“Will, I believe my dad and Elizabeth already told you to come in” she answered the door distractedly. “You don’t have to ring the doorbell anymore.”
“I’m not Will,” Derek replied.
Looking up, she took a step backward, “Derek,” she barely breathed. “What are you doing here?”
“What do you think?” he answered, holding up the bag he had packed the sketchbooks and things he had brought down from Charles. “Charles and Mary told me that you needed your sketchbooks and a few other things. They thought, since I was already heading down here with Sophy and Bob, that they’d save some money and have me drop this off.”
“They did?” Anne asked, her brow furrowing as she tried to remember asking Charles and Mary to ship her anything. “I didn’t ask them to ship me anything, but I am thankful that you brought my sketchbook. I went out yesterday intending on…”
Her name sounded from the living room. “Who’s at the door?”
“A friend of mine,” she called back. “Oh! Come inside. There’s no reason for you to still be standing outside. Not with your cold. We can…”
“Anne!” her sister called out this time. “Bring your friend in here and introduce us.” Not as loud, but loud enough that they could hear her. “I didn’t think Anne had been out enough to make any friends. We know it can’t be that widow friend of hers. Will said that Robin Smith never leaves the house. Although I don’t know why he would know that.”
“Maybe Anne’s friend isn’t that bad after all if Will knows her,” came Penelope’s response.
“Oh please,” Elizabeth dismissed, “Any friend of Anne’s isn’t worth our time. She’s probably Will’s patient and Anne never thought to ask whatever-her-name-is.”
Drawing in a deep breath, Anne closed her eyes. “They know we can hear them,” she whispered. “Penelope might care, but Elizabeth doesn’t.”
“I guess they are in for a rude awakening,” Derek mumbled, a grin on his face as he gestured for her to lead the way into the figurative lion’s den.
“Are you certain?”
“Positive.” Leaning forward, he whispered, “I’m not about to let you out of my life again.”
“You say that now, but you haven’t experienced the tenacity of my father and Elizabeth,” she warned him. “Father, inexplicitly, wants one of us to marry Will. I think he wants access to Will’s inheritance.”
“And what does Will want?”
“I don’t have a clue,” she answered him. “They won’t tell me and I haven’t had the chance to ask him. Truthfully,” she whispered, “I don’t care to get close enough to ask him.”
“Anne!” her father called from the other room.
“Coming!” she called back. “Let’s see if they remember you from…” she trailed off.
“Probably not,” Derek predicted. “Elizabeth didn’t stick around long enough to meet me and your father was too busy trying to impress people.”
Drawing in a deep breath, she led Derek into the living room. For a moment she saw the room through his eyes. Yoga mats were tossed haphazardly next to the sofa Elizabeth was reclining on lazily, even though she knew Anne had a friend in the house. On occasion, she would flip to another page in her magazine.
Penelope was on the floor painting her toenails. Bottles of nail polish and nail polish remover, cotton balls and toe separators, were scattered around her.
Her father was sitting in his chair, the daily newspaper scattered around him as he pretended to look over the financial section. He refused to consider reading his newspapers online.
Sitting upright, Elizabeth’s eyes widened as Derek fully entered the room. She gave Penelope a nudge that nearly had the other girl spilling the nail polish bottle she had in her hands. “Where has Anne been hiding him,” she hissed.
“College,” Anne retorted. Making things simple, she added, “Derek was Charles’ history tutor.”
Standing up, Walter Elliot drew their attention to his direction.
Clearing her throat, Anne began the introductions. “Derek, this is my father, Walter Elliot,” she gestured in his direction. “My sister, Elizabeth, and her friend, Penelope.”
Derek said nothing, merely nodding his head at each of them.
“Father,” Anne began to conclude the introductions that she had once already given years before, “This is Derek Worth.”
Slowing, Walter narrowed his brows, something beginning to resurface. “Derek Worth,” he mumbled. “I remember you. You are that kid that Anne had dated in high school. The Navy kid.” Sitting down in dismissal, Walter went back to pretending to read his newspaper.
“Actually,” Derek slowly let out, ignoring Anne shaking her head in warning. He knew she was right, but he had to say it. “My father is in the Navy. I enlisted because he wanted one of his sons to follow in his footsteps, but a knee injury caused me to be medically discharged. You might also know my brother, Edward. He is in real estate and property management.”
“Worth Real Estate,” Elizabeth breathed, the name clicking instantly.
Continuing on as if she hadn’t interrupted him, Derek finished, “And I’m to join him once I get my masters in accounting and get my real estate license.”
“But…” Walter Elliot began to stammer, “You are a history tutor.”
“That was my minor. I majored in accounting.”
“Do you have any other siblings?” Elizabeth asked, being nosy. Anne stood behind them with her face in her hands.
“A sister. Sophy Croft.
“That name sounds familiar,” Walter couldn’t help but say.
“She and her husband rented Kellynch Place for the year. They came down here for a short vacation before Bob starts his last teaching semester.”
“Teacher? I thought he was a law professor.”
“He is,” Derek corrected. “Bob’s taking a break from his law firm for a year.”
“Bob,” Walter mused. “I thought I rented to a Robert Croft.”
“They are one and the same. Only his friends, family, and brothers-in-law call him Bob.”
“Wait,” Elizabeth breathed. “Robert Croft. Isn’t he some celebrity lawyer or something like that? How did your sister meet him?”
“He is. He comes from a long line of lawyers. As for my sister, she met her husband in law school. Bob was in a boating accident last summer and they decided to take some time off. Edward told them about Kellynch Place being for rent as soon as he found out that Bob had been offered a position to teach some pre-law courses. Of course, Sophy being Sophy, thought it would be a good opportunity to get me out of the dorms and away from a drunken roommate.”
Anne held back a giggle at the memory of Derek telling them he’d already been looking for a roommate to get an off-campus apartment with when Sophy’s offer happened.
Elizabeth, not one to miss an opportunity, sidled up to Derek. “What are you doing visiting Anne?” she asked, resting her arm on his bicep and subtly feeling his arm muscles.
Cutting his eyes to Anne, he broke Elizabeth’s grasp as he held up a bag with the sketchbooks. “I came to bring Anne her sketchbooks. Mary and Charles said that she had left them behind and was asking for them.”
“Anne?” Walter asked.
“I thought they would just ship it to me and I’d pay them back,” Anne shrugged. At this point, both Derek and Anne were aware that she had not asked her sister and brother-in-law to ship out the sketchbooks.
Derek was beginning to suspect that somebody – not Mary – was plotting.
“Well, thank you for bringing them to my daughter,” Walter nodded his head.
“Thank you,” Anne grinned at Derek.
The doorbell interrupted their conversation, but Elizabeth continued with what she was going to say. “Anne, go answer the door,” she commanded, returning her hand to Derek’s upper arm. “Derek, you must join us for dinner tonight.”
Eyeing the unwelcome flirtation as Elizabeth rubbed her hand up and down h
is arm. “I really wish I could but…”
“Good afternoon!” Will greeted the room as he entered it. Freezing in place, he noticed the new addition to the company. “Will Elliot,” he held out a hand as he eyed Elizabeth’s failing attempts at flirting – and trying to get Will jealous – and dismissed it. However, the way Derek was looking at Anne was a threat.
“Derek Worth,” he replied, holding out his own hand and breaking the contact Elizabeth had made. “I’m a friend of Anne’s. We met yesterday.”
“He’s her ex-boyfriend,” Elizabeth giggled.
Anne, rolling her eyes, broke between the two males. “Derek,” she smiled at him. “How long are you planning on staying?”
“Just a week,” he answered her.
Grinning, she took his arm and tugged him out of the room. “Let’s get these books up to my room. They look heavy.”
“They are,” he lied.
“Leave the door open!” Elizabeth called up to them as they started up their stairs.
Whispering, Anne commented, “I think Father would rather I closed the door. He isn’t stupid.” When she caught the look Derek gave, she explained. “Who do you think gave Mary the idea of hooking up with Charles? He knew I wouldn’t do it and he wanted somebody connected to the Musgraves Furniture empire.”
“Did he really?” Derek asked, raising an eyebrow.
“When I returned home, he constantly complained that I wasn’t seizing my chance with Charles. You were right back then, he did have a crush on me, but I was so broken-hearted over losing you that I wasn’t interested in dating anybody. And you know the rest of the story about Mary and Charles.”
“That I do,” Derek grinned.
Smiling back at him, Anne closed the door.
Chapter Fifty-Eight
Dinner that night was an interesting affair. Unbeknownst to them beforehand, Aunt Cassandra had decided to stop by and visit her favorite – and not so favorite – nieces. The reality was she had some sources informing her that Derek Worth had been invited to dinner and she did not want to miss this assembly around the dining room table for anything in the world.
Once again Anne had been tasked with the job of preparing dinner for seven people. Thankfully her aunt had called ahead of time to inform Anne that she would be stopping by. With the ingredients in front of her, she cursed the closed off floor plan that kept her isolated from everybody else. On occasion, Derek or Will would escape to keep her some company, but Elizabeth or Walter would call them back.
On one of those visits, she shook her head as she stirred the pot of fettuccine. “Years ago, you wouldn’t have even been in Elizabeth’s cross-hairs. She would have dismissed you as a poor soldier and focused all of her attention on trying to gain Will’s favor. And now, you have all that potential real estate money.”
“I still have to get through grad school first,” Derek pointed out.
Beckoning him to her, Anne pulled him down for a quick kiss. “It doesn’t matter. She is seeing dollar signs and the chance to show off her amazing home décor skills. She’s considering that as her next career move.”
“She does know she needs certification to become an interior decorator, right?”
“How do you know that?”
“Ed’s new wife. That’s how they met, actually. Ed was looking for an interior decorator when he moved the business. He wanted somebody to help stage some of the homes that were having difficulty selling and Ava was the person who used to help him. Sarah was one of the applicants, but on the day of her interview Ed couldn’t get a babysitter and his former in-laws had a doctor’s appointment. The other applicants dismissed the girls, but Sarah smiled at them when she came in. Ed found her playing with them when he came out to call her back. Then, in the middle of it, one of them burst into the office because the other one had bumped her head and Sarah managed to calm her down while Ed checked on the girl still in the waiting room.”
“Aww. I wish Sophy had told me that story instead of skimming over the details,” Anne smiled as she went to grab a jar of alfredo sauce out of the cabinets.
“Sophy didn’t know the details.”
“And you did?”
“I was living with Ed at the time. We’d just moved here and I wasn’t able to watch them because of my knee. It still hurts when it rains.”
“You must be miserable with this weather.”
Shrugging, “It’s worth it.”
From the other room, Elizabeth called, “Derek!”
“I’m helping Anne in the kitchen?”
“You can cook?” Elizabeth called back, her voice sounding closer than before.
“Of course I can cook,” Derek replied. “It’s an extremely valuable skill to know.”
“I just love cooking,” Elizabeth purred. She sneered when she caught Anne’s eye roll. “It’s one of my favorite things to do.”
“Then do you want to finish up here and I can go set the table?” Anne innocently asked, knowing that Elizabeth could burn water. She wasn’t about to let her near the garlic bread in the oven or the knife she had been using to cut up vegetables for a salad.
“You know, I think I hear Will in the living room calling my name,” Elizabeth quickly backtracked, slipping out of the room quicker than Anne had ever seen her sister move.
“That was…”
“Interesting,” Anne supplied. “Simply interesting.”
“Do you need help setting the table?”
“No,” Anne answered with a shake of her head as she grabbed a strainer to drain the water off of the pasta. “I already set it before I started cooking.”
“You are brilliant,” he grinned, taking the hot pot from her hands and nudging her over to where the salad was sitting, unfinished. “I’ll take care of this.”
“Thank you.”
Barely twenty minutes later, Anne interrupted the tense stand-off between her father and aunt, the twitchiness of her cousin and sister, and called them all to dinner.
Elizabeth glared at Anne as she bumped into her. “Don’t hog Derek all through dinner, will you?” she hissed just loud enough to Anne to hear.
“Derek is his own person with his own mind. If he wants to sit next to me at dinner, he can. We can’t stop him,” Anne retorted.
Rolling her eyes, Elizabeth started to plan.
What they didn’t notice was Will was eyeing Penelope carefully, wondering if he would be able to snag a seat next to her. Glancing over towards them, Anne noticed the look that Will was giving Penelope and her father. Tilting her head, she started to wonder if there was something going on that she had missed.
Elizabeth had no problem claiming the seat at the foot of the table, the seat that their aunt should have been sitting at. Cassandra softly glared at her niece, not enough where they could tell, except for Anne, but more thoughtfully than anything else.
“Derek,” Elizabeth purred, “you can sit next to me.”
“I...” he hesitated, watching as Penelope quickly claimed the seat next to Walter at the other end of the table and Will quickly following suit.
“It’s not like he has much of a choice,” Anne laughed sitting in the chair next to Will and patting the empty seat between her and Elizabeth.
That left Aunt Cassandra on the other side of the table between Elizabeth and Penelope.
“So, Cassandra,” Walter asked after spooning a more than generous helping of fettuccine alfredo onto his plate and a tiny portion of the salad, “what brings you here?”
“Business,” she answered him. “I already told you that.” Looking at Derek she explained that she dealt in mergers and acquisitions and would be sent to various places to check out how companies were doing and estimating how much those branches of the companies were worth.
“That sounds interesting,” Derek replied.
“It really isn’t,” Cassandra contradicted him, “but it is something to do.”
“So, Derek,” Elizabeth redirected the conversation, pushing around the
pasta on her plate and picking at her salad. “How long until you have completed your master’s program.”
“I have one hundred and fifty credit hours to complete before I can apply for my CPA license. Then I can go get my real estate license, but I haven’t looked into how long that is going to take yet. So...” he quickly did the math, “about two years for the CPA and another six months or so for the real estate license.”
Leaning back in her chair, Elizabeth visibly deflated. “Oh.”
“Derek always has been good with numbers,” Anne grinned at everybody, taking his hand and giving it a squeeze underneath the table.
Across the table, Penelope jumped, startled by something happening where nobody could see it.
“Are you okay, my dear?” Walter asked.
‘My dear?’ Anne mouthed to Derek and Elizabeth.
Elizabeth, sitting up at her father’s term of endearment, shrugged a shoulder and leaned forward.
“Yes, fine,” Penelope squeaked. “I thought I felt something on my ankle.
She had: Will’s foot.
“So, Derek,” Cassandra interrupted the exchange. She had seen the look in Will’s eye right before Penelope had startled. “How are you paying for all of your schooling.”
“That is one of the benefits of going into the military.”
“But you didn’t finish your enlistment term.”
“Because of an injury that was not my fault,” he countered. “I still get some of my schooling paid for since I wasn’t in service for a full year. The rest of it comes from scholarships and money my mother left me when she passed away. I also took on tutoring jobs to help supplement my income. I’m a hard worker,” he assured Cassandra. “I’m not one to not work.”
Nodding her head, “Good,” was all that she said.
“So,” Walter added from his end of the table, “you won’t be saddling my daughter with your debt.”
Derek felt Anne’s hand slip out of his and form a fist.
“Sir,” he felt his jaw tense, “my mother left me with enough money to not stress over bills and college as long as I played my cards right. That means working. I could easily pay off Anne’s student loans if she wanted me to, if we ever got married that is, but I also know that your daughter has an independent streak a mile wide and a solid work ethic. She doesn’t need me to pay her way. What she does need is support and help with the every day things like cooking meals and cleaning up the house, and if things progress in that direction,” he stole her hand back and gave it a squeeze, “I’d be a good help-mate for your daughter.”
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