go Irish on me,” she said lightly. “Usually I like to listen to that accent, but when you carry it too far, I have trouble understanding. I think we need to understand today.”
“No doubt,” he answered, plopping himself in a seat in the front row. “I’ve a culvert I need to talk about. I was planning that for tonight.”
A sound of amusement escaped Madge. “You were always good at diversion.”
“No diversion except around that culvert. Detours.”
Another sound of amusement escaped her, then two men entered, wearing pressed Western shirts and jeans. The local dress-up. If you took an iron to it, you didn’t need the three-piece and tie.
Neither of them looked remotely amused. Of course not. Men had a thing about babies at work. Women in the clerk’s office were still trying to get a private closet for nursing.
Jeff Holdrum, the first to enter, was a portly man, just portly enough to look well-to-do and to sport a small spot of egg yolk on the front of his shirt. Minor Allcoke was a weedy man who looked as if he’d been starving all his life. Except Blaine had more than once watched him eat as if he were a three-hundred-pound rugby player.
As the two new arrivals took their place at the council table on its dais, Blaine felt some apprehension.
“This is all looking rather official,” he said. “Where are the others?”
“That’s tonight. Where’s Ms. Finch? She’s supposed to be here.”
“I gave her ten minutes.” He glanced at his watch. Then, just to annoy them, he switched to an upper-crust British accent, which he seldom used. “Only seven have passed. To avoid being rude, you understand.”
For a second, he enjoyed watching them look a bit embarrassed. What was it about speaking the queen’s English in the queen’s accent that seemed to make Americans feel a bit...scolded? He wasn’t sure.
Jeff Holdrum cleared his throat. “This is just about getting to know her.”
“Right-o. I thought you already interviewed her.”
“Some...things have changed.”
“Hell, life has a way o’ doing that, don’t you know.” Then he folded his arms and waited. He just hoped Diane didn’t begin on her back foot. Weakness didn’t stand up well against these folks. Given Madge was a woman, he hoped she was here to protect Diane, but he’d also seen enough women go after other women to know better than to hope.
He felt the unmistakable change of room pressure as the door at the back opened. Three sets of eyes left him and looked to the rear. He was tempted not to look at all, but then he changed his mind.
Diane was walking up the center aisle with the baby carrier all decked out in fresh yellow in one hand, the denim diaper bag over her shoulder and a briefcase in hand. He eyed her with admiration. Not only was she lovely, she’d also been serious about putting all her cards on the table. No mistaking it. Her stride was almost defiant.
Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.
Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».
Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.
Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.
