Chapter 37: Chapter Thirty-Seven
I chose a pretty little yellow sundress with a black belt that I thought complemented my complexion quite nicely.
I donned a white pair of heels and my grandmother’s pearl necklace, and pronounced myself ready. It wasn’t like I was going to be needing my purse around the mansion, though I did slide my smartphone into my pocket; one, to take pictures of the fabulous things I was no doubt going to see today, and two, as a business owner, I felt it important to keep my phone on me at all times.
What if Penny needed me?
###
It was 11am by the time Mason led me downstairs through the stunning mansion. The floors upstairs were polished hardwood, downstairs, gray tiled marble. Everything shone; freshly dusted and polished until you could see yourself in every surface. The lighting was low and warm, and the art and bustiers that adorned the halls were all very tasteful and expensive looking.
Mason led me out onto a sunny veranda overlooking the emerald lawn and the rose gardens beyond, which were in full bloom.
Claudia Blacksteele was waiting for us at a table laid out for the fanciest brunch I had ever seen. And she was not alone.
###
I couldn’t even focus properly on the other people, however, not with Claudia rising to greet me.
She was a tall, willowy blonde with dark blue eyes and rather sharp features. Her skirt, blazer and pumps were the exact same shade of eggshell and her pearl jewelry was much nicer than mine. Her ash blonde hair was swept into a lavish up-do that bespoke her stature.
Her mauve lips pursed ever so slightly and the dark blue eyes narrowed infinitesimally as she gripped my hand. Hers were manicured and very soft, of course. As a baker, I rarely get my nails done; I’d just get flour in them. Right from the tips of our fingers, we were different women, and I was willing to bet that difference ran all the way to the core.
“Annie Caldwell, I presume?” Claudia said with her perfectly proper British accent. It was fading, I could tell, but it was still charming as all get-out.
“Nice to meet you, Mrs. Blacksteele.” I said, and resisted the urge to curtsy.
She didn’t tell me to call her Claudia, I noticed, as she released my hand, and my nerves jangled again as she continued to eye me up and down with open criticism. “You’ll pardon my stare, it’s just that Mason has never brought a girl home before. If only Richard could’ve lived to see the day.”
I swallowed. Mason eased closer to me and I looked up at him and subtly inclined my head to him, then eased a bit closer to him. In part just for safety.
This was my cue to him and it allowed him to place his hand on the small of my back.
I was sure the subject of his late father was painful to him and I was grateful when one of the other people present stepped up to speak.
“No, Mason certainly hasn’t ever brought a woman home. What a pleasure it is to meet you, Annie Caldwell, rare creature that you are!”
I was obliged to turn my attention to the redheaded woman currently smiling at me.
She was gorgeous, was the first thing I thought when I looked at her. Smooth, pale complexion with the lightest dusting of freckles across an Oscar worthy nose, big, pale gray eyes like the mist that hung about a calm lake on a Sunday morning.
Her red hair was dyed auburn, but I could tell by the subtle showing of roots and by the fair color of her eyebrows that she was more like a pale ginger in actuality.
She was dressed in a dainty blue blouse over a pair of white cropped pants and espadrilles that flattered slender ankles. She smelled sweet and fresh, just as she looked, and I was instantly threatened of her very existence.
“Mina, what’re you doing here?” Mason asked stiffly, and I stiffened up, as well.
Perhaps it was petty of me, but I stepped away from his touch.
###
Mina notched her chin up and met Mason’s frown, but I could see that her hands were shaking before she clasped them together in front of herself. “I was invited, Mason. Good to see you again. Your brother sends his best.”
I looked up at Mason curiously and saw that he now wore a very dark expression indeed. “Is my brother going to be here?” He asked in a soft growl that made my nonexistent hackles rise a bit.
“No...Cole has to work.” Mina said rather heavily, then returned a smile onto me. “Sorry, we’re being rude. I’m Mrs. Mina Blacksteele, Mason’s sister-in-law.”
###
“Oh.” I said, then realized I probably sounded way too relieved.
“Oh. Right, of course. Nice to finally meet you.” I tried again with an apologetic smile, shaking her hand, which was also carefully manicured like a lady’s hand ought to be.
I was then introduced to the two other people present; Mason’s cousin, Colin, an unassuming little man in a sweater vest and khakis, and his wife, Evelyn, who was just as much of a mousy, insipid little yuppie as her husband. I discovered this within just a few minutes of talking to them and getting dosed with their particular views on politics today, or rather, lack thereof.
The most interesting thing about them was their British accents.
Mina was splendid, however, and as we enjoyed a bountiful brunch together whilst enjoying the summer sunshine, I felt like I had actually met a kindred spirit in Mason’s sister-in-law.
Mina was a real-estate agent, or had been before she’d gotten married to a billionaire, at any rate. That made my tummy clench a bit in empathetic chagrin. The idea of giving up everything I was to marry some rich man made my knees weak with horror. It’s what Penelope had done, and it hadn’t ended well for her.
Aiden had been her world, and he had left her for a 22-year-old barista in the end.
As for Mina, she said that she now had more time to work on her painting, but something in those big gray eyes just seemed so sad.
I wasn’t able to dwell on it for long, though, before Claudia was bombarding me with questions.
“So, Annie.” Claudia laced her delicate fingers together and stared me down with a look that was as hard as, well, steel. “Tell us about yourself.”
###
“Yes!” Mina encouraged with a much warmer expression. “How is it that Mason has been hiding you from us all this time?”
I gulped and looked to Mason. I hoped my nervousness seemed justified and not like I was trying to hide something as I began to recite my lines.