Low Country Liar Read Free

suspended above a gleaming white-clothed table. "Mildred usually serves promptly at seven. I wonder what's wrong."
    As if on cue, the housekeeper-cook and general dogsbody appeared. There was an exasperated thinness to the line of her mouth, a grimness to her features that said she had put up with more than her share of troubles.
    "As near as I can tell, dinner is going to be about thirty minutes late tonight. The oven is on the blink again," she announced, her tone saying it was just about the last straw.
    "Oh, no!" Mitzi echoed the housekeeper's sentiment, plus an additional note that indicated she didn't want to be bothered with the problem. "Didn't Slade say that he knew—"
    "I've already phoned Slade," the housekeeper replied, using his given name calmly. "He'll have the man out first thing in the morning. But in the meantime, dinner will be late."
    Lisa waited until the housekeeper returned to the kitchen before asking, "Couldn't you have called your own repairman, Mitzi?"
    "I suppose so," was the answer, as though it hadn't occurred to her before Lisa suggested it. "But it's so much easier to call Slade. He always knows a reliable firm to send."
    Yes, Lisa thought cynically, one that will be certain to reward him for passing on business. And a house as old as this was costly to maintain. Several trades would be involved. It seemed to Lisa that what had begun as merely a suspicion against Slade Blackwell was proving to be a well-founded one.
    "It isn't that difficult to find a reliable company," Lisa insisted. "It would require a few phone calls and some checking, but you could do it and not have to rely on someone else."
    "Oh, I could do anything if I set my mind to it," Mitzi agreed with an expansive wave of her hand. "The trouble is that I am so lazy."
    "I find that hard to believe. Look at your writing schedule," she argued.
    "Ah, but that is something that I enjoy doing. It isn't work. As far as anything else goes, I don't want to be bothered," she said with an uncaring shrug. "If I didn't have Slade to turn to, I probably would take care of these routine matters. But I do have him. He spoils me outrageously and I love it."
    What could she say to that, Lisa wondered. Her aunt was an intelligent woman. Why couldn't she make her see that she was vulnerable? Or, perhaps the word was gullible?
    Dinner was eventually served about a quarter of an hour later than Mildred had thought. The evening passed quite pleasantly despite the prolonged serving time. The conversation was filled with reminiscences of old times and gossip about family. The only irritant Lisa found was the way Slade Blackwell's name kept cropping up.
    Mildred plodded into the living room to the low, marble-inlaid table in front of the sofa. She picked up the empty coffee service as if it weighed a ton and started to leave. At Mitzi's chair, she paused.
    "Will you be wanting anything else tonight, Mitzi?" But she didn't give her employer an opportunity to answer. "If you don't I'll be turning in now." Her heavily intoned words implied that she was on her last legs, and any further requests would be a severe strain on her health.
    "I am sure there is nothing else we will need," Lisa's aunt responded with a sympathetic smile. "Have a good night, Mildred."
    "I'll try," was the sighing reply as the housekeeper shuffled out of the room. She made it appear that it was too much of an effort to pick up her feet.
    When the housekeeper was out of sight, Mitzi's twinkling gaze slid to Lisa. "Isn't she a character? She could do the work of an army, but she gives the impression that the smallest task is too much for her. Bless her grumbling soul. I don't know what I'd do without her. Slade found her, of course."
    "Of course," Lisa echoed dryly and tried to swallow a yawn, but she couldn't.
    "You're tired, aren't you? I had forgotten how exhausting it is to travel. I'll bet you'd like to have an early night."
    "Oh, no, really," Lisa started to protest.
    "Don't argue.