Chapter 4

Eleanor and Carrie arrived like a perfumed whirlwind, all cooing sympathy and unsolicited advice.

"Sarah-Beth, you look tired, dear," Eleanor clucked, her eyes critically scanning my slightly fuller figure. "Carrie will take good care of you. She knows all about holistic health, you know."

Carrie, all flowing fabrics and serene smiles, immediately began her campaign.

"SB, darling, I've brought some wonderful herbal teas for your circulation," she said, placing a hand on my arm. "And I can show you some gentle prenatal yoga. It's so important to stay centered."

She directed most of her "caring" attention towards Jack, her eyes lingering on him, her voice soft and solicitous when she asked about his day, his campaign.

Jack, as predicted, lapped it up. He was always a sucker for a beautiful woman feigning concern for him.

"Carrie is such a thoughtful young woman," he remarked to me later that evening. "It's good to have her here."

I just smiled.

A few days into their visit, I put my plan into motion.

I "forgot" an important donor list in Jack's private study, a room that was strictly off-limits to guests.

"Oh, Carrie, darling," I said, feigning a sudden wave of fatigue. "Could you be an absolute angel and fetch a blue folder from Jack's desk? I seem to have left it there, and I just can't manage the stairs right now."

Carrie' s eyes lit up. A chance to snoop.

"Of course, SB. Anything for you."

I waited a few minutes, then followed quietly.

As expected, I found her not just at his desk, but with his private ledger open, her phone out, likely taking pictures.

"Carrie?" I said, my voice full of innocent surprise. "What are you doing?"

She jumped, slamming the ledger shut, her face flushing.

"Oh! SB! I was just... looking for your folder. This study is so... masculine." She tried to laugh it off.

"The blue folder was right on top," I said, pointing. "And Jack is very particular about his private papers."

Just then, Jack walked in, drawn by our voices.

"What's going on here?" he asked, his brow furrowed.

"Oh, nothing, Jack," I said smoothly. "Carrie was just kindly fetching a folder for me. I think she got a little lost in your impressive office."

Carrie quickly adopted a look of flustered apology. "Yes, silly me. It's all so... official in here."

Jack looked from her to his desk, a brief frown crossing his face as he noticed the slightly askew ledger. But Carrie turned her wide, innocent eyes on him.

"I hope I didn't disturb anything important, Jack. SB seemed so keen to have the folder."

He softened immediately. "No, no, of course not, Carrie. Good of you to help SB."

He shot me a look that clearly said, Don't trouble our guest.

Eleanor, who had materialized in the doorway, tutted. "Sarah-Beth, you shouldn't be sending Carrie into Jack's private affairs. She was only trying to be helpful."

Her disdain for me was palpable, her defense of Carrie automatic.

Carrie looked suitably chastened, yet also subtly triumphant. She had been "discovered," but Jack's irritation was directed at me, not her.

He was so predictable.

I merely smiled. "My apologies, Carrie. And thank you for finding the folder."

The seed of suspicion about Carrie's snooping was planted, even if Jack chose to ignore it for now.

And Carrie had been reminded that this house, and Jack's attention, were not hers for the taking quite so easily.