A Lady of Secret Devotion

by Tracie Peterson

  “And I help her,” Elida said as she came to stand beside her mother.

  “You must be Elida,” Mr. Westmoreland said with a wink.

  Elida’s face broke into a smile. “I am.”

  “You are just as lovely as your mother,” the man said. “She and I were good friends when she wasn’t much older than you are now. I thought her the prettiest girl in all of Philadelphia.”

  Cassie’s mother appeared flustered. “I . . . uh . . . supper is nearly on the table. I’m so happy you could join us.” She gave the man’s hands a squeeze before dropping her hold. “Why don’t you all take a seat at the table? Elida, come help get the last of the meal on.”

  “I’ll help you too,” Cassie said.

  They hurried into the kitchen, where Mother handed a large bowl of potatoes to Elida. “Now put these on the table and then take your seat. Cassie and I will bring the rest.”

  Cassie waited until Elida was out of earshot before turning to her mother. She could see the sparkle in the woman’s eyes. “Care to tell me about our visitor?” she asked.

  “I don’t know what you mean,” her mother replied and offered her a bowl of green beans.

  Laughing, Cassie took the offering and pressed again. “There is something between you and Mr. Westmoreland. You both look at each other as if . . . well . . . as if there were something more than merely having been old neighbors.”

  Her mother laughed and handed her a bowl of stewed okra. “He was my first love. We were passionate about each other. At least as passionate as children can be.”

  Cassie looked in disbelief at her mother. “I always thought Father was your first love.”

  “I was just a girl of fourteen when I fell in love with August. He was a few years older, and his father was determined he make something of himself. He sent August away to get a better education. Shortly after that, my family moved. We lost track of each other. I later heard he had married, but nothing more.

  I thought it was just as well, and when your father came into my life, I completely lost my heart to him.”

  “And now Mr. Westmoreland is back in your life, and he’s a widower.” Cassie couldn’t help but raise a brow as if silently suggesting the possibilities.

  Her mother’s face reddened. “Oh, how you do go on. Just because you’re hearing love’s golden bells doesn’t mean anyone else is.” She laughed and turned to lift a platter of roast.

  Cassie giggled. “You’re blushing, Mother. I think there may be more bells ringing than you give credit.”

  “Oh, go on with you now.” But Cassie thought there was something lackluster in her protest. Perhaps she should ask Mark more about this Mr. Westmoreland.

  After the meal concluded and they’d all retired to the sitting room, Cassie was further amazed at the way Elida took to Mr. Westmoreland. She watched in delight as the man took a piece of string, tied the ends together, and then began to weave it between his fingers to make various shapes. Elida cheered loudly at the man’s creative game.

  “Teach me how to do that,” she begged.

  He only laughed. “If I teach you, then I won’t be so interesting anymore.”

  They all laughed at this. When the clock on the mantel chimed eight, however, Cassie’s mother directed Elida to bed.

  Her sister protested, but gave in when Mark promised to take her horseback riding in a few days.

  “I never get to stay up and hear the really interesting things,” she said as she moved toward the hallway stairs.

  “I promise to tell you anything important that pertains to you,” Cassie told her sister.

  Elida pressed out her lower lip in a pout. “But that’s just the trouble. None of it will pertain to me.” The adults chuckled at this, but Elida ignored them. Once she was gone, the conversation turned much more serious in nature.

  “August and I have been discussing the situation with Jameston. We figure there is one chance to get a confession from him regarding Richard. It won’t be easy, and it involves some risk on your part.” He looked at Mrs. Jameston and then to Cassie.

  “What do you have in mind?” Mrs. Jameston asked.

  “August is retired from the police force here in Philadelphia. He has good friends—honest men who also work for the department. He proposes you and Cassie return to your home. When your son is out of the house, we will come and position some of those men near your room. Since Cassie’s room adjoins yours, it would be a reasonable place to listen in without being detected.

  “Our hope is that you might coax a confession from Sebastian while witnesses overhear the entire conversation. Anything would help. You could tell him that you’d heard rumors of his being involved in the murder of an insurance investigator. You could say most anything that you think might motivate him to open up about what happened.”

  “I see.” The older woman looked quite thoughtful.

  “What about getting him to confess to trying to kill his mother?” Cassie threw out. “If he’s angry enough, especially with me, then he might very well blurt out the truth.”

  “He might. He also might become very dangerous if you stir him to anger,” Mark countered.

  “He’s going to be angry no matter what,” his mother said. “I suppose it is the only thing to be done. I could take to my room on the pretense of feeling ill again. Of course, given the subject at hand, I’m certain that won’t be too hard to accomplish. If he wants to see me about anything, he will have to come to me.

  And if he doesn’t voluntarily come, I could send for him.”

  “It seems our best course of action,” Mark offered rather apologetically.

  Cassie’s mother weighed in on the subject. “Must they return to the house? Couldn’t this be accomplished somewhere less difficult to offer them protection?”

  “The house is a reasonable place, given Mr. Jameston will be more at ease. He won’t suspect that we’ve planted officers to watch his every move,” Westmoreland explained.

  “But why must Cassie endanger herself?”

  Putting her hand atop her mother’s, Cassie met her fearful gaze. “If I fail to return with Mrs. Jameston, her son might believe something has happened to scare me away. We must pretend that everything is just as it always has been. He will feel at ease that way, and there will be no question of whether anything is amiss.”

  “She’s right,” Mark said. “But I promise you, Mrs. Stover, I will not allow anything bad to happen to our Cassie.”

  “Nor will I,” Westmoreland assured.

  And so the plan was settled. On the following day, Cassie and Mrs. Jameston would return home as if they’d only been on a holiday of sorts. It was a risky scheme at best, but Cassie felt better knowing there would be men around whose sole intent was their protection.

  “Is everything set?” Sebastian asked Robbie one final time.

  The man nodded. “Aye. I have the men ready to move at your instruction.”

  “Then we’ll go tonight. It appears the only way to drive my mother back into my grasp is to force the issue.” Sebastian straightened and stretched. The time was fast approaching midnight.

  “What if they fail to wake up?” Robbie asked.

  Sebastian shook his head. “Make enough noise. Otherwise, if something does happen, we will merely get the documents forged, and with Cassie dead as well as my mother, the courts will have no choice but to award the estate to me.”

  Robbie leaned back in the chair and seemed to consider the plan for a moment. “What if they escape only to decide to go elsewhere? Your mother is quite capable of leaving the country or just heading to a hotel instead of her home.”

  “That’s true, but I do not believe that will be her choice. I think she’ll readily come here, and Miss Stover will be on her heels.”

  “What of Miss Stover’s mother and sister?”

  “What of them? If they come along, they will become pawns in my game. Stop worrying about the details, Robbie. I’ve thought this through.”

 
Knowing that Mark and Mr. Westmoreland would be with her when they returned to the Jameston house didn’t help Cassie sleep any better that night. She tossed and turned restlessly, not managing to drift off to sleep until well after midnight.

  Even in her sleep, she dreamed of dangerous situations with Sebastian Jameston exacting his revenge. He was not the kind of man who would take well to being bested. There would be no room for error. This, Cassie knew quite well.

  She awoke with a start sometime in the night. Something had made a noise downstairs. In fact, it rather sounded like pans being dropped. She strained to listen. The house was now quiet, and even Elida seemed to be in a deep sleep across the room.

  “I’m just being silly.” Cassie closed her eyes and tried to relax.

  She drew a deep breath and folded and unfolded her arms from across her waist, but it did little to help. Cassie tried to pray, knowing that God had a plan in all of this. Still, she worried about whether doing such a thing was putting God to a foolish test.

  Thoughts of her mother and Mr. Westmoreland came to mind. She smiled at the memory of her mother’s cheerful spirit.

  She had seemed years younger from the moment Westmoreland entered their house. Could there be a future for them?

  “Would I want a future for them?” she murmured aloud.

  The thought of her mother remarrying had never really entered her mind. It would be strange to have another man in the life of her mother and sister.

  “Elida seemed to like him well enough,” Cassie mused. “Of course, string tricks performed by a dinner guest are one thing. Instruction and rebuke by a new father are quite another.”

  She looked at her sleeping sister. Cassie felt sad for the girl. She had no memories of a father’s love. Every time a man came into her life, she seemed starved for the affection he offered. Hadn’t Cassie seen that with Mark? Elida was always dogging their heels if the opportunity presented itself. She would sit and hang on Mark’s every word and drink up the slightest bit of attention he offered.

  A father might be exactly what Elida needed. A strong, godly man would make her feel safe and protected. He would do the same for her mother. Mr. Westmoreland at least shared a past with her mother. That familiarity would give them something upon which to build a relationship.

  “They both have lost their mates,” Cassie reasoned. “They understand marriage and what compromises are required.” She laughed at herself and silently chided her thoughts. After all, she’d never been married and the knowledge of such a relationship was truly only something she had witnessed secondhand.

  She thought of Mark and what it would be like to be his wife. Could she make him a good wife? Could she compromise when necessary? What if she failed to please him? She wasn’t a very good cook. The poor man might well starve to death if they weren’t wealthy enough to hire help.

  Cassie closed her eyes, willing her mind to calm. Tomorrow would come soon enough, and the issues of the day would press her in every direction. She would need her rest.

  It seemed she’d only just dozed off, however, when something woke Cassie again. She yawned and struggled to come completely awake. Getting up, she went to the open window and gazed out. Nothing seemed amiss.

  She yawned yet again and made her way back to bed. It was then that she caught the tiniest whiff of smoke. She craned her neck and breathed deeply. As far as she knew, no one had lit a fire in the house. It was much too warm. Of course, Mrs.

  Jameston was given to chills.

  Cassie pulled a shawl around her nightgown. She would go check on the older woman and see if there was a problem.

  If Mrs. Jameston had started a fire in her hearth, she might have forgotten to open the flue.

  Elida moaned and rolled over in bed as Cassie opened the door. Smoke billowed into the room, stinging Cassie’s eyes and choking her. Immediately Cassie slammed the door closed.

  Panic coursed through her. There was a fire in the house!

  She quickly woke up her sister. Elida protested the rude awakening and sat up, pushing Cassie back. “What’s happening? Why did you shake me?”

  “The house is on fire,” Cassie said as calmly as she could.

  “We must get out.”

  The words caused Elida to immediately jump up from the bed. “Fire? Where’s Mama?”

  “I must help the others. I have no idea if the stairs are on fire or where exactly the danger is.”

  “Don’t leave me,” Elida said, clinging to Cassie’s side.

  “I won’t. Come with me. We’ll see if we can find the easiest way out. I’ll need to wake up the others. We haven’t much time. Pull the sheet from the bed.”

  Elida did as instructed while Cassie went to the pitcher of water on their nightstand. She doused the material as soon as Elida brought it to her. “We will use this to help against the smoke and . . . flames.”

  “I’m scared,” Elida said, her voice cracking.

  “We must be brave. Pray and ask God for strength.” Cassie pulled Elida with her and wrapped the wet sheet around them both. “Get down low. The smoke isn’t as bad near the floor.”

  “Are we going to die?”

  Cassie felt a surge of protective power come over her. She tightened her grip on Elida. “No. I won’t let that happen. Come on!”

  Chapter 26

  Cassie stood across the street with her family and watched as the flames danced high in the night sky. Minute by minute, a lifetime of memories was rendered to ashes and soot.

  The fire department battled to see the blaze put out, but there was little hope of saving much. Neighbors had come outside to offer what help they could. Having escaped with only the clothes on their backs, the women had need of nearly everything.

  Mrs. Jameston had been taken inside by the Radissons while Cassie’s mother accepted a dressing gown from someone and remained outside. Elida clung to her even now, the wet sheet still wrapped around her body. Tears streamed down their faces as the dawn of new day revealed the destruction in full light.

  Suspicion raged in Cassie’s mind like a maelstrom. It pulled in every rational thought and refused to calm even for a moment. Sebastian Jameston was behind this fire. Cassie was certain of it. Only her anger served to keep her from collapsing into sobs.

  Twenty minutes had passed since Cassie had sent a man to notify Mark. She had no doubt that he would arrive as soon as possible. They would need a carriage in order to transport Mrs. Jameston, and she had issued the suggestion that Mark might ride his horse to the Jameston house and awaken Wills in the carriage house. Cassie had never felt so alone.

  “Such a terrible ordeal,” Mrs. Radisson said, coming to stand behind Cassie. “Here, I thought you could use this.” She handed Cassie a man’s robe.

  “Thank you.” The words didn’t sound like they were her own.They certainly lacked the emotion that threatened to rage out at any moment.

  Cassie pulled on the robe, finding it several sizes larger than her frame. She tied it securely, all while searching the street for some sign of Mark. The entire area seemed alive with people and noise. The activity had brought the entire neighborhood to life much earlier than most mornings. There was a great deal of conversation and speculation about what had happened and why the fire had started, but Cassie held her tongue. The image of Sebastian Jameston haunted her. She would make him pay for this. She would make him pay for taking away her mother’s security.

  “There’s Mr. Langford,” Elida called out and pointed down the cobblestone street.

  Cassie looked and found Mark pressing through the crowd on Portland. She left her mother’s side and went to meet him.

  “Cassie! Did everyone get out?” Mark called as he dismounted.

  She rushed into his arms and then her own tears could not stop flowing. “Yes, everyone is safe. Oh, Mark. I’m so glad you came.”

  He held her close, whispering comfort in her ear as she sobbed. “It will be all right. I promise you. I’m here now. It will be all right.”r />
  Cassie pulled away. “He did this. I know he did.” She had no need to explain. Mark’s expression immediately registered understanding.

  “Are you certain?”

  “What else could have done such a thing?”

  “Fires do happen, Cassie. Besides, Jameston had no way of knowing that you were here. Mrs. Jameston’s letter would have led him elsewhere.”

  She shook her head. “It would have led him to Dr. Riley, who would in turn have told him that his mother had refused to go to the spa. It may sound ridiculous, but I know it was him. I feel it. Remember—he once threatened to burn the house down around his mother and me.”

  Mark’s features darkened. “If that’s the case, we need to rethink our plans. You certainly can’t go back to that house— not so long as he is there.”

  “He’s tried to kill us. He won’t stop now. No matter where we go. Mark, we have to trap him now. We cannot allow him to strike again.”

  “How are your mother and the others?” Mark stroked her cheek, wiping at the wetness there.

  “Shaken. Mrs. Jameston is resting inside our neighbor’s house. Ada is with her. Elida and Mother are just over there.

  Mother wouldn’t leave the scene. She’s watched the fire ever since we escaped.”

  “August is on his way. He’ll be able to offer her some assistance. In the meantime, we need to get you all inside. If Jameston did do this with the intent of killing you, then he now knows that you aren’t dead. He wouldn’t leave it to chance.

  He’d have men watching, or he’d be watching himself.”

  Cassie nodded. “I’m sure you’re right. I hadn’t thought about it.”

  Mark led her to where her mother and sister stood. Portland walked behind them and, to Cassie’s surprise, gave her a feeling of protection rather than fear.

  “The fire is out for the most part,” Cassie’s mother told them as they rejoined her. “Everything is gone.”

  “August is on his way with a carriage. He said to tell you that you could come and stay at the boardinghouse. Nancy is preparing rooms for you now.”