“Are those the missing items?” Joachim sounded fierce when he asked Olivia, and she nodded with tears of relief in her eyes and took them from Alphonsine.
“Thank you,” she said softly, although it pained her to be grateful to a thief.
“Do I get the reward?” the maid had the nerve to ask him, and he nodded.
“Yes, you do,” he said quietly, took out his wallet, and handed five one-hundred-euro bills to her. She looked pleased but still shaken, as she slipped them into her apron pocket, and left the kitchen.
The police showed up twenty minutes later, and Alphonsine had mysteriously vanished.
“She must have gone down the back stairs,” Olivia said when they went to look for her and couldn’t find her coat or her purse.
“She won’t be back,” Joachim told her. He explained the situation to the police and apologized for bringing them out for nothing. They asked if Olivia wanted to file a report or a complaint against the maid, and she said she didn’t. Alphonsine didn’t have keys to the apartment, and Olivia agreed with Joachim. Alphonsine wouldn’t be back, if she had to face the police. She had probably done things like it many times before, with her previous employer who was elderly, and at the hotel before that. The police had suggested that too. It was a common occurrence.
The police departed quickly, and the plumber and window washer left when they finished their work. Joachim called the safe company and told them it was an emergency and they had to come that afternoon. They agreed to, for an additional charge. Joachim reported Alphonsine to the agency. They apologized profusely, and promised to find better candidates, and said they would take her off their books. Olivia was smiling when he hung up, and was wearing her mother’s earrings and ring. She had mixed feelings about the ring, but her mother had loved it, and it was pretty.
“Thank you. I’m sorry I was short with you yesterday,” she said to him. “I didn’t know what to think.”
“It’s all right. You’re among strangers here. You don’t know me. I’m sorry it happened. I had a bad feeling about her. She was a little too sweet.”
“You can hire the next one. And don’t forget to list her reward with your expenses. And by the way, Joachim, you’re pretty damn scary when you put your head butler face on.” The look on his face, and his tone, had been worthy of Carson after all. She smiled when she said it.
“I only do that when absolutely necessary,” he said, laughing. “It always works.”
“You scared me.”
“I scared her. That was the important thing. Amazing how she had the cheek to collect the reward. But she’s gone, and she won’t be back. She thought you’d be an easy victim. Be careful, Ms. White, and I’ll keep a closer eye in future.”
“Thank you,” she said quietly, ashamed that she had thought he was the thief. She knew now that he was trustworthy, and she had at least one person to protect her among strangers. She had an ally. She was grateful to have her mother’s jewelry back, and that Joachim was an honest man. She was glad to have a butler after all.
Chapter 8
They worked hard on the apartment, and Olivia bought more than she expected to. Joachim knew Paris well, and took her to interesting places where she found things she liked. It was taking shape nicely and had a distinctive style to it. She liked vintage pieces and antiques, and mixed them well with contemporary ones. She had a great eye for what would bring a room to life, after all her experience with her decorating magazine. Her new home had style and personality. Some of it was very subtle, as she was. The more Joachim got to know his new employer, the more he liked her. She was honest and straightforward. They respected each other. He wasn’t overly personal, nor was she, and they were together constantly, while she continued to decorate the apartment. She often asked his opinion before she bought something. He never volunteered it when she didn’t ask. Some purchases she was sure of the minute she saw them, others she was less sure of. And some were frankly awful, or very odd, but somehow, she made them work when she got them home, which always surprised him. She had a good eye and very definite taste.