Jane Bites Back_ A Novel - Michael Thomas Ford [99]
Jane liked having him show her how to drink the sake. It was intimate in a way she hadn’t experienced in a long time. She thought about Byron teaching her how to eat crawfish. It hadn’t been nearly the same. Walter made her feel special, as if he was sharing an experience with her rather than telling her how to have one.
The waiter came and, as Jane had predicted, Walter and Kelly ordered for the table. Again Jane found herself enjoying being taken care of in that way. I suppose it’s old-fashioned of me, she thought as she listened to Walter rattle off the names of the different kinds of sushi. Then again, I am an eighteenth-century girl.
She laughed at this thought, and realized that she was getting a tiny bit tipsy. This too she enjoyed, and she didn’t object as Walter refilled her sake cup. It’s rather pleasant having a boyfriend, she thought. I don’t know why I waited so long.
When the food came, Kelly and Walter refused to tell Jane and Lucy what everything was. “Just try it,” Kelly insisted, placing various multicolored pieces on Lucy’s plate. “I’ll tell you afterward.”
“This one is my favorite,” Walter said to Jane as he selected a piece of something dark pink for her. “It’s—”
He was interrupted by the ringing of Jane’s cell phone. It took her a moment to find it in her purse, but she finally located it. Who could possibly be calling me? she wondered. Only Lucy, Walter, and Kelly even had the number, and they were all sitting right there with her.
“Hello?”
“Ms. Fairfax, this is Sal Maldonado with the fire department.” His voice was scratchy and difficult to hear clearly.
“Fire department?” Jane repeated.
“I’m afraid there’s a problem at your store,” the man said.
“Is it a fire?” Jane said, struggling to get to her feet. The others stopped talking and stared at her as she waited for the reply.
“No, not a fire. But we did get a false alarm. I think something’s wrong with your detector. I just need you to come over and open the store for me.”
“Of course,” Jane said, relieved that it was nothing more serious. “I’ll be there in five minutes.” She hung up the phone. “It’s nothing to worry about,” she told Walter, Lucy, and Kelly. “Just a faulty smoke alarm at the store. They need to get in to check it. I’ll be back in no time.”
“I’ll go with you,” Walter said as he stood up.
“No, you stay here,” said Jane. “But thank you.” She gave Walter’s arm a squeeze. “I appreciate you offering, but I don’t dare leave these two alone,” she added, indicating with a nod of her head Kelly and Lucy. “I think they need a chaperone.”
Walter sat down again and Jane slipped on her shoes. Promising once again to return as quickly as possible, she left and got into her car. She was at the store within minutes. When she got out, however, she saw no sign of a firefighter or any emergency vehicles.
She went to the door and found it already open. I guess he didn’t need me after all, she thought as she went inside.
“Mr. Maldonado?” she called out. “It’s Jane Fairfax. Are you here?”
There was no answer, but Jane heard noises coming from the office area. She flipped the light switch beside the door, but the room remained dark. They must have turned the electricity off, she thought as she made her way to the back.
“Mr. Maldonado?” she called again. “Are you there?”
She reached the office and stepped inside. Someone was moving around in the dim light.
“Mr. Maldonado?” said Jane.
The figure turned. Jane gasped. Then something struck her in the forehead and everything went black.
Chapter 32
Jonathan, lying on the ground with his lip bloodied, glared up at Charles, who towered over him, hands knotted in fists. The look in Charles’s eyes was murderous, and for a moment Constance feared that he would kill Jonathan. Instead, he spat into the dirt near Jonathan’s head. “Go,” he said. “Don’t trouble us again.”
—Jane Austen, Constance, manuscript
THE SLAP WOKE HER UP. WHERE AM I? JANE WONDERED. WHAT happened? Her head hurt, and she saw stars before her eyes.
“Welcome to the