It was big, I'd give Roswell Etheridge that much. Whether it was entirely tasteful was another matter even if it was, without question, a mansion. He had built the place himself about twenty years ago and it was clearly supposed to mimic some English architecture from the Georgian period. I liked that style myself it was just he had taken it to extremes.

I'd rented a car to get there and as I drove up the sweeping drive, I cursed under my breath. This was obviously going to be an awful experience, and I thanked Marti silently for being so thorough on our shopping trip.

The car crested the hill and I parked between an imported Bentley and an Aston Martin in a deep grey colour. It made my little rented Prius stick out like a sore thumb, even if it was new. By the time I had extracted myself from my car, a small man in a uniform had appeared beside me.

"Good morning, Miss McDonald, may I take your bags?" I nodded at the skivvy, surprised that he knew my name, but then Archie appeared at the main door.

"Hi Case! Welcome to the funeral parlour! Wow! You look fantastic!"

I was wearing one of my new outfits, skinny jeans and a long tailored shirt in a rich blue, with a wide belt. My hair had started to co-operate now that it had been cut and the natural curls bounced on my shoulders.

"You don't often wear your hair down. You should."

I smiled at him, relieved to see a friendly face, and then my grin widened as another familiar face appeared beside him. Elisabeth.

"Lise!" I exclaimed and ran to give her a hug. It had been many months since I had seen her, and it was far too long. Her embrace was welcoming and reassuring and I waited for her to break it, not wanting to be away from the warmth of the older woman who had become a good friend.

"You owe me an apology." She stated, finally letting me free. "It's been too long, Casey."

I looked apologetic. "It has. I'm sorry. Blame your husband."

She laughed a genuine laugh. "Oh I do, darling, but he apologises so beautifully."

Smiling, to my surprise, she led me back down the steps and round the corner of the building.

"I have to say, Case, you really are very lucky. Ross has condescended to let you stay in the Guest suite rather than the main house. You'll be spared all sorts of indignities."

"Really?" I was surprised. "Why the special treatment?"

"Oh it has very little to do with you, hun." She said, taking my arm. "and everything to do with that delicious step-brother of yours."

"Derek?" I was confused.

"Or rather his autobiography. Ross says this is a working weekend for you." Only Elisabeth could get away with calling her father-in-law 'Ross'.

I nodded. "Yeah."

"The idea is that you will get some peace being out in the guest house rather than with the rest of us, space for you to write."

This was fantastic news!

"Lise! That's great! Who do I thank?"

"Archie I suppose, although the original plan was just to put Derek in there, but it was Derek that suggested you should be there too."

"What?!" I stopped still. "Derek?"

She stopped with me. "Yes, why?"

"Derek is going to be in the guest wing with me?"

"Why? Is that a problem?"

I shook myself free. "No…I just. He suggested we should both be there?" That didn't sound right.

"Yeah. He said it would be more convenient for working together."

"Did you remove all the sharp and heavy objects?"

Lise frowned. "You aren't happy with this?"

"Lise I have no right to be unhappy with this, it's just, Derek and I in close proximity without chaperones is a bad idea. You'll be needing police intervention."

She smiled. "Archie said you two had issues."

I bit my bottom lip. "Lise. You remember that conversation we had about a year ago over why I was still single?"

"Yes."

"And I told you that I fell in love with the wrong guy and it had screwed me up?"

"Yes."

"It was Derek."

Elisabeth was silent. She was evidently thinking back over the conversation.

"So how come he wants you to stay in the guest wing with him?"

I shrugged. "I don't know, Lise. But it can't be good."


The guest wing was a one storey building set to one side of the main house, and nearby was a third building which Lise told me housed the pool. The collection of buildings was surrounded by extensive landscaped gardens and it all screamed wealth.

Lise stepped up to the entrance of the guest house and opened the door.

The inside was every bit as luxurious as its exterior promised. Hardwood floors with deep-piled rugs, antique furniture and wood panelling. I briefly wondered if they had had the same interior designer for the New York office. Then I remembered that the New York office was the real deal, and this was merely twenty years old.

The house consisted of two bedrooms, both with en-suite, a tiny kitchen and a large living room where obviously we were expected to work. An extensive network and printer set-up was laid out, just waiting for my laptop to be connected and on a shelf nearby I saw a box of printer paper.

Lise showed me the kitchen with its stocked fridge and wine cellar. I froze at the wine.

"Lise. Do me a favour. Lose the wine, okay? And any other alcohol in here."

She looked taken aback but nodded. "Sure."

Then we crossed into the right hand of the two bedrooms.

It was stunning.

The largest bed I had ever seen took up the main floor space and everything about the décor spoke money.

"Wow!"

"I know. The building maybe awful, but my mother-in-law sure knew how to decorate."

"You aren't kidding. Is there a dog basket for me to sleep in?"

She laughed, and sat on the bed.

"Do you want some time alone to freshen up?" She looked me up and down. "I have to say Casey, you don't need it. You look better than I have seen you look in a long time."

"Thanks. I let my youngest sister loose on me."

"Marti?" I nodded.

"She's done a good job."

"I'll just use the bathroom and touch up my make-up and then I'm good. Stay?" Suddenly I didn't want to face the other guests on my own.

Fortunately, Lise nodded.


We emerged from the little house about ten minutes later and walked towards the main house. Lise was filling me in on some of the history of the place and she had a dry sense of humour. We were giggling like school girls as we climbed the steps on the terrace and walked into the group of guests who were drinking coffee and eating what looked like an indecent selection of cake.

I saw Derek before I reached the top step, so I was watching him when his eyes turned towards me. A look of complete shock passed over his face and then a small smirk as he turned away to talk to a seriously attractive young girl.

Yeah. That figures. He brought someone with him.

But, despite the thoughts running through my mind, I couldn't help but look at the clothes he was wearing. He looked good in black jeans and a shirt.

Lise brought me to the group, central to which was Ross.

"Ah! Casey." My ultimate boss said. "You look beautiful as always."

Hmmm. Not what he said to me the other day.

I smiled graciously and sat in the offered seat. Another minion appeared beside me and offered tea or coffee. I took the coffee.

Over to the side, I heard Derek say something and the blonde girl giggle.

This was going to be excruciating.

Archie came over and rescued me from Roswell.

"Casey. Let me introduce you to my daughters."

I stood up enthusiastically and followed him across the terrace.

"Henrietta, Louisa. This is Casey McDonald. I'm sure you've heard me talk about her."
Derek's blonde and another girl beside her turned and smiled politely. The other girl, Henrietta it appeared put out her hand to shake mine. I smiled back.

"Hello Casey. Of course I've heard of you. Mummy and Daddy talk about you a lot."

She must be all of twenty five, but I spotted the engagement ring on her finger straight away. It looked expensive and I remembered Archie saying something about her fiancé being a rising star on Wall Street. Her younger sister, Louisa reluctantly left Derek and held out her hand.

"Louisa." She said, perfunctorily shaking my hand. "And this is Derek Venturi." She said it possessively and in a way that said I should know Derek's name. I wondered how long he had known Louisa. She was making it very obvious that she wanted him.

Derek smirked. "Casey and I know each other, Louisa." And I expected the step-sister comment to follow, but he didn't provide it.

"Oh?" She sounded surprised, and I heard an element of distain in her voice which had been missing from her sister's.

"Derek and I lived together many years ago." I said, smiling sweetly. God only knows why I said it, but the look on her face was priceless. Derek, meanwhile, was struggling not to laugh.

"Hello, Jerk." I said in what I hoped was a disinterested tone.

"Space Case." He acknowledged. He didn't provide Louisa with any further explanation and I suspected he would get grilled later. It wasn't that I could hide the fact he was my step-brother, she would find out soon enough, but the picture of her face as I had made my statement would, I hoped be enough to cushion me against any snide comments. I was sure there would be snide comments.

I wondered how Lise and Archie had managed to produce a daughter like that. Then I heard Roswell laugh and I remembered the rest of her heritage.

I sipped my coffee and made small talk with Henrietta who seemed to be a really nice girl. Louisa, however, quickly turned from me back to Derek, playing with the collar on his shirt in a possessive manner. Derek appeared to be lapping it up.

Roll on Monday.


The rest of the party of twelve consisted of business associates of Roswell. They were rich and I was not so we had little in common. I was truly the odd one out, because Derek these days was not short of money. I soon discovered that the Aston I had parked next to belonged to him.

Lise played the role of hostess to the little group. She had arranged a number of activities for everyone to take part in, including golf on her father-in-law's private course and clay pigeon shooting. She had produced a little timetable as well as a map of the grounds and we were told we were free to do as we pleased.

That however, did not apply to me, and as soon as people started to peel off and do their own thing, I excused myself and made my way back to the guest house.

I needed to set up my laptop and get myself organised.

I was under the table plugging in cables when Derek walked in. He had managed to remove his new appendage from his arm, and I wondered what he had said to make her go away.

"Looking for your sense of humour?" He asked as I sat up suddenly and banged my head on the desk.

"I know I packed it, but something has made it go missing; which is a shame because the idea of sharing a house with you for even a weekend is just too ridiculous for words."

He scratched his head. "Fine. I just thought you'd rather have your own space than stay with Moneybags , Shaft'em and Scarper at the big house. But if you've changed your mind…"

I sighed as I climbed out. "No. Thanks. I appreciate it." I looked about me.

"Where's Barbie?"

He smirked. "Bitch Casey? You don't see that very often."

I leaned over to plug in the other end of the cable.

"I don't like people who look down on me. Especially when they are so much younger than me." I glanced up. "Than us." I corrected pointedly and narrowed my eyes.

"Do you seriously find that sort of fawning attractive?"

He shrugged. "I'm not encouraging her."

"You aren't discouraging her, either."

Derek watched me thoughtfully. It was disconcerting.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing." He said, carefully, quietly. He straightened suddenly, making me jump.

"Right. Do you want to get started on this or not?"

"Now?" I was surprised. I thought he would be off playing golf or letting Barbie paw him.

He nodded. "The sooner we get started the sooner we're rid of each other and can go safely back into Egypt."

"Nice. If you were making any sense." Deep breath. "Yeah sure. Let's get started on it."