The owner didn't think he wanted to rent. He had not quite made up his mind, but he was in a hurry to sell and would give them a price they couldn't refuse.
"We should have known it was just a come-on," Cheryl said disgustedly, as they drove away from the realtor's office. "These people will do anything and say anything to get you into a house. They think you'll fall in love with it and forget it doesn't meet any of your specifications."
"It almost worked, didn't it?" Karen, in the passenger's seat, twisted around for a last look as they passed the house. Wicker furniture and ferns on the front porch, she thought; in fine weather we could have dressed-up dummies sitting in the chairs, like ladies having tea.
Dressed-up dummies reminded her of her plundered wardrobe and the case Tony had mentioned. It was not a pleasant thought. At least they had passed a quiet night, with not so much as a growl from Alexander to alarm them. It must have been Rob, she thought. I wonder where he is now.
Cheryl glanced wistfully around as they drove through the quiet streets toward the highway. "It's a pretty town. I bet the schools are good, too."
"Maybe we could afford to buy."
"No, we couldn't." Cheryl gave her an affectionate smile. "I was just dreaming out loud. Doesn't cost anything to dream. What do you say we head south on Route 15? Then we can take 50 back to the Beltway."
Karen glanced at the map. "I hope you aren't dreaming about finding a place in Middleburg. Even in my day it was a haven for the horsy rich."
"It's even more so now. But it can't do any harm to look. Maybe one of the nearby towns will have something."
Almost the first thing they saw in Middleburg was a little shop specializing in vintage clothing. The owner was not overly gracious; either she spotted them as prospective competitors or she was unimpressed by their rumpled appearance.
"You shouldn't have asked her about her overhead," Karen said, as they walked along the street toward a realtor's office. "That was a dead giveaway."
"Well, we have to find out about those things. Most of the other merchants I've talked to have been nice and helpful."
The realtor was nice but not very helpful. As they had suspected, rentals in the center of town were beyond their means, and the few properties she had listed in outlying areas had other disadvantages. They left the office with a handful of Xeroxed papers to add to the other listings they had collected.
"I've had it," Karen announced, as they got back into the car. "Let's quit for the day."
"What do you say we go home by back roads? We can avoid some of the highway traffic and scout out the area."
"You're driving." Karen settled back. "Lord, it's hot. Turn that air-conditioning up, will you?"
The countryside steamed under a hazy sun. From the cool comfort of the car it looked very attractive, the lush greenery of trees and pasture forming a perfect setting for the white-pillared and soft red brick facades of handsome old houses. Cheryl drove easily and competently, undisturbed by the slow-moving farm vehicles that sometimes slowed their pace to a crawl. Fields of ripe hay glowed like golden tapestries; the corn was tassled and breast-high, and beyond white-painted fences horses grazed in the green meadows, their coats of black and russet shining in the sunlight.
"What a way to live," Cheryl said, glancing at a mansion high on a knoll beside the road.
"If you don't mind living with security guards and Dobermans," Karen said, indicating the closed gates and the two fierce dogs behind them.
Cheryl flicked on the turn signal. "I'm going to pull into the next driveway and let that Cadillac pass. It's been driving up my tailpipe for the last couple of miles, and I don't want to take any chances with your uncle's car."
As she suited the action to the words, the following car suddenly picked up speed and shot past, narrowly missing their rear bumper. Cheryl swore, and Karen exclaimed, "That looked like Miriam Montgomery."
"That friend of yours who bought the flapper dresses? She's a lousy driver."
"She's also no friend of mine. Just an acquaintance and, I hope, a good customer. She said she lived in Middleburg."
"Then I won't tell her she's a lousy driver. I'm going to turn and go back to the main road. I don't have the faintest idea where we are."
THEY got home in the late afternoon, after stopping at the cleaner's.
"Let's not entertain this evening," Cheryl said, as Karen opened the gate. "We really do have lots to do."
"I had planned to invite the President for drinks, but since you insist…"
"Karen-Mrs. Nevitt!"
Karen turned to see the next-door neighbor in his doorway. He came trotting fussily toward them, the sun glaring on his bald head and winking off his glasses.
"Hello, Mr. DeVoto." Karen introduced Cheryl, adding, "Mrs. Reichardt is staying with me."
"Ah, I see. I am glad to know that. I had wondered who she might be." He turned his bespectacled gaze on Cheryl and explained seriously, "We watch out for one another here, Mrs. Reichardt. We are concerned citizens. In times such as these-the old values crumbling-crime rampant-moral and ethical standards deteriorating-and a young lady alone… You follow me, I am sure. I was only too happy to assure her aunt and uncle I would keep my eyes open."
Remembering Pat's reference to his neighbor as a fussy, prurient old fuss-budget, Karen was hard-pressed not to laugh.
"It's very kind of you," she said. "How is Mrs. DeVoto?"
"Keeping her spirits up, as always." He turned again to Cheryl. "My wife is bedridden, I am sorry to say. But always cheerful, always interested in the world around her. As a matter of fact, it is she whom you must thank for observing the incident I am about to relate to you. She insisted I tell you about it as soon as you returned home. She takes a great interest in young people. Karen is a particular favorite of hers."
Since Karen had seen Mrs. DeVoto twice in the past ten years, she took the statement with a grain of salt, but offered the apology that was obviously demanded. "I've been meaning to call on her, but I have been awfully busy. I work, you know."
"What incident?" Cheryl asked.
"A very peculiar-looking person came to your house today. Mrs. DeVoto happened to be at the front window. She is a keen student of human nature and enjoys watching people pass along the street…"
Mr. DeVoto was finally persuaded to come to the point. The very peculiar person had been a woman-"an elderly female, shabbily dressed; one of the sort they call street people, I believe, for she carried a number of parcels."
After knocking several times she had tried the front door, banging on it and rattling the knob. She had then gone to the back and banged on that door. When Mr. DeVoto spoke to her from his garden-"my wife had called me to the window, and of course I felt obliged to see what the woman was doing"-she had said something rude and gone away.
"Perhaps I should have called the police," he finished. "But since I am not acquainted with all your friends…"
"I'm glad you didn't," Karen said. "I think I know who it was. She's perfectly harmless, but a trifle eccentric. We mustn't keep you standing out in the heat, Mr. DeVoto. I do appreciate your concern."
Mr. DeVoto was not that easy to dismiss, but after it had become apparent that he had learned all he was going to learn, he retreated into his house to pass the information on to his wife.
"That's a relief," Karen said, closing the door behind them. "I was afraid he was going to lecture me about hanging laundry all over the garden."
"I am not relieved," Cheryl announced. "Hi, Alexander, did you miss us? I don't like the idea of that crazy old lady hanging around here."
"What's the harm? She can't get in. Mr. DeVoto and his wife are terrible busybodies, but I suppose they don't have much else to do, poor things. Oh, all right, Alexander, it's early, but I guess you may as well have your supper, you'll go on bugging me until you get it. I can hardly wait to get into the shower!"