"How long do you think Paulanne will be?" He stepped deeper under the eaves as the rain picked up. "I dunno," she said, "but I'm not going to wait and get wet." She walked around to the bed and breakfast's rear. She found the back door unlocked, and he followed her through a cluttered laundry room into the sitting room.

"I love the decor." He looked out over the sitting room. "Elegant yet comfortable. Are you sure we should've come in?"

"I'm sure our hostess wouldn't want us to stay out in the rain," she said.

"Indeed she wouldn't," said a smooth new voice. The handsome stranger stepped in from a room they hadn't noticed, wearing a natty suit. "Welcome to the Ashcroft. Care for your key?" He held out a key dangling from a wooden token.

"Thanks." She took the key. "Do you know when the hostess will be back?"

"Why, she's just returned. But if you mean Paulanne, I don't think she will."

"What?" she said.

"Enjoy your bed and breakfast," he said. She looked around in bemusement. When she looked back, he was gone, leaving only his voice behind. "Yours until someone else takes up the key."