Sam dropped his head into his hands with a groan. Ben flopped back onto the pillow, whimpering in agony. Jesse remained sitting on the floor and simply laid his head on his knees, quietly cursing. Willa escaped.

Realizing she was limping because she was wearing only one shoe, she slipped it off when she reached the hallway, then tried to decide which direction to go. She was in the family wing, which meant her room was at the opposite end of the house. She headed down the hall at a run, determined to be long gone before anyone realized she was missing. She smiled again, thinking about the shoe she must have lost in Abram’s bed, and she wondered if Sam would show up on her doorstep inMaine , seeking the princess it would fit.

Willa suddenly scowled. As fantasies went, Abram Sinclair was the fairy godmother from hell—and Sam was not her Prince Charming!

Standing under a hot shower until the water ran cold went a long way toward making Sam feel human again. He had even greater hope that the coffee he smelled would go just as far toward restoring his memory. He was more than a little ashamed of getting so drunk last night and even more worried about what he might have said.

“Please, God, don’t let me have proposed to Willa,” he whispered. “And if I did, let her be so hung over that she doesn’t remember.”

Sam stopped at the kitchen door and slowly cracked it open. Ben and Jesse were seated at the staff table, their hands curled around mugs of steaming coffee, staring at nothing. Peg was just setting a large platter of dry toast on the table, and Emerson was perched on a stool at his desk, scribbling in his journal.

Emerson took more notes than a field scientist, and Sam suspected the man saw his employers more as a social experiment than a job. Either that, or he was planning to write an exposé when he retired.

“It’s safe to come in,” Ben said, his voice sounding as haggard as he looked. “Willa hasn’t come down yet.”

Sam entered the restaurant-style kitchen and took a seat at the table. They’d given everyone the next few days off, but Peg, Emerson, and Ronald lived at Rosebriar. Peg immediately set down a mug of coffee in front of Sam—black, steaming, and smelling less strongly of maple syrup than he usually liked. “Thank you,” he said, wrapping his hands around it and blowing on the surface. He eyed the platter of toast. “Do you have any maple spread?” he asked as Peg walked to the stainless-steel island that ran the length of the kitchen.

“You slather that toast with anything sweet, and you’ll throw up.” Peg picked up a piece of paper and glanced at it briefly, then reached under the island, grabbed a couple of jars of spices, and placed them in a box on the counter. “That’s why I only put a drop of syrup in your coffee. It’s going to take a whole loaf of dry toast to sop up all that brandy you boys drank last night.” She headed into the pantry, returned with an armful of canisters, and set them in the box with the spices.

“What are you doing?” Sam asked, picking up some toast when his stomach growled.

“I’m packing what supplies I want to take with me.”

Jesse and Ben came out of their stupors and frowned at her. “Um, Peg,” Ben said. “You’re supposed to stay working for the next three months before you go to your cottage.”

She turned to look at the table of men. “I will be working, just not here. I only have four, maybe five days to get myself up toMaine and get familiar with my new digs.”

“Maine?” Jesse said. “What are you talking about?”

“Miss Kent became my boss when she inherited Rosebriar,” Peg said, placing some packets in the box,

then picking up the box and setting it by the door that led to the garage. She walked back to the island with an empty box in her hand and looked at her list again.

“You’re going toMaine with Willa?” Sam asked, confused as well as surprised.

“Then who’s going to take care of us?” Jesse asked before Peg could answer. She smiled. “Poor babies,” she said with mock sympathy. “The kitchen staff is capable of feeding you, and I’m not taking any of the house staff with me, so you don’t have to worry about dust bunnies attacking in your sleep. Emerson will watch over everything here. Willa said her house is too small for more than just me to take care of, so I’m going toMaine alone.”

“You’ve spoken to Willa about this already? When?” Sam asked.

“This morning. She got all flustered when I said I intended to go keep house for her and tried to talk me out of it. But when I started listing some of the dishes I can cook and told her that I’ve always wanted to see theMaine coast, she finally relented.” Peg’s face reddened slightly. “I might have bullied her a bit, but that poor thing needs looking after right now. She’s had quite a shock. She was in such a hurry to leave before you boys came down, she finally just scribbled her address on a paper, told me to be in Maine in five days, then left.”

“She’s gone!” Sam yelped, standing up.

“When did she leave?” Ben asked.

“How did she leave?” Sam asked right behind him.

“Ronald took her,” Emerson interjected, swiveling his stool to face them. “They left in the Stutz Bearcat. Ronald told Willa she had only three months to enjoy it.”

Jesse strode over to the desk and picked up the phone. “I’m calling him to bring her back here this minute.”

“When did they leave?” Ben asked.

“Nearly three hours ago.”

“And you guys just let her?” Jesse said, angrily punching numbers on the phone.

“What were we supposed to do?” Peg asked. “Lock her in the pantry until you boys sobered up?”

“It wouldn’t be the first time you’ve done that to one of us,” Sam drawled. “Hold up, Jesse,” he said, going over and hitting the off button on the phone. “We knew Willa would likely leave today. Maybe we should let her. It’s going to take her some time to come to terms with what’s happened, and we’re probably the last people she wants to see this morning.”

“But what about Cobb?” Jesse asked.

Sam shrugged. “Willa’s as safe with Ronald as she would be with any of us. And we know where she’s going and how she’s getting there. I’ll give her a few days to calm down, then show up on her doorstep and tell her that I’d like to rent her cottage.” Sam warmed to his idea as he formed it on the fly. “I’ll tell

her I need a little vacation myself and that I want to use up whatever remaining rent Bram had.”

“That’s perfect,” Ben said, grabbing a piece of toast. “It’ll be easier courting her on her own turf.”

Sam was thinking the same thing, until Ronald walked in the back door.

“Where’s Ms.Kent ?” Sam asked. “I thought you were driving her toMaine .”

Ronald’s face took on a dark tinge. “She’s on her way home.”

“On her way how ?”

“I’m not at liberty to say. She asked me not to.”

Sam took a step toward him. “But I’m asking you to .”

“I’m sorry, Sam, but I work for Willa now.”

Sam gritted his teeth against the throbbing in his head. “Ronald, there’s a chance one of Cobb’s grandsons might bother Willa because of Bram’s bequest. How about you go back to wherever you left her, pick her up, and drive her toMaine yourself?”

Ronald’s face paled. “I never considered Cobb or his grandsons might bother her.” He suddenly brightened. “It’s okay, though. Nobody can get to Willa for the next few days. By then, I can be inMaine to look after her.”

“I’m going to look after her inMaine ,” Sam growled. “And what do you mean, nobody can get to her for the next few days? Where the hell is she?”

“I promised Willa I wouldn’t say. I can only assure you she’s safe.”

The phone suddenly rang, and Jesse answered it. “Sinclair residence,” he said. He listened to what the caller had to say. “What!”

Jesse paled as the caller repeated what he’d just said. “How long ago? And nobody stopped her?