Promise of the Valley

by Jane Peart

  Oblivious to both his sister's coolness and Mrs. Amberly's suspicious glare, Louis smiled serenely at Addie as if he had brought off some brilliant coup, "Well, shall we go over to the dining hall?"

  Miss Montand's remark about Louis's talking about her made Addie uncomfortable. She was positive it was only at his insistence that she and Mrs. Amberly had been asked to join him and his sister. Perhaps Estelle had anticipated dining alone with her brother after being gone so many weeks.

  At dinner Mrs. Amberly monopolized the conversation, trying to impress the Montands with long, boring tales of her European travels combined with name-dropping the famous hotels, mentioning some of the world-known celebrities and minor royalty who had been guests at the same time, broadly hinting that she had been acquainted with such personages. Certainly the Montands could see through this pitiful charade.

  Didn't the woman have any sense at all? Didn't she know how she sounded? Didn't she realize the Montands would have a good laugh over her when they were alone?

  During one of Mrs. Amberly's monologues Addie glimpsed a glint of undeniable scorn in Louis's eyes. Quickly, she lowered her eyes so that she would not have to meet his. She did not want to seem to be sharing in any way his silent mocking of her employer. What troubled her even more was what she saw in his eyes every time their glances met. It was something more than casual admiration, and it gave her pause. Did she want Louis Montand to be so attracted to her?

  As the dinner progressed Addie became more and more aware of the subtle undercurrent of resentment beneath Miss Montand's icy politeness. She began to think the dinner would never end when something unexpected happened. Looking up from her untouched plate she saw Brook enter the dining room. With him were a couple. Immediately Addie felt her stomach tighten, her cheeks flame.

  The man was the tall stranger who mysteriously intruded her daytime thoughts and invaded her dreams. On his arm was the same woman who had been with him at the concert!

  With mixed emotions she saw Brook was approaching their table bringing the couple with him. Addie clenched her hands, crushing the napkin on her lap.

  With his usual cordiality, Brook greeted them. "Good evening, ladies and Mr. Montand. May I present Mrs. Freda Wegner and Mr. Rexford Lyon."

  Addie's first reaction was relief. They weren't married after all. Her next reaction was to chide herself. What possible difference could it make to her? As Brook introduced each of them in turn, she was conscious that Mr. Lyon's gaze was as intense and unsettling as during their first encounter.

  Carrying on his usual congenial conversation, Brook explained, "Mrs. Wegner and Mr. Lyon are both longtime residents of our beautiful area. Both are vintners. You have perhaps heard of Wegner Wineries and Lyon's Court?"

  Addie chanced a second covert glance at the woman. She was perhaps thirty, very slender, looking small standing between the two men. She was not especially pretty. Her face was pale and lightly freckled, but her expression was alert and interested, her eyes keen and intelligent. She had a thin nose and a mouth that revealed .. . what? Addie wasn't sure. Perhaps that she had known sadness, suffering of some kind or physical pain. Possibly she was a widow since she was dressed in moderate mourning, a black dress trimmed with white ruching, stylish but not fashionable.

  However, her smile was sweet and her voice low and pleasant when she spoke. "I hope you folks will enjoy your stay in the valley."

  "Oh, the Montands plan to live here, Freda," Brook corrected her. "They've bought land—adjoining Lyon's, right, Rex? And they're building a magnificent house. Near completion now, isn't it, Louis?"

  Louis shrugged. "As long as I keep behind those workers—who tend to loaf off, I'm afraid, if someone isn't riding herd on them every minute."

  Addie saw Mrs. Wegner and Mr. Lyon exchange a knowing glance. She recalled what Brook had said about valley "old-timers" being cliquish, not too eager to have "outsiders" move into the valley. Were Mrs. Wegner and Lyon among those who resented the Montands buying up such a large amount of property and settling there?

  But of course, nothing of such importance was discussed. A few more pleasantries were exchanged; then they left. Brook accompanied them across the room, seated them at a table opposite, in Addie's direct line of vision.

  For the rest of the evening, Addie could not resist a few glances their way. She found herself distracted by their presence, curious about their relationship. Were they lovers or just friends? Or somehow related? Was Mrs. Wegner in mourning? If so, was it for a husband? Or a close relative? Although they seemed deeply involved in conversation, they did not seem to have the aura of romantic intimacy.

  Addie did not have much chance to spend dwelling on the situation at the other table. She was too much aware of the tension she felt at her own table. Every time Louis addressed her, Mrs. Amberly darted her a sharp look. Louis made no effort to hide his interest in her. It was as if tonight, with her introduction to his sister, Louis felt free to express his attraction to her openly.

  Addie had come to know her employer by now. She could almost read Mrs. Amberly's mind from the speculative glances she was casting at her. Was she debating whether or not to nip it in the bud or use Louis's interest to her own advantage?

  Finally the meal ended and Miss Montand, pleading weariness from her trip, left them in the lobby to go to her room. Mrs. Amberly's bridge partners were waiting, and after thanking Louis profusely for dinner she departed to the card room.

  "May I escort you to your cottage, Miss Pride?"

  "No, thank you. I must stay until Mrs. Amberly has finished her game. She has some difficulty walking and needs assistance after sitting for so long."

  A look of distaste passed like a shadow over Louis's face. He started to say something then changed his mind. "I meant what I said about wanting to take you out to Chateau Montand as soon as it is completed. The furniture and other things Estelle ordered this trip should be arriving soon, and when the interior painting is finished it will be ready to show and to move i n t o . . . . " He paused significantly. "I do very much want you to see it."

  Not knowing exactly how to respond to the emphasis in his words, Addie murmured something that she hoped was appropriate, and they said good night.

  Later, alone in her room, Addie opened her journal. Maybe by writing down her mixed feelings she could sort them out. First the facts. Tonight she had learned her tall stranger was a native of Napa Valley, a rancher and vintner. This fourth encounter had left her even more confused. There was no doubt that something unexplainable had taken place between them on each occasion. But tonight he had been in the company of Freda Wegner. This was the second time she had seen them together. Were they more than close friends?

  Feb. 14th

  Well, at last, Mrs. A. has achieved her goal. She has met Miss Estelle Montand, the sister! It was as cool a meeting as one can possibly envision. I had the distinct impression that Miss Montand would rather the introduction had never taken place. I was a bit taken aback by the invitation to join them at dinner, which was all Louis's idea.

  The most unexpected incident occurred after we were all seated. Brook escorted a couple into the dining hall, and when I saw who they were, I was quite startled. It was my stranger. Well, perhaps that is an exaggeration. It was the man I saw the day I arrived here. It all came back to me. That feeling I had as I stepped off the train that he was there to meet me! Of course, it is all foolishness. But still, I had the exact same sensation tonight when we were introduced. His name is Rex Lyon.

  Sitting at her desk, in the lamplight, Addie dipped her pen into the inkwell ready to continue writing. But she found it hard to go on. Pen poised above the pages her mind wandered hopelessly.

  Then she began to think of Louis Montand. It was impossible to ignore his interest. Certainly he was charming, worldly, and sophisticated. However, his relationship with his sister was puzzling. Was it natural to be so deferential, so dependent on his sister's opinions, eager for her approval? Why had it been
so important to him for Estelle to meet her?

  In spite of any effort Mrs. Amberly might make to associate with Louis's sister, Addie felt sure Estelle would discourage any overtures of friendship. Also Addie sensed Estelle's disapproval of Louis's interest in her.

  Addie put down her pen and closed her journal, her thoughts too disjointed to write more. Why should it matter at all what Estelle thinks? It was fairly apparent that her status of paid companion put Addie in a different social class than the Montands. Why should I care? she thought.

  Estelle Montand? Aloof, cold, snobbish. Did Addie recognize those unlikable traits in Louis's sister because she herself had the same ones? Addie had to admit she often felt superior to others. Is that what she had seen in Estelle Montand that she disliked?

  God help me, she thought, if I am like that! She knew she looked down on Mrs. Amberly, thought her lacking in social graces, mentally groaned at her murder of the King's English, her ignorance and malapropisms.

  Addie flipped open the leather journal again and quickly wrote in the date and printed boldly in block letters BEWARE OF PRIDE. PRIDE IS THE MOST DANGEROUS OF ALL FAULTS!

  She undressed, put on her nightie, and picked up her Bible. The habit of reading a verse or two before going to sleep instilled early in her life still held. She knew the Scripture she needed tonight but she wasn't quite sure where to find it. Thumbing through the pages she came upon Obadiah. Obadiah? Addie stopped short. She stared at the chapter heading. Guiltily she realized she didn't even know such a book was in the Bible. It was short, only two pages.

  Addie had been taught a rule of thumb in searching Scripture for guidance. That was to start reading until a certain line of a verse struck you or "quickened." If and when that happened, that was the particular lesson God was trying to teach you at that moment.

  With this in mind Addie began to read. It took only a few minutes to read through the entire book of Obadiah. But two lines seemed to speak directly to her: "The pride of your heart has deceived you" and "As you have done, it shall be done to you."

  Thoughtfully, Addie shut the book, blew out her lamp, and got into bed. She knew she often had a critical spirit, tended to make snap judgments about people—like her judgments about Estelle Montand and, yes, Mrs. Amberly. It was something she needed to guard against.

  Lying there in the darkness, the verse she had first sought still eluded her, but the odd ones she had discovered in Obadiah kept echoing through her mind. That's what God wanted her to learn.

  Addie's self-declared indifference to Estelle Montand's opinion and its effects on her, she soon discovered was wrong. Contrary to what she had thought, the arrival of Louis's sister did make a difference in Addie's life at Silver Springs. After the night they dined with Montands things took an unexpected turn.

  In the first place, Mrs. Amberly set out on a campaign to cultivate Estelle in ways that humiliated Addie. Mrs. Amberly seemed always on the lookout to waylay Estelle, corner her, trap her in a conversation or with an invitation. Mentally gritting her teeth, Addie had to stand by, dying by inches of embarrassment, while Mrs. Amberly, undaunted by Estelle's coldness, pursued her. If Miss Montand could not avoid her, Mrs. Amberly would summarily dismiss Addie, sending her away on a contrived errand—"Do see that the maid picks up my laundry, Miss Pride" or "Go to the post office, I need stamps" so that she could enjoy Miss Montand's forced company by herself.

  It was doubly humiliating because it was obvious that Miss Montand could not endure Mrs. Amberly. Why could Mrs. Amberly not see that herself? Addie was terribly aware of unconcealed dislike in Estelle's eyes that included Addie as well as her employer.

  Meanwhile, Louis Montand was not around the hotel as much as usual. He spent more and more time out at their property overseeing the finishing of the house. To her surprise Addie found she missed him. At least his company had helped pass the time during Mrs. Amberly's long evening card sessions. Louis was interesting, had many witty stories to tell about his travels and experiences. At least it was a welcome change from nightly being subjected to the overheard carping conversation of the bridge players.

  Soon both Montands began to leave the hotel early in the morning to go out to their house, often not returning until dinnertime. It was usually in the evenings that Addie saw Louis in the dining hall. Of course, he was always with Estelle, and often they were accompanied by Milton Drew, their lawyer, or their architect, Leland Parks. But Louis always stopped at Mrs. Amberly's table to pay his respects.

  One such evening, Louis told them he and Estelle would be leaving the hotel in a matter of days to move into their house although it was unfurnished except for the rooms they would be occupying.

  At this Mrs. Amberly wagged a pudgy finger at him playfully. "Now, Mr. Montand, I hope you won't forget us once you're all settled in—for we shall miss you dreadfully here at the resort. You and your sister are such an asset to this place."

  Addie clenched her jaw and moved the silver at her place nervously. How could Mrs. Amberly be so gauche? But Louis managed to handle Mrs. Amberly's obvious angling for an invitation and get a message to Addie as well.

  "Certainly not, Mrs. Amberly. In a community this size I am sure we shall run into each other often." His eyes sought Addie's as he added, "I have no intention of allowing the pleasant acquaintances I've made here at Silver Springs to be neglected."

  Later that evening Brook ambled into the card room where Addie was at her usual place waiting out Mrs. Amberly's card game. He pulled up a chair beside her. Leaning close he lowered his voice confidentially. "I couldn't help overhearing Louis Montand's reply to your dinner companion's imploring him not to forget his friends at Silver Springs once he moves to his grand new chateau!"

  Addie knew Brook well enough to detect the half-teasing, half-serious note in his voice. She smiled but made no comment.

  "He's quite taken with you, you know," Brook went on, regarding her closely, as if to see how she reacted to this statement.

  "Oh?"

  "Oh, yes, indeed. I'd say, quite taken." Brook still observed her shrewdly. "He's asked me all sorts of things about you. In a very gentlemanly way, of course. I told him I only knew what I'd observed. That you were—apart from being beautiful—every inch a lady, with an impeccable character, and from a long line of blue bloods from one of the first families of Virginia."

  Addie had to laugh. "Brook, you're incorrigible!"

  "Why? What do you mean? Wasn't I right? You are an aristocrat of the first water, aren't you? Or have you come here under false pretenses?" He pretended to act very shocked.

  "I suppose I could have and gotten away with it. California is a long way from Virginia." She smiled. "I guess anyone could make up any kind of background and no one would be the wiser."

  "How true. And I imagine a good many people do just that. Who knows? Mr. Montand himself might be an impostor. As well as his very proper sister. Maybe they are both fugitives with a dark mysterious past, buying all that property and building this mansion on a hilltop with ill-gotten money...." He paused. "What is it they say?—Nothing is as it seems, much is smoke and mirrors and magic." Then he laughed and got to his feet. "Who are they, anyhow? Everyone is always quoting they but no one seems to know who they are."

  "Oh, Brook, what a treat you are! You always make me laugh."

  "Good! Life is too serious. As they say—" He looked at her for a few seconds more. "Nevertheless, it is true, you know, Louis Montand has serious intentions toward you, Miss Pride. Mark my words, you'll have a proposal from him within a very few weeks if not sooner, or I'm greatly mistaken."

  "You are mistaken, Brook," Addie said firmly, positive of her intuitive feeling that Louis's sister would have to approve of any choice of a bride Louis made and that Estelle did not approve of her.

  "Wait and see if I am or not. If I were giving odds—" Brook grinned.

  "I don't believe in gambling," she cut in with pretend primness.

  "Then take a sure tip from an ex
perienced gambler and bet on it."

  "You're impossible, Brook!" Addie shook her head, and he sauntered off.

  As it turned out it was Brook who provided Louis with the opportunity to issue Addie a very special invitation. Since the Montands had stayed at Silver Springs Hotel during the eighteen months of construction of their house, he announced he was giving them a farewell dinner party.

  All the hotel guests were included, and to Addie's pleasure and pain, upon entering the dining room that evening, she saw Rexford Lyon among the local invited acquaintances of the Montands. She assumed it was because now they would be neighbors, since the Montands' property bordered Lyon's Court land. Her first pleasure at seeing him was followed by dismay when she saw Freda Wegner was also present.

  Addie was angry at herself that the thought that they might be more than friends caused her such dismay. He was a stranger! What difference should whatever they were to each other make to her?

  However, the minute after she entered the dining hall and he saw her, she was sure he had started over to her when Louis, seeing her at the same time, intercepted and came to her side.

  "You're sitting beside me, at my right, in the place of honor, at my request!" he told her, smiling. Taking her arm he led her over to the large, exquisitely decorated table and held the chair for her. As he took his place next to her, he whispered, "I haven't had a minute alone with you for weeks—the dragonfly is always hovering."

  Addie looked at him, startled, wondering if he meant Mrs. Amberly or his sister. Of course, he meant Mrs. Amberly. Louis and Estelle were singularly devoted. Only occasionally had she noticed the slightest suggestion of irritation on his part of something Estelle said or did.

  To her surprise Brook escorted Freda Wegner over and seated her beside Addie. He leaned down between them. "I wanted you two to get to know each other. I have a hunch you could be great friends."

  This could be an unexpected opportunity. By some tactful questioning Addie thought she would be able to find out just what Mrs. Wegner's and Rex Lyon's relationship was. However, there was not much chance for a personal exchange. The gentleman on Freda's right monopolized her throughout most of the meal while Louis did the same to Addie. Besides, as master of ceremonies, Brook demanded everyone's attention as he held forth with flowery speeches at intervals between courses, waxing loquaciously about the future of the valley, Calistoga in particular, and how wonderful it was to welcome newcomers like the Montands who would add to its prosperity and the renown of the region.