Her Own Rules (9 page)

88 / Barbara Taylor Bradford

“I’ve come about the advertisement in the newspa-per…for a receptionist.”

“Oh yes, of course, and whom might I be speaking to?”

“I’m Meredith Stratton.”

“Well, hello, Meredith Stratton. Pleased to meet you!” he exclaimed, thrusting out his hand once more.

“Pleased to meet you indeed, Meredith Stratton!”

She took his hand and shook it for a second time.

He did not let go of it. Then he smiled at her, a wide, warm smile that showed his beautiful teeth. They were very white in his tanned face.

She smiled back at him, liking him.

He started to laugh for no apparent reason.

She laughed with him, instantly captivated by this man whom she had never seen before.

Still holding on to her hand, he led her and the bike she was clinging to over to the front steps, where he had been sitting. “Come inside. But I do think you’ll have to leave your transportation out here,” he said, and grinned.

Meredith nodded, her eyes dancing, and then she removed her hand from his and propped her bike against the porch railings.

“Nice bike you have.”

“It’s not mine. I borrowed it. That was the only way I could get here.”

“Where did you come from?”

“New Preston. We’ve been living up above Lake Wara-maug.” She glanced away, her eyes focusing on Her Own Rules / 89

the lake at the bottom of the rolling lawns and flower gardens. “You’ve got a nice lake,” she murmured.

“Silver Lake,” he told her. “It used to have a Native American name a few years ago, a few
hundred
years ago, that is. Lake Wappaconaca. But an ancestor of mine bought this land and the local folk got into the habit of calling it Silver Lake, after him, and that name stuck. And this, of course, is Silver Lake Inn, built in 1832 by that same ancestor…a hundred and sixty-three years ago this year.”

Meredith stood looking up at the inn. “It’s a lovely old building.”

“Come on, let’s go inside. I want you to meet Amelia.”

The moment she stepped through the doorway of the inn Meredith knew that it was a very special place.

The walls were painted a cloudy mottled pink and they gave the entrance the warmest of rosy feelings. The floor was so highly polished it gleamed like a dark mirror; an old carved chest, two high-backed chairs and a small desk were obviously vintage antiques, and looked valuable even to her untrained eye.

Everywhere there were fresh flowers in tall crystal vases and bulbs growing in Chinese porcelain bowls; their mixed fragrances assailed her…the scent of mimosa, hyacinth, narcissi mingled with the smell of beeswax, lemons, and dried roses, ripe apples cooking on a stove somewhere.

As she took all of this in, looking around her wide-eyed, Meredith was awed. Yet she was filled with 90 / Barbara Taylor Bradford

a curious kind of excitement and pleasure such as she had never known before. She crossed her fingers, praying she would get the job. Glancing at the small antique desk with its silk-shaded porcelain lamp and telephone, she could not help thinking how nice it would be to sit in this entrance hall, being a receptionist, greeting guests. It was certainly more appealing to her than working as an au pair, looking after children all day long, even though she loved children.

Jack ushered her down a short corridor and opened the door at the end. A woman sat behind a desk with her back to the door; she was gazing out of the window.

“Amelia,” Jack said. “We have an applicant at last.

For the job of receptionist.”

The woman slowly turned, and Meredith realized immediately that she was sitting in a wheelchair. Her breath caught in her throat as she returned the woman’s steady gaze. Meredith was startled by her beauty.

Dark hair, parted in the middle, tumbled around a pale, heart-shaped face. Wonderful high cheekbones, a dimpled chin, and a sensual mouth were nothing in comparison to the amazing vivid green eyes below perfectly arched black brows. It’s the woman from
Gone With the Wind
, she thought.

Amelia said, “You’re looking rather strange. Are you feeling all right?”

Meredith realized she was staring and exclaimed,

“Oh yes, I’m fine.
Sorry
. I’m so sorry to stare at you, it’s very rude.” The words tumbled out, and then because of her youth and ingenuousness, Her Own Rules / 91

she rushed on unthinkingly. “You’re so beautiful. You look like Vivien Leigh in
Gone With the Wind
. Doesn’t everybody tell you that?”

“Not everyone. And thank you for your lovely compliment,” Amelia answered with a smile and exchanged an amused look with Jack.

Jack cleared his throat and took charge. “Amelia darling, may I introduce Miss Meredith Stratton. Miss Stratton, this is my wife, Mrs. Amelia Silver.”

Meredith walked across the polished wood floor and took the woman’s slender hand in hers, then stepped back, still moved by such perfect beauty.

“Please, do sit down, Miss Stratton,” Amelia murmured. “Make yourself comfortable.”

“Thank you.” Meredith lowered herself into a chair, straightening her cotton skirt as she did. “I’d feel better if you called me Meredith, Mrs. Silver. I’m not used to
Miss Stratton
.”

Again a small smile fluttered briefly on Amelia’s pretty mouth. “I’d be happy to call you by your first name.”

Jack, who was now sitting on the window seat to the right of his wife, remarked, “Meredith comes from New Preston. At least, that’s where she bicycled from this afternoon.” He now directed his words to Meredith and went on. “But you originally hail from Australia, don’t you?”

She nodded. “Sydney. But how did you know? Oh, my awful voice, that’s how, isn’t it?”

“It’s not awful,” Amelia said. “But you do have a 92 / Barbara Taylor Bradford

slight twang, one that’s distinctly Australian. And tell me, when did you come to live in Connecticut?”

“Last year. I’ll have been living here just a year this July. I came with the Paulsons. They’re an American family I met when they were living in Sydney. Mr.

Paulson’s with an advertising agency. I worked for them in Sydney as an au pair.”

“And now you wish to leave them. May we inquire why?” Jack probed.

“I want to change jobs, Mr. Silver. But it’s a bit more complicated than that. Mr. Paulson has been transferred again, this time to South Africa. The family are about to leave for Johannesburg. They asked me to go too, but I don’t want to. I want to live in America. I never want to leave Connecticut. It’s the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen.”

“But what about your family? Your parents back in Australia? How do they feel about this?” Amelia seemed slightly puzzled. “Surely they want you to go home?”

“Oh no, they don’t…what I mean is…well, you see…they’re…dead. They died, yes, they did. In a…car crash. When I was ten.” Meredith nodded to herself.

“When I was ten.” she repeated.

“Oh you poor girl,” Amelia exclaimed, her face changing yet again, filling with sympathy. “How terribly sad, heartbreaking for you. And do you not have other family out there? Relatives?”

“No, I don’t. There’s no one.”

“But how awful for you to be so alone in this world.”

Amelia turned her chair to face Jack. “Isn’t it sad, darling?”

Her Own Rules / 93

“Yes, it is.”

“How old are you?” Amelia asked, giving her a warm, encouraging smile.

“Eighteen. I was just eighteen at the beginning of May.”

Jack said, “Have you ever worked as a receptionist?

Had any experience in a hotel?”

“No, but I’m good with people. At least, Mrs.

Paulson says so, and I’ve been helping her with her paperwork for two years. You know, her checkbook, household accounts, things like that. She’s even taught me a bit about bookkeeping. She says I have the right skills for this job, Mr. Silver. And you can phone her anytime. She’s also going to give me a written reference. It’ll be ready later this afternoon. I can bring it back to you tonight if you want.”

“That won’t be necessary,” Amelia said briskly, then addressed Jack. “I think you should speak to Mrs.

Paulson about Meredith right away. Now. You don’t mind if we call her while you’re still here, do you, Meredith?”

“Oh no. And she’s at home packing. I think she’s sort of expecting you to give her a call.”

“What’s the number, Meredith?” Jack asked as he crossed to the desk and picked up the phone.

She gave it to him; he dialed. And a moment later he was engaged in a conversation with Mrs. Paulson, or, rather, he was listening, saying very little, hardly able to get a word in edgewise.

Amelia sat quietly, waiting for the conversation to come to an end.

94 / Barbara Taylor Bradford

Meredith clasped her hands tightly in her lap, suddenly anxious and tense. Even though she knew Mrs.

Paulson would say all the right things, she couldn’t help worrying a little. This job was important to her.

When Jack finally hung up, he said to Meredith,

“She’s full of praise for you, says you’re a clever girl, diligent, honest, and hardworking, and she told me you looked after her children very well.”

Meredith beamed, and relaxed, then looked at Amelia expectantly.

Amelia said, “It’s good to know that Mrs. Paulson thinks so highly of you.”

“Yes. And she did say she’ll come to see you,”

Meredith volunteered. “She’d like to meet you.”

Jack walked over to the window seat, sat down, then said to Amelia, “To continue. Mrs. Paulson’s sorry to lose Meredith, but she understands her reasons for wanting to stay in Connecticut. In any case, she thinks Meredith’s cut out for better things.” Then to Meredith he remarked, “She says you were very good with her children. Apparently they love you.”

“I love them,” Meredith replied. “I’m going to miss them, Mr. Silver, but I don’t want to go to South Africa.”

“I can’t say I blame you for wanting to stay in Connecticut,” Amelia murmured. “The Litchfield Hills, in particular, are very lovely. Now, when would you be able to start?”

“Next week.” Meredith sat up straighter and glanced from Amelia to Jack. “Do I have the job then?”

Her Own Rules / 95

“Yes,” Amelia said. “Mrs. Paulson’s recommendation is wonderful, and it’s good enough for us. I don’t think we’ll find anyone better than you, Meredith. Isn’t that so, Jack?”

“Yes, I agree. However, there’s a slight problem, you know.”

“What’s that, Jack darling?”

“Where is Meredith going to live?”

Taken by surprise on hearing this, Meredith gaped at the Silvers. “Here at the inn!” she cried. “The advertisement said
food and lodging provided if required
. I wouldn’t have applied otherwise. That was the thing that pleased Mrs. Paulson…that I would be living here at the inn with you. That I wouldn’t be out on my own.”

“We do have a room, but it’s up in the attic,” Jack explained. “And it’s not very nice. The assistant housekeeper occupies the one good staff bedroom.

We’re a bit short of staff quarters, if the truth be known.”

“I don’t mind the attic,” Meredith said, suddenly afraid the job would slip through her fingers. “Honest, I don’t.”

“We were hoping we’d find a receptionist who lived nearby and could come in daily,” Amelia smiled. “But no one applied, even though the advertisement’s been in for a few weeks. Until you came today, of course.”

Amelia gave Jack a long, searching look. “Perhaps we could make the attic more presentable, get it painted and wallpapered. We could put in a few pieces of really nice furni-96 / Barbara Taylor Bradford

ture, spruce it up. And let’s not forget that it is fairly spacious.”

“I don’t know…” Jack began, and stopped when he noticed the crestfallen look on Meredith’s face. Making a sudden decision, he jumped up. “Let me show you the room.” Turning to his wife, he explained, “I think we should let Meredith be the judge of the room. Let’s hear what she thinks of it.”

“You’re quite right. Run along with Jack, Meredith.

He’ll take you to the top floor.”

A few minutes later Meredith and Jack were standing in the attic under the eaves. Meredith was relieved to see there were two dormer windows and that the room
was
quite large, as Amelia had indicated. She walked around, then said to Jack Silver, “But I love it, and it’s quaint, cute. I’ll soon make it look nice. Don’t worry, I’ll be fine up here.”

Jack merely nodded and they went back downstairs.

“Well, what do you think, my dear?” Amelia asked, raising a brow quizzically as they walked in.

“It’s unusual, Mrs. Silver, and it’ll work nicely for me. I’ll make it comfortable. Do you want me to start next week?”

“If you can. I’m really looking forward to your arrival, Meredith.”

“So am I. And I’ll bring the written reference with me.”

“If you wish. Good-bye for now,” Amelia said, and wheeled herself behind the desk. “I must get Her Own Rules / 97

back to all this tedious paperwork that has recently landed in my lap.”

Jack and Meredith went out to the front porch and he walked with her down the steps. “The inn’s not busy at the moment,” he confided, “but it will be in another week or so. What day do you think you can come?”

“Monday. That’s only four days from now. Will that be all right, Mr. Silver?”

“It certainly will. You’re going to take a huge burden off me, and I’ll be able to tackle some of the other chores that Pete O’Brien has been doing. He’s the estate manager and he’s badly overworked. Amelia will feel more at ease too once you’re installed. She gets so tired at times. Try though I have, I’ve not been able to find anyone to assist her.”

Meredith nodded her understanding, full of empathy for the Silvers. “It must be difficult, but don’t worry, Mr. Silver, I’ll help her with that paperwork. I’d really like to do that in my spare time.” She glanced across at him, hesitated, and then asked softly, “What exactly happened to Mrs. Silver? Why is she in a wheelchair?”

“Amelia had a riding accident eleven years ago. Her spine was damaged. She’s been paralyzed from the waist down ever since.”

“How dreadful, I’m so sorry…she’s so beautiful.”