“Has one of his bitches come here to find him? No, no that is not a whore, she looks like a lady. What does she want with Richard? Oh, the bank, maybe. Or a lawyer, that dumb man Syntoll. But what is she doing here?”
The spider awoke and moved further back into the corner as the movement and sounds came close to it. “I don’t like all this light,” the spider thought. “I need the darkness. My own home.” She moved cautiously out of the corner of the window as Carlene reached for the bellpull to call Minna. The spider’s legs rushed over the sill and down, down beneath the top of the desk until it found shadows shading into darkness, then she rested briefly. When she had adjusted to the darkness, she could take her time finding her future home, her nest for her babies. “There are so many wonderful places here.” And she began to spin the web she would need for sustenance. After long hours it would be connected to several things which gave her more avenues for search. She rested. And waited.
Carlene rang for Minna and waited, and as she waited she could hear the voices through the open window, but not clearly.
Yinyang was arriving.
she had watched the men watching her approach; Yin spoke first, “Good morning.”
Mr. Befoe nodded, saying, “Good morning.” Mr. Creed just nodded.
She stepped up on the first step. “I am … my name is Yinyang Krupt. I am here to find … inquire about,” her voice grew strong, “my house. I understand …”
Mr. Befoe nodded again, “Yes, I know the house, certainly. I think we’ve been taking care of the place, taxes, yard work.”
Yin thought, “You know you haven’t.” But said, “Well, sir, I intend to pay you … all you have spent on my house and the land.” She decided to smile, thinking, “Hell, what does a smile hurt?”
Richard Befoe smiled. “Mrs.? Krupt.”
“Miss.”
“Well, Miss Krupt, I have a law office here in town, I keep my records there. There is an attorney there, Syntoll. He will help you find out …”
Yin continued to smile in what she thought a business manner, “I’ve already spoken to him, he said I must see Mr. Befoe because he keeps all the records here at his home.”
Richard frowned, he didn’t care for Mr. Syntoll anyway. He talked too much without knowing what he was doing. Richard already had an older, more settled and experienced man in mind, a recent widower, who would be willing to take Syntoll’s place and live in such a place as Yoville. But now, he said, “Did he now?” looking at Yin’s clear and lovely smile.
“Yes. I have looked at my place, Mr.…?”
“Befoe. Richard Befoe.”
“Mr. Befoe, I have looked at my place and there does not seem to have been a great deal of money spent on it.”
“Well, ten years is a long time.”
Yin looked down for a moment, then up at Richard, still smiling agreeably, “I don’t count money in years, I count money in dollars.”
Richard Befoe laughed, his laughter surprised him, and Creed. “What do you intend to do with the place, Miss Krupt? Do you wish to sell it?”
Yin stopped smiling. “Do you wish to buy it?”
Richard was indifferent, “Well, no, there really is quite a bit too much wrong with the place, and then what would anybody want with it?”
Yin smiled lightly. “Good! Because I plan to live there again. It is my home. And since you know it needs so much, then I can’t owe too much to reimburse you for all you have spent.”
Creed looked down at his foot and laughed silently. Richard glared at him and then laughed out loud. “The early bird gets the worm.”
Creed shook his head, “Yea, but the worm was early too, what does he get? Sides gotten?”
Richard looked back to Yin. “I don’t think it will be too much, I’ll look into it and let you know.” His eyes appraised her. Satisfied and curious. She smiled fully, feeling a bit relaxed.
Minna came out of the house and approached them, saying, “Mrs. Befoe say who is the visitor?”
Richard answered, “Yinyang Krupt, her old friend’s daughter.” Minna left, but returned shortly. “Mrs. Befoe say have Mrs. Krupt come up to her, please.”
carlene was still sitting at her desk going through her mail when Yin was ushered in by Minna. She looked up briefly, nodded, looked back at the mail and said, “Have a seat, Mrs. Krupt. It is Mrs.? Or Miss?”
Yin sat in the seat across from the desk instead of the one beside it. “Miss.”
Carlene lay her hand on the desk, “Such a handsome young woman and still unmarried? Or widowed?”
Yin said nothing. She crossed her hands on her lap and waited. Carlene Befoe put her mail down with a sigh. “Invitations. Everyone seems to be having fun.”
Yin smiled slightly. “It is nice to be included in their pleasure.”
Carlene sighed again. “I probably will not go. The yacht trip sounds interesting, but …” She looked directly at Yin. “I remember your mother. We were … friends. She met your … her husband here in this house. Oh, and I have wondered for years whatever became of a very beautiful diamond ring I … loaned her, which she never returned. And then she passed away and I never got my ring back. Do you know of it?”
Yin was a little angry but controlled it. “I seem to remember a ring my mother wore sometimes, but the one I remember was hers.”
Carlene picked up the invitations again. “Are you sure?” When Yin did not answer, Carlene looked at her again, smiling. “Yes, the yacht trip sounds good to me, such a beautiful way to travel.”
“You should go. It is a beautiful time of year.”
“Oh, the date is almost a year away. You know how you have to plan that sort of thing early, there is so much to do to prepare for it. But … I’m sure I won’t go. I have a bad hip. Gives me problems. Rocking on a boat for two weeks would not be attractive to me.”
Yin thought the pain might be what made Mrs. Befoe so discourteous, she felt sorry for her. “You look very well. Surely the hip will not hurt long.”
Carlene said dryly, “It hurts almost all the time now. Even if I stay in bed, off my feet.”
“To stay in bed is not the best thing for that, I don’t think. You should use it, exercise it.”
Carlene looked up, interested, laying the mail down again. “You sound as though you are a nurse … or something.”
Yin smiled. “I know a bit about it. I … once nursed a … friend with similar problems.” She wanted to change the conversation before this woman started with her crude questions. “Mrs. Befoe, I am here to acquire information regarding my house.”
“The Krupt house?”
“Yes, my house.”
Carlene was silent a moment. “You resemble your mother. I knew her quite well, before the questionable death of your … the Krupts.”
“Questionable?”
“Yes, questionable. They could both die of their … ailments, but at the same time?”
Yin looked down at her hands. “I know nothing of that. I was a child. I was … sent away before their deaths.”
“Oh? Where on earth to?”
“New Orleans.”
“So, Virginia had relatives in New Orleans?”
“I was sent away to school.”
Carlene was silent again for a moment. “Yes, school. There are certainly none worth attending here in Yoville. You’ve been gone about fifteen years or more.”
“Yes. And I would like to know about my house and land. What is the amount required to pay you back?”
Carlene mused, “The bank is the lender.”
“I understand Befoe is the bank. How much to pay to the bank then?”
“Did you speak to Mr. Befoe about this?”
“Yes, that is what I was doing when you … when I was brought up here to you.”
“What did he say?”
“He said it would be checked into. It couldn’t be very much.”
“I don’t know why he said it couldn’t be very much.” Carlene turned to her mail agai
n.
“Because it is obvious that very little has been done to the house or the yard … in fifteen years.”
Carlene’s face was serious when she turned to Yinyang. “Well, then … it will be looked into. Where are you staying? Will you be going back to New Orleans until the matter is cleared up?”
“No. I intend to be here, to help clear it up. I intend to live in my home. I am presently staying at the … hotel? with Mrs. Whitman.”
Carlene laughed a little. “That must be charming,” she said with sarcasm.
Yin smiled but did not laugh. “That is why I am impatient to move into my own house.”
“It needs a great deal of repair. Do you … work?”
Yin hesitated. “I can … teach.”
“And … you can nurse.”
Yin shook her head. “No, there are just some things I know.”
“Doctor Dont might need someone like you.”
“I am not seeking employment.”
Carlene smiled. “Tell me more about my hip. What is better for it?”
Now Yin smiled. “Well, massage works wonders for bones and muscles.”
“Do you do that also?”
Yin’s smile faded. “I have done it … for my friend.”
“Was your friend a man?”
“No, I hardly think I would do it for a man. I have never been married.”
“But you would for a woman?”
Yin fidgeted with her hands. “If … she were my friend.”
“Well, then … we shall try to be friends … at least friendly. I did know your mother, you remember. And you will be needing some funds, if you intend to fix that old house up. I can pay you.”
Yin’s voice was a bit strained. “Simply help me by giving me the information about my house, and I will pay you.”
Carlene’s voice hardened a bit. “You seem not to want to help me.”
“What I really want, Mrs. Befoe, is to acquire my house, repair it and move in.”
Carlene ignored that. “What else have you been doing all these years?”
Yin spoke clearly. “Someday, when I am all settled, I shall come for tea and we can chat. Now … I am solely interested in …”
“Your house.”
“Yes.”
Carlene was silent a moment. “How do I know you are the heir?”
“There is no other. Of course, you know.”
Carlene looked at Yin a long moment, taking in the clothes, hat and shoes. “You have certainly not suffered.”
“Was I supposed to?”
“You are impertinent.”
“I am impatient. I do not wish to remain where I am any longer than I have to!”
Carlene tilted her head, saying, “We have a guest room. Upstairs near my sister Sally’s room. You could stay there.”
“Then you do not think it will be long before my business is cleared up and I can get settled in my house?”
Carlene laughed lightly. “What I am thinking of is my hip … and what you may know to help it. The massage. The exercise.”
“Mrs. Befoe, there are doctors all over the world that can help you.”
“I do not like to travel in pain.”
“They would come to you. You are rich.”
“One trip. One short trip at a time. That would hardly be significant enough to do any real good. You, on the other hand, will be here.”
“Will I?”
They looked at each other a moment. Carlene thought, “This might be the one who can excite Richard to his death.”
Yinyang was thinking, “It would be so easy for us to conclude our business. Did she dislike my mother so much? Why? What is it this woman wants from me?”
Yin was not foolish enough to believe that Carlene liked her for herself or that Carlene really wanted to help her, even in return for help with her hip. Yin thought of her last experience with Miss Will and concluded, “It is not sex; Mrs. Befoe nor I are lesbians. I don’t think.” She looked in Carlene’s eyes and saw Carlene studying her in return. “But she wants me for something. Well, I want a rich husband. And a yacht trip. Who will be on that yacht?”
Finally Carlene said, “I see you can only think of your house. I can understand that, although I have never been without one.”
Yin spoke softly, “The cost … please?”
“Two hundred dollars. That’s less than twenty dollars a year for keeping the brush back and other little sundry things that have been done.”
“That was not all done for me, that must have been done for you. I will give you one hundred dollars.”
“You are indeed impertinent. And you are asking the favor!”
“Mrs. Befoe, I will have a great deal to do to prepare the house for living.”
“That is for you. Not for me.” Carlene was enjoying herself. She laughed.
Yin laughed, too. “I will give you, if it pleases you, one hundred dollars plus a massage for your hips. I will even teach your maid how to do it for you.”
“Accepted. There, see, my soft heart ever defeats me. I can not be hard, no matter how I try.”
“Your heart knows.”
Carlene looked at Yin to see if she meant more than she said. Then, “You may go now to fetch your things.”
Yin rose from the chair. “I have not decided I shall live here as a guest. I will think about it.”
“Nonsense. It’s all settled. I will have Minna arrange for your things to be delivered.”
Yin, standing, said, “Mrs. Befoe, I appreciate your … kindness. But we must understand, I do all the decision making for myself. I am not seeking employment. I was not seeking a room. I am doing a favor in kind. I will not be a servant here.”
“Why certainly, of course. Whatever makes you think I would want to run anyone’s life? Or make their decisions? I’ve enough to do already. So you will direct your life yourself. But … I direct this house. I will have rooms prepared for you upstairs near my sister. It will be ready … if you decide to be my guest.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Befoe. Now, while I am gone to take care of more of my business, would you arrange to take a very long, hot bath? Soak in it for at least an hour. Then I shall do my best for you with a massage.”
Yin left, led by Minna. She passed the gentlemen, Mr. Befoe and Creed, still on the front terrace. Richard smiled at her, saying, “Ahhh, you have met my wife.”
Yin smiled back. “I have met your wife. I have seen your lovely home. I have much to do to my own home.”
Creed spoke, “I am right handy with hammer and nails and paint. I know a good yard man, too.”
Yin laughed. “Will they work for slave labor?”
Creed smiled. “Ain’t none of them around now. But we’d give you a good price. Fair price.”
Yin smiled down at Creed. “Mr. Befoe will know how to find you?”
Richard said, “He will give you his address himself.”
At last, Yin smiled and walked away, haughty and sassy, head held high. Both men watched her. Creed was smiling. Richard was not. He was thoughtful.
yin saw the lawyer Syntoll on her way back to the rooming house. She told him she had taken care of her business and to prepare papers stipulating payment of the one hundred dollars and medical assistance to Mrs. Befoe. He blinked his eyes in surprise as she continued, “I will pick them up in about one hour.”
“Well, Miss Krupt, I can bring them to you.”
“I will be living at the Befoes and I can pick them up on my way back there.”
His lip dropped. Mouth open, Mr. Syntoll watched her walk away briskly. “Well! That is that!”
If Yin had stayed alone at the rooming house, he might have visited her in the hope that a relationship would create itself. But her being in the Befoe household stopped his plans cold. She would now be occupying a space that would be too large for him, and it quite put him off.
She told Mrs. Whitman she would be moving. Mrs. Whitman placed umbrage on her face until the Befoe name came through
her consciousness. She had thought the lawyer Syntoll and Yin had made some headway toward a close relationship and that Yin was moving in with him. In her day, getting her husbands, Mrs. Whitman had done that several times. She was above that now, being too obviously old for it to work any longer. Now, her religion forbade anyone else to do it. The Befoe name stopped her thoughts. She immediately became obsequious.
Yin continued talking, “I do not wish to give up my room, though. I want to leave most of my things stored there.” She smiled and looked the woman in the eye. “I have inventory of everything I brought with me, so if anything is ever missing I will be able to let you know just what it is and we can retrieve them. I am sure your help is honest, I was rather thinking of other guests you may have. Now! That reduces the cost for meals and hot water. So I will pay you for the room only, by the week. Occasionally I may sleep here in my rooms.”
Yin packed a few things in a smaller bag and Tillis arranged to take her to the Befoes’ great house. As she rode in the wagon-carriage Yin prayed, “Please, God, let me work a miracle. Let my fingers remember.”
Satan smiled in amusement. “I will be there with some suggestions to make, little one.”
chapter
25
minna brought the refill for Mr. Befoe’s prescription to Carlene, who closed her door herself and settled down to emptying the real medicine out and replacing it with the salt. It was a tedious job, time consuming. When Minna knocked on her door to say the hot water was ready, Carlene gave a sigh of disgust. She did not want to keep the hot water waiting so she covered the vials and packets with a towel. No one used her bathroom but herself, the medicine work could wait a little while. Then she told Minna to prepare her bath. She intended to hurry the bath soaking only a little, but the water felt good to her aching hips and legs. In fact, she lay there so long that Yin was already settled in her new room and ready to do the massage.
In Search of Satisfaction Page 19