A Will and a Way

not.” He tossed back a gulp. “It’s different when it’s my woman.”
    She turned, brow lifted. It was ridiculous to feel pleasure at such a foolish and possessive term. “Yours?”
    “Mine.” He cupped the back of her neck with his hand. “Got a problem with that?”
    Her heart beat steadily in her throat until she managed to swallow. Maybe he meant it—now. In a few months when he was back moving in his own world, with his own people, she’d be no more than his somewhat annoying cousin. But for now, just for now, maybe he meant it. “I’m not sure.”
    “Give it some thought,” he advised before he lowered his mouth to hers. “We’ll come back to it.”
    He left her flustered and went to answer the door.
    When he returned, Pandora was sitting calmly enough in a high-backed chair near the fire. “Lieutenant Randall, Pandora McVie.”
    “How d’you do?” The lieutenant pulled off a wool muffler and stuck it in his coat pocket. He looked, Pandora thought, like someone’s grandfather. Comfy, round and balding. “Miserable night,” he announced, and situated himself near the fire.
    “Would you like some coffee, Lieutenant?”
    Randall gave Pandora a grateful look. “Love it.”
    “Please, have a seat. I’ll be back in a minute.”
    She took her time heating coffee and arranging cups and saucers on a tray. Not putting off, Pandora insisted, just preparing. She’d never had occasion to talk to a policeman on any subject more complex than a parking ticket. She’d come out on the short end on that one. Now, she was about to discuss her family and her relationship with Michael.
    Her relationship with Michael, she thought again as she fussed with the sugar bowl. That’s what really had her hiding inthe kitchen. She hadn’t yet been able to dull the feeling that had raced through her when he’d called her his woman. Adolescent, Pandora told herself. It was absolutely absurd to feel giddy and self-satisfied and unnerved because a man had looked at her with passion in his eyes.
    But they’d been Michael’s eyes.
    She found linen napkins and folded them into triangles. She didn’t want to be anyone’s woman but her own. It had been the strain and excitement of the evening that had made her react like a sixteen-year-old being offered a school ring. She was an adult; she was self-sustaining. She was in love. Talk yourself out of that one, Pandora challenged herself. Taking a long breath, she hefted the tray and went back to the parlor.
    “Gentlemen.” Pandora set the tray on a low table and stuck on a smile. “Cream and sugar, Lieutenant?”
    “Thanks. A healthy dose of both.” He set a dog-eared notepad on his knee when Pandora handed him a cup. “Mr. Donahue’s been filling me in. Seems you’ve had a few annoyances.”
    She smiled at the term. Like his looks, his voice was comfortable. “A few.”
    “I’m not going to lecture.” But he gave them both a stern look. “Still, you should’ve notified the police after the first incident. Vandalism’s a crime.”
    “We’d hoped by ignoring it, it would discourage repetition.” Pandora lifted her cup. “We were wrong.”
    “I’ll need to take the champagne with me.” Again, he sent them a look of disapproval. “Even though you’ve had it analyzed, we’ll want to run it through our own lab.”
    “I’ll get it for you.” Michael rose and left them alone.
    “Miss McVie, from what your cousin tells me, the terms of Mr. McVie’s will were a bit unconventional.”
    “A bit.”
    “He also tells me he talked you into agreeing to them.”
    “That’s Michael’s fantasy, Lieutenant.” She sipped her coffee. “I’m doing exactly what I chose to do.”
    Randall nodded and noted. “You agree with Mr. Donahue’s idea that these incidents are connected and one of your relatives is responsible.”
    “I can’t think of any reason to disagree.”
    “Do you have any reason to suspect one more than another?”
    Pandora thought it through as she’d thought it through before. “No. You see, we’re not at all a close family. The truth is I don’t know any of them very well.”
    “Except Mr. Donahue.”
    “That’s right. Michael and I often visited our uncle, and we ran into each other here at the Folley.” Whether we wanted to or not, she added to herself in her own private joke. “None of the others came by very often.”
    “The champagne, Lieutenant.” Michael brought in the box. “And the report from Sanfield