You look . . . happy.” Graham gave his valet, Mr. Chase, a withering look as he removed his jacket. “I do apologize, sir,” Chase said, taking the jacket before Graham could toss it on the settee, “but I happened to look out the window, overcome with curiosity as to what it was that had you in such a tizzy . . .” “I was not in a tizzy.” “I happened to look out the window and saw you talking to a young lady.” Graham pulled off his tie and threw it on the settee, getting a small bit of satisfaction at Mr. Chase’s annoyance. He decided to ignore Chase, even though he realized such a feat would be impossible. For some reason, his valet saw himself more in the role of surrogate father than employee. Perhaps because Graham had so much been in need of a father since his had died tragically fourteen years earlier. Mr. Chase was the only one who knew the depths his despair had reached, the only one who knew the truth about his father. “The young lady in question seemed to quite engage your attention.”
