Page 47 of Halstead House

“Eliza, I don’t have much time left here,” I said before I realized I’d been thinking it. The truth of the sentiment hit me as her face softened. “Do you have to go now? Can’t you postpone leaving?”

“I’ll miss you too, dear.”

“This is madness,” Lucas inserted as he came to stand next to us. He looked at me and gestured toward his aunt. “Can you try to talk some sense into her?”

I glanced at Lucas and then back to Eliza. They both wanted what they wanted, and I was powerless to change either of their minds, nor did I want to. The entire reason I was standing there was that I’d dared to make a choice for myself regardless of what anyone else wanted me to do.

“It’s her choice,” I mumbled.

Lucas glared and Eliza leveled a look at him. “Don’t you be unkind to Grace.”

He took a breath and closed his eyes briefly. “I’m sorry,” he said to me. It was enough. I understood why he felt snappish.

Her attention turned back to me. “Be brave, dear. You’ve done many events, and you’ll make us proud.”

“I’ll try,” I replied.

I leaned in for a quick hug and then spun around on my good foot and left the garage. I couldn’t bear to watch her drive away. It didn’t make sense, but I felt like she was abandoning me. I’d meant what I’d said: I only had so much time on Lavender Island. Why would she choose to miss some of that time together?

I leisurely hobbled back to the house. It wasn’t that I truly felt like I’d fail at running Lucas’s luncheon or handling some of the smaller details that came up day to day. I was well trained and experienced in such matters. It was that I had grown to truly enjoy the camaraderie of working as part of a team for the first time in my life, and I felt a little lost knowing half of our partnership would be gone.

I eventually made my way up the outside stairs from the garden and into the conservatory. My laptop was still on, sitting on the couch where I’d dropped it in my haste to figure out what was happening. It hadn’t even had time to go into power saving mode. My head was reeling as I sat back down and propped my foot up. I wasn’t wearing shoes. I’d been so incredibly surprised that I’d chucked my laptop and gone barefoot out to the garage. I almost smiled over it.

I picked my laptop back up and opened the folder with notes on Lucas’s luncheon. One week was plenty of time to manage the last details, but I didn’t want to take any chances on not knowing every last detail.

My insides wanted to jump out of my throat as I entered the large dining room one week later to prepare for Lucas’s luncheon. The head count wasn’t high enough to require the use of the larger ballroom next door, so the more intimate feel of the smaller room was ideal. I arrived just in time to step aside while Marshall rolled one of the five round tables in from the back of the house.

“Morning, Grace,” he greeted with a smile. “Didn’t see you at breakfast today. You doing okay?”

I returned his smile. “Busy morning,” I lied. My body wasn’t accepting food at this time. “Did you hire a crew? Or can I help?”

“Nah, I didn’t need a crew for a small job like this. Your help would be nice.”

I helped him unfold the legs of the table he’d been rolling and lift it to standing. We slid it around into position, and I followed Marshall back past the kitchen into a large storage area.

We worked quietly, Marshall occasionally saying something about the weather, or projects he’d been working on around the house. I appreciated his light chatter and the fact that he didn’t need me to join in.

When we finished adding in the other tables and the thirty chairs, I went to find Ana and see if the tablecloths were ready. She wasn’t in the housekeeping room, but the small stack of cream tablecloths was sitting on the laundry counter near an ironing board. I turned on the iron, needing something else to keep me busy. I was certainly capable of ironing five tablecloths.

I’d finished two by the time Ana found me. I didn’t hear her come in, but I did hear the overly loud “Ahem!” when she said it. I turned to find her, lips pinched and her hands on her hips.

“Just what do you think you’re doing?” she asked.

“Eliza left town.” I frowned.

“I heard. It’s been a week and news travels. Is ironing tablecloths how you deal with life’s disappointments?”

I chuckled despite my melancholy. “No. I already helped Marshall set up tables and chairs for today, so I thought I’d get going on the rest.”

“Well, then I’ll just pull up a chair, tell the others to take a break, and get me a cold glass of lemonade. There’s sheets to wash too.” Ana’s lips twitched. “Honestly, scoot over and let me finish up.” Her hands fell from her hips as she walked toward me, waving one hand to shoo me away from the ironing board. “There’s an art to this.”

“Okay, okay.” I snatched up the two I’d already ironed and took them to the dining room to drape over the tables.

Lucas was standing in the middle of the room surveying tables when I entered. His head rose when he heard me, but the eye contact was very brief before he walked to one of the tables, slid it over a few inches, and made a non-committal noise that I wasn’t sure how to interpret.

I walked to the table farthest from him and spread out the first tablecloth. I repeated the procedure on the next table. By the time I’d smoothed it out, he had moved the other three tables back and forth a few times. Chairs were scattered around him as he glanced around the room.

“Is there something wrong with the room setup?” I asked.

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