Chapter 5 - The Gift in the Rain
Night fell over Whitmore House like a wet woolen blanket. The rain turned into a hard, driving sleet that rattled against the grand leaded-glass windows of the master suite.
At nine o'clock, the staff shifts rotated. The primary lights in the estate were dimmed to conserve power, leaving only the security floods illuminating the long perimeter fences.
In the small, drafty cottage at the edge of the property where the junior female staff were housed, Grace Miller sat on her narrow twin bed, pulling off her damp black work shoes. Her feet were numb, her back aching from six hours of lifting heavy silver polish crates.
A soft knock came at the low window facing the woods.
Grace started, her hand jumping to her throat. She crept to the window, pulling back the thin white curtain.
Outside, standing in the freezing sleet under the dripping oak branch, was the beggar.
She pulled the window open instantly, cold air rushing into the small bedroom. “Are you crazy?!” she whispered frantically. “The perimeter patrol walks the tree line every hour! If Victor catches you near the quarters—”
“I need to give you something,” Adrian said.
His voice was different now. The rough gravel was gone, replaced by a low, quiet intensity that made Grace pause. He reached into the pocket of his soaked wool coat and pulled out a small, heavy object wrapped in a clean linen handkerchief.
He held it out to her through the open window frame.
“What is this?” Grace asked, looking down at the bundle.
“Open it,” he said.
She unwrapped the damp linen. Resting in her hand was a solid gold pocket watch, heavy and ornate, bearing the crest of the Whitmore family and set with three small, flawless diamonds along the stem. It was worth at least eighty thousand dollars on the open market.
Grace dropped her hands back as if the watch were red-hot. “No. Absolute not. Where did you get this? Did you steal this from the main house?”
“It’s mine,” Adrian said smoothly.
“Sir, you are wearing boots held together with electrical tape,” Grace said, her eyes wide with fear and pity. “If you stole this from Mr. Whitmore’s study, they will send you to state prison for five years! Take it back. Put it back where you found it!”
“Grace,” Adrian said, using her name clearly for the first time. He reached out, his dirty, calloused fingers closing gently around her hands, forcing her to hold the watch. “Listen to me carefully. Tomorrow morning at eight o’clock, bad things are going to happen in that house. Malcolm Reed is going to sell this estate. He is going to fire you, Mrs. Gable, Lucian, and every person who works here.”
Grace stared at him, her lips parted in shock. “How... how could you know that?”
“Because I know how men like Reed think,” Adrian said, his dark eyes locked onto hers with a fierce, uncompromising clarity. “Take this watch. Do not show it to Victor. Do not show it to Mrs. Gable. Tomorrow morning, if things go wrong, take the six o’clock train to New York. Go to the vault at First National Bank on Wall Street. Show them this watch. Tell the teller the name 'Excalibur'. They will open a safety deposit box that contains enough money to ensure you never have to scrub another floor for the rest of your life.”
Grace looked from the heavy gold watch to the beggar’s dirty face. She saw no madness in his eyes—only a cold, terrifying authority that made her knees feel weak.
“Why are you giving this to me?” she whispered, tears pricking the corners of her eyes. “I gave you a piece of bread and a couple of pears.”
“You gave me something I haven’t had in thirty years,” Adrian said quietly. He leaned closer, the cold wind blowing his gray hair across his forehead. “You saw a human being when everyone else saw a ghost.”
Before she could answer, a spotlight swept through the trees from the main driveway. The heavy rumble of a security SUV approached down the gravel path.
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“Keep it safe, Grace,” Adrian said, stepping backward into the black woods. “And don't leave the estate until eight-fifteen tomorrow. Watch the play to the end.”
He vanished into the darkness before she could even shout his name.
