Butterfly Palace

by Coble, Colleen

  “After I’ve cleaned the kitchen, let’s go take a look at the carriage house and see what needs to be done.”

  “I’ll help. Hannah won’t need to be fed for two hours.”

  Emily and the other housemaid had already done most of the dishes when they stepped into the kitchen. “We’ll finish,” Emily said. “The lantern is by the back door. I’ll join you soon.”

  Warmed by her friend’s kindness, Lily nodded and went to the back door where she lit the lantern, then turned down the wick until the soft glow beamed into the night. “This way.”

  Holding the lantern aloft, she followed the stone path around the side of the house and past a gate into an area where she’d never been. She’d caught glimpses of the structure over her weeks here, but she’d assumed it belonged to a neighbor since no one ever went this way.

  She stopped in front of the stoop and stared. The front door hung ajar, and animal droppings littered the steps. “This is disgusting.” Craning her neck, she looked up at the low-slung roof. Slate shingles appeared to be missing, and Lily wasn’t sure she wanted to go in while it was dark.

  “It will be fine, Miss Lily.” Jane mounted the single step and pushed on the door. It creaked open the rest of the way.

  Lily held the lamp higher until the light pushed back the edges of the darkness. She followed Jane across the threshold. Debris crunched under her shoes, and shadows danced on the stained walls. The room was about twelve by twelve. A dry sink was against one wall. There was a doorway to another room on the left, so she stepped forward to inspect it. The other room was smaller, about nine feet square.

  “This is a bedroom, I think. It’s all in rather bad shape. I’m not sure Mrs. Marshall knows what condition it’s in.” Then Lily took another look. The bedding was new and fairly clean. “It seems like someone might have been living here.”

  Jane was smiling. “Probably someone with nowhere else to go. He’ll see it’s occupied.” She glanced around. “A little elbow grease, and it will be as good as where I’m living now.”

  “You’ve got a very good attitude about it. I don’t think I would want to live here, but maybe it will look better in the daylight. I’ll slip out and take a gander tomorrow. There’s really nothing we can do tonight. It’s too dark.”

  “At least I have a position.” Jane’s smile was brilliant. “I can’t thank you enough, Miss Lily.”

  “Just call me Lily.” Smiling, she turned to go when she heard a slithering, sliding sound. “What was that?”

  “I didn’t hear anything.”

  The door creaked open from somewhere, and a breeze touched Lily’s flushed cheeks. “Who’s there? Emily, is that you?”

  The darkness felt thick and menacing. Lily raised the lantern higher, but it only pushed back the shadows about five feet. “Emily?”

  A soft laugh came to her left. It was a male voice. Gooseflesh prickled along her back, and she took a step back. Jane’s hand squeezed her arm hard as she exhaled.

  “We have to get out of here,” Jane whispered. “Run.”

  Lily felt frozen in place. The hostility in the man’s laugh made her chest squeeze. What if it was the man who’d already attacked Jane once? Who attacked her? They shouldn’t have come out here in the dark without a protector.

  “Go, Lily.” Jane gave her a little shove.

  Lily leaped for the dim glow of moonlight coming through the door. As she raced forward, a scuffle sounded behind her. Whirling, she held up the light and saw Jane pinned to the floor by a man. He faced away from Lily, and she couldn’t see anything but the breadth of his back.

  She screamed at the top of her lungs. “Help! Somebody help us!” She looked around for a weapon. There was a broken chair and she put down the lantern, then grabbed it. She slammed it down on his back.

  He cursed and rose toward her, but it was still too dark to see his face.

  “Lily?” Drew’s voice came from outside the carriage house.

  “Drew, in here! Help us!”

  The man growled, then turned and lunged away. Moments later a back door slammed.

  Drew burst into the building and snatched up the lantern. “Lily, are you all right?”

  She staggered toward him, and he caught her with his left arm. Leaning into his strength restored her courage. “I’m fine. He got away.”

  She snatched the lantern from him and held it high. Jane sat up and pushed her hair out of her face. “Jane, did he harm you?”

  “Not this time.” Jane took the hand Drew extended and got to her feet.

  Lily swallowed and lowered the light. “You mean it was the same man who attacked you before?”

  “I think so. I never saw his face either time, but I smelled his breath.” She shuddered. “It was minty just like the man who attacked me.”

  Drew took the lantern from Lily’s unresisting hand. “Let’s get out of here and summon the police.”

  TWENTY-ONE

  Though the night was warm and moist, Lily couldn’t stop shivering. The policeman who had looked at her with such disdain on Monday had taken down the particulars, but she saw his skepticism. And he’d eyed Drew as well. The police had escorted Jane home, and the kitchen was nearly empty now.

  Mr. Marshall put his big hand on her shoulder. “You go on to bed, Lily. You’re still pale.”

  “I need to see to Miss Belle.”

  “Miss Belle can see to herself tonight. You go on up.”

  “Yes, sir.” She glanced at Drew. They hadn’t had a moment alone to talk, but there would be no opportunity tonight.

  “If Mr. Hawkes needs anything, one of the other maids will see to him.”

  “Yes, sir. Good night.”

  She slipped through the doorway of the back stairway and went up the steps to the second-floor landing where she paused. Belle would be expecting her, and the thought of going to her dark, cramped attic bedroom was unappealing. She needed company, someone to distract her from what had happened. Her mind made up, she hurried down the dark hall.

  Belle’s door was half open. She was sitting in front of the dressing table with her hair down on her shoulders. She hadn’t taken off her evening dress yet.

  Lily tapped on the door. “Miss Belle? Sorry I’m late.”

  Belle turned. “Lily, are you all right? I heard there was a dreadful attack tonight. I was frightened for you.”

  Lily shut the door behind her. “Jane and I escaped unharmed.” She began to unbutton her mistress’s dress. “You look a bit flushed.”

  Belle extended her left hand. “Look.” An enormous ring sparkled on her hand.

  Lily bit her lip. Any warning she might offer was too late. “You accepted Mr. Vesters?”

  Belle gave a hollow laugh. “Don’t sound so disapproving. It’s not your place to approve of my choice.”

  “Of course not, Miss Belle. I—I just think you could do better.”

  “Like who? Mr. Hawkes?” Belle wrinkled her nose. “He came rushing to your defense again tonight. I won’t have it, Lily. I’ve warned you about setting your cap for him more than once.”

  “I haven’t, truly.” Picking up the brush, she avoided Belle’s gaze and began to run the bristles through her mistress’s silky dark hair.

  “You must admit it was most peculiar he turned up tonight when you screamed. Was he following you?”

  “I’m sure he just happened to be in the yard taking some fresh air.”

  “Or maybe you and he had an assignation.”

  She couldn’t let Belle go on with that line of thinking. Not if she wanted to keep her job. “It’s not true. Not at all. I was helping Jane, the new cook’s assistant, see what needed to be done to make the carriage house habitable. You can ask your aunt.”

  Belle held her gaze in the mirror. “I hope you’re telling me the truth.”

  Lily refused to look away. “I am, Miss Belle.” Belle rose, and Lily helped her out of her dress and into her nightgown. “When is the wedding?”

  “We hav
en’t set a date. I hope it’s a long way off.” Belle wrinkled her nose and sighed. “I don’t much care for his kisses.”

  Lily’s cheeks burned at such talk, but she heard a forlorn note in Belle’s voice. “It’s not too late to refuse him.”

  “And why would I do that? He’s rich and politically minded. He’ll be a senator someday. Exactly what I was looking for.”

  “You’ve tried to avoid him for weeks. You can cover up your feelings with others, but I know better, Miss Belle.”

  Belle flopped back onto the stool. “All right, fine, it’s true he would not have been my first choice. As soon as I’d said yes, I wished I hadn’t. But no one else of his caliber is offering, Lily. I must get my future settled. I want my own home, and I want to move in political circles. Stuart can give me those things.”

  “At a steep cost.” Lily began to braid Belle’s hair. “You’ll be married to him the rest of your life. Please make sure it’s what you want to do. Just because he’s your uncle’s supporter doesn’t mean he’s a good man.”

  Belle grabbed her by the wrist and stared at her. “Whatever does that mean? Do you know something about Stuart?”

  Lily tied a ribbon at the end of Belle’s braid. Did she dare tell her the truth? If she did, Jane would likely be fired before she ever started. And it wasn’t her story to tell anyway. It was Jane’s place to speak if she so desired. “I know nothing from personal experience about Mr. Vesters.”

  Belle released her and frowned. “You may not know anything for certain, but you’ve heard gossip. What is it?”

  Lily turned away and pulled the covers back on the bed. “How long have you known Mr. Vesters?”

  “Long enough. Several months, actually. Uncle Everett thinks the world of him.”

  “What if he never achieves his political goals?”

  Belle climbed into bed. “What’s gotten into you, Lily? You’ve become quite bold in your opinions.”

  “I care about you, Miss Belle. I don’t want to see you make a mistake.”

  Belle yanked the sheet up to her shoulders. “I think I know which direction my life should go much better than you. Turn out the light on your way out.”

  Lily extinguished the light and stepped out into the hall. Even if Belle knew the truth, would she care? All she saw was her goal of power.

  She pulled the door shut behind her, then went up the back stairs to her room. As she reached the last hall, she passed by the doorway to the attic. A thought struck her. What if the sounds she’d heard were from someone in the hidden passageway she’d found? And what if the passage went all the way to the shack out back?

  She rejected the idea as preposterous, but her pulse thumped in her chest. The idea would haunt her until she checked it out. But not in the dark. She hurried to her room and nearly tripped over a box in the doorway.

  It was wrapped in bright paper and tied with a bow. Drew? Smiling, she untied the bow and lifted the lid. A pair of butterfly earrings lay nestled in tissue. A chill shuddered down her spine. Drew knew she hated butterflies. He would never do this.

  She looked at the card inside. “So beautiful.”

  A strangled cry burst from her throat and she dropped the box, then ran into her bedroom and shut the door behind her.

  This spot along the river walk was deserted, and after the attack two days ago, the solitude had Lily peering into every shadow. According to Drew’s note, she was supposed to meet him at one, and it was already one fifteen. She wandered into the flower bed and sniffed a yellow rose. She’d wait fifteen more minutes before giving up.

  Almost as soon as the thought formed, she heard boot heels clicking along the brick walk. Walking fast, Drew came into view. His steps paused a moment when he saw her, then he smiled and hurried toward her.

  His concerned gaze swept over her. “No ill effects from the attack?”

  She hesitated, then shook her head. “I received an odd gift though.” She told him about the earrings made from butterfly wings and the card. “I—I think he knows where I live. I checked with the butler, and he said it was delivered by a boy he’d never seen.”

  His eyes were grave. “I don’t like it, Lily. You must be careful.”

  “I will. You said you needed to talk to me. I only have a few minutes until I need to hurry back. Belle will be looking for me by two.”

  He took her hands in his and pulled her to a nearby bench. “I didn’t want to involve you, but I have no choice. I have uncovered a plot to kill Mr. Marshall.”

  She gasped and gripped his hands, taking strength from his touch. “Who plans to kill him? Ballard?”

  The muscles in his neck contorted. “Stuart Vesters.”

  Pulling her hands away, she leaped to her feet. “That can’t be true. He’s marrying Belle.”

  Drew caught her left hand. “I know, but I assure you it’s true. The plan is to kill Marshall the night of the election. He’s expected to win by a landslide. Vesters will then be appointed senator.”

  “I’m sure Belle doesn’t know he’s such an evil man.” She sank back to the bench beside him. “What do you need from me?”

  “I think we have to tell Belle and enlist her help. Though I’ve told him I want Marshall dead too, Vesters doesn’t trust me, not fully. I suspect he may change his plans now that I know.”

  “What can Belle do?”

  “She can snoop through his things and listen for snippets of conversation.”

  Lily shook her head. “She’s impetuous, Drew. I don’t believe she can keep the knowledge to herself. You don’t know her as well as I. She’s never one to hold her tongue.”

  “If her uncle’s life hangs in the balance, she will. She’s flighty, yes, but she loves her uncle a great deal. There’s no one else we can go to. If we don’t risk this, Marshall is as good as dead.”

  “Can’t you just warn him?”

  “He won’t believe me. He’ll think I am trying to discredit Vesters because he beat me out for Belle’s hand.”

  Lily chewed on her lower lip. “Very well, I’ll talk to her. But I need to pick the time and place carefully so there is adequate time to explain it to her. And now that I think about it, she’s been able to convince Vesters she cares about him when in reality she is repulsed. So perhaps she could hide her feelings.”

  The sun cast dappled patterns on the walk and river. Birds chirped, and it would have been an idyllic day if not for the menace Lily felt everywhere since she’d arrived in Austin. “I’m so tired of fighting. Why can’t we have a little peace? Is that too much to ask?”

  His fingers tightened on hers. “I think life is always about striving against evil. It’s what I do.”

  She sighed and didn’t answer. He wasn’t going to like what she had to tell him. She exhaled and looked away from the tenderness in his eyes. “There’s something you should know.”

  “About Vesters?”

  “No.” She dragged her gaze from the sparkling water and stared up at him. “I went to see Ballard.”

  He shot to his feet. “Lily, you didn’t! I told you to stay away from him.” His voice vibrated.

  “I went to the hotel hoping I might run into him, and I did. As far as he knows, we merely ran into one another. He offered me a job working for his wife.”

  “You didn’t accept?”

  She laced her fingers together. “No, of course not. I told him I was happy with my position. But, Drew, I don’t believe he had anything to do with Papa’s death. He was our friend and neighbor for years. I think you are mistaken about him.”

  “Lily, I forbid you to get involved in this.”

  She rose to face him. “You forbid? You lost any right to tell me what to do long ago. I’m not going to stand by and let you send a good man off to jail. He didn’t attack me at the church. We have the globe to prove it was the killer. You have no proof you’ve been able to offer me about his guilt. It’s all supposition.”

  “It’s much more than that.” His voice matched the spark i
n his eyes. “I have evidence linking him to the fire.”

  “What evidence? You’ve given me nothing solid. I’m not willing to condemn a man I’ve known nearly all my life.”

  “So you discount what I say in favor of a man who killed your father—and mine! I thought I knew you, Lily, but the girl I loved would have moved anything in her path to bring her father’s killer to justice.”

  She managed not to wince at his contempt. “And I will! But I don’t believe it’s Ballard, Drew.” How could she get him to listen? Together they might be able to discover who had killed their fathers, but not if he remained focused on the wrong man.

  He took a deep breath and stepped back. “What do you have to go on, Lily? Tell me that. Do you have anything more than mere sentiment? You feel he isn’t the villain I say he is, but you’re unwilling to listen to evidence.”

  “What evidence? You keep saying you have evidence, but you’ve given me nothing.”

  His jaw hardened. “I wanted to spare you, but you leave me no choice. Ballard’s wallet was clutched in your father’s hand.”

  Her confidence faltered. “How do you know it was his wallet?”

  “There were several charred pieces of identification left inside.”

  She swallowed. “Someone could have planted it there to implicate Ballard.”

  Pity crept into his eyes. “He has completely persuaded you, hasn’t he?”

  “Have you ever asked him how his wallet came to be there?”

  “Of course not. I didn’t want him to know we were trailing him.”

  “Very well.” She would ask him herself.

  TWENTY-TWO

  The brilliant reds and golds of the sunset had faded by the time Belle shut her bedroom door and turned her back to let Lily unbutton her dress. Her face hurt from smiling, and all she wanted to do was crawl into her clean sheets and forget how bleak her future appeared.

  She rubbed her gritty eyes. “It’s so wearing to have to listen to that man prattle on about himself. He never shuts up. I can only be admiring for so long.”