Chapter 23
The dinner was all that a fancy dinner at a converted mansion should be. The waiters wore tuxedos. My glass of wine was never empty, and every course was served with the precision of a well oiled machine.
The first course was a French onion soup which was to die for; literally, I know people who would commit murder for the recipe. I know it was very middle class of me, but I ate every bit. Next, came a salad served with slices of crispy duck breast and some kind of maple syrup dressing. I looked at Kelly and saw she was in the same raptures of the taste buds as I had experienced. After the salad was a small cheese plate intended to clean the pallet, or that was what our waiter suggested. I nibbled at the selection. It was tasty, but let’s face it, I was not wasting my appetite on cheese on a night like this.
“Kel, do you want my cheese?”
She looked over at me. “Of course, not! I have to save room for the real food.”
I chuckled at her. “Me too, but it seems a shame to waste food like this.”
“I agree, but it would be more of a shame to be too stuffed full of cheese to eat dessert!”
“You’re right; the dessert must be eaten!”
Kelly sobered up and looked at me. “You look happy, Miranda. How are things going with Heath? I noticed he didn’t stay for dinner.”
“Things are good. Don’t get me wrong; it started off a bit rocky, but I think things are headed in the right direction. “
Kelly raised her eyebrows at me. She had picked up my habit, damn. “Is he coming back?”
I tried to be evasive. “Well, he is staying here, so I’m sure he’ll be back at some point.”
Kelly just started at me and shook her head. “Nope. I’m not buying it, girlfriend. Spill it.”
I had to admit she was tough, and she had developed a pretty good ten mile stare over the course of the last few weeks. Yep. Ms. Kelly Burton had gone from a very sweet historian to a tough cookie in a very short span of time…impressive, “All right, Kel. The truth is I am planning to see him again later on tonight, just not here.”
Kelly was on pins and needles, I could tell. “Okay, where then?”
“Do I really need to spell it out for you, Kelly?” She nodded vigorously up and down. “You’re killing me. What happened to miss nice girl!”
Kelly gave a one shoulder shrug, “I killed her.”
I choked on my laughter and my wine. “Fine, just for that you deserve the whole truth. I’m meeting him in his room. He has some business to do, and he wasn’t sure when he would be back. He invited me to wait in his room, and I accepted.”
I tried to sound worldly and assured, but it came out in a rush of nerves. Kelly patted my hand. “You’ll be fine. Remember we already decided that he was one of the good guys…despite present appearances. Do you have any idea what kind of business he has to do tonight?”
Now it was my turn to shrug. “Not really, but my gut tells me it concerns the shady business that Dana found out about, the same business that caused me to avoid him for weeks on end.”
“Yeah, that sounds about right? I don’t guess he gave away any clues while you were dancing?”
I shook my head no, “Uh uh.” I looked around to make sure our table-mates were not eavesdropping on our conversation. When I saw the coast was clear, I told her the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. “Kelly, the truth is, we really did not talk that much. Mostly we just…danced.”
Kelly’s eyes took on a dreamy quality, and she sighed, “How romantic!”
And I realized that it really was. After dinner was over and the auction was in full swing, I checked my cell phone to make sure that Sam had not called me. I was relieved to see that I had no messages. It was certainly a blessing that Mom had suggested Sam spend the night due to the late hour at which the ball would end. I smiled guiltily. At least I wouldn’t have to make that walk of shame call to my parents! Thank God! It did not matter in the least that I was a grown woman. Calling my parents to say that I was spending the night with a man was not a confidence that I wanted to share with them despite our closeness; some things were private.
The digital read out on the phone said the time was 11:15 PM. The ball would go on for hours. The auction was not scheduled to conclude until midnight, at which time there was a champagne toast and more dancing. In fact, the dancing would continue on until 2:00 AM. Since Heath had left me his key, I assumed that his business would take quite a long time; but without him there to entice me, I had no desire to linger or to dance. I leaned over to speak to Kelly with some degree of privacy, “Hey, Kelly. Will you hate me if I ditch you and head upstairs?”
Kelly just laughed. “Miranda, are you kidding me? This is nice, but my feet are killing me, and the only man I want to dance with has been dead for a couple of centuries. I’m dying to leave, so if you want to go, I’ll walk you out.”
With matching nods of agreement, we rose and walked out the main doors of the ballroom. Kelly walked with me to the base of the stairs, wished me good luck, and then she went to collect her car from the valet. I slowly climbed the stairs and made my way to room number seventeen.
The room key was an actual key, which was unusual in this modern day of electronic keys, but it fit the style and elegance of the mansion as a plastic key card could not. I withdrew the key from my little bag and opened the door. The room was elegant with a large king sized bed dressed out in deep shades of burgundy and gold. The color scheme could have easily run to tacky, but instead it just looked sumptuous and rich. There was an antique mahogany bureau in an alcove and a large flat screen television on the wall, which was currently set to play a video screen of burning logs. There were crystal vases and candles set artfully about. The room was a story of seduction and elegance. It was the perfect room in which to spend my night as Cinderella. Hopefully my love story would end as well as hers…happily ever after.
Then being completely alone, I wondered what to do while I waited. I finally decided to slip off my shoes and curl up in the bed with the food network. I loved food; it was a family tradition. I loved it when I ate it, when I smelled it, and when I could watch it on TV. I flipped the TV to the right station and got ready to watch our local celebrity, Paula Dean, use some butter, butter, and more butter.