“Are you sure you don’t want to come to dinner?” Lucy pleaded as Will walked her out of the building to see her safely to the carriage.
He chuckled and raised a finger dotted in blue. “Your parents still are not quite sure what to make of me. Let’s give them some time to recover from having me at their table twice already this week.”
“Will I see you tomorrow?”
“The moment I can leave the office. I do have to catch up on a few things.”
He glanced around, then kissed her just as Archie opened the door to her carriage. She would rather have been looking for the streetcar, but Will insisted she not put herself in situations where she could be caught off guard. Archie’s instructions from Samuel Banning himself were to wait for Lucy as long as necessary.
Lucy entered the front door and, as usual, put her things down on the foyer table.
“Oh, there you are,” Flora said, coming from the parlor. “Finally!”
“I know I’m late, but I promise I’ll be changed in time for dinner,” Lucy assured her mother. By now Charlotte would have already laid out a gown to replace the sporty-looking brown broadcloth suit Lucy had chosen for a day at St. Andrew’s.
“Irene telephoned,” Flora said. “She wants to know if you’ve seen Daniel.”
“Why would I see Daniel? After what happened the other day—”
“That’s just it,” Flora said. “After what happened the other day, it seems no one has seen him at all. He never went home that night. Irene and Howard assumed he stayed here. Today they discovered that he hasn’t been to the bank since Monday. Yesterday he missed a critical meeting with a new manufacturer the bank managers were counting on him to woo.”
“Slow down, Mother,” Lucy said. “Are you sure no one has seen him? Not since I saw him on Tuesday?”
“He hasn’t been here, he hasn’t been home to Riverside, and he hasn’t been to the bank. That’s what I’m saying. His poor parents are out of their minds with worry.”
Lucy turned her palms up. “I haven’t seen him nor heard from him.”
Flora gave an exasperated sigh, and Lucy started up the stairs. She didn’t know what her mother expected she could do, and frankly, she was relieved not to have any notion of Daniel’s whereabouts.
As she expected, Lucy found a gown and accessories laid out on the bed. The damask fabric was overlaid with netting in the bodice and embroidered with delicate flowers in three shades of pink. Charlotte had chosen a silver locket to accent the scooped neckline, and Lucy was pleased with the selection. However, the dress included tiny buttons in two rows up the back, so Lucy would need help. She pressed the annunciator button to inquire if Mrs. Fletcher might spare Charlotte from the kitchen.
When the maid entered, she smirked playfully. “Mrs. Fletcher is none too pleased with my being pulled away so close to serving time.”
“We’ll be quick,” Lucy promised, stepping out of her skirt. “Just get me buttoned up.”
Charlotte picked up the gown from the bed and held it ready for Lucy to step into. “Did you see Mr. Edwards today?”
“I just left him. That’s why I’m so late.”
“I’ve been thinking, Miss Lucy,” Charlotte said quietly.
“About what?”
“About you and Mr. Edwards. I don’t want to be between you.”
“What do you mean?”
“The baby. And what you’ve done to help me. I’ve decided that if you trust Mr. Edwards, then I trust him.”
Lucy swiveled to look her maid in the eye. “Are you sure?”
Charlotte nodded, then moved behind Lucy once again to tackle the buttons. “Your mother has been full of questions today.” She pushed the first stubborn bead through its loop.
“Do you mean about Daniel? She waylaid me the minute I walked in the door.”
“I think she’s worried.”
“She loves Daniel,” Lucy said simply. “Apparently his mother telephoned.”
“I heard Mrs. Banning take the call. Mrs. Jules sounded frantic. It was all your mother could do to calm her down enough to understand the problem.”
“Daniel will turn up, and when he does he’ll have an explanation. He always has an answer.”
Charlotte was silent and tugged at three more loops.
“What is it?” Lucy prodded. “I can tell when you have something on your mind.”
Charlotte shrugged. “Has he ever gone missing before?”
“Well, no, not to my knowledge.”
“Then something could be wrong. When Mr. Edwards went missing, you were frantic yourself.”
“That’s different. Will and I have come to care for each other.” To love each other. “I was worried something had happened to him.”
“That’s how Mrs. Jules feels—and your mother. He’s gone missing and they don’t know if he’s going to be all right.”
“It does seem irresponsible of him not to inform the bank of his plans,” Lucy admitted. “And he looked positively frightful the other day.”
“So you can understand why they’re worried.”
Lucy tugged at the shoulders of her gown. “Charlotte, get me out of this monstrosity.”
“Miss Lucy!”
“I know where Daniel is,” Lucy said. “Tell Archie to get the big carriage ready, and two horses. Quick, undo those buttons!”
Minutes later Lucy was downstairs again in her brown suit and a warm cloak and flying out the front door. “Archie, take me back to St. Andrew’s. That place really needs to get a telephone.”
At the orphanage, Lucy jumped out of the carriage without waiting for Archie to open the door and ran into the dining room.
“Oh, good, you’re still here,” she said when she spotted Will cleaning brushes. “I need you. Daniel is missing and I know where he is.”
Will looked skeptical. “Lucy, can’t someone else find him? Are you sure you want to put yourself in his path?”
“I decided not to marry Daniel, but that doesn’t mean he’s the enemy,” Lucy said. “I grew up with him and was engaged to him. I know him better than anyone else. He needs help. If you’re with me, I know I’ll be all right.”
She held her breath, willing him to speak.
“Of course I’ll come.”
At Lucy’s urging, Archie kept the horses moving at a canter, especially after they left the confines of Chicago traffic.
“You really believe he’s at the lake house?” Will asked.
“He loves it up there. He always said he could think clearly when he was there.” She hesitated to say more. “It’s where we first kissed, and where we first talked about getting married.”
“And he proposed there last summer. Leo told me about the Fourth of July hoopla.”
“Daniel adores his work at the bank, and he loves Chicago. But if he is going to disappear anywhere, it’s going to be at their lake house.”
“Which is right next to your family’s lake house.”
“I’m worried about him, Will. It would be easy to put him out of my mind after the way he’s been behaving, but what if he can’t help it? What if he’s truly not himself? How can I walk away from him?”
Will put his arm around Lucy and squeezed her shoulder. “You can’t. This is the right thing to do.”
“It’s at least a three-hour trip. We usually make this journey in daylight. The roads are not well lit.”
“It’s nearly a full moon,” Will said. “That will help.”
They cantered through the communities that had sprung up north of Chicago. Ravenswood, Lincolnwood, Wilmette, Northbrook, Highland Park. The burgeoning web of railroad tracks allowed people to live in outlying areas and still enjoy the benefits of being near Chicago. Gradually, though, the towns grew more rural, hugging the shore of Lake Michigan between Chicago and Waukegan.
Two lanterns hung from the front of the carriage, lighting the road before them as it narrowed and curved through the thick trees. When they passed through Lake Forest, the
last town before the stretch of exclusive lakefront property where the Bannings and Juleses owned land, Lucy leaned forward, feeling her pulse race.
“I hadn’t realized how black the sky is away from Chicago,” Lucy said. “The view of the lake is spectacular, though it will be hard to see much tonight. I always imagined bringing you up here on a fine summer day, not the middle of a frigid night.”
“We’re here for Daniel,” Will said, “not the view.”
Finally Archie slowed the carriage and turned on a familiar lane. Lucy knew where the ruts were on this road and braced herself by gripping the carriage seat.
“Can you hear the lake?” Lucy asked, cocking her head to listen to the water slapping the ridge of rocks at the end of the lane. “We’re almost there.”
The carriage stopped behind two houses with floor plans that mirrored each other.
Will gave a low whistle. “Those structures are not exactly rustic cabins.”
“We bring most of the household staff when we come,” Lucy explained. “We share the pier between the two houses.”
Will reached across Lucy’s lap and pulled on the door handle just as Archie appeared to open the door from the outside.
“Shall we check the house first?” Will suggested.
“All right,” Lucy said. “Archie, perhaps you’d better come with us.”
“Yes, miss.”
“And bring a lantern.”
“Yes, miss.” Archie unhooked one of the lanterns from the front of the carriage and turned toward the path.
Will grabbed the other lantern. “Better safe than sorry.”
Will led the way and Lucy crept behind in the shifting yellow sliver of light. Archie followed.
Lucy stopped abruptly and slapped herself on the forehead. “I didn’t think about the keys. He might have locked himself in. We have a man up here who looks after the place in the off-season and has everything ready when we come. I have no idea where to find him.”
“One thing at a time.” Will led her forward. When they reached the Juleses’ house, Will gripped the handle on the main door. It gave. “We’re in. Do you have electric lights up here?”
“No,” Lucy answered. “Gas lamps, but they’d have to be lit. There’s no central line.”
The trio huddled in the main sitting room, peering into darkness by the lanterns’ twin shafts of light. Lucy noticed nothing out of place.
“Would he be sitting somewhere in the dark, do you think?” Will asked.
“Daniel!” Lucy called at the top of her lungs. “Daniel, are you here?”
No answer. “We’ll have to check every room,” Lucy said. “Archie, you check the downstairs rooms. Mr. Edwards and I will go upstairs. Be sure to check the closets and large cupboards.”
“Yes, miss.” Archie turned toward the kitchen, his lantern hanging from an arm extended straight in front of him.
Lucy led Will to the stairs, and they climbed together holding hands, listening for a stray creak from the rooms above them. “Daniel!” Lucy called every few steps.
They pushed open one door after another and found nothing. Everything was as it had been when the house was closed up in September. The bedding was stripped off and packed away, and long cloths kept the dust off the furniture, which seemed to have contorted itself into ominous shadows.
“I don’t see any sign anyone has been here,” Will said finally. “No tracks in the dust, nothing uncovered.”
“No, he’s not up here,” Lucy agreed. “Nothing has been disturbed.”
They made their way back downstairs, where Archie shook his head.
“We’ll check outside,” Lucy said. Then suddenly, “The pier! Why didn’t I think of that sooner?” She quickened her steps toward the door facing the lake and stepped out onto the railed porch that wrapped around the back of the house.
Will was right behind her. “Look,” he said, pointing. “Blankets.”
Lucy gasped. “The nights are freezing up here at this time of year. If he’s been sleeping outside—”
“Miss Lucy!” Archie exclaimed, lifting his lantern.
On the pier she saw a silhouette in the nearly full moonlight, squatting with his arms wrapped around his knees and wearing no coat.
“Daniel,” she whispered. “Oh, Daniel, what happened to you?”
They moved closer as quietly as possible, stepping off the porch and onto the still icy path that led to the pier. Away from the house and trees, the moon’s light bounced off ice and water. The wind gusted, and the lake’s laps morphed into waves crashing against the rocks on the shoreline. Lucy put a hand on Will’s arm to stop him when they reached the pier entrance.
“I’d better go alone,” she said. “I’m not sure how he’ll react if he sees you.”
“It’s unsafe, Lucy,” Will insisted.
She shook her head. “I don’t think so. I’m not afraid.”
Will studied her face in the lantern’s light and leaned in to kiss her forehead. Finally he said, “At least take the light. I’ll be watching every minute.”
Lucy nodded and took the lantern from Will’s hands. The wooden slats of the pier creaked beneath her feet, as she knew they would. She walked slowly enough that the sounds should not alarm Daniel. He sat motionless, staring at the churning waters, and showed no reaction when Lucy stood behind him.
“Daniel.” She laid a hand on his shoulder. “I’ve come for you.”
“I wonder what it would be like to just slide off the pier into the lake,” he said matter-of-factly. “The brushes would be lathered in black and shades of blue, and frosty bits of white in shapes that have no names.”
What is he talking about? “That sounds like a lovely painting, Daniel. Maybe you should take up your art again. It’s not too late.”
“But I would be in the lake,” he said, “and I could not keep the canvas dry.”
“So you want to be in the painting?” Lucy guessed.
“I want to be in the lake.”
“The lake is icy at this time of year. You know that.”
“It won’t matter.”
He still had not looked at her.
“What won’t matter, Daniel?” As she spoke, Lucy glanced at Will.
Daniel unfolded his legs from underneath him, scooting away from her touch to dangle his feet over the side of the pier. “None of it matters.”
“Let’s go back to the house, Daniel. We’ll talk and get you warm.”
“But I’m not cold. I should have my shoes on. It would be faster that way.”
Lucy realized for the first time that Daniel’s feet were bare and scratched. She glanced at Will and Archie again, relieved that Will understood her silent plea and moved forward cautiously. Lucy sucked in her breath and lowered herself to sit beside Daniel at the end of the pier. She set the lantern within easy reach and put an arm around his shoulders.
“We used to sit like this when I was little.” Calmly, she moved her free hand to take one of his. “I was amazed at how much you knew about the lake. What kind of fish swim around here, what weather makes the biggest waves, how to tack and turn a boat in the wind.”
“Some green.”
“Green?” Lucy echoed.
“Black and blue and green.”
“Yes, of course, the algae on the rocks,” Lucy supplied. She did not dare turn her head to check Will’s progress. “And you always knew the constellations. I’ve forgotten most of them. You’ll have to teach me again, and I promise to be a better student this time.”
Finally Daniel’s head cranked toward Lucy. “No. I’m not going to do that.” He turned his gaze back to the swirling lake.
“All right. Of course you don’t have to.”
At last the sound of creaking boards grew closer. Behind her, Lucy felt the presence of men’s shoes, and a moment later Will and Archie gripped Daniel by the elbows and helped him to his feet. He did not resist them. Huddled and tangled, the four of them moved away from the end of the pier and toward
the house.
“There’s no telephone here. I think we should go straight home,” Lucy whispered, and Will and Archie nodded. Together they steered Daniel directly to the carriage.
34
For the first hour, Daniel sat erect and stared at Will across the carriage, while Lucy sat next to Daniel and held his hand. By one in the morning, though, the trotting sway of the carriage had lulled him to sleep, his head bobbing gently against Lucy’s shoulder.
“You did a wonderful thing.” Will spoke in the hushed deep tones of night.
“I couldn’t have done it without you.”
“All that mumbo jumbo about being in the lake. If you hadn’t been there and he slid off the pier . . .”
“Let’s not focus on that. He’s ill. I don’t understand the mind as well as I’d like to, but I know this is not the real Daniel, and I want to believe he can get better again.”
“You were the first to understand something was wrong.”
“I should have seen it sooner. I was too busy avoiding the reality that I had to break our engagement.” She glanced down at Daniel’s chest rising and falling.
“He began taking your father’s things long before you decided not to marry him. None of this is your fault.”
“I know. It’s no one’s fault.” She paused, then added, “Will, there’s something else I need to tell you about.”
“I’ve had a feeling there might be. Something about your ladies’ maid?”
Lucy’s eyes widened. “How did you know?”
“Because I’ve come to know you well, Lucy Banning, and I can tell when your heart is torn up about something.”
“She has a baby and I’ve been helping to hide him.” Lucy spoke in clip-clop rhythm set by the horses. “Daniel was on the verge of finding out. On the one hand I’ve been relieved not to see him these last few days. On the other hand, I’ve been on pins and needles wondering what he might do if he discovered the baby.”
The Pursuit of Lucy Banning,A Novel (Avenue of Dreams) Page 23