Abruptly, Kate sat up in the bed. She was nude, but she pulled the sheet over her body. She wasn’t yet to that stage of lovers where nudity was commonplace.
Jack, half-asleep, murmured, “What is it?”
“We didn’t tell Aunt Sara about the nursery.”
“She’s seen it.”
“No! That someone was searching it.”
“Maybe,” Jack said. “It could have been Dora when she cleaned.”
As Kate got out of bed and pulled on a robe, she made a hissing sound through her clenched teeth. “Is this what happens when I succumb to your baser urges? You start doubting my perception?”
Jack opened his eyes halfway. “I’ve always doubted you andyouseducedme.”
“I did not! I—” She tossed a pillow at him. “Get up and let’s go.”
“Up? Again? So soon?”
She ignored his innuendo. “Stay here. I’ll tell everyone I wore you out.” She stopped and listened. “Is that a truck?” She went to the front window and saw a moving van pulling out. “All the furniture I bought arrived. What’s been delivered?”
Jack yawned, piled up pillows, and put his hands behind his head as he watched Kate get dressed. “Sara,” he said. “If it’s something weird and unexpected, it’s Sara.”
Kate nodded in agreement as she slipped her feet into shoes. She had on leggings and a tunic. After what happened in the early morning, she wanted to be mobile. “Wonder what it is.”
“You two are the curiosity demons.” Jack threw back the covers and got out of bed. He was not in the least shy at being nude. “Want to go see what she’s up to?” He pulled on his usual jeans and T-shirt. After a vigorous bout of kissing, they left the room.
Kate was the first to reach the bottom of the stairs and she halted, staring in wonder. Her father was already there and he was smiling.
Before them was a huge wooden cabinet with double doors and intricately cut trellising at the top and bottom. In the middle was a solid panel with a round top. Billy had given the movers a sketch to show where the cabinet was to be placed. It was at the hub of the ground floor. From there the three doorways to the major rooms could be seen, plus the lower half of the grand staircase. The morning room and the kitchen were to the right. To get anywhere on that floor, a person had to go past the big cabinet.
“It’s mashrabiya,” Sara said, showing her extensive travels. “It’s Arabic and quite beautiful.”
“It’s where you used to hide,” Randal said to his daughter, then turned to his sister. “Billy told me it used to be full of silver serving pieces, but by the time of the party it was empty.”
“Sold by the so-called caretakers,” Sara said bitterly.
Randal shrugged. “My daughter used to hide in there and watch people.” He pointed to the two lower, trellised panels. “Adults didn’t notice the little eyes down so close to the floor, so she saw everything.” His tone was affection personified.
Kate had a dreamy look on her face. “Billy gave us chocolate,” she said softly. “We hid in there and watched it all. She said it was better than any movie.”
“Who was with you?” Sara asked softly.
“Greer.”
Sara opened the doors. Her gesture was obvious that Kate was to get inside. “I’ll be Greer.”
Smiling, Kate got in. It wasn’t as easy a fit as when she was four. Sara, who was quite small and agile, got in with her.
Kate pulled on an old ribbon that had been stapled to the back of a door and closed it. She reached for the second door but her father’s hand came in holding a box of chocolates he’d retrieved from the pantry. She took it and he shut the door.
Sara opened the box and held it out for Kate to take a piece.
It wasn’t easy, but Kate, chocolate in hand, scrunched down to look through the lower panels. “We could see their feet and we laughed about their shoes.”
Sara got down beside her. “Who do you see?” she whispered.
Kate closed her eyes for a moment. “Him! He was always chasing Greer.”
