Page 58 of The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year
Then the Duchess of Stratford threw back her shoulders and took off down the hall, dragging her husband behind her.
“Oh, Your Grace!” Ethan called and the duke turned. “What are you looking for, exactly?”
The duke gave anisn’t-it-obviousheadshake. “The safe.”
But the duchess... The duchess never even looked back.
And Ethan... Ethan looked at Maggie. And said, “I’m going to go out on a limb and say they know about the will.”
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Maggie
Maggie had known chaos in her life. The New York subway at rush hour. San Diego Comic-Con. The signing tents at MurderFest when word broke that Ethan Wyatt got a new leather jacket and was willing to sign bras. Still, nothing compared to the absolute bedlam that was a house full of weapons in the middle of a blizzard with four children under six in residence.
“We’re just blowing off some steam!” Kitty called over the shouts that filled the long, narrow sitting room on the second floor.
The shelves had been stripped bare and all the couch cushions were piled on the floor. The children were playing a game that was evidently calledCrash Bangwhere the objective was to Crash and also occasionally Bang, and Maggie had never felt sorrier for anyone than she did for Kitty, who was standing there, bouncing a crying baby on her shoulder and forcing a smile while Nanny Davis dozed peacefully in the corner.
“Before Cece found Sir Jasper? Oh. Rupert and I were in our room. Nanny Davis had just brought the baby down,” Kitty shouted over a particularly loud crash. “Little Ellie here needed a nap, but...” At the sound of her name, the baby began to wail, fat tears streaking down chubby cheeks. “Shh, sweetheart,” Kitty cooed, then turned back to Maggie and Ethan. “I’m sorry. She’s teething and—”
Bang!
More crying filled the air. The baby’s face was so red it was practically purple, and Maggie felt her heart break a little. Poor Kitty looked on the verge of crying too.
“I can’t believe this is happening. All I wanted was for us to have the perfect Christmas. Aunt Eleanorwas recovering nicely from her fall, and she and Rupert had finally sorted out that mix-up with the accounts, and—”
Crash!
Kitty glanced over Maggie’s shoulder and screamed, “Eloise, where did you get that gong?”
But Maggie just shared a look with Ethan. “Ooh, what mix-up?” she asked as innocently as possible.
“Just something with her bank.” Kitty tried to wave it off because Kitty, frankly, had more pressing worries.Bang!“Aunt Eleanor thought her royalty checks were getting deposited into one account, but they were actually going somewhere else. Rupert had told her all about it, of course, but she forgot. Dear girl. Getting older, you know. It was nothing, just— Eli, do not cut your sister’s hair!” Then she looked back at Maggie. “What was I saying?”
The baby’s cries turned into wails and Maggie began to worry little Ellie might pass out because how was she possibly breathing? Kitty paced and patted and looked like she might pass out, too, but then Ethan stepped forward.
“May I?” He held up his hands.
“Oh. You don’t have to...” But she trailed off as the baby practically hurled herself into Ethan’s arms.
“Oh. Well... Support her bottom...” But Ethan was already tucking little Ellie against his shoulder with one hand and supporting her bottom with the other as the wails grew softer and softer, like a siren disappearing in the distance until the only sound was Maggie’s heart pounding and Kitty’s chin hitting the floor.
Well, it is a girl, Maggie remembered. She reminded herself that it wasn’t the first time a willing female had launched herself at Ethan Wyatt and it certainly wouldn’t be the last.
“I... uh... what was the question?” Kitty asked.
“I have no idea.”
They watched him walk to the end of the room, calling, “Hey, RJ, bring me that box of dominoes, I want to show you a trick.” And then he sank to the floor and theother children hovered around him, and Maggie felt an odd flutter in her chest.
“He is...” Kitty started.
“Yeah.”
“I wasn’t expecting...”
“Me either.”
