Murder at Blackwater Manor (2 page)

Prim gave her a questioning look.

“For doubting yourself,” Sage explained, “
I’m nervous
,” she imitated Prim in a crazy, high-pitched tone. “
I’m soo nervous, since nothing I do ever comes out perfectly in the end.
”

“Stop it,” Prim laughed, “And thanks for the help. Don’t think I didn’t notice you babysitting everyone. If it weren’t for you, I’d have to close the shop to fix everything and open again tomorrow. Why do people always need to touch everything?”

“It’s nothing,” Sage said demurely, “I’m glad I could help.”

“Now what?” Prim said after taking a sip of her tea.

“Now we wait for the customers to start queuing out front.”

The two of them sat in silence for a while, just watching the waking town before them. The flower shop had a perfect location. It was right across the street from the village green, a vast grassy expanse that ran down to the edge of the shore. A stone terrace marked the end of the headland, where the cliff ran down at a steep incline straight to the small beach underneath.

From where they sat, the two sisters could see the ocean, which had a dark turquoise color at this time of year and was patterned with small white dots—the foam on the edge of the distant waves. Prim was convinced that nothing smelled better than the fall air in Rosecliff, where the wind carried both the salty tang of the sea and the earthy scent of dry leaves and moist soil.

“Good morning, Prim,” a tall, stocky man with thick graying hair greeted them. Sage hadn’t seen him around Rosecliff before. “Sorry for missing the opening. Are you open for business already?”

Prim jumped to her feet and shielded her eyes against the sun, which was now almost directly overhead.

“Mr. Blackwater! How great to see you and yes, we are open for business,” she said, her whole face exuding pride. “Please, come in and I’ll see if we don’t have some refreshments left over from the opening.”

“Great, I’m just in time then,” the man said and followed her inside.

Sage went in as well, excited that her sister already had her first customer.

“What can I do for you?” Prim asked, professionally taking her place behind the brand new counter, the register still glinting with newness.

“Well, a bouquet,” the man said and started looking around, “I love what you’ve done with the place, Prim.”

“Thanks a lot,” Prim smiled even wider, “Anything special in mind? Is it for an occasion?”

“No, no special occasion, just wanted to do something nice for the woman I love.”

“Well, isn’t that sweet. Mrs. Blackwater is a lucky woman,” Prim said and winked, “If I can get Ben to buy me flowers after all these years…” She laughed and started putting together a bunch of creamy roses and sprigs of baby breath.

“Listen, do you play cards?” Mr. Blackwater said out of the blue as he waited for the arrangement. “The missus and I are having some people over tonight and we haven’t seen you in ages! It would be nice to catch up. Ben is welcome too.”

“Of course I play,” Prim said quickly, “Ben is on night duty tonight, but I’d love to come. Here, is this okay?”

She handed him the most exquisite rose bouquet Sage had ever seen that was far from just okay.

“It’s perfect. You are a talent, dear,” the man said and fumbled in his breast pocket for his wallet.

“Do you need a card to go with these?”

“No, no need. After so many years, I think I’ve written all the words I can come up with. The flowers are enough to say what I want to say. I’ll see you tonight then, Prim.”

Mr. Blackwater paid and left.

“My first sale!” Prim squealed and twirled around the shop like a little girl, waving the dollar bills in the air. Sage joined her jumping around and when the two of them suddenly realized what they were doing, they both bent over with laughter, clutching their stomachs.

“Who was that guy?” Sage finally asked, “I don’t think I’ve seen him around.”

“No, you haven’t. He rarely comes into town, but Sage? He is my lucky charm. My first customer just happens to be the richest man around here. I hope that’s a sign. He and his wife live on a huge estate a couple of miles out of Rosecliff.”

“And you are going there to play cards tonight?”

“Of course I am! If I can get Mrs. Blackwater as a customer, I’ll be all set with my little business. She is the number one hostess of a million charity events and auctions around here. That means a ton of flower orders.”

“So, you have some serious sucking up to do.”

“Yeah,” Prim said, lost in thought all of a sudden. “Sage? Do you play cards?”

“Who doesn’t? Of course I do.”

“Well, I don’t, so you are coming with me tonight.”

CHAPTER THREE

Card Game and a Murder

When Primrose and Sage arrived at the Blackwaters’ home, the rest of the dinner party were already seated at the big dining table in the salon. It had taken Prim a while to close the shop and get ready and Sage had needed to go through half her sister’s closet for something appropriate to wear. She hadn’t been to a formal occasion since she’d arrived, plus her own clothes were far too casual for a fancy dinner party.

“Are you sure it’s okay for me to just show up uninvited?” Sage had asked nervously as they’d waited at the front door of the giant house.

“Don’t be silly,” Prim had assured her, “These people are so bored, they’d love a new face.”

The maid showed them inside the room and everyone got up to greet them. It wasn’t just the extremely luxurious vintage interior of the place that felt overwhelming to Sage. She didn’t recognize any of the faces in the room and that made her anxious enough. She wasn’t used to formal socializing and was definitely not at ease in any situation the way Prim was. She decided to just follow her sister’s lead and hope she doesn’t make a fool of herself.

“Primrose!” an elegant lady of about sixty exclaimed and hurried over to kiss Prim on both cheeks and lead them to their seats. “How nice to finally have you. Come on in, we’ve barely got started on appetizers. And this must be…”

“My sister, Sage. I hope you don’t mind we came together, Thea.”

Sage smiled shyly at the room and noticed that she was greeted with a couple of curious looks, but everyone seemed friendly, so she relaxed a bit.

“Don’t be ridiculous!” Thea said excitedly, “What a lovely surprise! It’s great to meet you, Sage.”

In just a few short moments the sisters were seated and the conversation flowed as if it hadn’t been interrupted. The warm light from the fireplace and the beautifully arranged candles on the table gave a soft glow to the guests’ faces and soon Sage felt quite cozy in the new company.

By the time the maid was bringing in the second course, Sage had even managed to make out some connections among the people in the room. Prim was discreetly supplying the names when someone new spoke. Sage already knew Mr. Blackwater from earlier in the day and she had correctly assumed that Thea, the woman who’d greeted them was Mrs. Blackwater, his wife. James Blackwater, a tall and thin man who looked old and wrinkled, was in fact Mr. Blackwater’s younger brother. If you’d asked Sage, he looked more like his father, but then again both Mr. and Mrs. Blackwater seemed in great shape for their age.

There was also another couple, Mr. and Mrs. Bluebird. Alex Bluebird seemed about the hosts’ age, while Anabelle Bluebird was much younger and was the most animated person at the table. She was quite a character and was the natural center of attention with her funny anecdotes about her job. It turned out that she was the librarian at the Rosecliff public library, so she had plenty of entertaining stories about teenage boys trying to smuggle inappropriate books out of the building.

Sage couldn’t figure out what Mr. Bluebird or any of the Blackwaters did for work, but judging by their clothes and manners, they might as well have never had to work in their lives.

The roasted pheasant with chestnut stuffing and the honey-glazed grilled vegetables were so mouth-watering, Sage couldn’t put her fork and knife down before she’d finished every last morsel in her plate. When the cinnamon pumpkin pie was served, she was already thinking of unbuttoning her pants just a little. Primrose was an amazing cook, but even she didn’t have the time to create such elaborate feasts every day. Sage was more than glad she’d agreed to come to this dinner.

“Who is up for a smoke?” Mr. Bluebird said, rising from his seat after the plates had been cleared away and everyone was breathing hard after the rich meal.

To Sage’s surprise, almost everyone stood up. She’d always assumed that rich people didn’t smoke, but then she remembered her sister telling her about how bored they all were, so she figured that must be the explanation. In fact, the only person besides the two of them who didn’t spring up enthusiastically from his seat was Mr. Blackwater.

“You go,” he said to his wife’s questioning look, “I have something to finish up in the study and I’ll join you all for cards after.”

“As you wish, honey,” Mrs. Blackwater said and Sage wondered whether she’d liked the flowers he gave her in the morning. She should find an appropriate moment to ask her and casually mention that Prim made the bouquet. Every little bit of advertising would help Prim’s mission tonight.

“Sage,” Prim whispered, suddenly nudging her in the ribs, “I think we should go too. It’s inappropriate to sit here by ourselves.”

“Really?” Sage panted and started buttoning up her trousers, “It’s so exhausting being appropriate. I don’t know how you do it. If it were up to me, I’d have curled up by the fireplace by now.”

“Come on,” Prim grabbed her wrist and dragged her towards the terrace where everyone was gathered, lighting up their cigarettes. “We’ll be lazy later, I promise. The fresh air will make you feel better.”

“Fresh indeed with that smoke cloud out there,” Sage muttered, but followed her sister outside.

“So,” Mr. Bluebird said, turning to Prim, “Thea tells me you’ve just opened a new flower shop in town…”

This was just the right opportunity for Prim to show off her accomplishment, so she started eagerly describing her first day. Sage felt a bit out of place in the crowd of smoke-puffing people, chatting to each other about subjects she couldn’t contribute to. If they were talking about biology or, say, the medicinal properties of algae, she’d jump right in, but she knew little of small town politics and gossip.

She took the time to look at the house that rose right above them. Though the terrace was at the back of the building, the view was no less impressive than if looked at from the front. It was as fancy as a postcard castle or a Gothic manor right out of a novel. It had three floors and the oversized, almost cathedral-like windows were bathed in light, despite the fact that there was no one in the rooms upstairs. Prim had told her it was good form to keep the lights on everywhere when you had guests. Thick climbing rose trees crawled up to the second floor and curled around the ornate frames of each tall window and in the rich light, the house looked enchanted.

The garden, which was more of a park, was simply breathtaking and even though it was dark beyond the light that fell from the upstairs windows, Sage could see the neat flowerbeds, the freshly mowed grass and the decorative fountains that spoke of many hours of work. These people could not only afford to live in this huge house, but they also had a gardener and a maid. For a moment, Sage felt as if she’d stepped back in time.

Here, the ocean was too far away for them to smell or hear, but the evening breeze that came from the shore was none the less chilly and Sage felt herself shiver. Thea, the hostess, noticed that.

“Oh, look what I’ve done! We are sitting here smoking and talking and our newest friend is about to catch a cold. Let’s all get inside. Maybe Cecile is done with the washing up and she’s ready to serve us some tea. Plus, I can’t wait to get started with those cards.”

Sage was grateful for the tactful suggestion and they all went in and settled in another room, where another fireplace boomed with a cozy fire and where there was a set of soft leather sofas right in front of it. The cards were already set on the small table in the middle of the sofas.

“Sage,” Prim said, “I’m going to freshen up before the game. Do you want to join me?” She gave her a meaningful look and Sage knew she had to go.

She followed her sister down the wide corridor and into a bathroom that looked more like a living room. There was a velvet settee, two vanities with sinks and the largest bathtub Sage had ever seen.

“Just look at this place!” Sage exclaimed.

“I know, I know,” Prim said, “See why it’s so important to get Mrs. Blackwater as a regular customer? There’s something I forgot to tell you though. I’ve been to a couple of these card game gatherings and from what I’ve seen, Thea loves to play, but she is really bad at it. She is also a sore loser and we want her in a good mood tonight. She is hosting a fundraiser next week and if everything goes well, I’m going to bring up the flowers later on.”

“Okay…” Sage said, still unsure what her sister was getting at.

“So, are you any good? At cards, I mean.”