The Years Between Signing and Seeing novel Chapter 203

Ruby blurted out, "Oh, we brought them! The driver made us leave them in the car. Suzie, is it because Jamie is so important that we can't bring bags in here?"

Suzie nodded, playing along. "Yes, Jamie is a bit obsessive about rules. You have to do things his way. But if you're going to stay here, you can have Mom pack you a suitcase. And if..." Suzie glanced upstairs, ensuring Jamie wasn't coming down, before continuing, "If you can't live without your phone, you can have Mom hide it in your clothes and sneak it in."

Ruby's eyes widened. "Of course I can't live without my phone! This is the digital age; I'd go crazy. I was just getting anxious wanting to go get it from the car, but I was afraid of making Jamie angry."

"He has a peculiar temper," Suzie said after a moment's thought. "It's better if he doesn't know."

She guessed that the driver making them leave their bags was an order from Jamie. He would do anything to keep a phone out of her hands.

Feeling she had accomplished her goal for the moment, Suzie slowly stood up. "So, it's settled then," she said gently. "You can all look around. Dinner should be ready soon. I'm a little tired, so I'm going to rest for a bit."

"Of course, of course..." Margaret agreed, her obsequious tone more exaggerated than that of the manor's staff.

Suzie scoffed inwardly. Money really could change a person in an instant, and Margaret was the prime example. Seeing her groveling face, Suzie couldn't help but remember the scene at the bus stop not long ago, when Margaret had been pulling her hair and hitting her.

To Margaret, it was as if that humiliation had never happened. The moment she saw Suzie back in the Baylor Manor, she saw her meal ticket returning.

Unwilling to talk to him further, she dismissed him and continued on her way.

As she neared her bedroom door, she suddenly remembered Jamie was in the study. She hesitated for a moment, then couldn't resist turning and walking toward it.

When she reached the study door, she glanced back down the hallway toward the stairs. Seeing no servants, she pressed her ear against the cool wood.

Jamie's muffled voice drifted from within.