“Mrs. Harris has retired, Sir. I have, in a sense, taken her place,” the butler said as he opened the door wider. “There is a telephone in the sitting room, Sir.”
Canidy was looking in the telephone book for a cab company number when he heard a female voice asking about him.
“It’s Mr. Canidy, miss,” the butler said. “He asked to use the telephone.”
When he heard footsteps behind him, Canidy turned around. It was Cynthia Chenowith. She was a few years older than he was, a disadvantage he was perfectly willing to ignore; for she was well set up, with nice breasts and rich dark brown hair. But she also had a distant, off putting look that left you not knowing where you stood with her or if indeed you had anywhere to stand. Canidy had a hunch that there was heat and passion beneath all that. But very deep down. Very. She was “a friend of the family,” and he had known her, not well, for a long time.
“Hello, Canidy,” she said. “What brings you here?”
“Hello, Cynthia’ ” he said. “You make a lovely consolation prize.”
“In lieu of what?” she asked, her voice level.
“I was supposed to meet Jim here.”
“Then he didn’t get in touch with you? He said he would try.”
“No,” Canidy said.
“Is there something I can do for you?” she asked, clearly hoping there wasn’t.
“I was about to call a cab he said.
“You’re perfectly welcome to stay here, of course,” she said.
“That’s very kind of you, Cynthia@” he said, slightly sarcastic.
She caught his tone. “I’m living here now. In the garage apartment. I sort of keep an eye on things. Mrs. Harris has retired, you know.”
“Oh he said.
Canidy knew from Jimmy that Cynthia’s father, who had dropped dead on the twelfth-hole fairway of Winged Foot, the New York Athletic Club’s golf course, had not left his widow and only child enough money to pay for his funeral. Chesty Whittaker, who had been Thomas Chenowith’s Harvard classmate and an usher at his wedding, had consequently fulfilled his obligation as a gentleman and a friend. He had “found” some interest-bearing municipal bonds which had escaped the Chenowith financial debacle, enough of them to ensure Tom Chenowith’s widow and child a comfortable existence. He had further “arranged” for scholarships to be provided for Cynthia from the Emma Willard School and later Vassar and still later Harvard Law. It was thus not surprising that the garage apartment had suddenly become available rent-free-to Cynthia.
“Where are you going-in the cab, I mean?”
“Back to Anacostia,” Canidy said.
There was the muted ring of a telephone somewhere else in the house. Cynthia Chenowith smelling of something interesting and expensive, stepped past Canidy and picked up the telephone he had been about to use. She listened a moment.
“Mr. Whittaker, I’m on the extension,” she said. “Dick Canidy is here.” Then, a moment later, she handed him the telephone.
“Dick? Jim couldn’t get away. He tried to call YOU.”
“Yes, sir. So I have just found out.”
“You do plan to spend the night?”
“I was about to go back to Anacostia.”
“Could I talk you into filling in at dinner? Or is whoever is waiting for you at Anacostia a goddess defying description?”
“He could hardly be called a goddess,” Canidy said.
Chesty Whittaker laughed. “Have Cynthia make you a drink. You’re going to take her and another young lovely to dinner tonight.”
“Splendid,” Canidy said. “If you’re not just being kind. I don’t want to intrude.”
“Don’t be an ass,” Chesty Whittaker said. “Actually, I consider you a gift from heaven. I’ll be there in an hour or so.”
He hung up.
Canidy put the phone into its cradle.
“We are going to be dinner partners tonight,” he said.
“Paul?” she called, raising her voice.
The butler appeared.
“Yes, miss?”
“Mr. Canidy will be staying. Would you put his bag in Jimmy’s room, please, and then see what he will have to drink?”
Not quite understandin why, Canidy was suddenly annoyed. Cynthia’s housemotherish “I’m in charge of the young people” attitude irritated him.
“Put my bag in the room across from Jimmy’s,” he ordered. “That’s my room. And I know where to find the whiskey.”
Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142