Garden of the Moongate Read Online Free PDF Page A

stationed. Obviously someone had been here recently. A crumpled newspaper and half a discarded orange peel littered a stone bench. So much for their super deluxe rating, she thought ruefully, dragging one heavy door open to step inside the large arched entrance hall.
    It could have been beautiful. Cream-colored walls with rich mahogany wainscoting were divided by wide arches, and antique tables cozied up to the walls between each archway. But the warm glow of brass lamps met no reflection on the dull tabletops. The surfaces weren't polished and gleaming as they should have been. The maroon carpet beneath Allendre's feet needed a vacuuming, and the comfortable beige plush sofas and maroon and beige chairs that should have been arranged in an intimate grouping at the center of the foyer were slightly askew—as irritating a sight to Allendre as a painting that hung crookedly on a wall.
    Overcoming the urge to go straighten the furniture, Allendre walked across the thick-carpeted floor to the desk. At her approach three young female clerks glanced up at her, then back down at the papers they were idly shuffling. Finally, one of them wandered off to the far end of the dark wood counter while the remaining two kept on with their busywork, each one apparently expecting the other to acknowledge Allendre's presence.
    Allendre's patience was wearing very thin. Her shoulder ached from the strap of the tote bag she had lugged around all day. She wanted a bath and perhaps a brief rest on a comfortable bed in the room she had reserved. And most of all she wanted her luggage carried in, along with that of the other guests who were still sitting outside waiting for her to find someone.
    "Excuse me," she said tersely, forcing herself to smile at the girl behind the desk, who finally looked up. "I just arrived with a busload of people, and we'd like someone to bring in our bags."
    "The bellmen should be around here somewhere," the girl mumbled, glancing vacantly around. "Just wait there a minute. One of them will show up."
    "Just a minute," Allendre protested. "There are several elderly people sitting outside, waiting for someone to attend to their luggage. They're all tired, and I'm sure they'd like to be shown to their rooms. Now, are you going to do something about that?"
    Shrugging again, the girl smoothed her hands over the skirt of the gaudy sundress she wore. "I guess I could page 'em, if you really want me to."
    "Of course I want you to!"
    Ambling over to a modern intercom, the clerk started to push one of the buttons as she lifted a small microphone, but at that moment one of the other girls behind the desk hung up the phone she had used to call someone. "Better straighten up this mess of papers back here," she suggested, stifling a yawn. "I called down to the garage to talk to Ben a minute, and he said the owner of this place just drove in."
    "Owner?" Allendre's clerk questioned. "I've worked here two years and never seen the owner."
    "Well, he'll be up here before the day's over, I'll wager. Ben said he must be here to check us out, because he took one look at the garage and told them all to get busy and clean it up."
    As the girls chattered on and on about the arrival of the hotel's owner Allendre strummed her fingers impatiently on the counter. Finally, when the girl she had spoken with actually set the microphone down again, she felt a nearly overpowering desire to walk behind the desk and shake all three of them. Instead, she interrupted them without apology. "Are you or are you
not
going to do something about those guests sitting outside?"
    "Page the bellmen. At once," a deep voice ordered imperiously over Allendre's shoulder. "I want them
all
at this desk immediately."
    Three pairs of eyes widened and darted past Allendre as her own widened when she recognized that authoritative voice. Her heart seemed to skip several beats as she slowly turned to gaze up incredulously at Ric. In that moment, she wouldn't have traded places