A Touch of the Grape: A Hemlock Falls Mystery (Hemlock Falls Mystery series) Read Free Page B

charge guests to take tours of a home away from home they'd already rented in the first place. On the other hand, Nero Wolfe never seemed to have significant money troubles, and Quill certainly did. "Yes, I do charge a fee, Selena. A slight one, only. I add a little lecture to each of the stops on the tour, and I demonstrate our remodeling plans and show the original architectural drawings. It's very informational, very historic."
    "Good for cash flow, too," Doreen said with approval.
    Selena clasped Ellen's hand between both her own with a great deal of playful charm. "Senora Dunbarton, perhaps you and your group would like a tour of our vineyard, too? It is called the Summerhill Winery and it is about twenty minutes from here. My Hugh knows a great deal about wine. And he is so handsome! Like Richard Gere, only a little older. Yes, there is a fee. But it is a slight fee, only. Much less, in fact, than the fee for the tour of the Inn."
    "Well!" Doreen said, with a competitive glitter in her eye. "I must say we was the ones who—"
    "We'd love to take all the tours," Ellen said, with a shrewd glance from Quill to Doreen. "We've brought our crafts with us, of course, and we have our business meeting coming up as soon as our president gets here, but we still have a lot of free time on our hands. And we're happy to pay a reasonable fee We love to learn new things. I've never been to a winery. I'd love it. What about it, Robin?"
    "Well, if the fee was reasonable, like this Selena said," Robin Robinson said. "Hemlock Falls is such a pretty village, and we haven't even begun to explore all its nooks and crannies. The more we know about a place, the more we love it."
    "The more people work together, the easier it is to show off a place like Hemlock Falls," Quill said with a significant look at Doreen. "We've had very good luck with sponsoring wine tours in the past, and I think you ladies would enjoy seeing Summerhill. Selena's not being prejudiced, you know. Hugh is very good-looking and very knowledgeable."
    "Tomorrow might be very good," Selena said. "I will check with my Hugh, and let you know. I will take this dog, now, and then come back in an hour to let you know, okay? I, myself, will probably not accompany you, however, on the tour of Summerhill. There are a great many dogs to catch in Hemlock Falls."
    "Great," Quill said heartily, already beginning to dis like "my Hugh." "We'll start this tour right now." She found herself making shooing motions to drive the Crafty Ladies toward the Inn, and away from any more revelations of their financial plight by blabbermouth Do reen. She took Ellen Dunbarton by the arm, and drew her along the path; the other ladies followed like baby ducks. "I haven't really had time to get to know you all, and this will be a wonderful opportunity for both of us, I hope. The tour will take about an hour, and then we'll have lunch on the terrace. Meg's prepared something wonderful. It's new. Quiche á la Quilliam. Fresh fruit in a cheese custard. Perhaps at lunch we can plan your trip to Summerhill Winery. Or would you prefer to wait until your president comes in?" She linked her other arm companionably with Freddie's and led the whole group down the flagstone steps leading to the front door.
    Behind her, she heard Doreen methodically kicking the azalea bushes, in an attempt to flush out the dog. Meg whistled, a piercing soprano note that used to bring their old collie at a run, back home in Connecticut, when neither she nor Meg had to worry about whether or not they were going to make payroll.
    "Well!" Quill said, coming to a halt in front of the old oak door at the Inn's entrance. "Here we are. The Inn at Hemlock Falls dates back to the mid 1700's, when it was a small hostelry frequented by trappers on their way to the fur trade in Canada …"
    She gave them the whole history, from the Inn's first hostess/owner (Turkey Lil, who sold her favors to the trappers along with homemade gin) to the