Little White Lies (7 page)

“Your mother?”

“No, my parents live in Europe.  Missy Carrington is my grandmother.  Legally the mansion belongs to me.  She deeded it to me several years ago because she said I was the only one who didn’t look at her like she’d lost her mind and she trusts me not to have her carted off to a mental institution.”

“Do the other members of your family want her committed?”

Miranda laughed.  “No, they’ve been around her long enough to know she just marches to the beat of a different drum. But she makes them nervous, so they would rather not be around her.”

“Is she the reason you never bring anyone here?”

“Yes, but not because I’m ashamed for them to know she’s my grandmother.  I love Missy with all my heart.  But like I said, people can be very judgmental and I just can’t take the chance they might say something to upset her.  It doesn’t help that Missy likes to shock people with outlandish remarks.”

“So you brought me here to be shocked by your grandmother’s eccentric behavior,” he teased.

“In a manner of speaking, I guess.  You said you wanted to be with me, to be a part of my life.  Missy is very important to me and as long as she’s alive I’ll be there to make sure she’s taken care of.  That means occasionally you’ll have to spend time with her too.  I just thought it would be better for you to meet her now before things got too involved.  If you can’t handle being around her, I’ll understand, but that also means you and I will have to go our separate ways.”

“Loyalty to your family is a very admirable quality, Miranda.  As for you and me going our separate ways, it’s going to take a lot more than a few shocking remarks from your grandmother to do the trick.”

“Last chance to bail,” she warned.

Jack leaned over and kissed her.  “You’re stuck with me.  Now, what secret incantations do I have to mutter in order to get that gate to open?”

“Just press the red button.”  A few seconds later a man’s voice came through the speaker and asked how he could help them.  “It’s Miranda. Open up, Jeeves.”

“That’s not your vehicle.”

Miranda rolled her eyes.  “I’m with a friend.”

There was a short pause then, “He doesn’t look friendly.  Are you being held against your will?”

Beside her, Jack was doing his best not to laugh but Miranda was highly agitated.  Her family was peculiar enough, but to have the hired help keep her locked out of her own house was just downright embarrassing.  She scooted closer to Jack and leaned over towards the security camera that was mounted next to the speaker.

“Jeeves, can you see me clearly?”

His response was indignant.  “Of course, this is a top notch system and you know it.”

To Jack’s surprise, and pleasure, she curled her fingers around the back of his neck and pulled his mouth down onto hers.  For several extremely satisfying minutes he forgot all about Jeeves and Missy or where they were.  All he concerned himself with was the taste of her mouth and the electrical current that seemed to be flowing from head to toe.  Her eyes were soft and dreamy when she drew away and it struck him hard that he might never have known this raw emotion, this yearning for so much more, if it hadn’t been for Miranda.

She leaned over him again.  “Satisfied I’m not being held against my will?”

“A simple no would have sufficed,” he said stiffly.

After the gate swung open and Jack had driven through, he had to ask, “Jeeves?”

“That’s not his real name, if that’s what you’re wondering.  Years ago, Missy heard the name while watching a news report about the internet.  Jeeves is a search engine but the little picture on the home page looks like an uptight English butler. She was so adamant that her own butler, Mr. Stanley, had posed for it that she started calling him Jeeves.”  Jack’s booming laughter filled the cab of the truck, making her laugh too.

“This is going to be quite an adventure,” he said as they pulled up to the front of the mansion.

“It’s very entertaining here if nothing else.”  She slipped her hand into his as they took the stone walkway up to the porch then waited for the door to open.  “He’ll take his time,” she told Jack.  “Paybacks for the kiss.”

“Is this how all your grandmother’s employees treat you?”

Miranda giggled.  Good Lord, her family was a mess.  “Jeeves isn’t an employee exactly.  Well, technically he is because I keep him on the payroll.  The truth is, Missy and Jeeves are having a secret love affair and have been for the past ten years.”

Jack was really beginning to be intrigued by Miranda and her crazy family.  “How secret can it be if you know about it?”

“Oh, everyone in the family knows about it, we just pretend we don’t because it would upset Missy.  You see, it wouldn’t be considered proper for her to be involved with the hired help.  Besides, it would probably take all the fun out of it for Missy if we told her we knew.  I think it’s incredibly romantic.  They have their stolen moments and secret trysts, and we have the comfort of knowing she has someone who loves her to keep her company and watch over her.”

“You’re an amazing woman, Miranda Carrington.  You live in two entirely different worlds and handle them both equally well; the hard working, prim and proper office assistant and the granddaughter who not only indulges her grandmother’s eccentricities but genuinely loves her in spite of them.”  He drew her into his arms, intent on kissing her when the door was yanked open.

Jeeves arched a brow at the two of them then directed his comment to Miranda.  “Are you coming in or do you mean to stand on the porch all day making out with your…
friend
?”

She looked absolutely mortified, but Jack merely grinned at the staid butler.  “If my vote counts, you can just go ahead and close the door again.”

Jeeves scrutinized Jack for a moment before tipping his head in grudging approval.  “Welcome to Carrington Manor.  If Miss Miranda will escort you to the parlor, I will have refreshments brought in and inform Mrs. Carrington you are here.”

Jack had grown up around wealth and had lived in some very high priced houses during his lifetime, but never had he seen anything as elegant as the Carrington Mansion.  Every painting and piece of furniture had been crafted by masters and was obviously tended to with the greatest of care. 

Just past the large foyer they’d entered was a magnificent marble staircase that dominated the room.  He followed Miranda off to the left and through a set of massive oak doors into what he assumed was the parlor.  The main focal point of the parlor was a massive fireplace that was almost as tall as he was and at least six feet wide.  He would have loved to study the woodwork on the mantle but Miranda was urging him towards a seating area. It was nestled in an alcove where a loveseat and two chairs faced a set of French doors leading out to an expansive flower garden.

“Not in a million years would I have guessed you lived in a place like this,” he said, his eyes wandering around the room.

“Why, because I work for your brother as a mere assistant?  He pays me quite well, you know.”

“I never said that.  And I hardly consider you a
mere
anything.  You are exceptional at your job, the best assistant Holt has ever had.  What I meant was that you don’t act like the typical spoiled little rich girl.”  His eyes swept over the business suit she’d retrieved from her office and changed into before they left.  “Expensive, tasteful clothing, but you get paid well enough to afford those.  You don’t wear flashy jewelry or drive an excessively expensive car.  You’re just so grounded for someone who grew up like this.”

“You were born into it too, Jack, and you’re certainly not arrogant or act as if you’re above anyone else.”

“Yes, but I didn’t live in a house of intrigue with a grandmother who was doing the butler on the sly.”

Miranda burst out in a fit of wild giggles and buried her face in his chest to muffle the sound. But every time she thought she had herself under control, he would whisper in her ear and detail some obscene scenario about where Jeeves and Missy were meeting and just what they were doing. 

She should have been appalled, after all it was her grandmother they were talking about, but she couldn’t seem to help herself.  It felt good to laugh and even better to have someone to share that laughter with.  She managed to compose herself just seconds before her grandmother regally swept into the room.

“Miranda, darling, I was beginning to worry about you.  You haven’t been home for two nights and didn’t even bother to call.”  Her eyes moved over Jack, an impish grin forming on her lips.  “But now that I see what’s kept you away, I completely forgive you.”

Jack took the hand the elderly woman offered, gallantly bowing and brushing a light kiss across her knuckles.  “It’s very nice to meet you, Mrs. Carrington.  I’m Jack Devlin.  I hope you don’t mind, but I planned on taking Miranda for a ride down the coast and then out to dinner.”

“Please, call me Missy.  Miranda, dear, why don’t you change your clothes and gather whatever you need for your outing while this handsome young man takes a stroll in the garden with me.”

Seeing the guarded look on Miranda’s face, Jack offered a reassuring smile before telling Missy he would be honored to accompany her.  After opening the doors to the garden, Missy slipped her hand through the arm he crooked and, together, they proceeded down a path lined with roses of varying colors.  She more or less let him wander down whichever side paths he wanted to for a while then motioned to a bench positioned beneath the shade of a tree.  Once they were seated, she took a moment to give him an appraising sweep with her eyes.  Her face was withered with time, but he could tell she had been quite a beauty in her youth. It was easy to see where Miranda got her looks.

“Tell me, Jack Devlin, just what are your intentions towards my granddaughter?”

Jack couldn’t quite contain his smile.  “I intend to make her happy for one thing.”

“She’s a wonderful girl. I don’t want to see her get hurt.”

“Then we agree on that, because I don’t want her to get hurt either.”

“You must be very important to Miranda if she brought you back here.  I assume you two have slept together?”

Even having been forewarned, her question caught him off guard.  “I…we…I mean…”

Missy smiled knowingly and patted his arm.  “Good, it’s about time that girl found herself a lover.  And I must say she certainly didn’t settle for second best.  You are a very striking young man, Jack Devlin, and I’m sure you could have your choice of women. So tell me; why are you with Miranda when it’s so obvious she is not your type.”

“You’re wrong about that,” he said, “Miranda is exactly the type of woman I want to be with.  I just didn’t know it until now.”

Missy beamed at him.  “She is pretty special, isn’t she?”

“Very special.”

“You’re not after her money are you?”

Jack laughed.  “You don’t pull any punches, do you Missy?”

“Not where my granddaughter is concerned.”

“I promise you, I’m not after her money.  As a matter of fact, I didn’t even know she had any until we drove up to the mansion and I made the family connection.  I own a very successful business, but my finances weren’t a concern even before the company became profitable.”

Missy seemed satisfied with his answer.  She eyed him for a moment then pursed her lips. “If you get her pregnant, you will have to marry her.  I’m very liberal on the whole sex before marriage thing, but I won’t have you getting my granddaughter pregnant and then abandoning her.”

Jack had to bite the insides of his cheeks to sober himself.  Missy was delightfully straight forward and he found it refreshing, but her pointed statements tickled him and he had to work hard not to howl with laughter each time she posed a new one.  He nodded thoughtfully, stalling for time until he could respond with some semblance of gravity.

“We’re taking precautions, I assure you, but in the event Miranda was to get pregnant I would most definitely marry her.”

Pleased by his answer, she stood up.  “We’d better get back before Miranda comes looking for us.  She’s probably worried I’ll scare you off but I’ve barely even ruffled you, have I?”

Jack rose to his feet and offered Missy his arm.  “Was it your intent to scare me off?”

“Not entirely.  I was really hoping I wouldn’t, but of course I had to put you to the test.  Miranda needs a strong man, one who can stand on his own and won’t be afraid to stand up for her.  The poor thing is painfully shy and takes things to heart so easily.  Now Bri, I never have to worry about.  I’ve never seen two sisters so different.  I love them both, naturally, but Miranda is my favorite.”

“She told me you were very close.  She also told me if you and I didn’t get along, she would drop me like a hot potato.”

“She didn’t!”  Missy acted shocked, but was obviously pleased to know she held such an important position in her granddaughter’s life.

“She most certainly did, but I admire her for being loyal to you.  So tell me, Missy, how do I stay in your good graces so I can continue to date Miranda?”