soon as her feet hit solid ground, Binnie wriggled free of her captors and made straight for the newly arrived news crews, who’d scored a prime spot to set up their equipment. They clustered around Binnie as she scrolled through photos on her digital camera.
While Binnie soaked up everyone’s attention, Olivia glanced back toward the mansion. She thought she saw a light flick on and off in a turret window. Sheer curtains covered the window, so she couldn’t be sure. She wascertain, though, that it was the same window a grumpy, disheveled Paine Chatterley had poked his head through when Olivia had visited two days earlier.
As Olivia watched, the bottom corner of the curtain twitched. She wondered if Paine was keeping an eye on the activity across the street from his newly reclaimed home. The curtain rippled, and she realized the window might be slightly open. Maybe the light she’d seen had been no more than the sun striking a sliver of exposed glass. Olivia was glad she hadn’t said anything. Not that anyone would have listened. She seemed to be the only person neither fascinated nor angered by Binnie Sloan’s adventure.
Olivia decided her presence wasn’t necessary. Karen was busy chastising Binnie, who was barely listening as she continued playing show-and-tell with her colleagues; it was a perfect time to slip away. Olivia had gone only a few steps when she heard an unfamiliar voice nearby say, “Look, something’s happening. Start the camera rolling.”
Olivia spun around to see the mansion’s front door creep open. Hermione Chatterley stood motionless in the doorway. She wasn’t dressed to receive company. From what Olivia could tell, Hermione wore a frilly pink negligee and matching peignoir. Her white hair fluffed in loose curls around her plump face.
Cameras clicked and whirred, while muted voices relayed reports about the dramatic appearance of Chatterley Mansion’s new mistress. With everyone’s attention riveted on her, Hermione reached out with her right hand and opened her mouth as if to welcome her audience. Instead, she leaned against the doorjamb and slid to the ground in an apparent faint.
The visiting press snatched up their equipment, but they weren’t quick enough. Del shouted an order to Cody tokeep everyone back. “Mace them if you have to,” he added, loud enough for all to hear. Del had reached the mansion door before it occurred to anyone, including Binnie Sloan, that Cody wasn’t holding a can of mace.
The press belatedly surged forward, but not before Karen rushed to Cody’s side and faced the group. In her deep, authoritative voice, she said, “Stay where you are. There’s nothing to see. Mrs. Chatterley is an elderly woman with medical problems. I’m sure you don’t want your readers to think you invaded the privacy of a sick and vulnerable woman. If there’s anything newsworthy to report, Sheriff Jenkins and I will prepare a statement, and you will be the first to hear it.” Karen’s plea gave Del enough time to pull Hermione’s inert body inside the mansion and shut the door behind them.
Olivia was impressed by Karen’s quick action. Maybe she would make a decent congresswoman, after all. Then she wouldn’t be Chatterley Heights’s mayor anymore, so there was definitely an upside.
Staff from the DC and Baltimore papers, looking frustrated, began to check their watches and call in for instructions. Reporters from the small-town weeklies chatted with each other. Olivia assumed they’d be more inclined to stick around. Hermione Chatterley represented local celebrity to them, so her public faint qualified as news. Even Chatterley Heights’s own Binnie Sloan seemed content to keep an eye on the mansion rather than sneak closer. Olivia was thankful that Nedra, Binnie’s niece and photographer, was still in Baltimore taking a journalism course. Two Sloans qualified as a herd.
Olivia felt her cell vibrate in her pocket. She opened it to a text from Del: “Need
While Binnie soaked up everyone’s attention, Olivia glanced back toward the mansion. She thought she saw a light flick on and off in a turret window. Sheer curtains covered the window, so she couldn’t be sure. She wascertain, though, that it was the same window a grumpy, disheveled Paine Chatterley had poked his head through when Olivia had visited two days earlier.
As Olivia watched, the bottom corner of the curtain twitched. She wondered if Paine was keeping an eye on the activity across the street from his newly reclaimed home. The curtain rippled, and she realized the window might be slightly open. Maybe the light she’d seen had been no more than the sun striking a sliver of exposed glass. Olivia was glad she hadn’t said anything. Not that anyone would have listened. She seemed to be the only person neither fascinated nor angered by Binnie Sloan’s adventure.
Olivia decided her presence wasn’t necessary. Karen was busy chastising Binnie, who was barely listening as she continued playing show-and-tell with her colleagues; it was a perfect time to slip away. Olivia had gone only a few steps when she heard an unfamiliar voice nearby say, “Look, something’s happening. Start the camera rolling.”
Olivia spun around to see the mansion’s front door creep open. Hermione Chatterley stood motionless in the doorway. She wasn’t dressed to receive company. From what Olivia could tell, Hermione wore a frilly pink negligee and matching peignoir. Her white hair fluffed in loose curls around her plump face.
Cameras clicked and whirred, while muted voices relayed reports about the dramatic appearance of Chatterley Mansion’s new mistress. With everyone’s attention riveted on her, Hermione reached out with her right hand and opened her mouth as if to welcome her audience. Instead, she leaned against the doorjamb and slid to the ground in an apparent faint.
The visiting press snatched up their equipment, but they weren’t quick enough. Del shouted an order to Cody tokeep everyone back. “Mace them if you have to,” he added, loud enough for all to hear. Del had reached the mansion door before it occurred to anyone, including Binnie Sloan, that Cody wasn’t holding a can of mace.
The press belatedly surged forward, but not before Karen rushed to Cody’s side and faced the group. In her deep, authoritative voice, she said, “Stay where you are. There’s nothing to see. Mrs. Chatterley is an elderly woman with medical problems. I’m sure you don’t want your readers to think you invaded the privacy of a sick and vulnerable woman. If there’s anything newsworthy to report, Sheriff Jenkins and I will prepare a statement, and you will be the first to hear it.” Karen’s plea gave Del enough time to pull Hermione’s inert body inside the mansion and shut the door behind them.
Olivia was impressed by Karen’s quick action. Maybe she would make a decent congresswoman, after all. Then she wouldn’t be Chatterley Heights’s mayor anymore, so there was definitely an upside.
Staff from the DC and Baltimore papers, looking frustrated, began to check their watches and call in for instructions. Reporters from the small-town weeklies chatted with each other. Olivia assumed they’d be more inclined to stick around. Hermione Chatterley represented local celebrity to them, so her public faint qualified as news. Even Chatterley Heights’s own Binnie Sloan seemed content to keep an eye on the mansion rather than sneak closer. Olivia was thankful that Nedra, Binnie’s niece and photographer, was still in Baltimore taking a journalism course. Two Sloans qualified as a herd.
Olivia felt her cell vibrate in her pocket. She opened it to a text from Del: “Need
Similar Books
