The Room with the Second-Best View (15 page)

“Oh!” Millie backed up and gestured. “Please forgive my lack of manners. Come in.”

Before entering, Miss Hinkle turned to the limo driver. “Bring my bags inside.”

She walked around the entry hall, her gaze sweeping the stairway, the polished wood floor leading down the hallway, the silk flower arrangement on a spindly-legged table Millie had found at the Peddler's Mall and refinished herself. With fresh eyes, Millie followed her gaze. Thank goodness she and Albert had cleaned for their Derby Party. The wooden banister shone in the waning sunlight that filtered through the lead crystal windows above the tall door. Not a speck of dust was in evidence, though…Millie stiffened. Was that a grape on the bottom step?

Albert returned from the direction of the dining room, which Millie remembered with horror still held unwashed dishes and the remnants of their party food.

“I called Justin. They'll be here in a minute,” he announced. “Then we'll get this whole thing cleared up. Here!” He caught sight of the limo driver depositing a third and fourth suitcase in the hallway. “What are those?”

“My luggage, of course.” Miss Hinkle spoke in the tone of one addressing an imbecile. “I clearly can't be expected to spend an extended period of time away from home without sufficient luggage.” Her gaze once again circled the hallway, and Millie thought she spied the curling of one nostril. “Especially in the wilds of Kentucky.”

“Extended period of time?” Alarm tinted Albert's question.

Millie laid a hand on his arm and hushed him with a look and a brief shake of her head. The last thing they needed at this point was Albert having hysterics in front of the B&B's first actual guest, no matter how unexpected her arrival.

“If I can bear it.” Miss Hinkle's left nostril definitely curled. “I was given to understand that my nephew had performed renovation work here.” She stepped sideways and ran a hand down the painted woodwork leading into the parlor, where Millie had purposefully left a gouge in the trim to retain a bit of the house's genuine historical feel. “Perhaps he hasn't had time to finish.”

Millie was saved from replying when a car pulled up behind the limo. Doors on either side opened, and Justin and Susan emerged. Millie was sorry to see Susan had removed her hat—a hat was just the thing to impress a woman like Miss Hinkle—but she still looked lovely in her summery sundress.

Miss Hinkle's expression broke into one of pure delight as Justin rounded the front bumper and mounted the porch stairs two at a time.

“Justin!” The woman threw her arms wide to smother him in an embrace. “How like your dear mother you look. But with enough of your father to claim you as a Hinkle. It's been too long, far too long.”

“Aunt Lorna, you look amazing.” Justin stepped back, his hands still clasping the woman's arms, and beamed. “How do you manage to look the same today as you did five years ago?”

“Good genes, my boy.” One heavily colored eyelid winked shut. “And you've inherited them too. But who is this ravishing young woman?” She released Justin and held her arms out to Susan, who approached with a hesitant step. “Susan? Why, you're as lovely as a Southern belle ought to be.”

A becoming blush riding high on her cheeks, Susan was pulled into the circle of the woman's arms. “It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Aunt Lorna.”

Millie's eye was drawn from the introductions to a point behind Miss Hinkle's back, where Albert stood waving his arms wildly above his head, his gaze fixed on Justin.

The young man got the point. “Uh, Aunt Lorna, we're thrilled to see you of course,” he said, “but we really weren't expecting you for another few weeks.”

She drew herself up. “You need me, Justin.” She grasped Susan's hand in one of hers and Justin's in the other. “This wedding needs me. I know you
think
you want a simple exchange of vows, but you must trust my expertise in this.” During a pause she fixed first Justin and then Susan in a direct gaze. “Without me, your marriage is in jeopardy.”

Susan cast a desperate glance toward Millie, clearly unable to reply.

Millie came to the rescue by stepping up to insert herself into the conversation. “We've plenty of time to discuss the wedding. For now, why don't we get you settled in?” She awarded Miss Hinkle her most welcoming smile.

“No. I can't let you do that.” Justin looked up at his aunt. “Aunt Lorna, these are friends, and they aren't prepared to have a guest for three weeks. We can find you a nice hotel in Lexington. It's only a forty-minute drive.”

“Forty minutes?” She rolled her eyes heavenward with an expansive gesture. “I'll have to hire a car, and think of the wasted time.” Tucking Susan's hand into the crook of her arm, she awarded the girl a smile. “What if I stay with you, my dear? We can get to know each other.”

Susan blanched. “But…that is to say, I…” A gulp, and then she recovered. “You're more than welcome to stay with me, but I live in a studio apartment and sleep on a fold-out couch. I'm afraid you'll find it cramped.” She cast a glance at the five suitcases—the limo driver had just added another—lined against the wall.

“Oh.” Stumped for a moment, the older woman looked at Justin and brightened. “I'll stay with you, then.”

Justin sent an inquiring glance to his fiancé, and Susan gave a slight nod. “That would be great, Aunt Lorna. I only have a twin bed at the moment because our new bed won't be delivered for two more weeks. But you can have it, and I'll unroll a sleeping bag downstairs.”

Millie could stand it no longer. With an apologetic glance at Albert, she stepped forward. “Nonsense. We have plenty of room here. Miss Hinkle, you will have the honor of being our first guest.” She assumed what she hoped was a friendly smile. “It will give me a chance to practice my hostess skills.”

“An excellent solution.” The woman's chest expanded. “I've stayed in many a B&B, so I expect I can provide a great deal of assistance.” Her gaze roamed the hallway and her lips twisted. “Yes, a
great
deal of assistance.”

While Millie reeled over the implied insult, the woman patted Susan's hand, which she still held in her clutches. “Tomorrow I'd like to take you to lunch. We have so much to discuss.”

“I look forward to it,” Susan replied, though she looked a bit stunned at the same time. Millie didn't blame her. Miss Hinkle was rather overwhelming.

“I'm sure you're tired from the trip,” Millie said, more to rescue Susan than out of concern for Miss Hinkle. “Let me show you to your room.”

“The travel was trying,” Miss Hinkle admitted. “I hope the accommodations are appropriate for a lengthy stay, and especially at the price you quoted me.”

Turning toward the stairs, Millie did a quick mental change. She'd planned to put Justin's aunt in the front room that he'd occupied until last week. But the one in the back of the house was bigger and the more stately of the three that were finished.

Miss Hinkle began to follow and then turned. She addressed Albert in an authoritative tone. “You may bring my bags.”

Millie knew her husband well enough to recognize from his expression that he was about to utter an explosive response. She widened her eyes at him in an unspoken command to hold his tongue. Thankfully, Justin leaped toward the luggage.

“I'll do that.”

With a resigned sigh, Albert joined the younger man in picking up a couple of suitcases. Millie led the parade up the stairs, turned left at the landing, and continued on to the room in the back. Thank goodness she had resumed her cleaning schedule yesterday and was confident that the wood on the dresser and night table shone. Though Albert had made an attempt the previous week, a man did not have the same eye for dust as a woman. When she opened the door, the faint scent of Tuesday's lemon cleanser wafted to her from the bathroom.

“We call this the Bo Peep room,” she said, indulging in a brief smile. “Not officially or anything, but we've named every room after a Mother Goose nursery rhyme as we finish renovating it.”

A wave of sadness threatened. She and Violet had decided on the names.

Miss Hinkle strode into the room and stopped in the center to turn in a circle, her sharp gaze taking in every detail. She approached the bed and tested the mattress with a hand, and then approached the small
en suite
and peeked inside. Breath caught in her chest, Millie awaited the verdict. Without a word, she went to one of the windows, pulled aside the pale pink curtain, and lifted the shade. A glimpse of the pond was visible through the branches of the walnut tree. Sunsets over the water were gorgeous to behold. Thanks to the April showers so plentiful in Kentucky, the grass was deep green all around the gazebo.

Miss Hinkle turned. “This tree obstructs the view. I'd prefer the room below this one.”

Entering in time to hear the last comment, Albert dropped his burden and stiffened. “Below this is our private area. It is off-limits to guests.” He speared Millie with a stern glare, as though he suspected she might have given away their bedroom had he not intervened.

Millie ignored him. “I assure you, Miss Hinkle, yours has the best view of all the guest rooms.”

“Well.” The woman sniffed. “I suppose the room with the second-best view is better than a hotel forty minutes away.”

Justin arrived then and deposited the three suitcases he'd hefted upstairs on the floor beside the bed. “I've always liked this room. I wasn't sure about the paint color when you first picked it out, but on the walls it looks great.” He gestured toward the crown molding, which was original to the house and still in excellent condition. “And the bright white on the molding really pops.”

His aunt's demeanor changed in an instant. “Now that you point it out, dear boy, you're right.” She awarded Millie a regal nod. “This room will do nicely.”

Millie released a pent-up sigh. “Then we'll leave you to settle in. If there's anything you need, please let me know.”

“I certainly will.”

Millie didn't doubt that for an instant.

“I can't tell you how grateful I am,” Justin whispered to Al. “I promise, I had no idea she planned to show up this early.”

Though he would have liked to blame someone for this unexpected and
most
unwelcome disruption, Al knew the fault lay with the indomitable woman upstairs and not with the apologetic young man in front of him.

He managed a grudging reply. “We'll deal with it.”

They stood on the front porch in the waning light. A chill had descended on the air, and Susan, dressed in a sleeveless sundress, shivered.

Justin put an arm around her shoulders. “We'd better get going. Since tomorrow's Sunday I'll have the day to devote to her. I'll pick her up in the morning and get her out of your hair.”

Out of Millie's hair, more likely. If that woman was going to be here for three weeks, Al expected to spend a lot of time in the TV closet.

The young couple descended the porch steps and got into their car. With a farewell wave, Al watched them disappear down the long driveway before going inside.

He found Millie scurrying around the parlor, picking up leftover napkins and cups with one hand and setting them on a tray.

“Would you take this to the kitchen?” she asked. “And then help me clear the dining room. I'd hate for Miss Hinkle to see it looking like a disaster.”

Before he lifted the tray, Al folded his arms across his chest and held her gaze. “Come clean, Mildred Richardson. Did you know she was coming early?”

“Not
this
early.” Wide-eyed, she held up three fingers like a Girl Scout. “I expected her to come a few days before the wedding.”

He believed her, of course. There could be no mistaking the shock they'd all exhibited when the arrogant Miss Hinkle arrived. Still, he couldn't help but remember that Millie had invited guests without consulting him. Were there other unpleasant surprises in store?

He narrowed his eyes. “Who else have you invited to stay with us?”

“Justin's cousin, and a man named Mark something who is a friend of Thomas Jeffries. Oh, and Thomas too. I've told him he'll have to stay in the Old King Cole room, which hasn't been renovated yet, and he's fine with that.” She looked him in the eye without flinching. “They'll arrive the day before the wedding and leave the day after.”