Annie marveled at her light tone, because she knew her young sister-in-law had a tender heart. She guessed that since Laura didn’t personally know any of the people involved, none of it was real to her. But her speculations pretty much fit what the police were thinking had happened, bolstered by the fact that the pattern of bruising over Marie’s mouth and nose, caused by whatever had been used to suffocate her, matched the beading on Madame Villeneuve’s purse.
Nate said, “What is inexplicable to me is how little remorse she showed in the note she left for her husband. The only thing she seemed sorry about was that her death was going to deprive San Francisco women of their hats.”
“Nate, you’re not serious?” Laura cried, the bays flicking their ears back in mild alarm.
“Keep your mind on your horses, Laura,” Nate said. “But I am serious. Sergeant Thompson showed us the note. She felt that Marie Fournier was not a good mother, and when her husband told her that Marie had changed her mind about the adoption, Madame Villeneuve considered that was reason enough to remove her as an impediment.”
Annie added, “The sergeant told us he’d encountered people like that before. They see everything from their own perspective. Doesn’t mean they can’t be charming…but always to their own ends.”
“I don’t understand why she would try to kill the child she wanted so badly, and herself.” Laura shook her head but kept her eyes on the road.
“Kathleen told me that Madame Villeneuve sounded like a petulant child, saying if I can’t have Emmaline, nobody can. But I wonder if she really intended to kill either herself or Emmaline. Miss Birdsoll confided to me that she’d heard Madame threaten suicide before when she wanted her husband to do something and that she was furious Monsieur told her that he no longer supported the idea of becoming Emmaline’s guardian, much less adopting her.”
“Because he suspected his wife killed Emmaline’s mother?”
“He says not,” said Nate. “He told Thompson that when Annie told Livingston about the possibility that Emmaline could have living relatives on her paternal side, he decided a long drawn-out legal process would be too hard on his wife. However, I think the fact that Emmaline was unwilling to sleep in their apartment and his wife’s lack of sensitivity to the girl’s discomfort played a role.”
Laura slowed the horses and pulled to the side of the road to let a faster two-seater pass them. “So, Annie, if you think she never intended to give enough laudanum to Emmaline to kill her, does this mean she made a mistake and took too much herself?”
“It’s possible.”
What Annie didn’t say was she couldn’t dismiss the suspicion that it was Monsieur, not Madame, who’d administered the fatal dose once he was sure his wife was a murderer. But she was keeping that thought to herself.
“I hate to say it, but this Madame Villeneuve reminds me of Mrs. Kemper. Not that I think she’s a killer,” added Laura. “It’s just the way Mrs. Kemper never seems to think of anybody but herself, and she makes a big scene to get her own way. I never thought I would feel sorry for Violet, but I really do. Instead of her mother being embarrassed by the whole shoplifting incident, she’s made it all her daughter’s fault. She’s saying that Violet hurried her, so she got confused and forgot she’d not paid for the items.”
“Oh heavens, poor Violet,” Annie said.
“Alec confided to me that his mother’s done this before but that the frequency increased when he moved up to San Francisco this fall to go to university.”
“Why does he think she does it?” Nate asked, steadying himself and Annie by putting his right foot against the buckboard as the team increased their pace trying to catch the carriage that had passed them.
Annie knew that he’d already had to negotiate four shoplifting cases like Mrs. Kemper’s since Thanksgiving, and he said each was more puzzling than the last. Three well-to-do women and one old gentleman who stole nonsensical items when they had plenty of money on them to buy whatever they desired.
Laura replied, “He thinks his mother is bored. He used to spend a lot of time with her, going up to San Francisco to visit art galleries, shopping for new wallpaper or curtains, picking out material to reupholster the furniture in her constant redecorating schemes. And it is true that Violet always said that her brother inherited his artistic talents from his mother. I could see his absence would leave her at loose ends and feeling neglected.”
“Essentially he is saying she does it to get attention,” Nate said, sounding disgusted.
“He didn’t say that, exactly. But he did say that she seemed happier, more alive, after each shoplifting incident. As if the excitement over the possibility of getting caught, then the rousing fight she would have with her husband, temporarily relieved her boredom. And of course, she’s never really had to face the consequences of her actions.”
Annie nodded, thinking of the women she’d met in her life whose only pleasure seemed to come from exchanging malicious gossip in the daily rounds of “visiting,” or spending too much money on gaudy and unnecessary items for their already over-crowded homes, or setting up flirtations with other women’s husbands. In each case, it was a desire for something more than their usual lives provided them.
“So what is the solution? What does Mr. Kemper plan to do about his wife’s shoplifting?” Nate asked.
“Well, this is what peeves Violet the most. In her opinion, her mother is getting rewarded for her immoral behavior. After the holidays, Mr. Kemper is sending her on a tour of Europe for six months and Alec will accompany her. Of course, this is what he’s always wanted to do, so he is glad to postpone his course work until next year.”
“Oh, good heavens,” Nate exclaimed. “Well, at least I am not going to have to worry about legally representing her when she gets caught stealing from Le Bon Marché in Paris.”
“I suppose all’s well that ends well,” said Laura as she drove by a neighbor’s carriage, waving merrily. “Speaking of ending well, who would have imagined that Marie Fournier’s mystery lover was actually the younger brother that Miss Minnie is always going on and on about? Isn’t it great that Emmaline really does have family to help take care of her? Is she going to live in the boarding house with the old ladies?”
“Actually, thanks to a very astute suggestion by Annie, an even better scheme is being hatched. Mr. Livingston has asked Miss Minnie and Miss Millie to work for him as his chief designers to replace Mrs. Fournier, promising to open up a storeroom next to Emmaline’s rooms so that they can live with Emmaline and her governess on the fifth floor of the Silver Strike. This means they can concentrate on design work, be close to Emmaline, and spare their old eyes and fingers the difficult sewing work.”
Laura said, “Oh that’s perfect! But won’t it be awkward for Emmaline to live across from the Villeneuve’s apartment? I mean, such bad memories.”
“One thing that will help is that Monsieur Villeneuve is taking off for Europe on a buying tour for the company, and he will get different accommodations for himself when he returns. So Mr. Livingston has asked Mr. Gower to take up the position of Superintendent, and he and his wife are to move into the Villeneuve’s old apartment. But we did ask Emmaline if she would prefer to live at the boarding house, at Mr. Livingston’s, or in her old rooms, and she was very adamant that she wanted to stay in her old rooms, especially if the Moffets were coming with her. It is touching how attached she’s become in just two days to them, particularly to Miss Millie, who Jamie tells me talks to the girl all the time when adults aren’t around.”
“How extraordinary,” Laura said. “But what are you going to do about renting the two attic rooms?”
Annie said, “Well, we thought we might offer them to you, thinking it might be nice for you to have the work room as a study. Or you could see if one of your friends from the university wants to share the rooms with you. Save you both some money.”
Laura gasped and the horses started to trot faster until she remembered to pull up on the reins
a little. Once the team was back to their more sedate pace, she said, “Oh Annie, that would be lovely. And I do think I might ask Celia, who’s saved up to start the university in the spring term. You wouldn’t mind?”
Annie, who’d been amused by how Nate had placed his arm protectively around her waist during Laura’s exciting maneuver with the horses, whispered, “You tell her.”
Nate smiled and said, “Well, Laura, it seemed the sensible solution. Otherwise we were going to have to ask you to leave the boarding house. Either that or ask Harvey and Chapman to move out so you could have their room, because we need to turn your room into a proper nursery by June for when the baby comes.”
And this time, Annie’s clever husband was ready to reach over and grab the reins when his sister squealed, once again startling the horses.
The End
While Annie and Nate are visiting the ranch, Kathleen Hennessey is busy solving a mystery back in San Francisco. Check out Kathleen Catches a Killer, my newest novella in the Victorian San Francisco Mystery series.
Also make sure you’ve gotten your free copy of Victorian San Francisco Stories by signing up for my newsletter. You will also get notifications of any promotions or new publications. And I would suggest you also give my Paradisi Chronicles science fiction series, which has a similar blend of mystery and suspense, humor, and light romance found in my historicals….just set in the future rather than the past.
Other Works by Author
Victorian San Francisco Mystery Series
Maids of Misfortune (Book 1)
Uneasy Spirits (Book 2)
Bloody Lessons (Book 3)
Deadly Proof (Book 4)
Violet Vanquishes a Villain (Novella)
Pilfered Promises (Book 5)
Kathleen Catches a Killer (Novella)
Boxed Set (Books 1-4)
Dandy Delivers (Novella)
Scholarly Pursuits (Book 6) Fall 2018
* * *
Victorian San Francisco Stories
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Madam Sybil’s First Client
Dandy Detects
The Misses Moffet Mend a Marriage
Mr. Wong Rights a Wrong
Victorian San Francisco Stories (Collection)
* * *
Paradisi Chronicles series
* * *
Between Mountain and Sea (Caelestis Series Book 1)
Under Two Moons (Caelestis Series Book 2)
Through Ddaera’s Touch (Caelestis Series Book 3)
Caelestis Series Books 1-3 Plus Aelwyd
“Aelwyd: Home” in Chronicle Worlds: Paradisi
The Stars are Red Tonight (Canistro Series Book 1)
Information about all Locke’s works can be found at https://mlouisalocke.com To get notifications about promotions or new publications in either of her series, please sign up for her newsletter.
About the Author
M. Louisa Locke, a retired professor of U.S. and Women’s History, has embarked on a second career as a writer of historical mysteries and science fiction.
Her best-selling Victorian San Francisco Mystery series features Annie Fuller, a boarding house keeper who supplements her income as a clairvoyant and business consultant, and Nate Dawson, her lawyer beau. All the novels and short stories in this series explore the experiences of women who worked in San Francisco at the end of the 19th century, based on Dr. Locke's doctoral research.
Not just content with writing about the past, Locke has recently turned to writing about the future as one of the founders of the Paradisi Chronicles, an open-source science fiction world created by multiple-authors.
Locke is an active member of the Historical Fiction Authors Cooperative, and you can find more about her journey as an indie author and gain a deeper glimpse into the worlds of Victorian San Francisco and New Eden, Paradisi, if you check out her website at http://mlouisalocke.com/
If you enjoyed this book, please let the author know at [email protected]. Since positive word of mouth is crucial for any author to succeed, please consider writing a review. To get a free electronic copy of Locke’s short story collection, Victorian San Francisco Stories, and hear about new promotions and publications, go to her website and subscribe to her newsletter. Your email address will never be shared. Connect with the author @mlouisalocke online at: Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr, Instagram
Acknowledgments
Once again, I would like to express my appreciation to all the family and friends who gave their support during the research and writing of this book. I am particularly indebted to the numerous fans of the series whose encouragement was invaluable throughout the long writing process.
My beta readers have made this a better book than I could have achieved on my own, so thanks to Jim Brown, DeAnn Christian, Ann Elwood, Micheline Golden, Robin Harsh, Sally Hawkins, Casey Jones, Connie Leap, Abigail Padgett, Katie Ritter, and Joy Sobel.
I want to give special thanks to Michelle Huffaker who continues to produce such wonderful covers, and my editor, Jessica Meigs, who has the eye for detail I lack.
Two books in particular helped inform my research into 19th century department stores, Elaine S. Abelson’s When Ladies Go A-Thieving: Middle Class Shoplifters in the Victorian Department Store (Oxford University Press, 1989) and Ralph M. Hower’s History of Macy’s of New York 1858-1919: Chapters in the Evolution of the Department Store (Harvard University Press, 1943).
Finally, this book, as always, wouldn’t have been possible without the support of my loving husband Jim, and my daughter Ashley, who provide me the motivation to keep on writing.
Pilfered Promises Page 31