City of Lies

by Victoria Thompson

  David chuckled for no apparent reason. “I don’t think I ever really appreciated it until yesterday, either.”

  Elizabeth gave him a polite little smile, because of course she knew what he meant, and Gideon was very much afraid he did as well.

  She turned back to Gideon. “And how are you faring, Mr. Bates? Are you still comfortably fixed or did your employer make good on his threat?”

  “What threat was that?” his mother asked in alarm.

  “Devoss told me I could have three days to rescue you, but if I was gone any longer, I’d lose my position.”

  “He wouldn’t dare,” David said, outraged, and the ladies murmured their agreement.

  “And he didn’t dare,” Gideon said. “I think he might have made a fuss, but when I handed him the note you wrote him, Mother, he was instantly contrite and congratulated me on my success.”

  “But all I did was thank him for letting you come,” his mother protested.

  “Exactly.”

  “It sounds like we have a lot to be thankful for on this festive occasion,” Mrs. Vanderslice said. “I know I’m very thankful to have my beloved daughter and my dearest friend safely at home again.”

  “And Anna and I are thankful that Elizabeth has consented to remain in New York for a while,” his mother said.

  “We certainly are,” Anna said.

  Gideon was, too, and he’d just opened his mouth to say so when David interrupted him.

  “If we’re sharing our blessings, I have one to announce.”

  Beside him, Elizabeth drew a sharp breath and stiffened in her chair, although her smile never wavered.

  David actually rose to his feet, and when everyone had stopped eating to look at him, he said, “I have asked Elizabeth to marry me, and she has accepted.”

  Gideon watched in horror as David took her hand and raised it to his lips. He wanted to grab her wrist and wrench it away, but before he could move, before anyone else could even absorb this information, Anna made a strangled sound of protest.

  She jumped up, knocking over her chair, and gave Elizabeth the most anguished look Gideon had ever seen on a human face. “No!” she cried and ran from the room.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  For a long moment no one moved. Elizabeth’s heart convulsed in her chest. She’d expected Anna to be surprised and perhaps even dismayed, but not horrified. She glanced up at David, but he appeared too shocked to even react.

  “Oh dear,” Mrs. Vanderslice said, and made as if to rise, but Elizabeth knew she wouldn’t be any help at all.

  “I’ll go,” she said, dropping her napkin on the floor in her haste to be gone.

  Anna’s bedroom door was closed but not locked, and Elizabeth didn’t bother to knock. Anna lay sprawled across her bed, sobbing. She looked up at the sound of the door opening.

  “How could you?” she demanded, her face twisted in agony.

  Elizabeth shut the door and hurried to the bed. “I thought you’d be pleased. We’ll be sisters,” she said, hating herself for the cold comfort of the lie, since she had no intention of ever marrying David. “You wanted me to stay forever, and now I can.”

  “I wanted you to stay with me! You said you didn’t want to get married, either. You said we’d get a house together. You said you loved me!”

  “I do love you. You’re my very dearest friend.”

  Elizabeth sat down beside her on the bed, and Anna pushed herself up, her eyes blazing.

  “Then you don’t need him. We don’t need him. Don’t you see, Elizabeth? This is our chance to be independent women. We can be so happy together, just the two of us! Oh, Elizabeth, I love you so much!”

  Anna took Elizabeth’s face in both hands and kissed her, right on the mouth. The kiss was far more passionate than David’s had been, and a much bigger surprise. When Anna pulled away, they stared at each other in shock for a long moment.

  “I don’t know why I did that,” Anna said faintly.

  Elizabeth did, though, and now she understood just how deeply her betrayal would cut. “Oh, Anna, I had no idea.”

  “No idea about what?”

  “That you loved me.”

  Anna scowled impatiently. “But I told you.”

  “Yes, you did, but I thought you meant like a friend.”

  “But I do!”

  “Friends don’t kiss each other like that.”

  Anna clapped a hand over her mouth, then lowered it slowly. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.”

  Why did life have to be so complicated? The Old Man was right: you should never get involved with other people. At least breaking David’s heart wouldn’t cause him much pain, but breaking Anna’s would devastate her.

  “Anna, I really do love you, like a friend, but I think you’re in love with me, in a very different way.”

  “What do you mean? What other way could there be?”

  “The way men and women love each other.”

  “That’s ridiculous! Women don’t love each other like that.”

  “Some of them do.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  Elizabeth winced and rubbed her forehead. How had she gotten into this? “I don’t have time to explain it to you right now, and I wouldn’t really know how, even if I did. Everyone is waiting for us, and we have to go back downstairs, but will you trust me?” She took Anna’s hands in hers. “If you trust me, tomorrow we’ll . . . I’ll take you to meet someone I know, and she can explain it to you.”

  “Someone you know? Here in the city?”

  “Yes, it’s a long story, and . . . Well, I’ll explain that tomorrow, too. Please, will you trust me?” It was a stupid question. No one should ever trust her.

  “I don’t have any choice, do I?”

  “Oh, Anna, you have lots of choices. I just hope hating me isn’t one of them.”

  “I could never hate you, Elizabeth.”

  She knew that wasn’t true, of course. By the time this was all over, Anna would despise her. “Good, then we’ll sort all this out tomorrow. In the meantime, we need to go back downstairs.”

  “Oh no!” Anna covered her face with both hands. “I couldn’t possibly face them after the way I acted.”

  “But it’s Thanksgiving,” Elizabeth argued.

  “I don’t care. Tell them I’m sick. Tell them whatever you want, but I just can’t.”

  It was probably for the best. She’d have enough trouble pretending to be the happy bride-to-be without having to look at Anna’s tragic expression across the table. “I’ll tell them to send you up a tray.”

  Anna’s sad smile almost broke her heart. “And tomorrow everything will be better?”

  “Everything will be clearer at least.”

  • • •

  Gideon watched Elizabeth go, then looked at David. How could his friend have won Elizabeth’s heart in just a few days? How could he have won her heart at all? It didn’t make any sense. Hadn’t he just decided she had no tender feelings for David? He would have seen it when she looked at him, the way he’d seen it when David looked at her. But he hadn’t. So, what was going on? Why would David propose marriage to a woman he hardly knew, and why would she accept when she was plainly not in love with him? And why was Anna so very horrified by the very thought?

  “Maybe I should go, too,” David said.

  Gideon was surprised to hear his own mother say, “Oh no, dear. Let Elizabeth handle it.”

  “Are you sure?” Mrs. Vanderslice asked.

  “I’m sure. I think Elizabeth can handle just about anything.”

  Gideon had to agree.

  “But why is Anna so upset over such happy news?” Mrs. Vanderslice asked.

  “It’s just the shock, I’m sure,” his mother said. “You’ve surprised us all, David.” She met Gideon’s gaze with
an unspoken question that he didn’t want to answer, so he looked away.

  He’d risen automatically when Elizabeth had, so now he and David both took their seats again.

  “Should we wait for them?” David asked.

  “I think we should continue with the meal,” Mrs. Vanderslice said quite sensibly. “The soup is getting cold.”

  The four of them began to eat, but the soup was like acid in Gideon’s stomach. He had to do something. He couldn’t let Elizabeth ruin her life by marrying David Vanderslice. He couldn’t let Elizabeth ruin his own life by marrying someone else.

  “I’m afraid that in all the excitement, we haven’t congratulated you, David,” his mother said. “I’m sure we all wish you and Elizabeth much happiness.”

  “Thank you, Mrs. Bates. I can’t imagine it would be otherwise.”

  “And I have to agree with you,” Gideon said, although the words wanted to stick in his throat. “You’re a lucky man.”

  “I am indeed.” David grinned and Gideon wanted to punch him.

  Instead he said, “Have you set a date for the wedding?”

  “Not until after Christmas at least, and of course we need to discuss it with our families.”

  “Will you be married here or at Elizabeth’s home?” his mother asked.

  “Oh, here surely,” Mrs. Vanderslice said.

  “We’re thinking it will be here, yes,” David said.

  So, Gideon had at least a month to figure out a plan. His mind was racing, but he was too angry to really think straight at the moment. And how was he supposed to disrupt this engagement with Elizabeth living right here under David’s roof and . . .

  That’s when it came to him.

  The maid cleared the soup course and then brought out the turkey and all the side dishes. Mrs. Vanderslice had ordered a traditional meal with chestnut stuffing, cranberry jelly, mashed potatoes and gravy, creamed onions, squash and chicken pie. They were still passing around the dishes when Elizabeth returned.

  Gideon and David stood up, and Gideon pulled out her chair before David could think of it. She hurried in and sat. “I’m so glad you didn’t wait for me. She’s fine, really. We had a little talk, and she’s very happy for us, David.” She gave him a fleeting smile. “She’s sorry for becoming emotional, though, and is too embarrassed to come back down. She wants us to enjoy our dinner without her.”

  “Are you sure she’s all right, Elizabeth?” Mrs. Vanderslice said. “Do you think I should send for the doctor again?”

  “I think she would be mortified if you did. Thank you,” she added as Gideon passed her the meat platter. “I promised her that she and I would have an outing tomorrow, just the two of us.” She smiled at David again, which Gideon found extremely annoying. “She may be a tad jealous, so I want to reassure her that our friendship won’t suffer.”

  “I should think you would become closer,” Mrs. Vanderslice said. “You’ll be sisters, after all.”

  “Which is what I plan to impress upon her. Now let’s change the subject, shall we? I’m sure Anna would hate to know we talked about her all during our dinner.”

  “We were wishing David happy while you were gone, my dear,” his mother said. “So we must wish you the same.”

  “You’re very kind.”

  “I hardly know what to think,” Mrs. Vanderslice said. “I never even suspected . . . Well, how could I have? But Hazel speaks so highly of your character, Miss Miles, that I must feel honored to have you as my daughter-in-law. You have obviously made David very happy, and we look forward to welcoming you to our little family.”

  Elizabeth murmured some clichéd reply that Gideon didn’t believe for a minute. Then she looked at him expectantly. Did she think he’d congratulate her for marrying another man?

  He picked up his wineglass. “Let me propose a toast to David and Elizabeth. May you have all the happiness you deserve.”

  Elizabeth picked up her glass and allowed him to clink his against it, but her eyes told him she understood his toast better than the others. What she didn’t tell him was what she thought of it.

  David clinked his glass with so much enthusiasm, Gideon was surprised it didn’t break. He didn’t dare meet his mother’s eye when he touched her glass with his, and Mrs. Vanderslice was gazing fondly at her son, so she didn’t even look at Gideon.

  Mrs. Vanderslice had a lot of questions for Elizabeth about the wedding plans. Elizabeth answered them very patiently while they proceeded to pass the serving dishes and eat their meal. By the time they had devoured the mince and apple pies, they all knew that Elizabeth felt a long engagement was in order, so she and David could get to know each other better, and she agreed with Mrs. Vanderslice that a New York wedding made perfect sense.

  Gideon waited for a lull in the conversation while they passed around the fruit, nuts and raisins and sipped their after-dinner coffee to make his comment.

  “It just occurred to me, David, that since you and Miss Miles are now engaged, it’s no longer proper for her to be living under your roof.”

  “Why, you’re right, old man. I never thought of it, but it’s decidedly improper.”

  “It certainly is,” Mrs. Vanderslice said in dismay, “but what can we do? We don’t want to send Elizabeth home to South Dakota, do we?”

  Gideon glanced at Elizabeth, expecting to see surprise or perhaps even a spark of understanding because she’d guessed at his intention. Instead he saw an absolute terror in the instant before she dropped her gaze. He’d hardly registered it before his mother said what he had fully expected her to say.

  “Sending Elizabeth home would hardly accomplish her goal of getting to know her intended better, but I’m sure we’d be happy to have her come and stay with us, wouldn’t we, Gideon?”

  He tried to look surprised. “Of course we would.”

  Elizabeth looked up at that, and this time he did see understanding. And a hint of anger before she said, “How very kind of you, Mrs. Bates. I’m not familiar with New York customs, I’m afraid, so I had no idea this would be a problem. I wouldn’t want to cause a scandal.”

  “We’re happy to help,” his mother said, “and believe me, I’m being selfish. I’d like nothing better than to have your company for the next few months.”

  “I would enjoy that, too,” Elizabeth said with all the warmth Gideon could have wanted.

  She didn’t show any of that warmth to him, though. The ladies retired so David and Gideon could enjoy some brandy, but David was in a hurry to rejoin his beloved, so they didn’t linger. In the parlor, Mrs. Vanderslice had set up a card table with four places. Since there were five of them without Anna, Gideon wondered who would sit out until Elizabeth excused herself to pack her things. The ladies had apparently decided she should leave that very night. She’d take just one bag this evening and they’d send the rest of her things over in the morning.

  She must have spent some time with Anna, too, because she didn’t return until it was time to leave. Even then, she refused to meet his eye, and he sensed her anger, even though she took pains to hide it from everyone else.

  “I’m so sorry to see you go,” Mrs. Vanderslice said as Elizabeth kissed her cheek. “But I suppose we’ll see you tomorrow in any case.”

  “Oh, yes. Anna and I have our outing all planned.”

  “Then you must dine with us tomorrow evening, too,” David said.

  She gave him her hand and a dazzling smile that made Gideon grit his teeth. “Of course I will. Until tomorrow.”

  “Take good care of her, old friend,” David said to Gideon, slapping him on the back.

  Gideon intended to.

  Then they were ready. The Bateses’ home was only two blocks away, so they were going to walk. Gideon picked up Elizabeth’s suitcase and almost staggered under its weight. Could she have put rocks in it?

  “Are you sur
e you can manage that, Mr. Bates?” she asked sweetly.

  “Oh yes.” He was gritting his teeth again. Sometimes getting what you wanted wasn’t such a good thing.

  • • •

  Gideon hadn’t expected to see Elizabeth at breakfast the next morning, but she was already at the table when he came down. She looked fresh and beautiful until she saw him. Then she looked fresh and beautiful and angry.

  “Good morning,” he said, determined not to notice her hostility. “This is a delightful change. Usually, all I have to look at in the morning is the newspaper.”

  She completely ignored his implied compliment. “I need to send a telegram this morning.”

  “All right,” he said, nonplussed. “Just write out the message, and I’ll be glad to send it on my way to my office.”

  “I would prefer to send it myself, but after what happened the other day, your mother suggested I ask you to escort me to the telegraph office.” The Vanderslices had told them at dinner yesterday how Elizabeth had become lost when she’d tried to send a telegram. He couldn’t blame her for not wanting to repeat that unpleasant experience, and he was grateful for an opportunity to spend a little time with her, even if he was a bit disgruntled to learn she didn’t trust him with her messages.

  “I’d be happy to escort you. It’s right on my way. I suppose you want to give your aunt the happy news of your engagement,” he said in an attempt at conversation.

  “Thank you.” She rose from her seat. “I’ll be waiting in the parlor.”

  Gideon’s face burned with humiliation as he watched her leave. Only then did he notice the remains of her breakfast. She’d made sure to be finished before he came down. If he thought he could win her away from David by having her here, he was obviously going to have to work a lot harder than he’d expected.

  By the time he’d finished his own breakfast, he’d given the matter a bit more thought, and now he had a completely new question: why was Elizabeth so angry with him for taking her away from the Vanderslices?

  Could he have misjudged? Was she really madly in love with David and furious at being parted from him? Was he just an infatuated fool for thinking otherwise?