Scandalous Behavior

11

Stone called Susan on her cell phone.

“Hello?”

“Where are you?”

“In the cellar, in the boiler room. Come have a look.”

Stone found the stairs down and shouted her name until she answered. He found her in a clean, well-lit room with gleaming machinery humming away.

“I wanted you to see this,” she said. “It’s emblematic of the way Sir Charles kept the house. And I expect you’d like to see the wine cellar, as well.”

“Of course.” He followed her down a hallway, and she opened the door with a key and switched on the lights. “I had this constructed, then inventoried the bottles and arranged them by type and vintage.” Stone looked around and reckoned there must be forty or more cases of wine. He looked at some of the labels and found they had been laid down years before.

“Sir Charles has already selected his two dozen bottles and removed them,” she said. “Where have you been this morning?”

“Going over things with Major Bugg,” Stone replied. “He told me that the brigadier had been arrested last night.”

“Who is the brigadier?”

Stone told her the whole story, including the phone call from the inspector.

“That’s awful,” she said. “Is this going to affect our departure date?”

“Not in the least. I’ve done all I can do, and there’s no reason for us to hang about another week for the funeral. I never even spoke to the man.”

“Good. My men in the vans called a few minutes ago. They should be here any minute, so I’ll have to go upstairs and place the furniture and the pictures.”

They walked upstairs together. “What rooms will be used for the party?”

“The drawing room, the dining room, and the library. Everything for all three rooms will be in the vans. Actually, I’m much closer to being finished than Sir Charles realizes. From today, it’s mostly cleaning and polishing. My assistant will be in charge while I’m gone. I’ll plan to stay in New York for a week or so, and when I get back I’ll do a walk-around and make lists of things that are imperfect. In a couple of weeks your house will be done. When will you see it again?”

“Late spring, I should think.”

“A good idea to wait for spring weather. Most Americans can’t handle our winters.”

“I’m not one of them. I love this country the year ’round. It’s beautiful when it rains, though not necessarily on the motorway in a deluge.”

“That’s more than a lot of Englishmen would say.”

“If you know a good restaurant, I’ll take you out for dinner.”

“I’m happy to dine in. I’ll be tired by the time everything is in place. I have a lot of pictures to hang, too.”

“Can I help?”

“Certainly not, you’d just be in the way.” She kissed him. “Now go take a nap, or something.”

Stone went back to the master suite, arranged himself in a comfortable armchair with his feet up, and called Dino.

“Where the hell have you been?” Dino demanded. “I’ve heard all sorts of crazy rumors about you buying a country estate in England.”

“They’re all true,” Stone said, “and I can’t wait to show you the place. It’s just terrific.”

“Look, I know you’ve always imagined yourself as an English gentleman, but now you’ve gone — what do they say over there?”

“Around the bend,” Stone replied, “and loving it. I’m flying home Monday morning and bringing a delightful woman who is the designer on the renovation of the house. Let’s have dinner Wednesday night.”

“I guess it’s just as well you managed to get rid of the last one so quickly.”

“I haven’t heard a word from her, so I guess she’s still angry.”

“I tried to reason with her on the flight home from Rome, to no avail. When I told her about the reward you and Marcel posted, it made her even madder. She said she was going to make Arthur repay you.”

“Arthur has already offered, and I accepted before he could change his mind. That’s why I can afford this house — that and if I sell the Washington, Connecticut, place to Bill Eggers.”

“Take pictures of the house,” Dino said. “Viv will kill us both if you don’t. She’s already planning a visit, but I haven’t had time yet to explain to the mayor what I was doing in Rome for ten days. I’ve been avoiding seeing or speaking to him.”

“That sounds like a good policy.”

“Always. Now go take pictures.”

Stone did so, with his iPhone, outside and in.