Echoes of a Violin

Chapter 5: Copycat

Neal raised his wine glass to Sara. "You and I, sitting on a banquette in a Thai restaurant—this seems like old times. Although I don't ever remember having carried so many packages before. You were wise to pick a place with large alcoves so we'd have room to store our loot."

"That was clever of me, wasn't it?" Sara agreed happily. "I chose Bond Street for our shopping spree in honor of our alter egos, Tiffany Case and James Bond."

"They would have given it their stamp of approval. I know I did."

A little wet weather hadn't dampened their enthusiasm. Sara had brought along two enormous umbrellas for them to carry. Neal laughed at her outfit—a smoke-blue silk suit with paisley rain boots. When he teased her about it, she countered that after having been forced to work late one evening to avoid ruining a new pair of heels, she always kept an emergency pair of rain boots in her desk. They only had a couple of hours to shop before the stores closed. Neal easily could have filled his suitcase but with Paris coming up, he was forced to be judicious.

"What do you have planned for Fiona?" she asked. "Which gourmet Parisian restaurants have you lined up?"

"That will have to be on hold for another trip. Fiona assumed her work in Amboise would be completed on Friday. We were planning to return to Paris on Sunday, but she found out yesterday that she'll need to stay an additional two weeks. It may be for the best since I'll have to work in Paris. Once Peter and El return to New York, I'll go back to Amboise."

Sara sat back, a mischievous grin on her face. "How fitting! You'll leave your lady in her chateau, gallop off to Paris to do battle then charge back like a knight returning from the Crusades."

Neal kept his sigh to himself but Sara sounded just like Richard and Aidan. "Where did everyone get the notion I'm a medieval knight?"

"I wouldn't complain about it. Fiona's lucky. I wish I had a knight in shining armor. Besides, it's a natural assumption. You fence, you sing."

"Knights don't sing."

"Oh yes, they do. Many knights were troubadours, Richard the Lionheart for one. I'm told he wrote beautiful songs."

"When did you become such an expert?"

She shrugged. "Fiona and I may have discussed your endearing chivalrous tendencies on more than one occasion. Then there's your propensity to fight dragons. You rescued two Raphaels from fire-breathing monsters this spring. That has to count. And I can call Diana as a witness if you need additional proof."

"What do you mean?"

"Surely you realize I read her latest story. Your epic battle with that dragon?"

Was everyone reading Diana's stories? "That wasn't a dragon. It was a—"

She pressed her hand against his mouth. "Don't quibble. It's close enough."

While the thought of Fiona and Sara discussing him invited interesting speculation, the image of a knight charging around the countryside didn't sit well. Was it only a matter of time till he'd be accused of being a Don Quixote attacking windmills? "Plainly I need to update my image. I much prefer James Bond. I'll take driving a sports car over riding a horse any day."

"I wonder if James and Tiffany will ever team up for another caper. I enjoyed our fake date in New York last spring. Our characters in Arkham Files seem to as well. I wouldn't mind going to that coffeehouse we visited in The Locked Room. You could sing for me. I could embarrass you, confusing starlings with stardust. "

He eyed her suspiciously. "Do I have to worry about you sending Diana suggestions too?"

Sara flashed a sly smile. "I'm sworn to secrecy, but you have nothing to fear. I'm simply one of your many Bond girls. Let's see, in addition to me, there's Raquel, Kate ..." She paused for a moment. "Refresh my memory. Who were the other girls?"