“Then hire another part-time worker, or even another full-time,” she suggested. “Bring in a university student. You’ve said yourself you have stacks of applications sitting in your inbox. Handle it however you choose, but I’m choosing to only work twenty-five hours a week. That is, if you’ll still have me on those terms.”
He leaned forward, then back against the chair again, his gaze roaming the lobby. At last, he muttered, “For now. But if I find someone else with your skillset and expertise willing to work the full forty and then some, I may have to let you go. Are you willing to accept that?”
She took a deep breath. “I am.”
CHAPTER
25
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 1926
Elsa paid the cab fare and leaned on her cane, relying on it more than usual after Thursday night’s harrowing ordeal, even after resting for most of yesterday and all of today. She readjusted her cloche and climbed the eight steps, pausing for breath at the top before pushing through the brass revolving doors of The Plaza Hotel. It would take more than two days to recover from what she’d done at Elmhurst.
But Mother had sounded so excited when she’d invited Elsa here for their weekly dinner, she hadn’t had the heart to cancel.
Elsa smiled as she entered the lobby. An enormous vase of lilies perfumed the air. Potted palm trees framed the entrance to the restaurant.
“Right this way.” A man in a tuxedo led her into the spacious restaurant, lit by a glass ceiling stained with shades of blue, green, and gold. “Your party, miss.” When he made to pull out her chair, he was interrupted by a bachelor her parents must have invited to join them.
This was one bachelor Elsa was thrilled to see.
“The honor is mine.” He came around and seated her with a smile that warmed her to her toes. Luke Dupont in a crisp blacksuit was a vision she hadn’t been prepared for. She had known he was strong and considered him handsome from the first time they’d met. But there was something about the way that jacket fit him that sent a little flip to her stomach. He was resplendent.
“And here I thought I was early.” Elsa leaned her cane against the edge of the table. “Yet you three look like you’ve been deep in conversation.”
Her father tented his hands on the white linen tablecloth. “We have.”
Elsa raised her eyebrows, looking from one parent to the other. “And?”
Beside her, Mother’s smile held nothing back, but it was Father who answered. “Your mother and I have decided to retire. From matchmaking.”
“It would seem our services are no longer needed,” Mother added. “And through no fault of our own.”
Elsa coughed to hide a laugh.
“Do you agree?” Luke asked.
“I do.” Elsa grinned. “Emphatically.”
“Excellent.” Father stood, and Mother slipped her hand in his as she rose, as well. “Then our work here is done. Enjoy yourselves.”
Elsa glanced at the table and saw only two menus. “You don’t have to go,” she said. “Please, at least stay and have dinner. These reservations aren’t easy to come by, after all.”
“By all means, don’t let us run you off,” Luke echoed. “Join us.”
“If you’re sure, dears. I’d love nothing better.” Mother returned to the chair beside Elsa’s, and Father slid into the booth by Luke.
“We have a lot to catch up on,” Elsa told her parents.
Father swallowed and shared a look with Mother before turning an affectionate gaze on Elsa once more. “That we do.”
Dinner was soon ordered and served: crab cakes, grilled salmon, stuffed chicken, roast beef, and Yorkshire pudding. Overthe course of the evening, Elsa told them she found the aviary pages for the Petrovics. She did not tell them she’d been locked in a dark room, had crawled through a tunnel, and jumped from a burning building. There was no point in upsetting her parents unnecessarily.
“I do have some good news on that score,” Luke added. “I showed some of the pages to the curator of medieval art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and he’s very interested. He’ll have to bring it to the acquisitions board for official approval to extend an offer, of course. But he was impressed by the provenance, deemed all of it genuine, and is eager to move forward. Even if his offer ends up being on the lower end of the scale he mentioned to me, the Petrovics will have enough money to buy the land they want.”
“And what is Tatiana’s plan?” Mother asked. “If the county agrees to sell her some of the Elmhurst land, will she continue to work on the grounds?”
“I don’t think they’d be able to stop her,” Elsa said. “Even if she only does it as a volunteer, I have a feeling stewarding the land is all she wants to do.”
