Free Beautiful Whispers (Ausmor Plantation Book 1 - Romance/Suspense) by Alice Ayden Page A

I jumped expecting the worst.
    Bitty lumbered in and stopped when she saw me. “The hell are you doing in here? Just sitting on the floor like a filthy rat.”
    I slowly got up. “ I needed a place to think.”
    “ On the floor of my storage room?” She threw her hands in the air and sighed for a good five and a half minutes. “I mean, for green olive’s sake, the entire house is like fifty billion square feet, and I have to come in here and find my least favorite person on earth waiting for me like a freaking ambush.”
    She glared at the shelves. “What did you take?” Bitty rushed over to various cans and hugged them close to her chest. “What did you try to steal?”
    I left out the door without saying anything.
    “I need to put a friggin lock on this thing. Like hell I’m going to have you sneaking about and messing with my stuff…”
    She continued on, but, luckily, I walked fast. I guess the Austen curse had finally struck The Bitty. It was only a matter of time until she went full on rabid. We’d have to post warning signs for tourists.
    I shook my head. I couldn’t avoid thinking about it. Alexander. That girl. I had to piece everything together. I had to know for sure, but something told me I already knew. Was something buried so deep I couldn’t deal? Something about Alexander? Byron? Me? What was it? And who in this house would tell me the truth?

20 Jane
     
    “I have to find Alexander.” I shuffled through the house, past tourists, around staff fiddling with a hundred Christmas trees, ornaments, whatnots and knickknacks. I could see a Christmas tree in each parlor with the color coordinated decorations matching the color of each room - huge twelve foot trees covered with red, green, blue and yellow ornaments to match each parlor.
    I didn’t have the warm, fuzzy Chr istmas memories some others had, but I didn’t hate the holiday like Karenda.
    At Ausmor, Christmas lasted from November 1 through January 15. Many of the staff sipped hot cocoa all day, wrapped themselves in mistletoe and got drunk on the Christmas fumes. Seeing presents under trees, listening to fires crackle and being warm inside when snow blanketed Virginia wasn’t the worst way to spend time.
    The staff had everything prepared on November 1, but tourists liked to see holiday fiddling. So, trees would be moved a quarter of an inch, ornaments shifted and garland reknotted for show.
    Around Christmas day, barring any unforeseen amuckments, Evan, Lillia, Mrs. Kiness and I exchanged gifts with staff who didn’t retreat home for the holidays. Karenda was always too busy. Byron normally went somewhere warm with someone else. I think the Stonstons crept back to hell for a sacrifice. Grand Maeve gifted herself a new male hostage she kept tethered in her room. And Aunt Bitty? What would she give? A box of chocolate covered phlegm?
    I smiled and said my pleasantries to the staff who juggled tiny peppermint sticks and mouthfuls of hot cocoa while balancing oversized red hats that looked as if they crawled from a Dr. Seuss story. “Merry Christmas...happy holidays…it looks great…you’ve outdone yourself…” They smiled back and waited until I’d left to continue.
    Don’t know why the family made them so nervous. Probably thought we’d turn homicidal any minute, and they needed to eye the nearest escape.
    I spotted Alexander trying to unravel very aggressive garland choking the hand carved banister on the Grand Stairs. I instantly felt at ease, and then not so much. Damn Johnston. I thought of what he said about Alexander deserving to be in prison. I couldn’t force my legs to move. Anchored to the ground, I tried to act natural and not get his attention.
    He spotted me anyway, smiled and started over. My stomach clenched, and my heart was about to jump out of my chest and race around the room. I had to calm my breathing. My face flushed, and I hoped I wouldn’t pass out or throw up. I couldn’t be another headliner in the