I smile and turn to Ruby. “It’s been a very long day, I’m sure any shop talk can wait for the morning. I’d like some time alone with my husband—do you mind?”
“Of course she doesn’t mind.” Jack grins at me. “I’m all yours until Monday. I’ll take you to my club tomorrow for lunch. Ruby has made the reservations. I can’t wait to show you theLaura.”
Words freeze on my tongue. “The what?”
“His yacht.” Ruby pushes her feet into heels. “The vessel is named after his first wife.” She smiles at Jack. “Goodnight, Jack, Mrs. Hunter. Sleep well.”
“Night.” Jack examines my face. “What’s wrong?”
I’m shocked. “You kept the yacht after what happened to your wife?”
“She loved it.” Confusion crosses his handsome face. “She wouldn’t want me to sell it. I named it after her.”
I shake my head. “Jack, she fell from the boat and drowned. I’m sure at the time she didn’t like it at all.” I watch his expression change from joy to remorse. “Is that why the room upstairs hasn’t been touched and her portrait still hangs in the entrance hall? All these years you did this to please a dead woman?”
“At first maybe, but then as time went by, it was a memento of our time together. I’d go inside the dressing room and sniff her perfume. I’d cry like a baby but it was like having her back for a few minutes.” He shrugs and stares into my eyes. “We had three wonderful years and two beautiful children together. Part of me still loves her but then I met you. It was like the sun breaking through the clouds after a storm that lasted seven years.” He pulls me close and wraps his arms around me. “You’re my soulmate and I love you more than life.”
I lean into him. “I love you too.” I sigh, hesitant to broach the subject of Laura’s clothes and upset a perfect relationship. Maybe if I take baby steps, I can ease her things from the house. “When do you think you’d be ready to let go of Laura’s clothes? Of course, we’ll keep her jewelry for the children and any personal items but Goodwill would make a fortune selling her clothes. I believe it’s the right thing to do.”
“Let me think on it for a time.” Jack can’t meet my eyes. “I’m not sure I can let them go to strangers.”
Dismayed, I slip my arms around his waist and look at him. “Then we’ll move them to another room. It’s such a waste having that beautiful room closed. It needs sunshine and fresh air.”
“It is a special place.” He points up to the ceiling. “It’s right above this one and we share the same view. Unfortunately, the second floor has small windows, which makes that room unique.”
Is he deliberately not answering my question? This man has the art of the deal in business so he can manipulate people and likely uses his skill many times to get contracts but he’s never shown this hard side to me. I decide to change course a little and see if I can make any headway. “Do we really need to go to lunch at the yacht club tomorrow? I’d really like some time to get acquainted with the house. There are a few changes I’d like to make. Would you agree to me making it my own?”
“I’ve already renovated the kitchen.” He looks down at me. “I guess that would be okay but use muted colors befitting the style of the house. I really dislike bold bright colors. Before you make any changes, run your ideas past Ruby. She knows about the renovation restrictions for heritage buildings.” He smiles at me. “You’re like a breath of fresh air, Willow, but leave all your plans for weekdays. I like to enjoy myself at the weekends. It’s perfect weather for sailing. I’ll get Ruby to gather some of my friends and we’ll spend Sunday on the water. What do you say?”
I almost turn green at the prospect. I shake my head. “I’m sorry, Jack. I get seasick crossing a bridge over a river.” I try and read his masked expression. “This is the first time you’ve mentioned the yacht or I would have told you.”
“Okay, okay.” He pushes a hand through his hair. “My bad. I can go sailing alone, well, with some of the boys. We do take fishing trips.” He nods as if to himself and then looks back at me. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here to show you around. Is there anything about the house you need to know?”
I swallow hard. “The staff figure the house is haunted. I find it hard to believe, in this day and age, that people still believe in ghosts.”
“Oh, well I do too.” Jack stares into space as if looking at something over my left shoulder. “I never did until I saw one myself. I went to check on the kids, like I do every night to make sure they’re asleep, and I swear I saw Laura outside our bedroom door. I dashed along the hallway, opened the door and searched inside. Of course there wasn’t anyone there. Some of the staff have claimed to have seen her too.” He shook his head. “It only happened the once for me and I figure it was her saying goodbye—or was it wishful thinking? I guess I’ll never know.”
Goosebumps crawl up my arms as I remember the way the door moved and almost shut me inside the dressing room. Had I imagined it too, or was all this talk about ghosts some weird initiation prank to welcome me to Beauford Manor?
NINE
SATURDAY
I can’t get the notion of ghosts or wandering spirits out of my mind and after tossing and turning all night, I’m totally exhausted. Honestly, I’d expected Jack to completely deny the fact there are ghosts in the house—not say he believed he’d seen Laura’s spirit or whatever. I’m not easily spooked but find myself staring into the shadows, waiting for them to move.
I doze for an hour or so before the first rays of sunlight creep through the window to wash the bed in bright light. I hold up my hand to cover my eyes. From now on the drapes will be closed at night. I sit up and Jack stirs beside me. He always wakes up in a good mood and gives me a smile to melt an iceberg. “Morning.” I peer at him from under my hand. “The sunlight is blinding me.”
“I’ll fix it.” Jack jumps out of bed and draws the blinds. “Better?” He glances at his watch and pulls me from the bed and into his arms. “It’s almost time for breakfast. Shower with me.”
Sometime later as we’re dressing, I recall some of the other things that kept me awake most of the night. I understand completely the role of a PA and for Ruby to be with Jack most of the time. He’s a busy man and she organizes his day literally down to the second, however there must be a time when she steps away for a while and leaves us alone. I dress with care. Jackpurchased so many clothes for me on our honeymoon, I know what he likes and expects from me. At first, I balked at the prices of the outfits he suggested and tried to refuse his generosity. It concerned me that he’d likely gone through most of his savings. I could see it made him frustrated, so when we went shopping, his “buy what you like and don’t look at the price” became the rule of the day. If I’d known then how wealthy he is, his actions would have made more sense. The yacht club has polished wealthy clients, so I dress in a white blouse, a beige tailored skirt and a soft blue jacket with matching espadrilles. I glance in the mirror. My skin is tanned from our honeymoon and my dark-blonde hair has sun streaks. I meet his gaze in the mirror. “Is this okay for the yacht club?”
“You look wonderful.” He wraps his arms around me and kisses my ear. “You didn’t sleep well, did you?”
I shake my head. “Nope. All the talk about ghosts, I expect.”
“Ghosts?” Jack chuckles. “I don’t recall mentioning ghosts? Maybe you had a bad dream.”
Confused but not sure if Jack is joking with me, I turn as he moves away to put on his shoes. “Before we go down for breakfast there’s something we need to discuss.”
