastened entry. “I worried Helen might still be here and something might be wrong.”
    If there had been any fatigue on his face when she’d first spotted him, it was gone now. He looked her over with a smile, and even though the slow glance was welcoming, she wondered if she should hurry back to her suite, at the very least to change her clothes. Although she wore less at the beach, this was hardly the right attire to be sitting with her employer—particularly one who’d once invaded many of her waking thoughts. And some dreams as well.
    He seemed to jerk his gaze from her. He held up loose, printed pages and cleared his throat. “I printed out Cosima’s journal. Fascinating. You should read it.” He paused, momentarily staring at her again, then turned back to the pages, flipping through them. “But I seem to have left the first section in my room.”
    Rebecca took a seat, wishing she’d thought to put on a robe. She noticed he wore the same clothes he’d been in earlier, and she wistfully wondered why women’s evening wear couldn’t be as comfortable as men’s obviously was. She wouldn’t have had to change at all.
    “I’ve read the e-file,” she admitted. “I was so eager to finish I’ll have to read it again more thoroughly, but I just now finished the last word.”
    Quentin looked at her squarely, a frown on his handsome face. “I thought you needed a good night’s rest for an early appointment?”
    A blush made her divert her gaze. “Yes, I do have an early appointment. I found I couldn’t sleep after all.” She looked at him again. “I intended only to read a few pages, but I feel like I know Cosima, if only through her portrait, and wanted to learn more about her.”
    “What do you suppose Dana Walker meant when she referred to the curse that affected Cosima? She said she has a daughter. I wonder if she’s like Cosima’s daughter, Mary. Or Royboy.”
    “I wondered the same. I imagine we’ll find out, since Dana will be here before long.” Rebecca looked at the pages, wondering how far he’d read. “I’ll leave you to finish, then.”
    She started to rise just as he reached across the table, his palm landing gently on her wrist. The touch stalled everything but her pulse. “You cannot see the kitchen light from either your office or your bedroom suite, Rebecca. You must have come down here for some other reason.”
    “I wanted some milk, actually. To help me sleep.”
    He hadn’t removed his hand. She told herself to withdraw but found herself still immobile. Outwardly, at least. Inwardly her heart darted from one corner of her chest to the other.
    Quentin drew back. He stood, going to a cupboard and extracting a glass. “I made some chamomile tea—although I won’t offer you that since you didn’t want any earlier.” She watched as he went to the large refrigerator and poured milk for her. He glanced at her. “I’m telling myself it was the tea, not the company, that you refused. Would you like it warmed?”
    Rebecca shook her head and he handed her the glass, her fingers brushing his as she accepted it. She might have come for warmed milk, but she had no idea what to do with the time it would take to warm. So she took a sip of it cold, knowing without a doubt she would