The Mysterious Twin

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Once again, Ashley was startled by the elegance of the house and its furnishings. In the music room, mirrored walls and murals provided a plush backdrop for a grand piano, an entertainment center and various musical instruments, complete with stands and music.

When Kyle saw her questioning eyes lingering on the assortment of instruments, he explained, “Hugo likes his guests to have everything they need to perform and entertain,”

“And do you perform and entertain, also?” Ashley asked.

Kyle tensed because he knew that there was more to her question than appeared on the surface. Her swiftness and perception were completely unexpected. Had she intuitively picked up his aversion to being Vandenburg’s puppet? “I’m afraid I’m a little short on the entertainment side,” he said evasively. “How about you? Didn’t Hugo tell me that you played the guitar for his guests when you and your husband visited?”

Jill hadn’t told her that little happening. What else had her sister left out? Ashley pretended she was too interested in the room to answer.

“How about a little after-dinner music?” He picked up one of the guitars and handed it to her.

The way he was looking at her made her wonder if he was testing her or just being spontaneous. In any case, he’d backed her into a corner. Even though both she and Jill had taken guitar lessons, Jill was the one who had played in a band after high-school graduation, while Ashley had barely mastered a few chords.

“Your reputation precedes you,” he warned her with a smile.

She forced a laugh. “I’ll tell you what. Let me do a little practicing, and maybe by next week I’ll show off a little bit.”

“Fair enough,” he said. “I’ll look forward to it.”

I’ll have to warn Jill, she thought as they went back into the library. The list of things she needed to coach her twin about was getting longer and longer.

Kyle watched Ashley’s mouth tighten as she picked up a couple of the textbooks to take with her. She was worried. He could tell. What if she backed out of the nanny job because she couldn’t cut the mustard as a teacher?

He immediately shifted into damage-control mode and said, “I wouldn’t worry too much about any formal lessons. Just keep Benny and Pamela occupied as best you can. It is summer, after all.”

She wanted to remind him about his earlier warnings. And now he was giving her mixed signals about what was expected of her as a nanny? How much weight did he have when it came to Hugo’s decisions? She was confused as to his role in the household, but one thing was sure, she couldn’t afford to risk him knowing that Jill was pulling a fast one on him.

As he shut the library doors, he asked, “Would you like to see the solarium?”

Without waiting for her answer, he took her arm

and guided her through an arched doorway into a dimly lit room filled with beautiful plants, exquisite flowers and tropical greenery. Moonlight and stars shone through a domed glass ceiling, and small lights scattered through the flowers beds twinkled like stars and gave a soft illumination to the room. The air was redolent with heady perfume, and the only sound was a soft musical waterfall flowing over rocks into a small pond that glistened in the moonlight.

The room was designed so perfectly that the lush garden outside blended harmoniously with the plants on the inside. It was difficult to tell where one started and the other began. Ashley’s senses were assaulted by the sensuous beauty around her. She was grateful for Kyle’s silence as she touched the delicate petals of a white orchid, and lifted her eyes to the high canopy of sky and stars overhead. Surrounded by beautiful flowering plants of every kind, she truly felt as if she’d suddenly entered some kind of fairyland.

When she turned to smile at him, she forgot about any pretense. “Thank you for sharing this with me.”

Her reaction was not at all what Kyle had expected. He’d only offered to show her the solarium out of politeness, in order that she would know which rooms she could use and which ones were off-limits.

“It’s so beautiful, it’s almost unreal, isn’t it?”

He searched her face and found only sincerity in her shining eyes. The glow on her face was more seductive than her dangling earrings or the tantalizing rise and fall of her full breasts. A surge of sexual warmth took him off guard. He knew he’d better squelch it—and quickly!

“Is it all right if I come here often?” she asked, hopefully.

“The only one who might object is Joseph. He’s possessive about his plants, inside and out,” he said shortly, angry with her for having gotten to him with her shining eyes and awed expression. “But I’m sure you can win him over. I can’t imagine any man resisting your charms for long.”

He knew his snide remark had hit its target when her eyes lost their shine as she turned away from him. Just as well, he thought. He had to keep his priorities straight. There was too much at stake for him to jeopardize months of careful effort because she knew how to send a man’s hormones into orbit.

She fell silent as they walked down the hall. “I’ll see you to your room,” he said when they reached the main staircase to the floors above.

“There’s no need. I know my way from here. Good night and thanks for showing me around.”

Ashley quickly brushed past him and was halfway up the stairs when she realized that he was mounting the stairs behind her. She swung around to face him, ready to dismiss him with her professional hauteur. “Why are you following me?”

His mouth tightened. “Even though the tantalizing allure of you climbing the stairs in that tight dress is worth viewing, Jill, I assure you that my intention is not to follow you. We just happen to be going in the same direction.”

“But I thought you were staying in the guest house.”

Kyle raised an eyebrow. Someone had been talking to her about him. Probably Lily. Sometimes that gal knew more than was good for her. He wondered what else Jill Gordon had picked up on the household grapevine.

“Yes, I’m in the guest house, but I’ve been looking in on the kids every night. And if they’re not asleep, I talk to them a little while.” He gave her that sardonic smile of his. “I hope that’s all right with their new nanny?”

Ashley didn’t even grace his remark with an answer. She turned on her heel, and climbed the rest of the stairs without looking back. Fuming silently, she went down the hall to the nursery and closed the door behind her with a punctuating bang that startled Lily.

What was worse, it woke up the baby!

Whatever she’d said about enjoying the solarium was obviously not to his liking, but then why show it to her in the first place? She was bewildered by the sudden distance he’d put between them. What had she done wrong?

Chapter Four

Lily went quickly over to the crib, turned Davie on his stomach and began patting his little rear. “There, there, back to sleep, now. Back to sleep,” she soothed until his cries had faded away and he was sound asleep again.

“I’m sorry,” Ashley apologized quietly, embarrassed that her irritation with Kyle had gotten the best of her. “Thanks for getting him back to sleep. I wasn’t thinking when I closed the door so hard.”

Lily looked at her with raised eyebrows. “You in a snit about something? Didn’t you enjoy your dinner?”

“Dinner was fine,” Ashley answered evenly. She didn’t want to discuss the evening’s happenings. Her emotions were in some kind of a tangle, and she needed time to sort everything out.

Lily followed her into the bedroom. “Was Mr. Stone there?” she asked. At Ashley’s nod, she sighed. “Isn’t he something?”

He was “something,” all right, Ashley silently agreed. She’d never had a man create such a yo-yo of emotions within her. Her usual calm, confident interaction with other people had deserted her. The whole evening had been like a jousting contest, and she was worn-out.

“Does he check on Pamela and Benny every night?” Ashley asked, disgusted with herself for bothering to validate his story. What did it matter? She planned to give him a wide berth from now on.

“Well, I usually get the children settled in bed by nine, but I know that they don’t go right to sleep because in the morning there are books and stuff all over their beds. Benny said something about Mr. Stone reading to him.”

So he wasn’t lying. For some reason that surprised Ashley, and she began to feel foolish about accusing him of following her.

Lily sighed. “He’s such a nice man. I just can’t believe all the things they say about him.”

“What things?” Ashley’s interest was immediate. Even though gossiping with this young maid wasn’t the kind of behavior that she admired, she was going to do it just the same.

Lily’s expression suddenly became guarded. “Sometimes my tongue gets the better of me. It’s none of my business what goes on around here. Mr. Stone has always been fair with me, and I’m not a bit afraid of him.”

“Afraid of him? Is there some reason you should be?”

Lily’s eyes rounded “I wouldn’t be asking things like that if I were you, Jill,” she warned. “And, please, don’t be saying I was talking out of turn. If you start asking questions, I’m likely to get my walking papers. Promise?”

“Of course, Lily.” Ashley assured her. No doubt the truth about Kyle would probably surface from other sources if she kept her ears open. Her own intuitive sense of his duplicity seemed to be validated by what Lily was afraid to tell her. Finding out as much as she could about him before Jill took over suddenly took on major importance.

“Thanks for looking after the baby, Lily. Now, I’d better get to bed and get some sleep before Davie wakes up for his night feeding.”

“There are three bottles of formula left,” Lily said. “That should carry him until I can make up some more in the morning.”

“You’re an angel, Lily. I don’t think I could manage without you,” she said with more truth than the maid would ever know.

“Davie’s a dear. It’s a dirty shame the way your husband up and left you penniless with a raft of debts. Some of them are saying that you’ve got money stashed away, but I don’t believe it. Why would you take on a nanny’s job if you didn’t have to?”

Ashley blinked. The gossip mill had done its work on Jill, all right. No telling what stories were going around about Budge and the missing money. As if her sister were talking through her, Ashley said, “I need this job. And I intend to do my best to keep it.”

“Oh, I don’t think you have to worry. I heard Mrs. Borsch say that Mr. Vandenburg had given it to you out of the kindness of his heart, that all he really wanted was a babysitter for the summer…not a real nanny.”

“Really?” Ashley frowned. Something didn’t add up. “Mrs. Borsch made it clear what the daily schedule is to be, and what I am supposed to accomplish during those hours. She certainly didn’t give me the impression that I was to be a glorified babysitter and neither did Kyle Stone.”

Lily shrugged and started toward the door. “I guess you’ll find out soon enough.”

“What time do the children have breakfast?”

“Between eight and eight-thirty, usually on the garden terrace, but I heard Mr. Stone tell Gerta that he would be having breakfast with you in the dining room.” She frowned. “That’s kinda strange. He usually has Gerta bring a tray to the guest house in the mornings.” Then her mouth eased into a smile. “I guess he was just waiting for a pretty lady to join him.” She winked at Ashley and disappeared into the hall.

Glancing at her watch, Ashley saw that it was nine-thirty. She’d promised to call Jill at bedtime every night to let her know that everything was under control. Was everything under control? Ashley asked herself as she closed the hall door and took Jill’s cell phone from her purse.

She dialed Jill’s number, and when the answering machine came on, she left the coded message, “Life is great.” Then hung up. When she dialed a second time, her twin picked it up on the second ring.

“Ashley?”

“Yes, it’s me. How are you doing?”

Ashley’s heart sank when Jill had a bout of coughing before answering. She knew that her twin wasn’t any better than she had been when she’d left her that morning. Ashley’s hand tightened on the phone.

Jill croaked, “The doctor is changing my prescription, and he says I should be back on my feet before long.”

Before long. Ashley knew that was a doctor’s euphemism for I don’t know how soon you can shake this.

“How did things go?” Jill asked in her husky voice. “How’s Davie?”

“The baby’s fine,” she answered, deciding to answer the easiest question first. “There’s a young woman here who’s great with the baby. Lily’s her name. She’ll be a great help to you.”

“Are the people nice?” Jill asked anxiously.

“They seem anxious to make your stay a pleasant one,” Ashley hedged. “I’ll fill you in later. Right now, I want you to quit worrying and take care of yourself.”

As they talked, Ashley moved restlessly around the room, not realizing that she was actually pacing from nervousness. She wanted to pour out her uneasiness about the whole situation, but she knew Jill wouldn’t listen. She never did. Her twin was always making fun of the lack of adventure in Ashley’s life, and chiding her for being such a stick-in-the-mud.

“Are there any good-looking men around?” Jill asked after heartily blowing her nose.

“Well, I’ve met one that will probably meet with your approval.”

“What does he look like?”

Ashley thought for a moment. “I guess you could say he’s a Pierce Brosnan look-alike.”

“Wow,” Jill croaked. “Not bad. Not bad.”

“Did you meet a Kyle Stone when you were here?” Ashley asked, knowing that sooner or later her sister would get him in her sights, and Lily’s sudden fear to talk about the man still worried her.

“The name doesn’t ring a bell, but there were lots of guys hanging around Hugo. He could have been one of them, but if he’s half as gorgeous as you say, I would have remembered him. Did he say he’s met me?”

“No, but—” Ashley hesitated.

“But what? I can’t see any reason for him not to remember me,” she said with her usual lack of modesty. “You’ll have to fill me in so I’ll know what’s gone on between you two.”

Ashley decided not to pursue the subject until she had more than Lily’s gossip to pass along. When Jill asked about the two children and her nanny duties, Ashley did her best to reassure her. “I’ll know more after tomorrow. Don’t worry, Jill. Just rest and get well.”

After they’d said goodbye, Ashley put the phone back in her purse, and closed the draperies. Then she checked on the baby and tried to relax as she got ready for bed.

STANDING AT THE WINDOW of the guest house, Kyle could look across the garden to the back of the house. The windows of the nursery and the adjoining bedroom were clearly visible, and his small but powerful binoculars brought Ashley’s pacing figure sharply into focus.

“Damn,” he swore when he saw that she was talking into a cell phone. He had been counting on being privy to every contact Jill made by phone. Every telephone in the house was bugged, and all phone conversations were recorded by an elaborate electronic set-up that he had hidden in a locked closet of the guest house. He couldn’t believe he’d overlooked the possibility that she would bring a cell phone.

As he watched her in deep conversation with someone, he was chagrined that she’d outwitted him the first night. Vandenburg didn’t tolerate sloppy work, and not knowing who she was contacting was a loose end that Kyle couldn’t afford to let get by him. He’d have to get rid of that cell phone and quick.

As he watched her walk over and close the bedroom curtains, he wondered how soon it would be before she realized that she had a view of the guest cottage from her windows. Nothing about the time he’d spent with Jill had gone smoothly, and the knowledge that she could watch his coming and going from the guest house was less than reassuring. She wasn’t nearly as self-centered as he’d been told.

He’d seen a flash of her temper when he’d made the mistake of following her up the stairs. Her flashing eyes and crisp tone had coldly dismissed him as if he’d been about to overstep some unspoken bound. In truth, he’d been hoping that they might end the night on a warmer note if they said goodnight at her bedroom door. The right words and tender looks could work wonders when it came to a satisfactory lingering parting with a woman. Everything about Jill’s sexy looks should have encouraged a flirtation, but he’d struck out all evening with her.

After the lights went off in her room, he turned away from the window. Throwing himself down on the couch, he picked up the phone and made a call that he would just as soon have passed up if there’d been a choice.

ASHLEY HAD three and a half hours sleep before Davie woke up for his night feeding. She couldn’t believe how loud a baby’s demanding cry could sound in the middle of the night. Ignoring the infant’s summons even for a few dazed moments wasn’t an option. Groaning, she threw back a light cover and padded barefoot in her short summer gown into the nursery.

She knew the routine from taking care of the baby at her sister’s. Fortunately, her diaper-changing time was improving. Even Davie seemed to be more patient with her less-than-experienced handling and her attempts to coax a smile from him. Everything was going well until she opened the door of the small refrigerator to get a bottle. The light suddenly went out, and the humming sound of the fridge cut off.

Somehow it had probably become unplugged, she thought, but Davie wasn’t patient about waiting to be fed, so she put off checking the cord, and gave her attention to heating his bottle and feeding him.

Davie was content after his bottle, but not sleepy. She rocked him for nearly a half-an-hour before he finally went back to sleep and she could put him back in the crib.