Winslow's Web

by Jeanie P Johnson

  Katie knew that the biggest part of Alain's resentment towards her half-sister was jealousy more than anything else. Up until now, Alain had always gotten her way in everything she attempted. Now she was being pushed into the background, and Katie could tell Alain did not like being put in an insignificant position!

  Although Katie sympathized with her cousin, she couldn't help but wonder why all of a sudden Alain was taking her into her confidence? Not so long ago Alain had hardly spoken to Katie because of the incident over the horse that Alden had given Katie. Now she acted as though Katie had always been her close confidant. Katie decided to shrug it off as fickleness of the young and confused. She tried to focus her mind back on what Alain was saying.

  "Alden is just delighted with it all. " Alain made a face. "He even suggested having a masquerade ball to make it even more exciting. That way no one would know who the heiress really was until the stroke of midnight. The dramatics slay me! She has him wrapped around her little finger. I suppose they will be announcing their marriage date next." She suddenly jumped up and began to pace nervously around the room.

  Katie could remember a time that Alain thought she had Alden wrapped around her little finger, and would have gladly announced a marriage date, if Alden had suggested one. She couldn't help but feel a twinge of pain at Alain's prophecy, knowing that if that really did transpire, not only would her position here be shaky, but her relationship with Alden would change drastically.

  Alain continued to wander aimlessly about her room, touching knickknacks she was fond of that were placed on shelves and table tops, and running her hand aimlessly along the paneling and furniture that she passed.

  "If there was only some way I could stop her," Alain murmured half to herself and half to Katie. "If there was only some way I could prove her to be the impostor that she is without disclosing the truth about..." she stopped in mid-sentence and began fumbling with a little music box on her dresser.

  Katie’s interest was suddenly leaping, anxiously waiting for Alain’s. She wondered what it was that Alain was afraid she would expose if she tried to prove Katherine to be an impostor. She looked intently at Alain. "What do you mean Alain?

  Alain's nervous eyes darted about the room. They lit on Katie briefly and then rested once more on the small carved music box. "Oh...oh, nothing really," she responded stiffly. “I shouldn’t be voicing my opinion so carelessly.”

  That was the second time Alain had been about to tell her something concerning the heiress and had suddenly changed her mind. Katie suspected Alain knew something important, or was this just her way of placing doubt in other people's minds about Katherine Gail?

  Katie felt exasperated with Alain’s elusiveness as she watched her cousin’s nervous fingers fiddled with the latch on the music box allowing the lid to open and the thin notes of an old-fashioned lullaby fill the silence of the room. Katie caught her breath. It was the same melody that her own music box played. It caught her off guard and she listened silently as the box played out the familiar melody over and over, slower and slower, until it came to a stop in the middle of the tune, just as Alain had in the middle of her sentence.

  Now Alain was staring at Katie. "Is something wrong?" she probed.

  Katie smiled weakly at her. "No...no…it is just that I have a music box that plays the very same tune. It brought back old memories is all."

  "It’s a common tune," Alain pointed out. "I'm sure hundreds of music boxes play the same thing."

  "I'm sure you are right. It is just that my music box was so special to me I never thought about anyone else having one similar to it." She picked Alain’s music box up and examined it. "It even looks a little like mine," she exclaimed, and then replaced it on the dresser. "But that is not important. You said something about wanting to prove Katherine an impostor. If you really know something about the heiress that is not quite right, then perhaps you should let Alden know about it."

  "No!...I mean...I can't tell Alden! Alden is the one who is ready to run off and marry that witch, at the drop of a hat! The truth is I'm worried about what part he is playing in this hoax. He...he is so willing to accept that woman's story as fact and is being swayed so easily. I don't think I can trust him anymore! Maybe he knows she is an impostor and is helping her."

  "You only feel that way because you won't let yourself accept her. How much more proof must she give you before you are convinced that she is your sister?"

  "Nothing will convince me because I already know that she is not my sister!"

  "But, how, what proof do you have that she isn't the true heiress?" Katie was feeling even more exasperated at Alain’s continued evasiveness.

  "All right, if you insist so strongly," Alain hesitated as if to gather her thoughts, and then she continued in a rush. "Now everything I am about to tell you is only something I overheard, which cannot be proven, so you cannot breath a word of it to anyone until I figure out some way to trip them up."

  Katie's eyes widened. "Yes, what did you hear?"

  "I overheard Katherine and that uncle of hers talking together the other night and from what they said I know that she is not my sister."

  "But what did they say?"

  "That, I won't reveal until I can catch them in their lie. I only know that she is not my sister, and I won't say a word more until I learn everything, and discover whether Alden is mixed up in all this business. Have you seen the way he dotes on that woman? The only reason I even dare tell you of my suspicions is that you are not involved in all of this mess. If you are silent on this matter, and let me know anything you may hear that will help me prove Katherine a fraud, I will make it worth your while."

  How little Alain knew, Katie thought. She was just as involved as Alain herself, and now she was beginning to feel even more involved as she discovered these new, overpowering, feelings surfacing whenever she heard Alden's name mentioned.

  She was having a hard time denying the warm glow she felt when she was in his presents, and now Alain was accusing him of having a hand in some sort of deception. There couldn't be any truth to it. Alain was just trying to find ways to stall for time.

  "If Katherine is not the heiress," Katie questioned, "Then who is she? She even looks like your mother."

  "That's just it. I don't know. Maybe Uncle James ran into her somewhere and saw how much she looked like his sister and decided to take advantage of the coincidence."

  "That is pretty farfetched! You are just overwrought." Katie insisted. "You have not told me what you heard, so how can I believe you? Besides, the story Katherine gave is too consistent with the one Maggie told me. Who else would know about those things if they weren't true? And where did James get the necklace?"

  "Maggie, Maggie, MAGGIE! What does Maggie have to do with all this? She is just a senile old woman who doesn't know what she is saying! How can you listen to those wild stories of hers and believe them to be true? My father was not a murderer, and as for the jewels go, my uncle was my mother’s brother, and knew what the jewels looked like. He could have had a copy made.

  “Maggie may be in this too, for all we know. After all, she has mourned the loss of her poor little Kathy all these years and will not rest until she has her back again. She probably told James the story in the first place and he is using it to dupe everyone. I wish I hadn't told you anything. You just don't understand and it’s just too...too complicated to explain. Even if you knew what was going on, you would still be in no position to help me. It seems no matter what I do, I am destined to lose everything."

  Katie could see that she would never be able to get through to Alain in her present state of mind, so she decided to drop the whole matter at the moment. "Don't worry about it then," Katie said soothingly.

  "Don't worry!" Alain sank back down on the bed and put her face in her hands. "How can I not worry," she sobbed, "when everything is going so wrong? I don't know where to turn or who to trust any more, and you say don't worry!"

  Katie instinctively put her
arm around Alain's shoulder. "I know how you feel," she said empathizing with Alain. "I just lost my only family, and have discovered other things about myself that are hard to accept. Yet, there is always hope, Alain. I'm sure everything will turn out all right in the end."

  As she said the words she wondered what kind of hope there was for Alain, and how her own life would turn out? Alain hadn't seemed to be listening, and she didn't even notice when Katie left the room, she was so swallowed up in her own problems.

  As Katie closed the door softly she paused for a few moments to ponder over the things Alain had said. What had she heard that made her so positive that Katherine wasn't her sister? Everything seemed to fit so perfectly, if what Maggie said was true. But if her story wasn't true, then why did the two stories coincide so well? She didn't have much time to mull this over, however, because at that moment she heard the voices of Alden and Katherine as they came down the hall. James Langdon was nowhere in sight, which made Katie feel strangely relieved.

  "You know, Katherine," Alden’s approaching voice broke into Katie’s thoughts, "I keep thinking I have seen your Uncle somewhere before, just recently, but I can't remember exactly where. If I saw him when I was young, I don’t think I remember, even though he was raised by my grandfather. But his face looks so familiar to me for some reason, as though I have seen him not so long ago."

  "I can't imagine where you might have seen him," Katherine replied, "This is the first time we have come anywhere near these parts, because my uncle wanted to keep me safe until I came of age."

  "Well, I'm sure I'll figure it out in time."

  Katie suddenly remembered that she had shown Alden the picture of James in her locket. She hoped that he did not remember that was where he had seen James.

  "Oh, there you are Katie," Alden looked up when they approached her. "I was just telling Katherine a little earlier what an expert seamstress you are."

  He glanced at Alain's closed door and then the distressed look on Katie's face. At first he seemed concerned, but the expression melted and he continued on with a smile, as if nothing seemed unusual.

  "Did Alain think to tell you of our plans for welcoming her sister home?" Katie nodded slightly. "Well, then you know it is to be a masquerade ball, and since Katherine's own maid is not due to arrive for another week or so, I assured her that you were perfectly capable of making both her and Alain's costume."

  Katie felt a small twinge of irritation that Alden would offer her services to Katherine so eagerly, after the slight she had given Katie by informing her that she would have no need of Katie after her maid arrived. She glared at Alden, but then said sweetly, "I suppose I could manage that." She eyed the two sharply.

  Katie wondered idly, why Katherine’s maid had not accompanied her. She thought the whole purpose in having a personal maid was to have her at your side to assist you, especially when you travel and there are no other servants at your personal disposal. Only, perhaps, she was counting on Alain to furnish her with a personal maid, and her own maid was packing her personal belongings in preparation to being installed at Winslow Hall.

  She eyed both of them. Perhaps, Katherine did not have a maid at all, she thought, suspiciously. Could Alain's suspicions of Alden be true, she wondered? Or was it jealousy on both her and Alain’s part that caused them to feel that Alden was just too eager to accept this new intruder, who was just as eager to start taking over the estate?

  She noted that Alden had his hand on Katherine's elbow in a casual manner, and was apparently enjoying himself. Katherine bestowed him with smiles and fluttering eyelashes, which made Katie, feel even more cold toward her, whether she was the true heiress or not. Seeing Alden and Katherine in this attitude, made her side with Alain's feelings all the more.

  She could not help but resent Katherine for taking over everything so easily. She wondered why she felt that way. Even if Katherine had never existed, Katie would never be in a position to gain Alden's affection, but her thoughts betrayed her by going back to the day they tumbled from their horses into the grass. Then she told herself, if Alden did have a part in some deception, he was not the kind of man she should even be having softer feelings for.

  She forced herself to smile at the two. "When do you plan to have this ball?" she asked politely. "I need to know how much time I have to prepare the costumes."

  "Will a week be enough time?" Katherine asked prettily, casting a dimpled smile in Alden's direction.

  "A week?" Katie couldn't keep the surprise out of her voice. "That soon?" This beautiful girl was certainly taking over rapidly. Katie was discovering too swiftly how much she was beginning to resent her new-found cousin, and wondered how long she, herself, would be allowed to remain at Winslow Hall, once this beauty took complete responsibility of the place?

  "Can't you work something up that soon?" Alden looked intently at Katie.

  "Yes...I...I suppose I could. I was just...just under the impression that it took longer than a week to prepare for such a gala affair...but then I know little of these matters. Also I am sure Alain would need a costume for the event as well."

  Alden chuckled. "Ordinarily, I suppose it would take lengthy planning, but we want Katherine to feel welcome here, so we are using our utmost effort to expedite the affair. You must know how curious the neighboring gentry have been about this whole missing heiress mystery. They would be quite put out if we didn't let them come and meet the new heiress before the news was old hat. We shall have no trouble inviting people at such short notice, but if the time is too pressing for you to furnish something for both Katherine and Alain, we should take that into consideration." He gave Katie a questioning look.

  "Oh," Katie's voice sounded small and insignificant, "I...I...just...just thought that the jeweler was supposed to examine the necklace before ...uh...Katherine was actually accepted as the true heiress." She felt out of place even mentioning it, but she couldn’t help herself.

  Katherine's eyes flashed. "I am sure it is none of your affair," the sticky-sweet tone lashed out at Katie. "So I don't see why you are troubling your little head with it."

  "Katie was in her right," Alden countered, "but you see, Katie, the jeweler came this morning and everything seems to be in order and acceptable by him."

  Katie tried to keep her face from falling. "Then...then I suppose you are the true heiress," Katie said quietly.

  Katherine’s smug look put Katie quickly in her place. She gave a patronizing smile in response to Katie's words. "So, now that we have taken care of that problem, will you be able to do the costumes or not?"

  "I will certainly try to get them done. I am sorry for being out of place by questioning you. I hope you will forgive me for being so presumptuous."

  "Of course, think nothing of it, Katie. It was a reasonable question to ask," Alden’s voice soothed.

  "With such little time to prepare, there will have to be several fittings in order for me to do everything properly on both costumes," Katie quickly turned back to the business at hand, feeling flustered at her own inexcusable meddling. “Having a treadle sewing machine, will be a helpful asset, though, I guess. What would you like to go as, Lady Winslow?" Katie could tell that Katherine was pleased at the mention of her title, and she beamed with pleasure.

  Her eyes sparkled with animation as she tried to think of some character she would like to portray. "It must be something very stunning, but not too obvious to give away my true identity." Her laugh betrayed her extreme excitement .

  They all paused, deep in concentration to come up with some ideas, and then Katie broke the silence. "Why don't you go as the Queen of Hearts?" she suggested.

  "Why, that's a splendid idea!" Katherine cheered, openly impressed with Katie's cleverness. "After all, I do feel like a queen in a sense," she confessed.

  "Then I shall be the Joker," Alden teased.

  "But it is not right for everyone to know how each other is dressed," Katherine complained.

  "Then it will be our secret,"
Alden promised. "No one will know but the three of us, and we won't tell a soul, will we?" he whispered, as he winked at Katie. "Now why don't you go in and see what Alain would like to go as, Katie, and then you can get started."

  "I'm afraid Alain is not in a very good mood right now," Katie told him bluntly, glancing at the closed door and wondering if the girl behind it was at the key hole listening to their gay conversation, or lying listlessly on the bed feeling sorry for herself? Or maybe she was planning ways of disproving Katherine. She seemed so sure that Katherine was not who she claimed to be!

  Katie found herself looking at Katherine a little longer then she intended to. She was trying to see if maybe Katherine didn't look so much like the lady in the portrait as everyone thought she did.

  "Is there something wrong?" Katherine narrowed her eyes at Katie.

  "Oh...no...No, of course not! I was just picturing in my mind how I was going to do your gown for the ball. Pay no mind to me. I'll...talk to Alain tomorrow about her costume. Perhaps she'll be feeling better by then," Katie added.

  "I do hope she doesn't take all of this too personally!" Katherine wrinkled her forehead in a posture of concern. "She's such a sweet girl and, of course, my half-sister. Though she may think otherwise, I have no intention of throwing her out of my home. I hope she realizes that she is welcome to stay as long as she wishes." Then she added on a lighter note, "I'm sure she'll get over all this in no time, and then we all shall be able to live together happily. I do hope you will talk to her Alden, and make her understand." She turned to Alden sweetly and touched his forearm with her slender fingertips in a familiar gesture.