The Brontë Plot Read Online Free Page A

there’d be any reason for you to, but yes, this is Sid’s magic kingdom.”
    â€œI’ve got Kung Pao chicken, Shredded Beef and Broccoli, and General Tso’s Surprise. Delicious, but not a surprise.”
    Lucy grabbed a couple paper plates and forks from the top of the refrigerator. She waved a fork at James.
    He shook his head and handed her a set of chopsticks.
    â€œA purist, huh?”
    â€œAlways.” James served up two plates. “So why are we here again?”
    â€œI’m waiting on Sid’s delivery from Round Top Antiques Week. It’s the biggest antique show in the nation.” Lucy rapped her chopsticks together. “Actually, I’m not sure how big it is . . . Anyway, the driver called and said he’d be here between nine and ten o’clock and Sid had a client dinner.”
    â€œSo what happens?”
    â€œJust like you, he calls and I open the alley door. After they unload, we lock up and go home.” Lucy dropped a shrimp into her lap.
    â€œOkay, then.” Without looking at her, James handed her a napkin and reached for the Beef and Broccoli. He waved his chopsticks around the room. “What is all this stuff?”
    â€œThe behind-the-scenes view of Chicago’s top decorator. Fabrics, sketch boards, his ’gems’ he finds all over the world, paint decks . . . And you wouldn’t believe some of the names that work with Sid, all wealthy, expectant, and highly particular .” Lucy dropped her voice on the last word á la Cruella de Vil, and then bit her lip, regretting her ill-thought-out impersonation.
    â€œIs my grandmother as hard to please as all that?” James raised an eyebrow, but his smile let Lucy know he was teasing.
    â€œI wouldn’t know. She was a client before my time. But I got a call from one yesterday demanding an off-production Scalamandre fabric immediately . And that’s never fun.”
    â€œWhat’d you tell her?”
    â€œNothing. I simply found it and finagled six yards to be delivered by Monday.” Lucy wrangled some rice onto her chopsticks. “I’ve become friends with the showroom staff and they had the yardage on hold, between three different designers. So I called each one and bartered, traded, didn’t steal, but came close, and, in the end, got every yard. Everyone loves a good story.”
    â€œA story?”
    â€œWhile it was true that I needed the yardage, it wasn’t true that I’d secured a certain Fortuny trim one of the designers at the showroom needed. But once he was on board, I got a promise for the trim from Fortuny. I really needed the Scalamandre, and I simply greased the wheels by giving them a story. As I said, everyone loves a good story.”
    â€œYou’d make such a good lawyer,” James quipped.
    Lucy scrunched her nose. “I know you’re a lawyer, but no one says that as a compliment.”
    James raised both brows, considering. “Probably not, but it was a joke.”
    â€œIt’s just that . . . as I told the story to you just now, it didn’t sound good to me either. I don’t know why I do it. I mean it’s not really bad, but . . .”
    James took a bite and watched her.
    â€œMy father told stories, James, and I promised to never be like him and now . . . I suddenly hear myself and I am like him. I can’t tell you how often I do stuff like that.”
    â€œIt’s hardly a big deal, Lucy. Wheedling your way into six yards of salamander fabric hardly constitutes a capital crime.”
    â€œScalamandre.” Lucy popped a bite of beef in her mouth to save herself further reply, but she remained unconvinced. “Your grandmother didn’t like me, by the way.”
    â€œI don’t know about that. I told her about you when I gave her the book and she’s been asking questions ever since. And on the way home today, she asked a million more, especially about your eyes. You’d