Free The Perfect Bride by Kerry Connor

her words carefully couched, a wealth of unspoken thought behind them. “You don’t like them,” Jillian challenged to get her to cut to the chase.
    Emma’s eyes widened in surprise, but Jillian didn’t miss how she didn’t exactly rush to deny it. “I wouldn’t say that,” she said slowly. “I can’t say I really know them. No one does. I mean, to live and work out there all these years, in such an isolated place. I suppose it takes an...unusual kind of person to do that. People thought Jacob was odd for becoming a recluse. But the truth is,none of the rest of them is all that different. They all keep to themselves out there just as much.”
    The woman’s comments only confirmed Jillian’s own impressions of the Sutton Hall staff. “What can you tell me about them?”
    “Well, there’s Grace, of course. Before the new owners arrived, she was pretty much in charge of the place. Even when Jacob was alive, anyone who had any businessout there got the sense she was the real boss. He basically left her to run it as she saw fit.”
    “I’m guessing she wasn’t too happy to have a couple of strangers inherit and take over Sutton Hall.”
    “I can’t imagine she was, not that I’ve ever heard her say anything. Grace has never been overly chatty. Or maybe there’s nobody in town she figures is worth her time to talk to,” she addedunder her breath.
    “She doesn’t have any friends or family nearby?”
    “Not that I know of. Grace isn’t originally from the area. I’m not sure where she’s from actually. She came to Sutton Hall with Kathleen when she married Jacob. I think she must have worked for Kathleen before. She was just a maid then. After Kathleen died and most of the staff left for whatever reason, Grace graduallyseemed to take charge, until she was running the place.”
    Jillian tried to picture Grace as a fresh-faced young woman arriving at Sutton Hall as a mere maid. She couldn’t manage it. Every trace of that young woman seemed long gone, leaving a woman who gave every appearance of being as much an institution as the place itself. “And she’s been there all this time? Never married or had a familyof her own?”
    “No. She’s been there for thirty years. I’ve never heard talk of her seeing anybody or anything. She just stayed out there.”
    “What about Ed and Rosie?”
    “They aren’t from around here, either. They showed up about twenty-five years ago when Jacob was looking for a new cook. Rosie interviewed for the job, and Ed managed to talk his way into getting hired as a caretaker,which was sorely needed. From the sound of it, Ed was the only one keeping the place standing. He must have done a great job of it. After they took over, the younger Suttons hired some people to work on renovating and restoring the place, and it didn’t take them long, only a few months. From what I heard, there wasn’t that much work that needed doing, much less than anyone would have thought, whichhas to be one reason the Suttons kept Ed on, as well as Rosie to cook.”
    “Their marriage doesn’t seem all that happy.”
    Emma shrugged. “I wouldn’t know much about that. Like I said, they tend to keep to themselves up there at the house. Neither of them became all that friendly with anyone in town, even after all these years.”
    “What about Ray? Zack said his mother left them?”
    “That’s right. Zack was just a boy then, maybe three or four. Carolyn took off one day. Ray said she left a note saying she wanted something else from her life and was leaving to find it, and that was that. I can’t say I was surprised. Just about everyone knew Carolyn didn’t like living out there. Not many could blame her for that. It’s so secluded out there, and I’m sure it had to be lonely, especiallyduring the winter whenever they got snowed in, with only Ray and Zack to talk to, and maybe Rosie. Can’t imagine her and Grace being all that close. Those two were complete opposites.”
    “She