Chapter 10

Remington climbed the marble staircase two steps at a time, in a hurry to get to the Pastel Bedroom. He wanted to talk to Laura, and he hoped she was awake, despite the early hour – indeed, he hoped she would agree to see him at all. As he reached the second floor level of the grand central hallway, he bumped into Mildred, just coming out of the East Wing. She was already dressed, in a dark blue, three-quarter length dress and mid-heeled pumps, adorned with a silver brooch at her chest and silver hoop earrings.

"Oh, hi Chief," Mildred greeted him.

"Good morning, Mildred."

"I'm glad I saw you, Boss. Can I talk to you for a second?"

"Now?" asked Remington, glancing at his Longines watch, which showed it was still only seven-thirty. "I'm in a hurry at the moment. Can't it wait?"

"It's important. Please, it won't take long."

Remington nodded, and Mildred led him back into the East Wing to her bedroom; he saw a brass plaque on the door as he entered that read 'Red Bedroom'. The room was large and high ceilinged, with a dark wooden floor mostly covered with a huge Turkish rug, leaving only a strip of floorboards at the edge of the room. The walls were covered in a light red, patterned wallpaper, the velvet curtains were a dark wine red, and the canopied bed was covered in redcurrant-colored bedclothes. Mildred sat down at a red-upholstered, Indian-looking carved mahogany settee, while Remington took one of the matching armchairs.

"Boss, what exactly is going on with you and Mrs Steele?"

"Oh, er…what do you mean?"

"Last night, she asked me to book her a seat on the plane to LA – she wants to go back with me tomorrow. Did you know about that?"

"It's news to me."

"I thought everything was fine between you two?"

"I had thought everything was going okay, Mildred – though the last fortnight has been a bit stressful, I guess."

"What did you do?"

"Nothing! Nothing that I'm aware of, anyway."

"Are you sure, Chief?"

"Look, Mildred...I appreciate your concern, but really – is this actually any of your business? This is between Mrs Steele and me, surely?"

"Oh, come on, Chief! You're my friends, I'm worried about you. Haven't I earned the right to be worried about you?"

Remington looked at the floor and massaged his temple with his thumb and forefinger for a couple of seconds, as if he had a headache. "Of course, you're right, Mildred," he said finally.

"So, what's happened, Boss? Why is Miss Holt intent on leaving here?"

"I don't know, Mildred. The last day or so...Laura has seemed to be upset about something."

"Haven't you spoken to her?"

"We did have a talk last night, but it wasn't very...constructive. When Laura gets upset, she tends not to explain her feelings very clearly, you know?"

"And you have no idea what's wrong?"

"No, I don't. You know what Laura can be like. I do wonder sometimes – just how many times will I have to figure out what's wrong?" Remington ran his hands through his hair in a gesture of frustration.

"Boss, you've got to speak to her, find out why she's unhappy. You don't know how hard it can be for women, sometimes."

"What are you talking about?"

"Men don't understand – we feel things in a different way. This is a man's world. We spend our whole lives waiting on you."

"Nonsense, Mildred! Laura's fiercely independent-minded – a feminist. I don't think she ever waited on any man."

"I don't mean in work, Boss. I guess I'm not expressing myself very well; I mean emotionally. When you're a woman, you wait for a man – it's men who choose, you know? That's nerve wracking, and sometimes, we need to hear why you chose us.

"Chief, you never knew my ex-husband? I was married to that man for nine years, he never talked to me about his feelings! We never shared anything; I never knew what he thought, why he wanted me. Maybe men have got thicker skins? I'm not saying Miss Holt is weak, just that – maybe – you need to give us girls something to lean on, you know? And you, Chief – you're so confident and charismatic – I don't think you've ever suffered from self-doubt in your life. You've had it easy."

"Easy? I don't know about that. I know how life can knock you back."

"Yeah, but Miss Holt – she's so fearless in her working life but so nervous, sometimes, in her personal life. If there's something wrong, you need to go after her, and talk to her."

"How do you know all this, eh? Did she confide in you?"

"Nah, uh-huh. But we have talked in the past, Mr Steele. I know Miss Holt gets nervous about you and what you do to her: you're kinda unpredictable – you're danger personified! You need to help her; if you really care about her, you gotta give her some emotional support."

"Just how much support can I give her? Every little neurosis she's got, I'm supposed to jump, am I?"

"Yes! That's what it means to love someone, Boss. I'm not saying she's right, but I am saying that it isn't always fair shares – sometimes you gotta do more work than the other person, you gotta make them feel better about something even if you've had a bad day, you gotta say sorry even if you did nothing wrong – and all because you care about them."

"Laura told you these things – her feelings? I'm surprised – she's a very private person."

"Sisterhood is powerful, Chief!" Mildred rose and headed for the door. "Do you mind if I have Terence drive me in the Rolls after breakfast? I need to go into Dublin and book those plane tickets, and I'd like to buy a few souvenirs as well."

"Go ahead, Mildred, I shan't need the car. I'm not going anywhere."