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This time when her heart tumbled, she pressed a fist against it. But what had happened after that, what had happened in the cave—well, she’d been a willing participant in that.
And so what if it had been rash? A girl was entitled to do something outrageous once in her life. Or twice. Or—
Adair lifted the piece of paper with Cam’s name on it and turned it facedown on the desk. This was not the problem that she needed to focus her attention on right now.
Neither were Eleanor’s sapphires. Cam seemed to have his attention totally focused on solving that one.
She flicked a glance at the French doors that led into the main parlor. Sheer curtains covered the glass squares on the doors, and when she’d passed by them earlier she’d spotted him in silhouette standing at the foot of the portrait, studying it.
When he’d talked about the treasure hunter with the single-minded focus, he might have been describing himself. The sapphires were the real reason he’d come here and if the rest of Eleanor’s jewels were still here on the castle grounds, he’d find them. Then he’d go back to his life of adventure with the CIA.
Turning the sapphire paper over, she focused her attention on the problem that deserved her undivided attention. The Maitland/Banes wedding.
Like it or not, the possibility of calling Barry Carlson had been on her To Do list earlier, spurred by the fact that she’d envisioned someone other than Lawrence Banes beneath the stone arch. Someone who looked a lot more like Rexie’s first husband than her intended second. Sure, it could have been a figment of her imagination.
But could she depend on that? What if the stones were trying to tell her something?
Right. And why didn’t they come and just cart her off to Looney Tunes-ville right now?
She tapped her pen on the paper. What would the harm be if she gave Barry Carlson a call? If Barry turned out to be the cad that Rexie had described, then she’d have some solid information to use in case the bride got cold feet and went into another meltdown.
Opening the desk drawer, she pulled out the jumble of papers she’d crammed into it when she and Cam had first returned to the house. The To Do list had the number of the Carlson Horse Farm on it. Methodically sorting colors into compartments, she slipped everything back into the metal box, placing the larger folded sheets of paper that contained the fantasies on top.
No To Do list.
Pushing back her chair, she dropped to her knees and glanced under her desk.
Nothing.
Crawling around the corner, she peered into the wastebasket. Nary a scrap of paper greeted her inspection.
She was still on her hands and knees, scanning the rest of her office floor for the elusive list, when she heard someone knock on the terrace doors. Starting, she saw an expensive pair of Italian loafers first. Then she took her gaze on a swift journey up perfectly creased trousers and a pristine white shirt. She breathed a sigh of relief when she recognized Lawrence Banes.
Jumping to her feet, she moved forward and hurriedly opened the doors. “Mr. Banes, what a surprise.”
And she had a feeling from the expression on his face that it was not going to be a good one.
* * *
AN HOUR OF poring over the materials he’d taken from the Glen Loch library convinced Cam that he’d run up against a solid brick wall. Leaning back in the carved oak chair, he planted his feet on the desk in the main parlor. He’d come across an article in the Glen Loch Gazette that featured pictures of Angus’s secret cupboard, open and shut. But nothing he’d looked at shed any light on the current whereabouts of the rest of the sapphires. They’d been part of Eleanor Campbell MacPherson’s dowry, and the only evidence of their existence other than the painting was the earring that Vi and Adair had discovered yesterday.
He’d left a message on his mother’s cell but he didn’t kid himself that her response would be timely. She and A.D. were taking a working vacation in Scotland, and one of the things that his mother and his stepfather shared was an ability to tune out the rest of the world when they were working. A.D. was painting landscapes for a gallery show and she was doing research for her next historical novel, which would feature the Campbell clan that Angus One had stolen Eleanor away from.
It was a long shot but his mother might have some insights on Eleanor’s dowry based on the new research she was doing, and when one of them called back he could fill A.D. in on the security situation.
In the meantime he wasn’t any closer to dealing with his other problem—Adair. The curtained French doors that separated the main parlor from her office had allowed him to surreptitiously check on her, more times than he was comfortable with over the past hour. All he knew for certain was that he wanted to make love to her again.
The low rumble of a male voice had him rising and moving quietly to one side of the French doors. She hadn’t said she was expecting anyone. With two fingers he pushed against the edge of one of the curtains. The man seated in one of Adair’s client chairs had his back to the French doors. He had dark, neatly trimmed hair and the hint of gray told Cam that he was probably somewhere in his forties. Adair’s smile was easy and bright but there was a tension in her shoulders. Not fear, he decided. Nerves.
He twisted the knob, eased the door open a crack, then leaned back against the wall to listen.
* * *
“I’M SORRY IF I startled you, Ms. MacPherson, but I wanted to see you privately.”
Adair’s mind raced as she tried to ignore the knot of nerves in her stomach. Even in casual clothes Lawrence Banes looked as if he’d just stepped off the pages of GQ. “You’ve made a long drive for a private conversation.”
“Not at all. At Bunny’s request I stayed in town overnight at one of the bed-and-breakfasts. She wanted me to be close by because of Rexie. We were all worried about her. But it turned out my help wasn’t needed after all. In fact, we decided that a mother-daughter evening was just what Rexie needed to soothe her nerves.”
He propped one loafered foot on his knee just as his cell phone vibrated. He slipped it out of his pocket, frowned, then set it on the edge of her desk. Finally he glanced up and smiled at her.
It was the first time that Lawrence Banes had turned the full strength of his charm on her and Adair realized why Rexie might find this man attractive.
“When they left my office two hours ago the wedding was definitely on. Didn’t they tell you?”
“Yes. Bunny sent me a text, so I left Glen Loch shortly after they did to keep a business appointment in Albany. About an hour ago Bunny called me back. She told me that Rexie talked to you about her first husband and it evidently stirred up memories.”
Adair took a moment to study him. The last person she’d expected to walk into her office unannounced was Lawrence Banes. And in spite of the smile and the casual attitude he was trying to project, there was a tension in him. Albany was a good forty-five-minute drive from the castle, and nothing he’d said so far seemed to warrant him circling back out of his way before returning to Long Island.
“Is that what you wanted to talk to me about?”
“Yes. Bunny and I feel that it’s a mistake to remind Rexie of her first marriage, especially when she’s feeling so fragile. How much did she tell you about it?” Lawrence asked.
“Not a lot. She told me she and Barry met at Cornell and it was love at first sight. But they came from very different backgrounds.” That was about as bare bones as she could make it. Adair hoped that Lawrence would fill in some blanks.
“Different worlds is the best way to describe what they came from,” he said. “Rexie has led a very pampered life. Her parents have always provided everything for her.”
“And you believe you can offer her that same kind of life, the one her parents want for her,” Adair said.
“Exactly. Her first husband wanted her to give up everything and go back to live with him in the wilds of Montana. Can you picture that? Anyone can see she doesn’t have that kind of strength.”
“When did you and Rexie meet?” Adair asked.
“Eight months ago. It was at a charity event the Maitlands were throwing on their estate. Several of my clients were there and they’d offered to introduce me to Bunny and Win. When I first saw Rexie she looked so lonely. Her husband had gone back to Montana for a funeral and stayed. At her mother’s suggestion I offered her a sympathetic ear.”
“There’s quite an age difference between you.”
Banes’s smile turned wry. “Why is a difference in age always remarked upon? The fact that I’m a bit older than Rexie is probably why I was able to help her get through a bad time.”
Banes’s phone vibrated. With a slight frown he picked it up. “I have to take this.” Rising, he moved quickly to step out onto the terrace.
* * *
CAM MOVED AS close as he could get to the doors that opened from the main parlor to the terrace that adjoined the one outside Adair’s office. He’d already guessed that the man who’d dropped in on her unannounced was Lawrence Banes and very probably Gianni Scalzo.
