Butterfly Palace (25 page)
Belle’s pulse pounded in her ears as she stepped from the cab onto the walk in front of Stuart’s house. It was such an ugly place. If they’d married, she’d have convinced him to sell it and buy something more stylish. At least now she wouldn’t have to move into this monstrosity.
Her head high, she sailed to the front door and rang the bell. When his man opened it, she gave him her most superior smile. “Let Stuart know his fiancée has arrived.”
The man blinked. “He’s out, Miss Belle. I don’t expect him back for another couple of hours.”
“It’s no problem. I wanted to take a look at changes I plan to make before I move in. I can do that without him here.”
The servant shifted uneasily. “I’ve not been given permission for that.”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake!” Belle pushed past him and drew off her gloves. She pulled paper and a pencil from her bag. “This will be my home. I have every right to inspect it. Go on about your duties. I can do this by myself.”
Was her color too high? She turned her back on the servant and marched down the hall toward what she assumed was the kitchen. Three women leaped to their feet when she stepped into the room. A large wooden table held the makings of dinner. Flour spilled onto the floor, and there was a smudge of white on the
older woman’s face. The scent of apple pie emanated from the wood cookstove.
“Can we help you, miss?” The older woman, presumably the cook, rubbed her soiled hands on her apron.
“I’m Belle Castle. I’ve come to inspect the house.” She glanced around the kitchen. “The stove is rather old, isn’t it? I’d like to get a new one with a proper oven. I’m particularly fond of pies.”
The cook bristled. “Wait until you taste my apple pie. You’ll have no reason to turn up your nose. But I wouldn’t say no to a new stove.”
“Any other needs here in the kitchen?” Belle jotted down
stove
on her list. There was unlikely to be any clues here, but she wanted to establish her presence and motive. The male servant hovered in the doorway behind her, and she hoped he’d leave her alone in a few minutes.
“No, miss. We’re quite happy here, aren’t we?” The cook nudged the woman beside her who nodded vigorously.
“Excellent.” Belle moved past her. “What’s this way?”
“Just the laundry room, miss.”
Belle peeked into the back room. “We must get one of the new wringer washers. They do a much better job than a washboard.”
She could see by their smiles that she’d made allies in the house. “Sorry for disturbing you. I’ll let you get back to dinner preparations.”
Mouths gaping, the women watched her go. She had to push past the male servant, still in the doorway. “You needn’t follow me around. What’s your name?”
“Jasper, miss.” His voice was colorless.
Could he be involved with Stuart? The man seemed a bit smarmy with eyes set too close together and a suspicious manner. “Jasper, go on about your business. I’ll be here awhile.”
“I don’t think I should, miss.”
“I’m giving you a direct order. Mr. Vesters would not like it if you disrespected me.”
He took a step back. “No, miss. Call me if you need anything.”
“You can bring me tea in about half an hour.”
“As you wish.” He bowed, then disappeared back into the kitchen.
Belle exhaled, then moved with determination to Stuart’s office. Heavy curtains blocked the sunlight from the room, so she shut the door behind her, then moved to the windows and pushed the curtains out of the way. Light filled the room so she could see. The large desk was clear of papers. Shelves filled with books covered one wall. She glanced at them. They were mostly law books.
She stepped to the desk and opened the first drawer on the left. More books were heaped inside. She lifted them out and examined them carefully but found nothing of interest. A clock on the desk chimed one o’clock. After going through the other drawers, she was forced to admit defeat. Maybe there would be something in his bedroom.
She opened the door and walked upstairs as though she had every right. After several false starts, she found the master bedroom. It was a large room at the back of the house. There was no private bath so she jotted that on her paper so it would be clear to Stuart of her purpose. Shutting the door behind her, she first made note of the colors and fabrics she would change, then she slid her hand under the mattress. Nothing. She went to the other side and did the same. Not a scrap of evidence. Had she risked the trip for nothing?
The only place she hadn’t looked was the chest of drawers. She opened the top drawer and shuddered at the male undergarments. She closed her eyes and forced herself to riffle through them without looking. Her fingers closed around a piece of paper tucked into the far back right corner. She pulled it out and unfolded it. When she
scanned it, she realized it was from someone who called himself “L” and seemed to be a friend.
Meet me next Thursday at the river walk. Ten p.m. I’ll bring the gun. Ballard will be there too.
Ballard? Who was that and what role did he play in this? She thought she heard something and thrust the paper back into the drawer. She’d barely gotten it shut and had turned toward the door when it opened and Stuart stood staring at her with a troubled scowl on his face.
“What are you doing, Belle?”
She flashed him a brilliant smile and hurried to brush a kiss across his whiskered face. “I’ve been having a lovely time deciding on the changes to our bedroom. And some other changes as well. A wife’s duty, you know.”
His scowl eased and he flushed. “Excellent, my dear, but you should have waited until I could escort you.”
She showed him her notes. “What do you think of sky blue in this room? It’s so relaxing. I suspect we’ll be spending a great deal of time here, and it’s my favorite color.”
His eyes went a little glazed. “Whatever you like, Belle. Come kiss me again.”
She danced away as he reached for her. “We’re in your bedroom and quite unchaperoned, Stuart. Let’s go down for some tea. I’ll see about
one
more kiss.”
M
r. Marshall’s office was huge with a high, coffered ceiling. Lily put her fingers to her lips as she pulled Belle inside and shut the door.
“Why did you want to come in here?” Belle glanced around her uncle’s office.
“Drew wanted to make sure he wasn’t missing anything your uncle was working on that might impact the murder plot.” She watched Belle pacing back and forth across the thick carpet. “You’re quite tense, Miss Belle.”
“You would have been tense too! I was nearly discovered in Stuart’s bedroom with the letter in my hand.”
“You found a letter?” She needed to get word to Drew. Her pulse still fluttered at his ardor last night—and her own.
“It was in his unmentionables drawer.” Belle wrinkled her nose. “He’s meeting this person and someone named Ballard too.”
Lily gasped. “Ballard? Are you sure?”
Belle sat on the stool and stared at her. “The name is familiar to you?”
Lily nodded. “He’s a neighbor from Larson. I—I’d heard he moved here to Austin.”
“Does Mr. Hawkes know him as well?”
Lily nodded. “He believes the man is responsible for the deaths of our fathers.”
“Both of them?”
“They were killed in a fire.” She bit her lip. “I must admit I’m not convinced. Drew is passionate about bringing him to justice, and I would be as well if I were sure he was guilty.”
“He seems to be involved in this messy business in some manner. We must tell Drew.”
Lily glanced away at Belle’s use of Drew’s name. And the proprietary way she’d said it.
Belle arched a brow. “What are you thinking, Lily? You want Drew for yourself, don’t you? Surely you don’t think he would settle for you.”
Belle’s words stabbed at Lily’s core. “I love him. I’ve loved him for most of my life.”
“Surely you want what’s best for him. With an infusion of money from an advantageous marriage, he could go anywhere, do anything.” Belle’s laugh tinkled out. “Passion fades, and then what do you have? Not much without money. He would resent you eventually. He’d know you kept him from his true destiny.”
“Why do you care?” Lily burst out. “You want him for yourself, don’t you?”
Belle shrugged and rose to face her. “I could bring him many advantages.”
“You don’t love him. You just like his looks and manner. You don’t really know him.”
“If you’d step out of the way, I could know him better.”
Belle’s tone was inflexible, and the determination in her eyes told Lily there would be a battle. But she wasn’t going to back away, not now that she knew how she felt about Drew. Not now that he’d kissed her with his soul unbarred.
“I’m not going to step out of the way.”
“I could discharge you.”
“But you won’t. We must save your uncle, and that will take all of us working together. Besides, if you put me out on the street, Drew would marry me at once.”
But would he? It might derail his investigation. Lily was suddenly unsure of how the future she envisioned would play out. She lifted her chin and stared at Belle as if showing determination would quell her misgivings.
How could Drew prefer her to this beauty before her? Belle was so lovely with her dark hair and flashing brown eyes, complemented by her lovely gowns. She had money and power to offer as well, while Lily had nothing but herself. What man with his full faculties would choose her over Belle? If Belle were a butterfly, Lily would be a moth.
“You’re very impertinent, Lily.”
“I’m sorry, Miss Belle, but you don’t understand how much Drew means to me. I won’t give him up. Not for you or anyone else.”
Belle’s chin tipped up. “Maybe I’ll take him from you, then.”
“Is that a declaration of war?” Lily smiled to try to defuse the tension. The last thing she wanted was to battle with her mistress.
Belle’s laugh was a derisive tinkling sound. “Oh, Lily, you are so funny. I’m only teasing you. You can have your precious Drew. I have many other men to choose from. And Drew has no interest in politics. I’m quite determined to be the wife of a senator or governor. Maybe I’ll even be the First Lady someday.”
“Y-You were joking?”
Belle nodded. “I wanted to see if I could rattle your devotion. It appears I can’t.” She stared at Lily. “I don’t even know what your kind of love is like. I’ve never seen it. My father was rather
domineering and crushed my mother’s spirit because she loved him so much. I will never kowtow to a man like that. Love makes you vulnerable.”
“It also makes you strong, Miss Belle. Together you can do much.”
Belle moved to the desk and flipped through the papers there. “You’d have to find the right man, and how do you know when it’s the right one? I am never allowed to get to know the real man inside. Not with the chaperone sitting right there.”
For the first time, Lily began to understand what Belle’s life had been like. What it still was. While money hadn’t been something Mama could provide much of, Lily had seen love displayed in front of her. She hadn’t been boxed into a life she didn’t want. She’d been allowed to have enough freedom to go fishing with Drew and to learn to love the real man inside.
She touched Belle’s hand. “I’ll pray for you, Miss Belle. That God shows you the man who will love you for who you are.”
Tears sprang to Belle’s eyes. “How blasphemous to think God cares about such mundane things, Lily. But thank you.”
Lily opened a drawer. “God always cares.”
Jane was rocking the baby by the light of a candle when Lily stepped into the shack. The sight of mother and baby always brought a lump to Lily’s throat. “Is she sleeping?”
Jane shook her head. “Wide-awake and waiting for Aunt Lily.”
Lily gently lifted the little one to her chest and brushed her lips over Hannah’s soft hair. “How’s my good girl tonight?”
Hannah cooed and waved a chubby fist in the air. Lily kissed her fingers, and the baby grasped a loose strand of hair.
“She knows you,” Jane said.
Settling little Hannah into the crook of her arm, Lily joined Jane on the broken-down sofa. “How are you settling into your job?”
“Just fine. The Marshalls seemed to like the spiced oysters I made tonight.”
The thought of such fancy food filled Lily with admiration. “Mrs. O’Reilly thanked me today for recommending you.”
Nathan’s bulk filled the doorway from the bedroom. “And I’d add my thanks to hers, Miss Lily. I’ve never seen my sister so happy. And she’s safe here from Vesters.”
“I’m glad it’s all working out.” Lily glanced at the door. “Mr. Hawkes repaired the door?”
Nathan moved closer in the dim candlelight. “He said to tell you he’d stop back by about ten.” He seized his hat. “I’m off to work. Keep a lookout. And keep the gun close.”
“We will.”
“What time is it?” Jane asked.
“Nine thirty,” he told her.
“Miss Belle nodded off early.”
The baby began to squawk and root for milk so Lily passed her over to her mother. “She was tired. Do you have a minute before you go, Nathan?”
“About five is all. Is something wrong?”