“If you married Jasper, an American citizen, you wouldn’t have needed that job.” I nodded at the stately room. “You might not need a job at all.” Welcome to the lap of luxury. Get comfortable. It was the same suggestion I’d made to Flynn about Ned. The odds that the Sinclairs’ gargantuan wealth didn’t play a part in the family’s relationships seemed slim. Just like Flynn, though, Abella dismissed it at once.

“I’m not looking for a free ride. And it’s not like in the movies. It can take a year or more to get a spousal visa. I want to work.” Her chest rose and fell under her pajama top. “I love him,” she said weakly. “I’m not using him.”

But is he using you? Flynn claimed his brother was the love ’em, leave ’em type, and that Abella caught him out. I couldn’t picture this woman attacking her boyfriend with so many others sleeping nearby, and there was no chance she could relocate a dead man’s body alone. “Were you fighting last night? Around midnight?”

“What? No way. I was asleep way before that.”

If Flynn lied about hearing an argument, I thought, he was a fool. Voices loud enough to reach him through his closed door would have been heard by everyone else on that floor, too. “Have you ever talked about working for Sinclair Fabrics?” I asked, remembering Flynn’s statement. I’d love to, of course!

“Work with Flynn and Bebe?” Abella looked appalled. “Not a chance in hell.”

Huh. “Ned does it, doesn’t he?”

“Not for much longer. He’s being considered for a Burberry campaign, and a bunch of others, too. As soon as one of those comes through, he’s gone.”

“How does Jasper feel about Ned leaving him in the lurch?”

“He’s totally okay with it. It’s a huge opportunity for Ned, way bigger than what he’s got now. Jas wants that for him—I do, too. We’re friends, all of us. We care about each other.”

“You, Jasper, and Ned.”

“Yeah.”

“It’s weird,” I said, “because Flynn made it sound like you were excited about the idea of working with Jasper.”

She glanced at the closed library door. “I love Jasper,” she repeated. “That doesn’t mean I love his family.”

“But you’ve only just met them. How do you know you won’t get along?”

I could see her withdrawing, questioning the wisdom of saying more. I’d hit on something with this line of questioning. The moment I mentioned Flynn’s name Abella started avoiding my gaze. Through her parted lips I spotted a small gap between her front teeth. It made her look like an anxious child.

“Camilla’s great,” Abella said. “I wish I could have met her sooner. Had more time with her, you know?”

I nodded. It was a testament to Camilla’s stamina that she was still spending the summers on a relatively isolated island. At her age, her days with the family were numbered. The question was whether Abella’s were, too.

“What about Bebe and Flynn?”