by Beth Byers
“Ah…whyever would I be worried?” Victor cleared his throat and attempted an idle glance out the window as though Violet didn’t know him too well for that nonsense. Even without the ending squeak to his question, she’d never have believed his playacting.
Violet laid her head on Victor’s shoulder, patting his hand mockingly. On his other side, their friend Kate squeezed his free hand with more sympathy. She was, after all, much kinder than Vi.
Violet’s attention was caught by the scene outside. Not so much the buildings but the grey skies and the way the rain beat against the glass. She was certainly home, she thought. The clatter and rocking of the train was possibly one of the strongest signs that they’d returned from their vacation. The steamship had been fun. Violet had danced every night with her beau, Jack. She had been kissed under the stars. The visit to Cuba had been sun, sand, and too much rum. Her favorite memory was being alone at the ocean with Jack, feet in the waves, rum cocktail in hand.
Coming home, however, was an unwelcome awakening. After adjusting to Cuba, Violet felt as though she’d gone to the Antarctic in coming home. When you added in that Jack had been called into a case and disappeared into suspects, evidence, and interviews, Violet well and truly objected.
She had thought to distract herself with shopping with Lila and Gwen. Only, Gwen had been beckoned home because she’d been ‘flitting about’ to an ‘unhealthy’ extent. Whereas Lila and Denny had been drawn back to the Lake Country for something about the wild little sister. Violet pushed away those thoughts and returned to the restless movement of her twin.
“Perhaps you would be worried,” Violet suggested lightly, “given you spent a significant pile of blunt on a house—sight unseen. There should certainly be a pause due to buying the furnishings, paper, and carpets in a whirlwind shopping trip without nearly enough deliberation? Or, perhaps you recall the bumbling reaction of the poor clerk you dumped the problem on?”
Victor muttered, “I’m sure he’s a capable enough fellow. The letters were…ah…well…informative.” Victor sounded sick.
He shifted, unsettling Violet’s head on his shoulder, crossed his legs, and then uncrossed them. Violet’s laugh had her twin jiggling his knees. He cleared his throat, choked a little, and then tried to clear his throat again.
“You’re about to visit a house you purchased while you were drunk. You’ve never even seen this place. It could be anything.” Violet might love laying those facts out too much. She just found the way he squirmed so very rewarding.
“Ah…” Victor cleared his throat yet again. “Ah…”
“You’re a grandiloquent lad, aren’t you?” Kate sniffed and then leaned forward to wink at Violet. The two of them smirked at each other and then in near-synchronization turned and grinned at Victor.
Victor groaned and told Kate, “You’re supposed to be on my side. I feel sure that is how things should be.”
Kate chuckled and leaned back again. “It’ll be all right, boy-o. Things have a way of working out. If nothing else, perhaps you can find some other gin-sodden lad to shuffle the house off onto.”
Victor snorted. “I think I might have been the only one foolish enough for that trick.”
Kate squeezed his hand. “Between us, we’ll work it out.” A moment later she added, “I have a fierce craving for one of those rum cocktails you made. I’m so glad you bought so much rum.”
Violet could go for a warm rum. She wasn’t sure she’d like it, but it might cause this ceaseless shivering to finally give up the ghost. Even cold, Violet knew Kate had changed the subject to give Victor breathing space about his possibly massive mistake.
“I’ve got a man who’ll send me more as well,” Victor said. “Sweet Javier, the brilliant bartender in Havana, was a brother of my heart. Our souls aligned. I will miss him fiercely, desperately even.”
“You did seem to fall deeply in love with him,” Violet said. “I did as well. If not for Jack, I might have thrown myself into Javier’s arms and begged him to love me forever.”
“I am pretty sure,” Kate said dryly, “that he already had several girlfriends. You’d have to join the queue.”
“He was a genius with a cocktail shaker and had the most lovely eyes. Who wouldn’t love him?” Violet laughed, then observed, “This house is very much in the country.”
“More than I had thought,” Victor said, sounding displeased. “What have I done?”
“That is the mystery, isn’t it?” Kate adjusted her book on her lap. “When I told my mother I was coming with you to see the house you’d bought…”
“Did you tell her the whole story?”
“I sure did, boy-o.” Kate shivered and tucked her coat closer.
Violet shivered herself, the sight of Kate’s chill reminding Violet that she was wet too. She sniffed and dabbed her nose.
Victor groaned. “She barely likes me as it is. She sent me quite the scolding letter after your father received our gift.”
“Your gift—I told you not to do it. Mama already thinks Papa drinks too much. You gave him a full case of rum, Victor. After meeting Mama, you should have known better.”
“Don’t forget the cigars,” Violet laughed and then coughed on her laugh. The shivers were increasing in intensity despite the body heat of the nearly full train. The low level chatter of the fellow passengers was irritating her far more than usual. She tried to ignore the noise but she wasn’t able to shake it off.
Victor whimpered at the thought of Mrs. Lancaster and lit a cigarette, trying and failing to pretend that he was unbothered. Neither Kate nor Violet were taken in.
Kate nodded seriously. “I told you not to do it.”
“They’re so good,” Victor whined. “Maybe the best I’ve ever had. Your father likes them. He sent me quite the effusively grateful note.”
“Yet, my mother will never forget. You’ll hear about it every time you see her from now on. Could Papa’s gratitude be worth Mama’s grudge?”
Violet turned to hide her grin. There was an understanding between those two even if they hadn’t put words to the feeling—not to her, not to each other, maybe not even to themselves. Violet couldn’t be happier about Victor’s choice. She had always been half-afraid Victor would fall for some vain idiot who only thought about money and clothes.
Violet smirked. She thought rather a lot about money and clothes, but she hoped there was more substance to her than that. Kate, on the other hand, had more substance than both Victor and Violet combined. She was kind, generous of action and thought. She read Shakespeare as though they were bedtime stories. She had even decided to learn Greek in Cuba. While the twins had bought clothes, rum, and cigars, Kate had purchased books to sharpen her already existing Spanish skills, and even found some English-to-Greek books for her new language pursuit.
Violet had danced on the beach and Kate had observed the difference in the wildlife on a Cuban beach compared to British beaches. Victor, on the other hand, had walked beside her, drink in hand, listening to her and deciding they needed to visit more beaches so she could continue her observations. Violet hadn’t missed the way that Kate’s eyes had brightened at the idea.
Violet fell asleep on Victor’s shoulder while Kate read the remainder of the ride. When the train stopped, Violet jerked awake. She shivered, sneezed, and then looked up in horror at Victor. “Oh, no.”
“Oh, Vi,” he said, handing her his handkerchief. Her lace piece of nothing wasn’t going to be enough.
She sneezed in reply, once, twice, and a third time and then moaned, “I want a bed.”
“I’ll get you there, darling.” He took her bag and Kate’s as well, leading the way. On the way to exit the train, Violet shivered and leaned into Kate for warmth.
“Kate,” Violet said after another sneeze. “I’m terrible at being ill. I’ll apologize now and then again when I’m better. I may disappear entirely. Should Victor get ill—” Violet glanced at Victor, winked, and told Kate, “Flee, flee at once.”<
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“Darling,” Victor said, glancing back and winking himself. “Don’t tell such terrible tales.”
Violet scowled at her brother as he handed her down from the train. She didn’t even wait for Kate, just left them both, heading immediately into the train station to avoid a further chill. It was too late. She tried pulling her coat tighter, but it was still damp.
“Hurry, Victor,” Violet muttered, knowing he was arranging their luggage and finding their transportation.
“There, there, love,” Kate said when she joined Vi a moment later. Kate tugged Violet to nearby seats and then pressed Vi’s head down onto her shoulder.
Violet snuggled in, whimpering a little.
“All will be well. We’ll get into the auto, get you to the house, light a fire, and get you a big cup of tea or broth.”
“Oh, hello there,” someone said as Violet sneezed. “Oh, dear me. Ill, are you?”
“We got a bit of a chill and sat damp on the train,” Kate said. “We’ll get her warmed up and all will be well.”
“Not with that red nose,” the person said. “You’re in for it, love.”
Violet pushed upright, eyeing the woman who didn’t hesitate at bad news. She was middle-aged with a little grey in her hair, and blue-eyed behind her small spectacles. Her expression was friendly enough, but the tight collar, smooth bun, and long wool skirt made Violet wonder if the woman hadn’t realized rising hems were all the rage.
The woman smiled and set aside a basket with knitting needles sticking out of it. “Are you visiting?”
“My brother bought a house here,” Violet said, sniffing and dabbing her nose with a handkerchief.
“The old Higgins place?”
“Ah, perhaps?”
“Is your brother the drunk London man who bought the house in a bar?”
Violet’s lips twitched and she nodded.
“Interesting.” The woman’s lips twitched in reply, her eyes bright with interest and humor, and Violet winked at her before she sneezed again.
Then Vi moaned a little and muttered, “I hope Victor has things sorted out.”
“I’m Agnes King,” the woman said, holding out her hand.
Violet shook it, as did Kate who introduced them. “This is Lady Violet Carlyle. I am Kate Lancaster. We’ve come to see what Mr. Carlyle has done.”
Mrs. King lifted a brow. “I’d have thought you’d be here before now, to be honest. We’ve had a bit of a wager going on when he would show up or if he would. I’ve lost by six weeks.”
Violet laughed and Kate smirked.
“I believe my brother was in a bit of denial.” The shivers were becoming more intense, as was her headache. Pressure was mounting behind Violet’s forehead, and she’d have whined if not for Agnes King. Violet didn’t get sick very often, but when she did, she tended to go down fast and hard. Violet sniffed once again, trying to delicately hide the fact that snot was starting to pour from her nose.
“Well,” Mrs. King said, “that seems about the right reaction for someone who bought a house sight unseen.”
“Is it a terrible house?” Kate asked, clearly hoping it wasn’t too awful.
Mrs. King shook her head. “It’s nice enough. It needed work. We’ve seen the carpenters and the like come and go. I imagine it’s a snug little place now. Certainly with semi-competent fellows hired. It was always a snug place, astounding gardens, quite a nice ballroom, and library. I believe it was sold with the furniture and contents. Perhaps you’ll find some treasure.”
“Wouldn’t that be fun?” Kate said when Violet dabbed her nose in answer. “Something to tell our friends when we go home.”
“Do you not intend to live here?” The voice snapped a bit with anger. Violet caught the feeling that Mrs. King seemed to be willing to welcome them until just that moment.
Oh-oh, Violet thought, Mrs. King didn’t seem happy at that idea.
“Not full-time,” Violet admitted. “Our lives are in London.”
“I suppose you are nightclub-going, cocktail-drinking, jazz music-listening, bright young things? Full of vigor and fun and very little responsibility? The garden deserves to be protected and kept up. Our little village deserves denizens who help improve the tenor of our life here.”
Violet blinked as she digested that thinly-veiled diatribe. She wouldn’t say that they were quite so frivolous. Yes to all the things that Mrs. King listed, but not entirely without something more to them. As for the garden, Violet was sure that Victor had said something about the gardener being the one who had been looking after the house in between the workers coming and going.
“We do enjoy those things,” Violet said, “along with many other things. I understand the rose gardens here are quite remarkable?”
“I fear you’ll find very little that you’re used to in London here among our humble people,” Mrs. King stated. “We do, however, have quite lovely gardens about.”
Kate said dryly, “We don’t expect to find the charms of London in the countryside. We’ve come for the charms of the country. I’ve read a little travel journal about this part of the country and have a list of things to see before we finish this visit. Violet and Victor are determined to go bicycling and horseback riding. I’d like to do nothing more than find a good spot for a picnic and to read a book in the grass. Do you have any recommendations of places we might visit?”
Chapter 2
It took Victor far longer than expected to appear in the train station with rescue at hand. When he finally did appear, he was scowling. The look of tight anger on his face had Vi lifting her brows.
“The gardener was supposed to take an auto for us and be here. He only just arrived. In the meantime, Giles and I hired someone to take the things we brought for the house. They’ve left with our luggage, Beatrice, and the dogs, so Beatrice will be ready to coddle you the moment you’ve arrived. Ah…” He just realized they’d been speaking with Mrs. King and smiled winningly at her. “Hullo, there. I fear I’m a bit grumpy. I didn’t see you at all.”
“To be understood,” Mrs. King said. “No matter. Traveling does push one’s patience. It doesn’t help when Philip Jones was neglectful once again.”
“May I present Mrs. Agnes King?” Kate said. “We’ve just been making friends and inquiring after good picnic spots.”
“You do look so much like your sister,” Mrs. King said. “It’s rather shocking.”
Victor winked at Violet, who sneezed and told Mrs. King, “I had the good fortune to be a twin.”
The twins were opposite sides of the same coin. They were both tall and slim with dark hair and eyes. They each had sharp features and pale skin, though Victor had tanned quite a bit in Cuba. Violet, on the other hand, had safeguarded her complexion with large hats.
“Did you find good places to picnic? I am prepared to take you wherever is necessary so you may study your Greek in sunshine and verdant beauty.”
“Are you studying Greek?” Mrs. King asked Kate, sounding as though Kate’s hobby couldn’t be accurate.
The woman was friendly enough, but her presumptions about them were beginning to irritate Violet. Of course, so was the sound of the laughing children, the click-clack of footsteps, the pitter-patter of rain, and endless, debilitating chill.
Vi told herself that she was in a foul mood because she was ill and that was all there was to it, but she was afraid she was rather inclined to hate this town. The reasons why made her shift as though she had been the one to buy a house drunk, so Violet was trying to keep them to herself and find things to love.
She hated it though. She hated this house because it was too far from Jack, which would eventually make her choose between spending her time with the man she loved or the other half of herself. Each of the choices was untenable. Why! Why was her brother so stupid as to buy a house so far from Jack’s historic home? His family had owned that house for generations—him buying somewhere else wasn’t an option. And yet Victor—Victor who could have purchased any
where had to buy drunk and alone when Violet wasn’t able to point out the obvious result.
Kate explained that they had just returned to the country from several weeks in Cuba where Kate had become friends with a Greek fellow and his wife. She’d picked up the desire to learn the language from them. If anything, Kate’s story seemed to set the local woman off even more so. She glanced them over as though they were quite foreign.
“Cuba?”
“It’s lovely there,” Kate said calmly.
Violet pressed a hand to her forehead and Victor noted it immediately.
“Whatever would bring you to Cuba?” Mrs. King demanded, ignoring Vi’s wilt.
Victor pulled Violet to her feet and said in an aside, “A little article about rum cocktails.”
Violet closed her eyes. The village had already been talking about them and the way Victor had purchased the house. They were going to get the reputation for being endlessly zozzled and frivolous.
“It was lovely to meet you, Mrs. King.” Kate smiled graciously. “I so look forward to visiting those places you mentioned. And to hear that you have such a nice bookstore. I fear I will haunt it daily. We should get Violet to bed before she collapses. The auto is ready?”
Victor nodded and said his farewells. Violet tucked her hand through the crook of his elbow. “You’re already known for being endlessly drunk.”
Victor didn’t seem bothered. “I did buy the house while I was in my cups. I fear it was an inevitable conclusion. Shall we see what I’ve done?”
* * *
They saw a rolling green lawn first with a low hedge that lined the boundary. The gardener turned onto a drive and slowed. As he moved towards the house, Violet took in hedges shaped into mystical creatures. They seemed to be green honor guards to whomever might want to visit Victor’s house. Violet gasped as she took in the sight of a hedge made into a bear. The next was a mermaid and then a griffin.
Violet shook her head at the perfect, sheer frivolity and turned to Victor. “How bad can the house be if this is the drive?”