Hidden Talents

a very sensitive person the day I met him. I have good instincts for things like that, you know.”
    “Is that so?” Franklin asked.
    “Sure.” Serenity chuckled. “It wasn't hard to figure out that deep down Caleb was the caring, sensitive type. How many successful hotshot business consultants would sign on to save a little town like Witt's End? Especially when there's absolutely no guarantee he'll ever see a dime out of the project?”
    Everyone stared at her.
    “We'll be leaving now,” Caleb said from the doorway. Without another word, he walked out of the room.

    Precisely fifteen minutes later Caleb turned the key in the Jaguar's ignition. The powerful engine purred to life. Serenity waved to the small group of people on the steps as Caleb drove toward the road. Roland, Phyllis, Franklin, and Dolores lifted their hands in polite, restrained farewells.
    Serenity sat back in her seat. “Sorry about that faux pas earlier. I don't know what made me mention your mother's jewelry box in front of the others.”
    “Forget it.”
    “I can't believe I did that. I was so careful to make certain that I wasn't seen going to your room last night. I even gave you that big lecture about not offending your grandfather's sense of propriety, remember?”
    “I remember.”
    “Then I go and do something dumb at the breakfast table like blithely reminding you to pack the jewelry case.”
    “So?”
    “So, it's obvious I ruined the good impression I was trying to create.” Serenity glowered at him, exasperated. “Now your grandfather and everyone else in the house probably thinks I spent the night with you.”
    Caleb slid her a brief, unreadable glance. “Is that why you're fretting about it? You think everyone at the table nearly dropped their teeth this morning just because you'd hinted that you'd been in my bedroom?”
    “I pride myself on being able to live in two worlds when necessary, but the truth is, I'm not really very good at it. If I spend too long in your world, I invariably mess up.” Serenity morosely surveyed her attire. She was wearing the cuffed trousers she'd arrived in yesterday, together with a shirt and a pullover sweater that she had selected from the same catalog. She was fairly certain that she was appropriately dressed, but clothes did not always make the woman. No one knew that better than she did.
    “You didn't mess up,” Caleb said quietly. “At least, not in the way that you think you did.”
    Serenity smiled hopefully. “You don't think your grandfather was seriously offended by the notion that we might have spent the night together while under his roof?”
    “I doubt that he even considered that angle. Not after you mentioned the jewelry case.”
    “What do you mean? It's bound to be the first thing that popped into his mind. His and everyone else's in the room.” Serenity rolled her eyes. “You saw the way they all reacted.”
    “The jewelry case is in that small carryall on the backseat. Unzip the bag and take it out.”
    “All right, but why?” Serenity unbuckled her seat belt, scrambled to her knees and leaned over the back of the seat. She reached for the carryall.
    “I want you to see for yourself why everyone got a little tense when you mentioned it.”
    Serenity heard the deadly neutral tone in his voice and knew that she had unwittingly ventured again into treacherous terrain. Her hand stilled on the zipper of the carryall. “Caleb, if this is something private that you'd rather not discuss, I certainly understand.”
    “Get out the jewelry case.”
    She groaned and finished unzipping the bag. The blue and gold jewelry box was sitting on top of a carefully folded gray sweater. Serenity cautiously lifted it out and closed the carryall.
    “What do you want me to do with it?” she asked.
    “Open it.”
    Serenity examined the case. “I'm not sure I should. I get the feeling this doesn't involve me.”
    “You're wrong,” Caleb said quietly. “From now on, it involves you. Open the box and take a look inside.”
    Serenity's fingers started to tremble. The innocent-looking blue plastic jewelry box suddenly felt like a grenade in her hand. “There's a key to wind up the music box.”
    “Wind it up if you like.”
    Serenity did so. When she was finished, she slowly unlatched the clasp and raised the lid. The music started to play.
    “A waltz,” Serenity whispered.
    “What did you say?”
    “It plays a waltz.” She gazed, fascinated, at the two tiny plastic