Turbulence (Stone Barrington #46)(43)
“So I hear. If you’ll forgive me mentioning it,” Philip said conspiratorially, “I should watch my back, if I were you—not on the estate, of course, you’re quite safe here—but after returning to civilization, such as it is. Owaki, it appears, knows how to hold a grudge.”
“Thank you for that advice,” Stone said. “I shall follow it faithfully.”
* * *
—
AFTER DESSERT AND COFFEE, the gongists returned and announced dancing in the Grand Ballroom.
“Stay with us,” the duke said as they left the table, and Stone did.
“When did we become such good friends of the aristocracy?” Kelly asked as she took his arm and they trailed the duke and duchess.
“Very recently,” Stone said. “The duke said that we should stick with him.”
“Oh, good,” she replied, as a large string orchestra struck up a Viennese waltz.
Stone put his arm around Kelly, and they whirled away, keeping the duke and duchess in close proximity.
34
STONE HAD FORGOTTEN how much exercise a Viennese waltz was, and they soon repaired to their seats at the duke’s table, Stone dabbing at his forehead with a linen handkerchief.
“You all right?” Kelly asked. She appeared to be not in the least exercised by the waltz.
“Nothing a few days in a rest home wouldn’t cure,” Stone replied. “The Viennese must be born with very strong thighs.”
The duke was mopping, too.
“This is really the most extraordinary house,” Stone said to him. “Your family preserved it wonderfully.”
“You should see it belowdecks, as it were,” the duke said. “Some of the equipment is from the eighteenth century and still functioning perfectly. Other bits of it have been replaced with more modern fittings over the centuries. Owaki, to his credit, air-conditioned the place. Would you like to have a look below?”
“I would, thank you,” Stone said.
“Then come along; we’ll pretend we’re looking for the gents’.” He got up and strode out the nearest door.
Stone followed him down two floors, where the duke proudly displayed the gleaming pipes for water, sewage, and heat, then they walked up a floor, and he showed Stone the bell system.
“You’ll note that not all of the hundred or so bedrooms are connected to this, but all the important ones are. They were originally connected by cables, which range a bell for each bedroom. They were replaced by electricity in the early part of the last century.”
Stone noted a bell for the duke’s room, another for that of the marquess, presumably a younger sibling, and one for the king’s bedroom.
“Did kings visit often?” Stone asked.
“More often than you might think,” he replied. “Until I sold the place, no one but a monarch had ever slept in that room. Mr. Owaki now reserves it for himself. It’s right at the top of the staircase.”
They continued their tour through the servants’ hall, the refrigeration, and the wine cellars. “Mind you,” the duke said, “I pretty much cleaned out the cellar when I left. Mr. Owaki has restocked it, I see. Fortunately, I had enough cellarage in my other houses to accommodate the loot. Now and then, when it appears I’ll never get all of a vintage drunk up, I’ll send some bottles for auction, then replenish with later vintages. It requires a full-time cellar master to keep track of it all.”
“What did we drink this evening?” Stone asked. “It was excellent.”
“And well it should be,” Philip replied, “It was a Mouton ’59, and drinking perfectly, I thought.”
“It certainly was.”
“You must come for dinner in London sometime,” Philip said. “Have you a card?”
Stone gave him one. “It has all my numbers,” he said.
Philip gave him a card with but one number. “That’s my switchboard,” he said. “They can reach me anywhere.”
They returned to the Grand Ballroom and found their seats.
“I know where Owaki’s quarters are,” Stone said to Kelly, “and I think we are now able to answer all of Lance’s questions about the estate.”
Stone waltzed once with Dinah, and Kelly with Philip. Soon they were ready for bed.
“Is there anything else here you want to see?” Stone asked when they were tucked in.
“Nothing at all. I’d just as soon depart in the morning.”
* * *
—
THE FOLLOWING MORNING they had breakfast in bed, and Stone asked the footman to have his car and the Range Rover around front at eleven AM, and to notify the Eggerses next door.
* * *
—
PROMPTLY AT ELEVEN, both cars appeared, and their luggage was loaded into the Range Rover. They were handed a carrier bag with a packed lunch for everyone, and a footman gave Stone a map. “There’s a lovely little layby just here,” he said, pointing at the road east of them, “with picnic tables and a lovely view.” Stone thanked him and surreptitiously slipped him a fifty-pound note.
* * *
—
AT THE FRONT GATES they turned east and passed through a picturesque village. Later they came to the recommended layby, and everyone got out of the cars to stretch their legs and have lunch. They walked down a stone staircase to some level ground overlooking a valley, and Kelly and Charlotte spread out the lunch on a picnic table, while the driver of the Range Rover preferred to lunch alone at another table.