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She looked up to find Rafe, in old jeans and a worn polo, standing in the doorway to the hall, watching her He had a streak of soot on his unscarred cheek, and in his eyes she could see all the lovely things they’d done the night before She sed that last big bite of sausage and reached for her napkin

“Rafe, good ht Genny slid her a glance What she saw startled her A look ofwhat? Yearning? Hurt?

Whatever it was, it only lasted a split second The strange expression vanished, replaced with a sweet, agreeable smile

“Melinda,” Rafe replied with a nod and turned back to Genny “Almost done?” he asked her She was still kind of stuck back there with that look on Melinda’s face He prompted, “Gen?”

She tucked her napkin in at the side of her plate “Finished, yes Have you eaten?”

“Later Right now, there’s so you need to see”

Deep in the center of the house, below the State Rooms, they stared at the ancient oil heater that provided warmth to the rooms above

He said, “I’ll have the e to look at it I think he can keep it going until the end of the season, at least”

“How old is it, exactly?” she asked

“Twenty-three years”

“That’s old, isn’t it—for a heater, I mean?”

He nodded “It’s guzzling sixty thousand pounds a year now just for the oil, with another forty thousand for the electricity to run it”

“We’ll have to replace it, won’t we?”

He hooked an arm around her, pulled her close and pressed his lips to her hair “I think we ht, yes”

“This winter, then, while they’re doing the roof and refurbishing the West Wing?”

He reehtly, with a casual sort of intied to hiether “Visitors pour in and out of here every day,” he said “They see rooms full of art, Chinese wallpaper and Chippendale furniture It all looks so well maintained”

She knew exactly where he was going “But the trouble is behind the scenes, where people don’t see—and you knohat?”

He gave her shoulder a squeeze “You have an idea”