"You did what?" Maxwell Sheffield bellowed fifteen minutes later.

"Shush!" Fran said in alarm, running over to close their bedroom door. "I don't want Niles to hear this."

Maxwell laughed sarcastically. "It's probably too late for that. I wouldn't be surprised if he had one of his secret intercoms installed in our closet."

"Like that would do him any good. He'd get bored eavesdropping on the clothes."

Max took a deep breath. "Miss Fine, you've got some 'splainin' to do!"

"Oy, are we back to being Mr Sheffield and Miss Fine already?" Fran questioned in alarm. "I thought we said goodbye to that when we got married!"

"No, I have a feeling we'll be reverting back to Miss Fine and Mr Sheffield, just as long as you keep getting into these scrapes," Max grumbled. "Now, please, take a deep breath and repeat what you told me before. I don't think I quite heard you the first time."

Fran suddenly seemed to find their bedroom carpet fascinating. "Uh, well...gee, have you noticed how old our carpet is starting to look? We really need to change it. I bet Cousin Toddy could give us some great advice..."

"You're trying my patience," Max said warningly.

"Oh, alright, but it's not fair because you never let me do anything and all I want to do is..."

Fran trailed off, a look of horror on her face. "Hello, flashback. I'm suddenly my teenage self begging Ma to let me go stay on a kibbutz."

Max knew there was only one surefire way of getting his wife to spill the beans. He casually strode over to the cabinet where they kept their music albums and pulled out one of his wife's favourites.

"Fran darling, I don't want to pressure you or anything but if you don't get to the point soon, Barbra might just get scratched."

Fran's eyes widened in horror. "You can't do that! That's My Name is Barbra! It's her first album – I would never be able to get a mint condition copy of that again!"

She frowned. "You're bluffing, aren't you?"

"Am I?" Max said tauntingly. "Do you really want to risk it?"

His wife ran to him and tried to grab her precious album, but he lifted his arm and dangled it just out of reach.

Without her heels, Fran was a great deal shorter than her husband and she groaned in frustration as she continued to jump fruitlessly.

Max smiled. "You know, darling, there's a much easier way of making sure that your album remains intact. Just tell me again what you said you had done."

"Oh, alright," Fran acquiesced with a pout. "But you're a bully!"

Sensing that his wife was about to tell him the truth at last, Max looked at her expectantly, although he was careful to keep the record out of her reach. Truth be told, his arm was actually getting a bit tired and he hoped that Fran would be brief and succinct in her explanation.

As soon as the thought had floated through his mind, he chuckled silently. His Fran, brief and succinct? Not a chance.

"So Niles was a bit depressed because he got invited to Catherine's wedding..."

"Catherine? Who's Catherine?" Max asked, confused. Then he paused and frowned. "Not the housemaid he was in love with for all those years?"

"The very same," Fran confirmed with a nod.

"So she was widowed last year and she's getting married for the second time..."

"And Niles is still in love with her," Max reasoned.

Fran stamped her foot in annoyance. "Max, would you stop interrupting and just let me finish the story?"

"Yes, darling," Maxwell said meekly.

"So, no, Niles isn't in love with her. But he's depressed because he hasn't found anyone else that he loves enough to marry! So I agreed to give him a bit of a hand..."

"The interfering Yenta strikes again," Max muttered with a groan.

"It's not interfering! All I'm doing is updating his wardrobe, giving him a new look, teaching him how to make the most of himself...maybe get him to do a few Cosmo quizzes..."

She hesitated.

Maxwell noticed her hesitation and pounced. "There's more, isn't there?"

"Oh, OK...so maybe I told him he could come to the party you're throwing for potential backers tomorrow night..."

"Of course he's coming. Who else do you think is going to make the food and serve the alcohol?"

"..as a guest," Fran finished nervously and quickly shrank back.

Maxwell's eyes widened in disbelief. The very idea – his servant being a guest at the party he was holding for potential backers? Oh, no, that wouldn't do at all.

"And who do you suppose is going to cook the dinner? Did you think we'd just eat take-out from Wai Lee Chinese Restaurant?" he asked sarcastically.

Fran slowly twisted her wedding ring around her finger. "Well...I've hired caterers."

"Caterers?" Maxwell exploded. "So my butler, whom I pay to look after occasions like this, is going to be drinking my brandy and smoking my cigars, while a group of complete strangers take over for the night?"

"Not exactly strangers..." Fran demurred.

Maxwell stared at his wife closely. "There's even more, isn't there?"

"OK, OK, so I didn't hire strangers. I hired my sister Nadine."

"I thought she promised Barry that she wouldn't cook for anyone else but him again," Maxwell said in astonishment.

"Well, their kids are growing up and they need the money. C'mon, Nadine's family! And you know she's a great cook. What could possibly go wrong?"

Max went pale as he thought about the last event Nadine had catered for him, which had ended up in a full-scale fight between herself and her husband, while Niles had been singing for a group of very wealthy investors.

"Is that a rhetorical question?" he asked dryly.

"Oh, please, honey. It would mean so much to Niles," Fran coaxed. She stepped closer to her husband who had long since put down the Barbra record and began to trail soft kisses against the nape of his neck.

"And I promise I'll make it worth your while," she whispered seductively.

Max groaned but was powerless to resist the caresses of his clever wife. He continued to protest but he knew that it was in vain.

One way or another, Niles would be attending the backers' party as a guest. What the evening would bring, he really wasn't sure. But with his wife involved, he had a feeling it would involve some kind of trouble.

Author's Note: Thank you for your lovely reviews of the first chapter! I'm really happy to hear that you enjoyed it because I am really enjoying writing this. =)

In the next chapter, we'll see Fran coaching Niles in preparation for the backers' party and him making his appearance.

If you'd like to read more, you know what to do. Please take the time to leave a review!