Page 16 of One Last Step

He walks away, and I look toward the front door to see Elena smiling and talking with a tall, severe-looking woman with dyed brown hair that falls to just above her shoulders in a crisp bob.She wears a shimmering silk evening gown and diamond earrings that are veryhaute couture.They smile at each other, but their smiles look more like grimaces than true smiles.

“That’s Margot Keller,” Sophie tells me.“Grandma hates her.”

“That’s not a polite thing to say,” I correct her.

She shrugs.“It’s true.”

Elena leads Margot to us and says, "Margot, this is my new governess, Mary.And you know Sophie, of course."

“Of course!”Margot says.

She lowers her hand to Sophie with an oversized diamond ring facing upward.Sophie smiles wryly at the ring, and for a moment, I’m afraid she’s going to kiss it, but she only shakes Margot’s hand.“How do you do, Miss Margot?”

Margot laughs.“Oh!How charming!”

I’m beginning to understand why Elena doesn’t like her.She offers me her hand, and I have to fight harder than I care to admit to keep from kissing her ring myself.“A pleasure to meet you as well.I assume you’ll be babysitting Sophie?”

Sophie bristles, and I lay my hand on her shoulder.“Fortunately, Sophie is a perfectly well-behaved young lady.I’m sure the two of us will have a very enjoyable evening.”

Margot laughs again.“Oh, of course!Of course!”

She walks away without another word.Elena watches her leave with her lip curled in contempt.After a moment, she looks at Sophie and sticks her finger in her mouth, miming throwing up.Sophie puts her hands over her mouth and giggles.

A little more of my anger toward Elena softens.After all, Iama stranger, and shedidlose a very valuable timepiece.She seems like a great grandmother, and I will forgive all sorts of bad behavior from a good parental figure, especially considering what poor guardians my own parents were.

The door opens, and two more guests walk in.

One of those guests is a young boy around Sophie's age.He has a cherubic face, fine blonde hair, and blue eyes and he wears a very handsome, tailored outfit with a wool overcoat and a matching beret.I look at Sophie and see her blushing furiously and smiling shyly at him.He catches her smile and turns as red as a tomato.

I smile and place a hand behind Sophie to lead her to the newcomers.She resists for a second, and I stifle laughter when I see the father doing the same thing to his young son.He and I share a knowing look, and a moment later, the father—as handsome as his son and about thirty years older—says, “Good evening, Elena.And good evening, Miss Sophie.”To me, he says, “And you must be Sophie’s new governess.”

“Mary Wilcox,” I reply, extending my hand.I smile down at his son and say, “And who is this handsome young man?”

The father pats his son’s shoulder.The boy swallows and stammers, “L—Luc.Luc Meyer.”

"It's wonderful to meet you, Luc.Have you met Sophie before?"

Luc shakes his head, turning even redder.Sophie giggles, then brings her hand to her mouth, mortified that such a sound could have escaped her.

Elena smiles at her.“Sophie, maybe you could show Luc around the museum?”

Sophie, not surprisingly, instantly forgets to be shy at the prospect of being allowed free from supervision.“Okay!Come on, Luc.”

She grabs Luc’s hand and pulls the poor boy away without giving him a second to adjust.I know it’s an old woman’s sentimental fantasy, but I can’t help hoping that the two of them end up married someday.

I imagine Sean rolling his eyes and have to stifle a giggle of my own.Fortunately, the father pulls my attention back to the present when he extends his hand and says, “I’m Lukas Meyer.It’s nice to meet you, Mary.”

“It’s lovely to meet you as well,” I say, accepting the handshake.

His grip is quite soft, and I have to relax mine to match.Oh well.I suppose no one’s perfect.“And how do you know Dr.Rousseau?”I ask.

He chuckles and thankfully releases my hand."I handle the museum's finances.I operate a banking firm here in Geneva that caters to wealthy clients and businesses who need long-term security and stability.Most banks are interested in maximizing growth.There's nothing wrong with that, and I often partner with other firms to grow my client's wealth, but sometimes people simply want to ensure that they won't lose what they have rather than scrambling to obtain more.My firm specializes in meeting those needs."

Elena laughs.“Please, Lukas, don’t bore her.I’m sure she’s not looking to redistribute her wealth right now.”

I have no reason to believe that Elena means that as an insult, but I still have to keep myself from telling her that I’m actually worth over eight million dollars, not exorbitant wealth in today’s world but far from destitute.Fortunately, I retain enough maturity to limit myself to, “It’s lovely to meet you, Lukas.I’ll allow you and Elena some time to catch up while I ensure the children aren’t preparing to destroy the museum.”

They laugh politely and continue on.I walk through the party and take note of the guests.I do keep my eye out for the children, but if Elena is confident enough to allow them to run free, then I candefinitelyshare the same confidence.

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