She Said, He Said

By Judy-Lynne

Posted on Saturday, 5 January 2002

So, are you all moved in?"

"Pretty much; how about you?" Olivia reached for one of the two straws Agnes had left on the table. She pushed it through the ice to the bottom of her glass and took a sip. It was root beer and Olivia sighed. The ladies of Harpy's had decided that as Richard's wife, Olivia Crenshaw Fitzwilliam was a root beer drinker. She wasn't, but she decided to learn to live with it.

"Just about done, but then I really didn't have much to move besides clothing. All my stuff from the house in Elverson is already up in Connecticut in storage. And since Richard and I have decided that we pretty much want all new stuff for the new house, there's no rush to dig any of out it yet."

"What are you living on?" Lizzy asked incredulously.

"We do have a bed, Lizzy," Olivia said archly, "And a bunch of stuff from the big house. You should see all the stuff Kathleen has in her attic. We furnished one of the guest rooms with her cast-offs and a good deal of the master bedroom, too."

"What about the furniture from your house?"

"Other than my grandmother's Victorian bedroom set--which is destined for a guest room--and one or two other pieces, I didn't bring any."

"Why isn't it going into the master bedroom? It's gorgeous," Lizzy said as Agnes placed a chicken pot pie in front of her and a burger deluxe--which she hadn't ordered--in front of Olivia. "And didn't you ask for the meat loaf?" Olivia shrugged and picked up her burger.

"We aren't using the bedroom set for two reasons. First of all, it would be dwarfed by all the space in there and the décor is more Arts and Crafts than Victorian, but far more importantly, the bed is too short for Richard. Whenever he slept on it his feet would hang off the side." Lizzy smiled at the image of Richard struggling to get comfortable on the double bed.

"So, Lizzy," Olivia asked after a moment, "What's it like living with William?" Lizzy smiled, but then she frowned thoughtfully as something occurred to her.

"Actually, it's a lot more work than I ever thought it should be," Lizzy said as she laid aside her fork. "Did you find that when you first moved in with Richard?" Olivia shook her head.

"No. But then, I didn't have very high expectations, either."

"And you think I did?"

"Didn't you? I mean, you have always looked upon William as the perfect man."

"Well, I have since been thoroughly disabused of that notion," Lizzy smirked. Olivia smiled knowingly. "So, you moved in with Richard with low expectations, eh?"

"Well, realistic ones," Olivia laughed. "You recall that I had heard commentary from William, Charles, and the twins before I ever spent a night in Richard's apartment. That made the truth a lot easier to swallow."

"And the truth is?" Lizzy questioned as she savored the taste of her lunch.

"The truth is that Richard is a man," Olivia said simply.

"Is that all? Is that what's wrong with William? Are you suggesting that it's a biological difference?" Lizzy persisted.

"Well, think about it. When women live together--me and Saffron, you and Jane, me and you--things always work out relatively smoothly. Yes, you do occasionally get the roommate from hell, but by and large women understand one another and aren't willfully at odds. Men are an entirely different species. It's like asking cats and dogs to share a space. It can be done, but it ain't natural." Lizzy laughed as she scooped up a large chunk of chicken.

"When I moved in with William--a man who lives in this enormous house with just one sister and a housekeeper, mind you--I assumed that he wouldn't have any problem with all my stuff. It's not as though I was going to overcrowd the place. I didn't even bring my furniture."

"You left it all with Jane?" Olivia asked around a mouthful of fries.

"Well, not exactly. We have to sort things out and we're going to wait until she and Charles have settled in. He's only been there for a little over a week, so I'll give them a little time. Charles is sorting out his stuff and will be moving it from the loft, and he and Jane want to redecorate a bit. I have nowhere to put any of the furniture I want to keep until I've spoken to William about it... So, long story short, it'll be a while. All I moved into William's house are my clothes and some personal effects."

"And--?" Olivia asked knowingly.

"The man freaked out. Of course, this is William we're talking about, so it mostly shows up only as a raised eyebrow and a few interesting mumbles to himself. But I get the picture."

"What did he freak out about?" Olivia asked. Lizzy rolled her eyes and sighed.

"You'd be amazed."

William handed the menu back to the waiter and waited for him to take Richard's and walk away before he spoke.

"Why didn't we go to Harpy's?"

"We always go to Harpy's," Richard replied as he pulled off his jacket.

"My point exactly; why should we not go there today?" Richard shrugged.

"I felt like fish." William opened his mouth, but gave up without an argument. "So, Fitz, how's life with Lizzy?" William sighed.

"It was more fun the first time." Richard smiled knowingly.

"You mean when she was taking care of you?" William nodded.

"Don't get me wrong--." He paused as the waiter placed two beers between the men. "I love her like crazy and I'd rather live with her than without her, but..."

"But?" Richard held his glass before his mouth and waited for William to finish. William sighed again.

"She brought so much stuff with her. I never imagined a woman could own so much stuff."

"Haven't you ever been in Gee's room?" Richard laughed.

"Yes, but Gee isn't sharing a bedroom with me. She brought things...things I've never even heard of. Does Olivia have a facial machine?"

"To my knowledge, no."

"Well, Lizzy does. And baskets; I've never seen so many baskets." Richard threw back his head and laughed at his cousin's plaintive tone.

"He lost it when I brought in a few baskets. Actually, I think he started to twitch when I brought my basket of yarn into the bedroom." Olivia covered her mouth. "When I got home from work the next day it was gone. He'd had it moved to the game room. I pointed out that I liked to sit up and knit a little before bed, he said that he doubted that I would do so now that I was living under his roof." Olivia couldn't hold back any longer and burst out laughing. "I asked him what he meant by that and he was incensed at being made to spell it out for me."

"Please, Lizzy," Olivia said, "Don't tell me you tortured poor Will."

"Poor Will? I found out that he stays up till midnight reading business journals most nights, so I may as well sit in bed and knit rather than sit in that drafty game room. But William explained that he doesn't clutter the bedroom with his business journals and he'd appreciate it if I didn't clutter the bedroom with my knitting." Olivia shook her head.

"And you took umbrage at having your knitting called clutter..."

"I certainly did. I asked him where he knitted. He wouldn't answer right away, but eventually he broke down and told me that he knitted in the bedroom sometimes, too. So I asked why I couldn't knit there. It turned out, Livy, that he didn't so much object to my knitting as the basket in which it resided."

"What?"

"He has a chest, you see, in which he keeps his yarns. I thought I was doing well to finally get my stuff out of that plastic bag. But baskets are apparently inappropriate to the décor of his bedroom. Thus, they have been summarily banished."

"Oh, dear."

"Has Richard done anything as flaky as that?" Olivia shook her head.

"I'm allowed to knit anywhere I want to."

"Wow!" Lizzy said sarcastically. "Where do you keep all your yarn?"

"Oh, the yarn I have at the apartment is kept in my closet. Stuff I'm working on stays in my knitting bag, which I usually put in the closet when I'm not working on it."

"How civilized..."

"And I have my own craft space at the house, while he has his train space. But living with him did take a bit of getting used to," Olivia admitted.

"At least he's not a neat freak like William."

"No. Richard's not exactly a slob, as everyone told me he was. He's just the kind of person who makes a complete mess and then cleans it up. According to his logic, cleaning up as you go is idiotic."

"What do you do?"

"Well, for most of the apartment I live with it. He cleans up after himself eventually. In the kitchen, however, my rules prevail and he cleans up as he goes or he's banished."

"William's right: you do have him well trained!" Lizzy laughed.

"Not really; I just choose my battles carefully. Plus, you remember, I moved into his place, so I was willing to go along with the program."

"And Richard would do anything to make you happy. William treats me like a new recruit. I'm being trained to capitulate to his rules.""

"What's wrong with baskets?"

"They're...they're...prissy."

Prissy?"

"You know, fussy, and they gather dust. Hideous things...I don't know why they were invented."

"They were invented to hold things, Fitz, a task they accomplish amazingly well."

"Well, I don't like them," William frowned into his beer, "Especially in my bedroom."

"Aren't you forgetting something?"

"What?"

"It's not your bedroom anymore." William stared at Richard blankly. "It's her space, too, Fitz. If you aren't willing to share your space with her, you may as well give her one of the guest rooms and have her pay rent."

"Is it so unreasonable to ask her to keep her basket collection out of the bedroom?"

"How many baskets are we talking about?" Richard asked. William shrugged.

"Dozens, probably--I lost count." Richard raised a wary eyebrow. "How did you manage when Olivia moved in with you?"

"Well, things were different between us. I had to practically force her to bring stuff to my place. For a long time she kept things at Lizzy's house or left a lot of it back in Pennsylvania. When she finally sold the house, she put most of her stuff in storage in the barn. Whenever we're in Connecticut she spends an hour or two in there looking for something she needs."

"So you don't have any extraneous stuff of hers lying around?"

"What's extraneous? She has things, the normal things a woman has, I guess. She keeps most of it in the guest room closet at the apartment. In fact, the only stuff she has in our bedroom is her underwear and pajamas. The new house has separate dressing rooms, so I never see any 'extraneous stuff' there, either."

"You should see his socks, Livy! I think he has Mrs. R line them up with a ruler. I swear, one day I'm going to go in there and shuffle them all askew. Of course, he'd probably have a heart attack..."

"Lizzy!"

"He's unreal! When I got all my clothes hung up he inspected my side of the closet and immediately called in Mrs. Reynolds and asked her to order a hundred hangers. It seemed that he didn't like my pink plastic ones." Olivia began to giggle again. "Oh, and get this...one evening when I came home late I caught William in my closet rehanging stuff; fastening buttons, closing zippers, straightening things. I couldn't believe it!"

"She's a slob, Richard! She leaves the house looking gorgeous everyday, but the woman is a slob. I can't understand it." Richard squinted at his cousin.

"Lizzy?" William nodded solemnly. "Lizzy Bennet?"

"She's going to take some getting used to. You should have told me about this when we talked about marriage." He sounded so frustrated that Richard bit back his laugh.

"I didn't know about this...I mean...who knew?" He shrugged, at a loss for words. Their lunch arrived and for a few minutes the cousins ate in silence.

"Well, how did you deal with Olivia?"

"What do you mean, 'deal'?" William gestured and again, Richard suppressed a laugh. "Livy is not a slob, William." And I doubt very much that Lizzy is, either, he sighed. "She moved in and we negotiated a few things and that was that."

"What did you negotiate?" William jumped on Richard's words.

"Well, we agreed that she'd use the guest room closet, since it's large and gave her plenty of room, and she decided to use the second bathroom. I didn't ask her to, but it's worked out fairly well."

"What about the other things? How did you get her to keep her stuff in line?"

"Livy keeps her stuff in line all by her lonesome, Fitz. She's a big girl. I bet Lizzy would do the same, if you just let her."

"I'm trying to, but she keeps bringing home more. She needs office space and a vanity..."

"Maybe you should look for a new house. We're looking for one," Richard admitted.

"You just built one."

"I mean for in town. We don't really have enough room in the apartment. It was set up for me, and it really doesn't seem fair that Livy should have to work around that. For example, if she wants to work on the computer she has to work in a space custom-designed for me. She's not really comfortable in it, and she has to use three different rooms to get dressed in the morning..."

"I see. But that's not the case in my house. I have plenty of room," William said.

"Have you given Lizzy any of it?" Richard said before he could stop himself.

"What do you mean? What's mine is hers, she knows that!"

"He doesn't want me to put my laptop on his desk without some sort of pad because it would mar the leather surface. He doesn't want me to bring my knitting into his bedroom. And don't get me started on the bathroom..."

"Let me give you a piece of advice, Lizzy. Get your own bathroom. It may save your relationship," Olivia suggested.

"Is that what you did? Did you have to fight for space, too?"

"Nope, we haven't fought over anything. Richard is fairly easygoing about things, except when I nag about him leaving things around. I don't hassle him and he cleans up on his own. But I thought it would be insane for us to share one bathroom when a second one was available."

"Well, William's house does have four of them..."

"Fitz--."

"...As if she could actually use three different kinds of shampoo at once!"

"Fitz--."

"And why does any woman as beautiful as she is need so much makeup?"

"Fitz--."

"And shoes...I thought I had a lot of shoes."

"You do have a lot of shoes, Fitz."

"She has four pairs of red shoes. Can you give me one good reason why any woman needs four pairs of red shoes?"

"Olivia has three pairs of purple boots," Richard smiled. William was stunned into silence. "You know, the short kind; and they're identical."

"Why would any woman in her right mind own three identical pairs of purple boots?" William said eventually. Richard shrugged.

"She likes purple boots. They make her happy. I don't have any problem with that. In fact, I may go out and buy her a few more." William just blinked at his cousin over his salmon entrée.

"You're joking, I hope."

"No, why should I?"

"Really, Fitz. No woman needs purple boots, and you want to encourage such folly?" Richard wiped his mouth with his handkerchief and deliberately placed in across his lap before he replied.

"I just bought Livy a purple fake fur coat for Christmas." William rolled his eyes. "You don't get it, do you, cuz? I love Olivia, and if purple makes her happy I'll give her a purple world."

"So you're suggesting that I indulge Lizzy's passion for red shoes." Richard shook his head.

"I'm suggesting that you get over the red shoes, the facial machine, and the baskets. Remember what's important."

"And that is--?" Richard shook his head again.

"If you have to ask..."

"Oh, and the other day, I got lipstick on a hand towel and I thought he was going to faint." Olivia held her ribs as she laughed.

"Lizzy, you do realize that William is a business associate of mine. I have to go into meetings and sit across from him with a straight face!"

"So?"

"Leave me with some sense of William as a sane and mature business man. You're ruining him in my eyes."

"You ought to know the real man you're dealing with."

"Lizzy, we are dealing with two different men." Lizzy mulled over Olivia's point.

"You know he does have some Jekyll and Hyde tendencies..."

"Lizzy!" Olivia shook his head. "Everyone has idiosyncrasies. I had to learn about Richard's; he had to learn about mine. You're just learning about William's."

"And there are two of him?"

"Well, there is a public persona and a private one. You've mostly seen the public one, the image he presents to the world. He's presented it to you, too, during your courtship. Now that the gloves are off, so to speak, you're seeing his more private side."

"Mr. Hyde is a nut job."

"All men are nut jobs. If you don't believe me, watch Richard get dressed someday."

"Does Richard whine when you get lipstick on something?"

"He hasn't so far, but then I usually use a non-staining lipstick."

"So do I, but I bought a new lipstick the other day and it wasn't the non-staining type. I forgot and accidentally put a white towel to my lips. He called me Eliza as he issued a stern lecture. The fact that Mrs. R got the stain out with no difficulty had no effect on him whatsoever."

"Did you give back the ring?" Olivia deadpanned. She suddenly smiled to herself.

"Care to share, or is it a private joke?"

"I was just thinking; when I don't want Richard all over me--which is very rarely, mind you--I put on lip gloss. He hates that stuff; says it makes him all sticky. Of course, I made the mistake of using flavored lip gloss once. We were in P-A and I lost my lipstick. I ran into K-Mart for something to put on my mouth. He spent the entire weekend licking it all off..."

"Eeewww!" Lizzy said distastefully. Olivia waggled her eyebrows.

"I thought we had an exceptionally good weekend."

"And all those feminine products? I had no idea it took so much to get through five days!" Richard sputtered and coughed as his beer went down the wrong pipe. "Are you all right, Fitz?"

"Is there anything else you want to get off your chest before I take another sip?"

"What do you mean?"

"There are some good things about living with William, I must admit," Lizzy said after Agnes removed her plate.

"You needn't sound so begrudging," Olivia said as Agnes placed a dish of chocolate pudding in front of her and pulled out her pad.

"Would you like some dessert?" she asked Lizzy. Lizzy shook her head and Olivia asked for an extra spoon. She handed it to Lizzy as another waitress came by and refilled their coffee cups.

"They really have you pegged, don't they?" Olivia shrugged.

"They seem to have decided that I'm Richard. Do I look like a 6'3" studly blond to you?" Lizzy smiled as she dug into the freshly made pudding. "So what's good about living with William?" Lizzy's smile widened and her eyes took on a dreamy aspect.

"For all his foibles, I adore the man," she began.

"That's always the catch, isn't it?" Olivia opined.

"Mmm. I love waking up in his arms every morning. I love the way he takes care of me. He fusses over me--I think he nearly drove Mrs. R insane those first few days I was there. She and I had a private chat about it. But it's so nice to come home to him, or to sit and wait for him to come home to me, you know?"

"I wouldn't know. It doesn't work that way for us. We go to work together and usually come home together. But it's great knowing that Richard's just five flights away if I need a hug, and he says it's very convenient to be able to come down and cop a feel every once in a while."

"He's a naughty boy," Lizzy scolded.

"Not really; alas, he's never actually done it."

"Pity."

"Mmm."

"I guess it's not so bad living with Will. It certainly beats having to run back and forth between his place and Brooklyn all the time. We have a lot more time together in the evenings. We spend more time relaxing together instead of doing things, going out and all."

"My, aren't you two becoming domestic!"

"Well, we don't cook together every night, like some couples I know."

"Neither do we. Fizz and I eat out at least twice a week and often as not we order in." Lizzy gasped. "Lately, we've been spending our evenings looking at magazines and catalogs and visiting showrooms to look at furniture."

"I don't get to furnish anything," Lizzy pouted. "Not that William would trust my taste, anyway."

"Here we go again," Olivia sighed.

"She likes frills and frou frou. I was thinking that we'd redecorate the master suite, but I don't want pink and yellow and ruffles and--."

"I get the picture, Fitz."

"What color is your bedroom going to be?"

"We've decided on a nice muted cabbage rose print as our main focus."

"Flowers?" William spat. Richard sighed patiently.

"Yes, flowers; and I picked it out. It's really pretty: soft, muted tans and greens, roses, and reds. The walls will be the same color as Grandma Bess's room--but in a striped tone on tone paint effect--and we're putting her little suite of furniture in the sitting area. The loveseat and chairs are going to be covered in the print."

"It sounds revolting."

"It'll be lovely, and you don't ever have to see it," Richard said a bit defensively.

"You want to sleep in a room that looks like an English garden?"

"It'll be the only remotely feminine room in the house, and it won't be at all frou frou. More like a Ralph Lauren photo shoot." William seemed unconvinced. "You know, Livy said something when we began talking about the room that made a lot of sense."

"Oh, and what was this pearl of wisdom?" William asked sarcastically. Richard ignored his tone.

"First of all, she said that we ought to each have one space in the house that is done to our specific needs. She took the kitchen, naturally, and I took the study. All the other rooms of the house we agreed to do jointly. But what I really thought was cool was her notion that a couple's master bedroom is an inherently feminine space. It's the woman's domain. And she said that although she wanted to make it comfortable and pleasant for me, I should keep in mind that nowhere is a man more masculine than in a lady's bedroom." William simply stared at his cousin.

"So you think I should fill my bedroom with lace and ruffles so I can feel more macho?" Richard shook his head disparagingly.

"He mentioned something about redecorating before I moved in but the minute he saw my stuff he clammed up on the subject. It's not as though he was never in my old bedroom. He knows what I like," Lizzy said.

"And that's precisely what he's afraid of," Olivia countered. Lizzy sighed.

"I love her to death. You know that." Richard nodded.

"Then why can't you just give a little? I know it's not something you're accustomed to doing, but trust me, cuz, it'll be worth it, if for no other reason than the fact that it would lower your blood pressure."

"What do you think I should do?"

"I think you should let her knit in bed. And yes, let her bring in the darned basket." William seemed to consider the idea, then nodded. "I also think you should give her a space of her own. You don't need three guest rooms; give one to her for an office or retreat, and for God's sake, Fitz, let her decorate it as she sees fit." William nodded, pulling out a notebook to record his cousin's instructions.

"Anything else?'

"Yes. At the house--she needs to feel that she belongs there, too. I think you should redecorate that master suite." William looked at Richard as though he had just suggested an act of treason.

"I'm willing to compromise. It doesn't have to be pink or frilly. But would a dust ruffle kill anyone?" Olivia began to laugh. "You have two on your bed in your apartment!"

"I don't even think Richard is aware of them. The decorator put them there, or his mother. Besides, one's blue denim and the other one is ticking. They're the most boyish looking dust ruffles I've ever seen."

"I don't want a blue bedroom."

"Suppose William does?" Lizzy shrugged.

Richard followed William into the magazine store and stood and watched as William scanned the racks. William suddenly began to pluck magazines from the racks, with no apparent rationale.

"Whoa, there! You don't need one of each, you know," Richard said. "And you definitely don't need that one...or that one." He pulled two magazines out of William's stack, one devoted to curtains and another proclaiming the joys of kitschy country décor. William nodded grimly and peered at the cover pages before selecting a few more magazines. He took them to the register and paid for them. Richard carried the stack to the Mercedes and threw it in the back seat while William got in and started the car. Richard strapped himself in and turned to look at William who was staring out into space.

"What do you think she'll say about this?"

"You won't find out till you ask her, Fitz," Richard replied with a reassuring pat on William's arm. William put the car in drive and headed to Richard's house. Richard collected the magazines and books he and Olivia had used to plan their home and brought them out to the car and William drove on to his own place. He helped Richard gather up the reading materials and between the men they carried them all inside. Lizzy came out of the kitchen to greet William.

"Hi, Richard," she said as he placed his stack of magazines on a hall table besides William's. "What's all that?"

"That's for later," William said before Richard could speak.

"I've come to collect my wife," Richard announced. "I believe she's around here somewhere." Lizzy smiled and pointed to the kitchen and Richard disappeared down the hall.

"So, what is this about? I thought they had made all their decorating decisions already," Lizzy said as she flipped through a few pages of the magazine on top of the stack.

"Oh, that's not for Richard. It's for us," William said before he, too headed for the kitchen. Lizzy frowned and followed. Olivia had poured coffee for the two newcomers and the foursome sat around and chatted for a while before Richard reminded Olivia that they had plans with his parents and had to get home and change. The pair rose and left. Lizzy refilled William's mug and took a seat beside him at the counter.

"So what's with all those magazines?" she asked delicately.

"I think it's time to make some changes around here," William declared--after taking a deep breath to steady his nerves. Lizzy raised her eyebrows.

"What did you have in mind?"

"Well, I thought we'd redo the master suite, for starters. Then I think we need to find you a space of your own."

"You're putting me out of your bedroom?" Lizzy teased. William leaned toward her and gave her a playful nudge.

"Heaven forefend! No, I just thought that you should have a retreat; a study, if you will." Lizzy smiled in surprise. "And one at the townhouse, too."

"What brought all this on?" Lizzy asked. William shrugged.

"It just occurs to me that you're going to be here for a very long time and I want this--both places--to be as much your home as mine."

"So I can redo the bedroom in the Bahamas, too?" Lizzy asked benignly. The tiny twitch on William's lip belied his calm exterior. She took pity on him and kissed him so that he wouldn't have to reply to her question. "I think you're a big sweetie bear," she cooed as she nuzzled his neck.

"Yes, but do I look macho in our bedroom?" Lizzy raised her eyes to his.

"What?" William shook his head and pulled Lizzy closer. Her stool began to tip and he caught her up as it fell. "What did you say, William?"

"Nothing," he laughed as he rose to his feet and took Lizzy by the hand. "Let's go start making some plans. I know: why don't you take our coffee into the den and I'll get some paper so we can take notes." He followed Lizzy out into the hall and picked up the magazines. She turned to regard him suspiciously.

"Richard put you up to this, didn't he?"

"What if it was his idea? I think it's a good one." Lizzy beamed.

"Me, too, Will."

Two months later, William proudly led Olivia and Richard up the stairs to tour the newly decorated master bedroom. They had already seen Lizzy's "lair," as William referred to it, an office-cum-sitting room that had been carved out of a rabbit warren of unused rooms and closets on the first floor. It was undeniably Lizzy's space; the walls were a soft yellow and the sofa and chairs that faced the small gas fireplace were covered in a floral chintz. At the opposite end of the room was a desk, a wall of built-in bookcases, and credenza with a state of the art computer system. Richard nudged William and smiled his approval. But he reserved his enthusiasm for the piece de resistance. He followed Olivia into the new master bedroom and froze, his mouth hanging open.

"It's beautiful!" Olivia said.

"It's pink!" Richard gasped. He did a slow turn to take everything in. The furniture had not changed significantly, although a larger dresser had replaced the old one to better accommodate Lizzy's needs. There was also a suede-covered chaise lounge in the corner that was a new addition, but the thing that stunned Richard was the color on the walls. It was a pale pink, a delicate compliment to the otherwise relatively monochromatic room. He glanced at William who was smiling at him. Olivia was oblivious to the exchange between the two men. She wandered off to get a closer look at the finish on the new dresser.

"Well?" William asked, leaning against the wall.

"It's pink!" Richard repeated.

"Lizzy agreed with Olivia's philosophy. She says she never has any problem finding me in here." Richard chuckled. "We're going to do the bedroom at the townhouse next year."

"Next year?"

"We want to enjoy this room a bit first." Olivia returned to the others and complimented William on his taste. He accepted the praise gratefully and headed back downstairs. Richard turned and looked back once more before he left the room and as he did so, he caught a glimpse of a basket beside the chaise lounge. It was a very stylish basket, and it had a lid, Richard noticed. But the lid was slightly askew and he saw a strand of hot pink yarn trailing over the side.

The End

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