Close to Destiny (A Magical Love Story)

Chapter 66

May 29

I might already have been packing my bags for New York if it hadn't been for Charlotte Moss. She called as I was about to ring the airline to book a ticket on the next flight out. So instead of lugging a suitcase across the airport at 4 o'clock in the afternoon, I was sitting across from Charlotte and nibbling on a scone with raspberry jam.

Charlotte wrapped herself in a voluminous orange poncho and leaned into the couch's sagging cushions with a sigh. She had something she wanted to tell me, she'd said on the phone. But in the 15 minutes since my arrival, Charlotte had spent the whole time preparing a tea tray and fretting about the cold air that snapped through the corners of the old windowpanes.

"It's an unusually cold month of May," she exclaimed over and over as she set out a pot of tea, ran back to the kitchen for the scones, returned, ran back for a pot of cream, and refused my proposals to help.

I took a sip of Earl Grey delicately scented with blue flowers and so did she. Now what? We both looked at each other uncomfortably. Did she know or even care about the story of Victoria Moss? I couldn't bring myself to pronounce the name. Victoria—this inner part of my own self that I still hadn't faced with complete honesty. Thoughts of Victoria frightened me. I had enough trouble understanding my conscious self and the present day. Still, Victoria's role—my role—in the Moss family fascinated me.

Charlotte set down her cup and took a deep breath. I pushed thoughts of Victoria Moss out of my mind.

"I don't quite know if I'm doing the right thing, but I felt I didn't have much choice," she began.

"Is everything OK? I mean, I know things aren't all right, but..."

"Katherine," she interrupted. "It's about the hotel. You see, I told you my sister inherited the second-largest share."

"And you inherited that from her, right?"

She nodded.

"Have the Taylors contacted you about buying it?"

"A lawyer has. I don't know which Taylor he was representing, as they're all very secretive. And what does it matter anyway?"

"You're selling it to them?"

"No. I refused any business dealings with those people. And then I received a second phone call. Another member of Destiny's family, but not from the Taylor side. Someone who seems a bit more trustworthy. So I decided to sell. The sooner the better."

"Do you mind if I ask who's buying?"

"Her name is Gwen Garnier, one of Destiny's cousins."

"Gwen Garnier?" I mumbled. "A French woman? Who coordinates art showings?"

"She is French, but I don't know what she does for a living."

"But how could it be? I didn't think she had that kind of money..."

"You know her?"

"Yeah," I murmured. Gwen had apparently been hiding more from me than I realized.

"As for the money, don't be astonished," Charlotte said, leaning closer and lowering her voice. "Everyone on both sides of Destiny's family is loaded. The difference is I've agreed to do business with the side that's always seemed less fraught with scandal. That's why I immediately gave the nod to the deal with Gwen. It works for both of us. What do you know about her?"

"Only the fact that she's pretty good at keeping secrets. Especially when they're her own."

"What do you mean?" Charlotte wrinkled her brow.