“Before you do that, it might be a good idea to check with Bill to make sure exactly which days he has off,” Hannah reminded her. “I could be wrong, but I don’t think Andrea would like to go on a mini second honeymoon all by herself.”

Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

“Here she comes!” Claire warned.

“Thanks,” Hannah replied. She was sitting sideways on a settee in Claire’s dressing room with her feet tucked up and her steno pad open to a fresh page in front of her.

“I’m ready,” Michelle said from the opposite end of the settee. She’d assumed the same position and also held a notepad in one hand and a pen in the other.

“Come in, Mrs. Bascomb.” Claire’s voice carried easily to the dressing room. “I have everything all ready for you.”

“Good. I don’t have much time this afternoon. I’m meeting a friend for afternoon tea, and then Richard and I have a dinner party we must attend. Mayoral duties, you know.”

Michelle rolled her eyes up toward the ceiling, and Hannah smiled at her youngest sister. Both of them knew that Stephanie had no plans for tea. If Stephanie was meeting a friend for tea, then tea was a euphemism for Stephanie’s new favorite drink, a lemon drop vodka martini.

The doorknob on the dressing room rattled as Stephanie tried the door. But Claire had everything under control. “Please use the larger dressing room, Mrs. Bascomb. I’ve hung your lovely choices in there. The lighting’s much better than it is in this one.”

“Of course.”

Michelle and Hannah heard the door to the adjacent dressing room open and then close again, and Hannah put her finger to her lips. Michelle nodded, and both of them were completely silent as they waited for Claire to engage Stephanie in conversation. Claire knew exactly what they needed to know. They’d gone over it all this morning.

For long moments, there were no sounds except the rustling of cloth and the scratchy sound of zippers being closed. Then, at last, they heard the door to the adjacent dressing room open.

“Claire?” Stephanie Bascomb called out.

“Right here, Mrs. Bascomb,” Claire answered. Her voice was a bit louder than Stephanie’s, and Hannah realized that Claire must be standing just outside the dressing room where they were hidden.

“What do you think? Is it a bit tight over the hips?”

There was a pause, and Hannah assumed that Claire was assessing the fit.

“No, I think it’s perfect,” Claire gave her opinion. “Of course, if it makes you uncomfortable, I can always let it out a little over the hips, but I think it looks stunning on you just the way it is. It’s too bad you didn’t have this last night when you went out to dinner with the mayor.”