Dusky Rose (4 page)

Following the directions she'd been given, Laura turned off the main highway onto Cottingham Lane and drove about a half mile down this winding side road until she saw two large, square, brick posts. Between the posts was a white wrought iron, electronically controlled gate. A shiny brass plate embedded in one of the brick posts proclaimed that this was the entrance to Lattimer Lodge. Laura pressed the buzzer and spoke carefully into the intercom, which was built into one of the posts.

After she had identified herself, the gates swung open and she drove slowly through them onto the grounds of a spacious estate. Tall, stately cypress trees lined the brick paved circular driveway leading to the majestic white house. Off to the side, in the distance, she saw the steely shimmer of a helicopter, parked on a newly constructed private landing pad. Laura thought that this was an appropriate indication of the type of man that Jonathan Lattimer was, someone who brought all the harsh conveniences of the business world into a sylvan atmosphere like this.

She tried not to let the landing pad detract from the rustic beauty of the surrounding grounds as she parked her van behind the expensive brown Mercedes which stood in front of the house. Then she got out and walked back a few feet to observe the full majesty of the house. It was built in the manner of a small French chateau, and its shiny black shutters gleamed in contrast to the pristine white exterior, providing a powerful accent for the diamond-shaped, leaded glass windows. It was built of old brick, taken from demolished buildings, giving the new house an appearance of age and stability, which blended well with the ancient cypress trees lining the driveway. The entire effect was one of such gracious beauty that Laura found it difficult to believe that the owner of the stark, glass and steel Lattimer building could want to live in such a gracious, welcoming home.

The doorbell was answered by a tall, thin woman in a flowery chiffon dress. Her fiery red hair fell to her shoulders in carefully arranged curls. Placing her cigarette holder in her left hand, she offered her right hand to Laura.

"I'm Janine Hartmann, and you must be Laura Canaday. I do hope that we can be friends. It will make working together so much easier."

Then she closed the door as Laura stood in the marble entryway, observing the elegant interior of the house. She had never seen a home like this outside the pages of a decorating magazine.

The marble-floored entry was paneled with richly carved wood which had been painted white and highlighted by gold leaf to accent the ornate design of the carvings. Intricately placed mirrors within the painted panels made the room appear even larger than it actually was.

Janine Hartmann noticed the amazed look on Laura's face.

"Mr. Lattimer had these panels removed from an old Victorian mansion in Oakland and I arranged for a local artisan to repair them and install them on these walls. Jon is very selective about the work being done in this house. In fact, he must have been very impressed with your work to have insisted upon your working here with me."

Laura blushed and looked away as she felt the woman's cold gray eyes cut into her.

"I try to do a good job, and I think that I've added some warmth to the lobby at Lattimer Corporate Headquarters, but I never thought that Mr. Lattimer would be so pleased that he would ask me to decorate his new home. I'm really more of a horticulturalist than an interior decorator."

Janine raised her eyebrows as she slowly placed a fresh cigarette in her narrow, ivory holder and looked piercingly at Laura. "Just
how well
do you know Jonathan Lattimer?"

Laura shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know him at all. I've never even met the man. All I know about Jonathan Lattimer is what I've heard through the grapevine."

As Janine looked at Laura, disbelief showed clearly in her eyes. Laura had the feeling that Janine thought she was hiding something clandestine about her relationship with Jonathan Lattimer.

"Oh, come now, Laura, you don't really expect me to believe that Jonathan Lattimer is giving you final approval on the decoration of his dream house and he's never even met you?"

Now the fire shooting from Laura's eyes was a suitable match for the icy daggers coming from Janine's. She was not in the habit of telling lies, and there was a limit to how much abuse she was going to take from this haughty woman.

"Well," Laura said, "it's true, whether you choose to believe it or not! He was just very impressed with the way I decorated his lobby with my plants. You know, it wasn't easy to add warmth to that ice box of a room after some fashionable decorator had done her best to make it as cold as an Alaskan igloo." Laura hoped that her last remark would upset Janine the way Janine's remarks were infuriating her. Then she did a double take. "Did you say that I have final approval in the decoration of the house?" Janine's lips lifted in a humorless smirk. "Yes, didn't you know that? Anything
Miss Canaday
disapproves of is to be removed. No new furnishings are to be added without
Miss Canaday's
approval. I don't mind telling you that I'm not exactly happy with this new arrangement. I've been working on the decoration of this house for over a year. Now, all of a sudden, everything has changed and my plans are to be subject to the whims of some young chit with no background in decorating other than throwing a few plants into a room to add a touch of green. I have a fine reputation in my field and I don't like the idea of taking orders from an unknown young snip."

Janine had been growing visibly upset as she spoke, and Laura was completely taken aback by her outburst. "I'm sorry, Miss Hartmann, I really am. I don't understand this myself. I thought that I was just supposed to add some plants to the furnishings which you selected. I don't understand this new arrangement. If you like, we can call Mr. Lattimer's office and get to the bottom of this. I'm sure there must be some mistake."

Janine looked at Laura and smiled. "One does not call Mr. Lattimer to question his decisions about anything. One merely obeys Mr. Lattimer's orders, if one wants to keep working for him. And he never makes mistakes. I suppose you would know that if you knew Jon Lattimer. So, ridiculous as your story is, it's probably true. I'm sorry about my behavior a moment ago, but I thought you were trying to steal a client from me. These things happen all the time in this business, and you're just young and attractive enough for Jon to take more than a business interest in you. Anyway, I admit I was wrong and I apologize. Let's try to be friends." Janine offered her hand to Laura and smiled. Laura took the offered hand and smiled back. "Jon pays so well that it would be foolish for either of us to lose the money this job is going to pay. Come on, let me show you through the rest of the house."

To the right of the entry was a huge room, furnished with only an antique white, grand piano. "We had that imported from France. When the rest of the furniture I've ordered arrives, this is going to be a lovely music room. Jon is an accomplished pianist. Did you know that?"

Laura hadn't heard a word Janine had said; her eyes were riveted to the glass wall beyond the piano. She walked quickly toward it and opened the door leading to a large brick patio. Beyond the patio was a massive area of barren soil and it was around this area that the entire house was built.

Laura turned to look at Janine. "Do all the rooms open onto this atrium?"

"All except the kitchen and some of the guest bedrooms. It's intriguing, isn't it? Jonathan wanted to be able to get out of doors from any room he happened to be in. I can't say I blame him. The summer evenings in Hillsborough are just too beautiful for words."

Laura was walking around the atrium, bending now and then to let the sandy soil run through her fingers. "Can I plant this atrium any way I choose? Design the landscaping and install the greenery wherever I want?"

Janine smiled in amusement, as if she were speaking with a naive young child, but her eyes were hard with a hint of jealousy as she spoke. "Laura honey, you get to do anything your little heart desires. You've been given carte blanche for finances, choice of furnishings, landscaping and anything else that might enter into that innocent little mind of yours. I must say, this assignment is getting more interesting by the minute."

Laura leaned against the wall and shook her head in disbelief. "I never expected anything like this. I just can't believe that he'd trust me with a job of this magnitude. He must have me confused with someone else."

"Laura, I told you before that Jon Lattimer doesn't make mistakes. His secretary was given strict orders that Miss Laura Canaday of Plant Lady was to have complete and final control over the furnishing of Mr. Lattimer's new home. So that's the way it's going to be, Apparently, Jon Lattimer is the only one who can make any sense out of this. When I questioned his secretary, she guessed that you must be some new girlfriend of his. But we both know that's not the case, although I had my doubts before. Maybe someday Jon will explain the situation to the rest of us. In the meantime, I hope that you've got plenty of free time, because this is going to be a monumental undertaking."

Laura spent the rest of the day touring the house and grounds of Lattimer Lodge. At three o'clock, Janine suggested that they stop working for the day, since they both had to drive back to San Francisco and by leaving early they might avoid the heavy freeway traffic. She suggested that they meet at the San Francisco Home Design Center at ten a.m. the following day.

On the long drive home, Laura kept thinking about the impossibility of the situation. Why on earth would Mr. Lattimer choose her to supervise the decoration of his new home? How could he entrust such a great responsibility to someone he had never even met? There had to be a plausible explanation, but no matter how she tried she couldn't think of one.

When Laura drove by the plant shop, she saw that Midge had locked up for the day, so she continued driving until she reached the narrow brownstone house where she and Midge occupied a small apartment.

Midge came walking in from the bedroom. "Tell me all about it. What was the house like? And how did you get along with Janine Hartmann?"

Laura laughed as she flopped down on the sofa. She kicked off her shoes and stretched her legs along the length of the sofa. "Give me a minute to catch my breath," she said. "It's been a very interesting day."

Laura told Midge about her encounter with Janine Hartmann and her complete control over the decoration of Lattimer Lodge. Midge was astounded. "I thought you said that Jonathan Lattimer was a cold, hard man. The house you've described sounds more like a home for a romantic."

"It certainly seems that way, doesn't it? I'm beginning to have second thoughts about the mysterious Mr. Lattimer. Anyone who was so impressed by my plants can't be so bad. You know what I've always said, a person who likes plants and animals can't be all bad. I'd really like to meet him so that I could thank him for having such faith in my ability."

"Well," Midge said, "I'm quite sure that you'll get to meet him while you're working on his house. He must go out there every now and then to see how things are progressing, right?"

Laura agreed with Midge, then got up and excused herself to take a shower and change into something more comfortable. She opened her closet to get her robe and decided that she'd have to expand her wardrobe if she was going to be visiting decorator showrooms with Janine Hartmann.

Laura spent the rest of the week traveling from showroom to showroom with Janine. The experience was educational and Janine seemed pleased that Laura was so willing to accept her expertise in most matters. Laura had developed a knack for choosing furniture when she and Midge had been forced to select their furniture from the hodge-podge available in secondhand thrift shops and helping Midge with her floral arrangements had given Laura the opportunity to develop an acute sense of color compatibility. Janine was quite impressed with the unique flair Laura seemed to have for interior decorating.

"You know," Janine said, "I can understand how Jonathan Lattimer built his corporation into one of the largest conglomerates in the world. Apparently he has the ability to recognize hidden talent when he sees it. You have a natural eye for color and shape formation. In fact, I'd say that you have all the makings of a gifted decorator. Perhaps we could establish some sort of permanent working arrangement after this job is complete."

"Do you mean that, Janine? My sister is going to be married in less than a month, and I was wondering how I'd be able to earn enough money, running the plant shop all by myself. If I can count on some decorating work, I'm sure that I'll be able to manage. I was afraid that I'd have to sell the shop and move back to Carmel where my aunt lives. Much as I love and miss Carmel, I just don't want to be dependent on anyone again."

"I know what you mean," said Janine. "There's a lot to be said for being an independent career woman. I wouldn't give up my freedom for anything. But somehow, I thought that you'd be the type who'd want a home and children. You seem so settled and old fashioned. I mean that as a compliment; it's a rare quality these days."

Laura smiled. "I suppose I'd really like a home and children, but I'd have to meet the right man first, and that's not so easy to do. Besides, I don't want to be dependent on a husband for my support."

Janine smiled, "I guess we're both destined to be career women; so we'd best get on with our work. There are some interesting tapestries I'd like you to see, then we can call it a day."

Laura helped Janine select two tapestries for the game room. Then they made an appointment to meet in Hillsborough on Tuesday. Janine was progressing so rapidly on the interior decoration that Laura decided she'd have to make a real effort to speed up the exterior landscaping.

By the time Laura got off the cable car and let herself into the apartment, she felt hot and utterly exhausted. After taking a warm shower and changing into her green terry cloth robe, she poured herself a cold glass of milk and settled in front of the television set. She was so tired that she fell asleep on the couch. Midge shut off the television when she came home and then covered Laura with an afghan.