Homeport

religiously by the maid.
    In the dark, the windows gleamed, bright stripes of light leaking through the louvered blinds. It was roomy, as Miranda recalled, an attractive arena for entertaining. It would have occurred to neither mother nor daughter to share the space while Miranda was in Florence.
    The door was wrenched open before she could knock. Elizabeth stood, neatly groomed and perfectly presented in a peach-colored robe.
    “What happened?” Miranda demanded.
    “That’s precisely my question.” Strict control was all that prevented Elizabeth from slamming the door. “If this was your way of proving your point, of exerting your expertise, or of causing me professional embarrassment, all you accomplished was the last.”
    “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Miranda hadn’t taken time to tame her hair, and scooped an impatient hand through it to shove it out of her eyes. “You said a reporter called—”
    “That’s correct.”
    Straight as a general, Elizabeth turned and strode into the front parlor. A fire was laid, but had yet to be lighted. Lamps blazed, shooting shine from polished wood. There was a vase of white roses on the mantel, and nothing else. The colors were all soft, all pale.
    Part of Miranda’s mind registered what it always did when she stepped inside this, or any, room in the house. It was more showcase than home, and just as cool.
    “The reporter, of course, refused to reveal his source. But he had quite a bit of information.”
    “Vincente would never have gone to the press prematurely.”
    “No,” Elizabeth agreed coolly. “Vincente would not.”
    “Could the plumber—what was his name—have talked to a reporter?”
    “The plumber couldn’t have provided him with photos of the bronze, with test results.”
    “Test results.” Because her knees were suddenly loose, Miranda sat. “My tests?”
    “Standjo’s tests,” Elizabeth said between her teeth. “Despite the fact that you conducted them, it remains the responsibility of my lab. And it’s the security of that lab that has been breached.”
    “But how . . .” It hit home then, the tone, the look in her mother’s eyes. She rose slowly. “You think I called a reporter and fed him information? Secured photos and test results?”
    Elizabeth merely studied Miranda’s furious face. “Did you?”
    “No, I did not. Even if we hadn’t discussed the ramifications, I would never undermine a project this way. It’s my reputation on the line as well.”
    “And it’s your reputation that could very well be made.”
    Miranda looked into Elizabeth’s eyes and saw the opinion had already been formed. “You can go to hell.”
    “The reporter quoted from your report.”
    “Straight to hell, and take your precious lab with you. It’s always meant more to you than your own flesh and blood.”
    “My precious lab has provided you with training and employment, and with the potential for reaching the top of your field. Now, because of haste and stubbornness and ego, my professional integrity is in question, and your reputation may very well be ruined. The bronze is being transferred to another facility today.”
    “Transferred?”
    “We’ve been fired,” Elizabeth snapped, then snatched up the phone that rang on a table beside her. Her lips thinned, and her breath hissed through them once. “No comment,” she said in Italian, and hung up. “Another reporter. The third who’s reached me on my private number.”
    “It doesn’t matter.” Though her stomach was jumping, Miranda spoke calmly. “Let them transfer her. Any reputable lab will only verify my findings.”
    “That’s precisely the kind of arrogance that put us in this position.” Her eyes fired such icy temper that Miranda didn’t notice the strain or dark circles under them. “I’ve worked for years to reach this point, to build and maintain a facility that is without question among the finest in the world.”
    “This won’t change that. Leaks happen even in the finest facilities.”
    “They don’t happen at Standjo.” The silk of Elizabeth’s robe swirled as she paced. The matching slippers made no sound as they trampled the pink roses blooming on the carpet. “I’ll begin repairing the damage immediately. I expect you to avoid the press, and take the first available flight back to Maine.”
    “I’m not leaving until this is finished.”
    “It is finished, for you. Your services are no longer required at Standjo,