shook her head. “LSU is Robert’s alma mater.”
A few minutes later they walked into the kitchen to find a short, muscular man with salt-and-pepper-hair and a ruddy complexion filling a travel mug with coffee. “Just getting a refill, Ms. Rossi.”
Emily nodded and smiled. “Anytime, Gus. And by the way, this is Charlotte LaRue. She’ll be cleaning for us during the next four days.” Emily turned to Charlotte. “Gus is another of our guardian angels.”
Stains of scarlet darkened Gus’s already-ruddy complexion. With a gruff “Nice to meet’cha,” he hurried from the room.
As soon as he left, Emily laughed. “Gus is a sweetheart. I just love teasing him. All total, there are six men who work around the house full-time,” Emily continued. “You’ve already met Mark and Gino—which reminds me. All of the men live out back in the old carriage house. Three years ago Robert had it renovated so the men would have somewhere to bunk. If you get caught up around here today, maybe you could clean it as well tomorrow.”
If Charlotte remembered right, it had been just about three years since Robert’s father had been murdered, which meant that there was a good possibility that his father’s murder was the reason for all of the bodyguards. But were the bodyguards strictly for show, an attempt to make people think there really was an outside threat, or had Robert Rossi’s claims of innocence been true?
Chapter
3
Even knowing that she would probably have to straighten the kitchen again before she left, Charlotte decided to clean it first. She had just finished scrubbing down the stove-top and the oven when Sophia Rossi entered the room.
“Oh, phooey,” Sophia grumbled. When Charlotte turned, Sophia made a sweeping motion with her hand. “I was hoping to fix my breakfast before you started cleaning.”
Charlotte smiled. “That’s okay. I can begin dusting the parlor while you have breakfast.”
Sophia nodded. “That’s very kind of you. More than I can say for that other maid. Why, that one wouldn’t give you the time of day.” She paused, narrowed her eyes, and tilted her head to one side. “Are you a believer?”
Surprised by the abrupt change of subject and not quite sure exactly what the older lady meant, Charlotte said, “If you mean am I Christian, then yes—yes, I am.”
Sophia beamed. “That’s wonderful!” She launched herself at Charlotte, and before Charlotte realized what she intended, the older lady threw her arms around her for a surprisingly strong hug. “Now I’m not alone,” Sophia whispered, releasing Charlotte.
“Mama, what are you doing?”
Sophia whirled around to face Emily. “Nothing, dear.” Looking a bit flustered, Sophia smoothed the skirt of her dress. “Just getting a bite of breakfast.”
Emily sighed. “Now don’t go pestering Charlotte. She’s got a lot of work to do.”
“I wasn’t bothering her,” Sophia replied with a petulant expression. She turned back to Charlotte. “Was I?” she demanded, a pleading look in her eyes.
Charlotte smiled and shook her head. “No, not at all.” Still a bit flustered herself after Sophia’s spontaneous affectionate gesture and unwilling to get caught in the middle of the two women, Charlotte said, “Now, if you ladies will excuse me, I think I’ll begin dusting in the parlor while Sophia has her breakfast.”
Charlotte had just finished dusting the double parlor and was ready to begin on the dining room when Emily walked into the room.
“Just wanted to let you know that Mama has finished breakfast now, in case you want to clean in the kitchen. And, Charlotte”—Emily lowered her gaze to the floor for a moment—“I overheard what Mama was saying to you earlier.” She raised her head. “I don’t know quite how to say this, but Robert’s mother can be a bit fanatic about things, if you know what I mean. She’s harmless, but ever since Papa Roberto was murdered, she hasn’t been the same.”
“I understand,” Charlotte said.
Emily sighed. “Poor thing. It wasn’t long afterward—after his death—that she claimed she’d had a religious epiphany. Don’t get me wrong. I’m a believer too. But Mama, bless her heart, goes to the extreme with it. Robert and his brothers all think she went a little crazy. Of course none of them could ever claim to be believers. But now…” Emily shrugged. “I’m afraid she’s getting senile as well. Not because of her beliefs,” she quickly added. “But you see, before I married Robert, I was a nurse, and I worked in a nursing home. So I do recognize the symptoms. In fact, that’s how I met Robert. He was visiting one of his father’s old business acquaintances who lived at the home.
“Anyway, just so you know, we don’t talk about Mama’s condition to Robert. He’s mentioned putting her in a nursing home several times, and if he knew just how really bad off she was…” Her voice trailed away, and after a moment, she shook her head. “What Mama needs is to be with family, not stuck away in some home.”
Emily’s eyes suddenly twinkled and a tiny smile pulled at her lips. “I love Mama, but sometimes she says the most outrageous, off-the-wall things. Just says whatever pops into her head without regard for anyone else. But that’s what I love the most about her.”
Suddenly Emily sobered, and a horrified expression crossed her face. “Oh, Charlotte, I’m so sorry. Here I am going on and on, keeping you from your work.”
Before Charlotte had a chance to say anything, Emily backed toward the door. “I’ll just get out of your way now, but just remember, please don’t mention Mama’s little idiosyncrasies to Robert.” Then she turned and fled the room.
Back in the kitchen, Charlotte loaded the dirty dishes from Sophia’s breakfast into the dishwasher, but she couldn’t stop thinking about the look on Emily’s face when she’d apologized. Charlotte finally concluded that Emily’s panicky reaction had nothing to do with interrupting her. More than likely, Emily had panicked because she’d suddenly realized that she’d said too much. She’d revealed more about her family than she had intended.
How sad, Charlotte thought as she headed upstairs to strip the sheets off of the beds. Unlike Sophia, who was spunky and said what she thought, poor Emily was cowed and afraid of her shadow—classic signs of an abused woman.
By midmorning Charlotte had washed the bedsheets, put them in the dryer, and washed a load of towels and washcloths. She’d cleaned the upstairs bathrooms, dusted and straightened the bedrooms, and all she had left to do upstairs was make up the beds and vacuum.
She was taking the sheets and pillowcases out of the dryer in the laundry room when she heard voices in the kitchen. With her arms full of clean bedding, she passed through the kitchen on her way upstairs. Two men were seated at the breakfast table with Emily. On the table were several sheets of what appeared to be a list of some kind.
All three looked up when Charlotte entered the room, and Emily smiled. “Oh, Charlotte, wait a minute.” When Charlotte stopped, Emily motioned for her to come closer. “I want you to meet Mario and Tony—Robert’s brothers.”
Charlotte stepped closer and nodded at the two men. Both had dark hair, dark eyes, and looked to be in their mid-thirties.
“Nice
