“I always told Maria, that he was too full of himself,” Jenny chimed in. “Are you having him arrested, Miss?”
“He stole her automobile,” Mrs. Culvert snarled.
“The devil with the Bentley, the man abandoned his family. I simply cannot condone such behavior.”
After completing her call to the police who were shocked and outraged, Ella joined Temperance in the dining room.
“Waffles!” She gleefully exclaimed. “I’m starving.” She added as she took a seat. She didn’t miss the self-satisfying grin Temperance was sporting.
“Coffee?” Mrs. Culvert was already pouring her a cup when she posed the question.
“Thank you.”
“For the life of me I cannot understand how it is the two of you can go at it all night long.” Mrs. Culvert exclaimed shocking both Ella and Temperance. “Work, work, work it’s all you seem to do.”
“Last night was extremely important,” Temperance managed sputter. “More coffee please?”
Ella buried her face in her napkin before regaining her senses.
“I found your coat in the office,” Jenny announced. “It’s soaking wet.”
“I got caught in the rain,” Temperance explained before requesting more waffles. “In fact my other-,” the words trailed off as she looked around. Turning to Ella she mouthed the word, where? Ella could only shake her head in an effort to keep her from finishing the sentence.
“Mrs. Culvert,” Temperance began. “Do you think that with you having Sundays and Mondays off and Jenny wishing to take on more responsibility that perhaps we should increase the household staff?”
“I think we handle things just fine,” Mrs. Culvert sniffed.
“You wish to bring more people in here?” Ella panicked.
“I was thinking, Maria might be a suitable candidate.” Temperance quickly explained.
“Of course,” Ella relaxed once she realized what was happening. “Maria would be an absolute pleasure to have around.”
“I don’t think,” Mrs. Culvert began to object.
“She’s trying to help the girl,” Jenny finally spelled it out for the confused woman.
“Oh? Yes, she’s a good girl and a hard worker.” Mrs. Culvert blurted out finally understanding. “I’ll be right back with more waffles. I swear I haven’t seen the two of you eat so much.”
“They’re delicious,” Ella complimented her relieved when both Mrs. Culvert and Jenny had left the room.
“Where are my clothes?” Temperance whispered.
“My laundry basket,” Ella whispered in response. “I didn’t have time. Mrs. Culvert arrives so early. I barely made it back to my room.”
“Good thing,” Temperance nervously offered. “She’s a good woman, but terribly old fashioned.”
“I think we’ve both experienced having people we thought cared for us, turn their backs on us.”
“It’s not right.”
“No, it isn’t,” Ella solemnly agreed. “The police said that you need to go down to the station to file a report.” She loudly added catching Mrs. Culvert returning out of the corner of her eye.
“No worries, I’ll just,” she paused midsentence and groaned. “I don’t have a car.”
“I’ll ring for a taxi.”
“See, you just put yourself in Miss Ella’s hands. She knows what she is doing.” Mrs. Culvert reassured her.
“Yes, she does.” Temperance sighed happily. “I think I need to purchase a new car. Of course I’ll need to hire a new driver. And then there’s the matter of a test driving the car and driving it back here to the garage. I wonder if Daniel is available. Unless, you drive?” She turned to Ella with a pleading look.
“Of course I drive,” Ella shook her head. “Wait, you don’t know how to drive? How is that possible?”
“I grew up in New York City.”
“You can fly an airplane.”
“Not through the streets of New York.”
The home of Daniel Muraille
September 19, 2017
“Maybe she could do one of those what do you call it, carrot card readings?” Daniel’s exuberance snapped her back into the present.
“What?”
“The psychic she could do a carrot card reading. You know where they can see your future.”
“I don’t think that is what it is called,” Ella shook her head wondering in fact Daniel was losing it just a little bit.
“Don’t you want to know your future?”
“I’m ninety three,” she dryly pointed out. “With any luck in seven years some weather person will wish me a happy birthday.”
She quickly answered her vibrating cellphone before Daniel could make any further comments. “Yes, this is she. Who? And she is doing what? I see. No, send her up. I’m in Mr. Muraille’s residence. Thank you.”
“Company?”
“Yes, it seems your new friend is lurking around the lobby, talking to herself.”
Chapter 24
“I am sorry,” Shawn sheepishly apologized. “I was on my way out when I ran into,” she paused hoping to find the right words. “Someone.”
“Apparently, it was someone who is invisible.” Ella scoffed. “Miss Williams, I am trying to be understanding.”
“You saw a ghost?” Daniel was positively giddy. “Who?”
“Daniel, stop encouraging her.”
“Helena Landers.”
“Oh, for the love of – seriously that one is still hanging around.”
“Actually, it was Helena Muraille she married my cousin Reggie,” Daniel explained. “She was a truly awful woman.”
“She hasn’t changed much. I wonder why she is clinging to her maiden name.”
“Reggie, wasn’t the Muraille she wanted to marry.” He offered with a conspirator whisper.
“Would that be why she claims that you swindled her?” She questioned Ella.
“That woman,” Ella spat out.
Shawn zoned out missing what Ella was saying. She could see the younger Ella and Temperance making love. It wasn’t there, it was another place. A cozy little room with a window that held a view of the ocean. ‘I love you.’ Temperance tenderly offered as she held Ella’s gaze. Ella’s lips parted as if she was about to say something. Suddenly, she turned away.
“Dr. Williams?” Daniel’s worried tone brought her back. “Are you all right?”
“Yes, just,” she shook her head. “Occupational hazard. And who is this?” She nodded towards the dark haired woman who was standing by Daniel’s side.
“This is my granddaughter, Katherine,” Daniel proudly announced. “This is Dr. Williams.”
“Yes, today’s entertainment includes a fortune teller.” Ella sniffed.
“Oh, you must be Delia’s friend,” Katherine offered her hand. “Wait a fortune teller?”
“Hold on,” Ella barked. “Delia as in the architect you asked me to hire? You knew a psychic was coming to call and didn’t think to give me a heads up?” She jerked her cane in Shawn’s direction. “You, upstairs now.”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
They had to take the elevator down to the lobby before switching to the private elevator. Shawn noted that it was an interesting system. The main elevator which visitors had a clear view of was centrally located. It only went to the floors where businesses were located. Off to the side were two elevators. One only serviced residential floors, like Daniel’s apartment. The second serviced, the foundation offices, something called SSA and the penthouse. That was the elevator, Helena spent her time lingering around.
“Do you have problems with this elevator?”
“Constantly,” Ella wearily sighed. “Why?”
“It’s Helena. She feels that she not only belongs here but is the rightful owner. Basically if she can’t get into the penthouse then no one should.”
“That sounds like her,” Ella grumbled. “She wasn’t shy about expressing her feelings. She felt that Temperance should have left her private holdings to her. S
he also felt that Temperance shouldn’t have named me to be her successor when it came to the running of the foundation. The family for the most part agreed but since Helena was the only member of the family interested in the position, they allowed me to take over.”
“Why didn’t they push for Helena since she was family?”
“Helena, was a woman of means,” Ella snickered. “Unfortunately, money ran through her husband’s hands like it was water. Would you entrust an art collection worth hundreds of millions of dollars to someone like that? I run the foundation in the same manner Temperance did, every piece is accounted for. Which in itself is no small feat since family members like to keep the nicer pieces in their homes. I learned from Temperance, what to buy and when to buy. I also learned what to sell or donate during times of economic difficulty. Based on the way Reggie was running through Helena’s money, if she had taken over it would only be a matter of time before things started to disappear. Here we are.” She announced nudging Shawn with her cane.
“They’re refugees. Isn’t that what you do? We’re family now.” Shawn whispered before she could stop herself.
“Interesting,” Ella noted opening the front door.
“Wow,” Shawn was blown away by the elegant space.
“Home, sweet home.”
Shawn heard laughter drifting over big band music. It was obviously a party from another time. “End of the war,” she uttered looking around and smiling. “Remembering Peter no Press.”
“Preston,” Ella supplied. “Temperance’s brother who died in combat. They were very close.”
“Twins usually are,” Shawn shrugged as her focus remained locked on the bar in the corner. The image for her was clear, a woman’s hand. Her hands revealed her age to be around forty. The ring she was sporting to say it was ostentatious would be kind. It was large with red specks all over it. She couldn’t see the woman herself just her hand pouring something into a crystal decanter. “No, his wife is our housekeeper.” She muttered before turning her attention towards Ella who was reclining comfortably in a chair. “You liked it when she said that.”
“Our housekeeper,” Ella shook her head. “By the standards of the day, it was a small party. One of the guests worked at a movie studio out in Hollywood. Warner Brothers I believe. Gloria, which was the woman’s name claimed that one of the wardrobe girls helped her husband sell a Bentley to the studio. Gloria recognized the car, it was Temperance’s. Only because of the personalized details in the car. We had wondered what had happened to it after her driver drove off in it years before. Gloria insisted that Wallace’s wife arranged the deal. The problem was he left his very Catholic wife behind. Maria, she was our housekeeper. When she said our housekeeper, it announced to everyone in the room, that this was our home. Not, hers but ours. Such a small thing, which I’m certain went unnoticed by everyone except myself.”
“No, it was noticed. It made a lot of people happy. Because you made her happy.” Shawn snarled in frustration. “Why am I here? Other than to admire the view, which is fabulous.”
“It is isn’t?” Ella sighed wistfully. “Downstairs, something upset you. May I ask what it was, since chances are it is about me?”
“You were both so happy,” Shawn struggled to find a comfortable way to express what she had seen.
“We were,” Ella readily agreed. “Something that shouldn’t be taken for granted.”
“Trust me, I don’t,” Shawn snapped. “I just do not understand it.”
“What’s that dear?”
“All of these memories for the most part are happy,” Shawn blurted out feeling frustrated. “Parties, late night snacks in bed, watching the sunrise in the garden over there and the passion. How is it possible that you never told her that you loved her?”
“You don’t understand,” Ella sighed wistfully. “She meant the world to me. I did mean to tell her. Daniel and Nora often got on me about that.”
“She said it to you.” Shawn tried to argue.
“Once.”
“And you turned away. You can’t really blame her for not bringing the subject up again.”
“Trust me I don’t,” Ella sounded defeated. “When those words slipped out it was truly the perfect moment. My entire spirit soared as I was about to tell her that I loved her too and then, I thought about Helena and all the others who bandied that word about. I went from elation to terrified in the blink of an eye. I was certain that she didn’t mean it the way, I would have meant it. Once I saw how hurt she was I knew instantly that I had made a mistake. After that each time I had planned on telling her how I felt, Helena or someone just like her would appear on the scene reminding me that I was overstepping my place. You must think that I am quite awful.”
“No,” Shawn tried to sound convincing all the while old memories were playing out around her.
“I don’t know what you gentleman are talking about. I was in Italy doing what I do best, shopping.”
“Yes, you purchased some interesting sculptures but that isn’t what interests us.” The gruff, male voice barked. “I am more interested in the family who accompanied you back to the United States, the Rossi family.”
“Yes, Mr. Rossi was to be employed by one of the family businesses.”
“Doing what exactly?”
“I wouldn’t know, you’d need to speak to my cousin Daniel. I’m just a silly girl who loves to travel and look for beautiful things.”
“Hardly.” Another man barked with laughter.
“Now, Nelson don’t be giving these nice gentlemen the wrong idea.”
“Miss Muraille, our request is simple. You have many contacts and business holdings in other countries.”
“The family does although we have scaled back in places such as Italy.”
“Why is that?”
“Again, that is business and I’m just a silly girl. If I had to guess, I’d say it has a lot to do with the current leadership. Have you met, Mussolini? He’s not a very pleasant man.”
“No, he is not, which is why we are asking for your help. All you would need to do, is contact people or perhaps fly your little airplane somewhere not too far away and pick up packages.”
“Packages?” She tentatively questioned.
“Packages, people,” the stern man pressed. “The messages would be simple and prepared by us.”
“Us being?”
“The US Government, Temperance,” Nelson sighed. “You’re already doing these things. Your country would like you to continue. You’ll be safe on American soil most of the time. Occasionally, there will be a jaunt to Cuba or perhaps further away. Don’t give me that look, you’ve been extremely careful and I must say I’m proud of the way you’ve managed to help people relocate as it were.”
“Miss Muraille, you’re not in any trouble. As a woman of means you can get into places or contact individuals that we simply cannot.”
“Temperance,” Nelson began in an ominous tone. “They’re burning books.”
“I’ve heard,” she gravely conceded. “General, of course I’ll help. I’m in a position to be some assistance during these troubling times.”
“Was she involved with the military?”
“Yes and no. Whatever she was doing she kept a secret. She’d disappear every now and then. When she would return most of the time she wasn’t alone. There would be new tenants moving into the building. Frightened foreign speaking tenants with limited belongings. The closest she ever came to explaining was by informing me that she was simply a link in a chain. Other people did the hard work, took all the risks she simply stepped in at the last moment.”
“Irene,” Shawn struggled as she listened to Ella arguing with some woman. “No, that’s not it. Whoever it was you told her to go to hell. I know your son is dead but don’t you ever talk to her that way again, you ungrateful woman.”
“Preston had died in combat. Tempe was handling everything, the arrangements, the press, her brother Reggie, who had many vices, and her paren
ts. She was holding it together because no one else could. Iris was her mother who in typical fashion took her frustrations out on Tempe. Who just stood there and took it. I on the other hand felt no obligation to listen to her berate my lover. I think in the entire time that woman and I were acquainted, she only agreed with me twice. The first time was quite shocking. She backed my claim, or rather Daniel’s claim against the Jordan’s. Their lawyer did unravel fairly quickly when the police showed up and he had a Degas and a Ming vase that had been in the house on the island. He claimed they were a gift from Temperance.”
“Could they have been?”
“Almost every painting, sculpture, vase, plates and stick of furniture had been there for generations, therefore a part of the family collection. The painting and vase weren’t Tempe’s to give to anyone. Thankfully, Tempe had restructured the way the collection was catalogued. His story also fell apart when a handwriting expert confirmed that Temperance never signed anything of importance with her right hand. She had two distinctive signatures. One for parties and one for important documents. It also helped that one of the witnesses’ to her signing her will, the one that named me as beneficiary was a former attorney general.”
“Of the state?”`
“Think higher.”
“And the other time she backed you?”
“When Helena wanted to take over the arts foundation. Even she had to agree that Reggie was too needy and Helena far too flighty.”
“Forgive me for this but what did she mean by my sons ended up with my daughter’s whores?”
“Yes, Iris was all prim and proper unless you crossed her. I was engaged to Preston and Helena married Reggie. Although, Tempe never confirmed having had a relationship with Helena. She never denied it either. Iris was something else. Once all the legal mumbo jumbo was done with, she rushed me to the island so she could collect the family’s belongings. She had the Davis family troll a tugboat and barge over to collect everything. She of course made me do all the work. That was until she had a couple of drinks in her. Then it was like someone lit a torch under her arse. All of a sudden she was on fire. Screaming and demanding. I had enough and was ready to tell her to bugger off when she had the bad manners to have a heart attack.”
Muraille Island Page 17