“Take it back to the kitchen,” Christopher snapped, stepping past me into the hall.

“And if that child keeps making noise in the west wing, you’ll both be out on the curb before sunrise.”

He walked toward the foyer without looking back, his polished leather shoes clicking loudly on the floorboards.

Dr.

Wallace came out of the study a minute later, wiping his glasses with a silk handkerchief before setting his heavy black briefcase on the hall table.

“Leave the tray on the sideboard, Nora,” Dr.