by Amy M. Reade
It was late in the afternoon when we arrived back at Hélène’s house. She insisted that we stay for dinner, and we were treated to a simple, delicious meal of grilled chicken, couscous, and roasted cauliflower. The lively, noisy dinner with Pete’s family was so different from the staid, formal meals at Summerplace. I enjoyed myself immensely and too soon it was time to return. Hélène and Colette made me promise to come back soon, and it was a promise I made happily.
I was once again clad in my puffy orange life jacket when we shoved off from the public dock and made our way back to Hallstead Island. We took no detours along the way and arrived quickly. It was becoming dusk, and I was getting chilly. My arms and legs were starting to ache again, though they hadn’t bothered me at all during our trip to Heather Island. Pete invited me to come up to his rooms over the boathouse for a little while, but as much as I wanted to accept, I was getting very tired and felt I should get some sleep if I were to be of any use to Alex the next day. Pete understood and walked me back to Summerplace, then kissed me good night. I went indoors and checked on Alex, then went straight to my room, where I fell asleep early after taking a nice, long bath.
That night I had a nightmare again, the one in which I was drowning under the branches of the leaning tree. Again I was thrashing in the water and couldn’t save myself. As was usual when I had a nightmare, I woke up in the middle of the night trembling and drenched in sweat. The dream was even more frightening since I had been in a similar situation the night before, wildly grasping a piling with all of my strength. Thankfully I was able to fall asleep again, although it took a couple of hours.
When I woke up in the morning, my body felt better but my mind was still tired, no doubt from the stress of my experience at the dock but also from the exhaustion I usually felt after one of my nightmares.
After breakfast, which I ate alone in the dining room, I went to see Alex. As usual, she was already up and dressed.
“Would you like to do some early morning exercises today?” I asked her.
“That’s a good idea,” she replied. “I’m expecting Will and Stephan back from New York later this morning, and Stephan and I need to meet to discuss some things.”
Alex and I worked in her sitting room for more than an hour before she went back to work. After she returned to her office, I went to the library to continue with the packing, and soon I heard Stephan and Will arrive. Shortly after their arrival they went into Alex’s office.
My concentration eventually started to wander, and I was becoming tired, so I went into the kitchen to make myself some tea. Sitting in the dining room while I waited for the water to boil, I was staring out the window at nothing in particular when Will walked in. He was startled to see me but smoothly recovered himself.
“How are you feeling?” he asked.
“Much better. Thank you again for helping me the other night.”
“No problem,” he mumbled. He walked to the sideboard and poured himself a cup of coffee.
No time like the present, I thought. I launched into the conversation I had been waiting to have. “Will, I’m glad you’re here. I wanted to ask you about something.”
He raised one eyebrow and looked at me suspiciously. “About what?”
I hadn’t really thought this through carefully because I hadn’t expected to run into Will yet, so I had to think quickly.
“Oh,” I answered breezily, “nothing much. Alex was telling me about her family, and she mentioned that you were good friends with your cousin, Diana, before her death. She thought that you two had argued before Diana died and she couldn’t remember what you argued about. It’s just stuck in her craw; that’s all,” I finished lamely. I groaned inwardly. I sounded ridiculous. Will looked at me evenly over the rim of his coffee mug.
“Alex can’t remember why Diana and I fought and now she wants you to find out?” he asked doubtfully.
“Yeah.” I laughed. “You know how some people are when they get older. It’s just something that she’s wondering about.”
“Well,” Will said slowly, leaning back in the chair he now occupied across from me, “I don’t think that’s any of Alex’s business. Or yours.”
I tried again. “It was so long ago,” I stated. “Can you even remember?”
“Oh, yes. I remember it quite well. Diana could be a real bitch sometimes.”
I was a little surprised by his choice of words. “Alex would like to remember; that’s all. I think it would give her some peace of mind.”
Will set down his coffee cup with a thud, and some of the coffee sloshed over the side. “Let me put it this way, Macy. The argument I had with Diana was between me and Diana. I’m not going to tell Alex, and I’m certainly not going to discuss it with some stranger she’s hired to play nursemaid.” He glared at me, his eyes flashing hatred.
I could feel my cheeks growing hot. “I was just trying to give Alex some peace of mind,” I answered quietly.
He pushed back his chair and stalked out of the room. I sat where I was for a few moments, though the teapot was whistling. Will wasn’t about to give me any information. Not only that, but I would have to be more careful about being alone with him in the future. He had already made it clear that he wanted me away from Hallstead Island, and his malevolence toward me seemed to be growing.
After I fixed my tea, I returned to the library. I needed to talk to Alex, but that would have to wait until her meeting with Stephan was over.
It wasn’t long before I saw Stephan walk past the library doors, and I hastened into Alex’s office.
“Alex, I hate to bother you, but I think there’s something we need to discuss.”
“Of course, Macy. What is it?”
“I’ve just spoken to Will about the argument he had with Diana before her death. He says he remembers the argument quite well, but he refused to share the details with me. What was their relationship like?”
Alex folded her hands thoughtfully. “Will and Diana were like brother and sister much of the time. They fought like cats once in a while, but truth be told, they were best friends.
“Will came to live with us as a boy after his parents were killed, as I’ve told you. We always tried to treat him as one of us. We wanted him to feel welcome and nurtured. But as I’ve told you before, Forrest and I spoiled Diana. We probably let her get away with too much. I’ve never spoken to Will about this, but there were probably times that Diana made him feel like an outsider in our family. I’m sure there were times that he was jealous of her. Forrest and I never treated him like an outsider, but Diana sometimes spoke of him like a visiting relative rather than a member of the family. We tried to discuss it with her a couple of times, but there was no changing her, so we never pursued it.” Alex sighed. “We should have.”
There was nothing I could say to that, so I asked her the question I had been turning over in my mind.
“Alex, do you think Will could have hurt Diana?”
She looked startled. “Oh, no. They really did love each other, despite their arguments.”
I wasn’t so sure. It must have shown in my face, because Alex insisted again, “They really did love each other.”
I nodded. “Okay.” I changed the subject. “What packing would you like me to work on today?”
“How about the painting supplies in the turret? I’ll ask Pete to bring you some storage boxes from the boathouse and you can start filling them.”
“Good idea,” I agreed and I left her, reminding her to lock the door behind me.
I worked through lunch and well into the afternoon packing supplies into boxes that Pete brought for me.
The evening passed uneventfully. Alex retired early, and Pete came up from the boathouse to visit me for a while. It would have been entirely pleasant except for the cloud of tension that hung over the house. Will had glowered at me all through dinner, and Alex had seemed distant, despite her announcement that the dinner party would be the next evening. Stephan, who was normally jovial, had b
een rather moody and quiet. Even he seemed to think that the dinner party should wait for another time.
Once Pete left, I got into bed. I slept well, but I woke up the next morning with a slight sense of apprehension about Alex’s dinner party. After breakfast I went in to see Alex, who was very keyed up. Her hands fluttered when she spoke and she seemed unfocused. Her demeanor surprised me, since she was normally so calm and in control. I suggested some therapy exercises just to help her get centered for the day ahead, but she refused. She wanted to work, she said, so I told her I would return later. I spent the morning in the boathouse with Pete, organizing tools and supplies and helping to pack them for the winter move to Pine Island.
I went to see Alex again early in the afternoon. Her lunch sat on a tray on her desk, untouched.
“I just wasn’t hungry,” she said when I asked why she hadn’t eaten.
“Why not?”
“I have other things on my mind. Macy, I’m starting to think that the dinner party tonight isn’t such a good idea.”
“It’s not too late to call it off,” I said pointedly.
“I know, but how would that look?” she lamented.
“Who cares how it would look? You can just tell everybody that you’ve decided to rest a bit and have the party a little later.”
She thought for a moment. “No,” she said firmly. “I don’t want to appear weak. The person who sent me that note has to be shown that I’m as strong as ever and I refuse to be bullied.”
“Okay. I can understand your feelings,” I said. “As I told you before, I’ll support you in whatever you decide.”
She smiled grimly. “Thank you, Macy. I’m going to have the party. Maybe we’ll learn something tonight.”
I wasn’t so sure I wanted to learn anything more at her dinner party, but I gave her hand a quick squeeze. “I’ll come down early to help you dress,” I promised.
Later that afternoon, I was working in the library when Alex appeared in the doorway. “Would you mind going for a walk with me?”
“I’d love to,” I answered enthusiastically. It wasn’t often that Alex took the initiative in getting outdoors, and I was pleased to oblige her.
When we were out in the sunshine in front of Summerplace, Alex said, “I’d like to go to the leaning tree. Is that all right with you?”
I was a little surprised that she wanted to veer from our usual, comfortable path, which was relatively flat and which Pete kept free of branches, leaves, and other debris. But I told her that I thought a walk to the leaning tree would be fine as long as we walked slowly and carefully. She seemed pleased.
We walked to the leaning tree in relative silence, since all our focus was on the ground before us. The path was worn, but it was still bumpy and tangled with roots, fallen leaves, and small rocks. When we reached the leaning tree, Alex leaned against it, breathing a little heavier than usual. When she had rested for a few minutes, she wandered aimlessly around the small area surrounding the leaning tree, scanning the river slowly. I noticed that she avoided looking directly into the water below the branches of her special tree. Perhaps she was afraid of seeing Diana’s face in her mind’s eye. Perhaps she didn’t want to look at the place where the ashes of her long-lost daughter and beloved husband had been scattered.
Alex did want to talk about Diana, though. “After she gave you up for adoption, she changed. I think she finally began to realize that some actions have lifelong consequences. That her life wasn’t going to be one long party in which she was only accountable to herself.
“Forrest and I were so happy when Diana met Brandt. He was a responsible young man with a good head on his shoulders. He still is. He was able to get her to calm down in a way that Forrest and I were never able to do. Diana respected him and they came to love each other very much. I’m glad he came along when he did. He gave Diana the gift of serenity, which she had needed for a long time. He made her see herself the way he saw her, as a good person, and she needed that.” Alex sighed. “I’ll always be grateful to Brandt for rescuing Diana from herself.” She laughed wryly. “Even Will got along with Brandt, and he didn’t like any of Diana’s boyfriends.”
I felt a sudden pity for Alex and for her daughter, the mother I had never known. I tried articulating my feelings to Alex. “Even though I couldn’t have asked for a better or more loving mother than the one I had, I do wish I had been able to meet Diana before she died. I’m glad that she was able to find a peaceful happiness with Brandt,” I said honestly.
Alex placed her thin, white hand on the trunk of the leaning tree. She found the spot where she and Forrest had so long ago carved their initials into the rough bark. She traced her delicate fingers over the letters with a wistful look. “Forrest liked Brandt, too. He was very proud when Brandt became a member of our family.” She turned around and looked at me, her eyes moist. “I wish Forrest could be here tonight,” she said softly.
“I know.”
Alex seemed to shake off her melancholy then, and said, “We should be getting back to Summerplace. We need to start getting ready.” We walked back as we had come—slowly, carefully, and in silence, both of us lost in our own thoughts.
When we got back to the house, Alex went into her bedroom to rest for a short time while I worked for just a bit longer in the library. Late in the afternoon I went upstairs to shower and dress. I took my time getting ready for the dinner party. I styled my hair so that it framed my face softly and I dressed in the only fancy outfit I had brought with me from New York, a classic little black dress. The last time I had worn this dress had been at a museum fund-raiser in New York with Alan. It seemed a lifetime ago. Funny; it had been a while since I had thought of him. I was surprised that I felt nothing now when he came to mind: no sorrow, no anger, no loss. It was as if all that had happened to me on Hallstead Island had eased my hurt feelings and I could remember our relationship with a welcome detachment.
The dress flattered my figure, but it needed something. I looked at myself in the mirror and thought for a moment. Then it came to me—I knew just the thing.
I rummaged in my armoire looking for my jewelry case. I slid it out and opened the clasp, and inside, nestled among tubes of velvet, lay a pair of pearl earrings that my mother had given me when I graduated from nursing school. I stared at them with a stab of grief and loss. They had belonged to her and I had loved them from the time I was a little girl. Each perfectly round pearl dropped delicately from a small diamond stud. They glittered in my hand as I examined them under the light. They would be perfect with this dress.
After I had given myself a last look in the mirror, I went downstairs to help Alex get ready for the dinner party. She was having some trouble pinning her long white curls to the top of her head, so I helped her with that. Then I helped her into a lovely navy blue suit of brocade and matching low-heeled pumps. She was the very picture of elegance and refinement.
She stood back and admired my outfit. “You look wonderful, Macy,” she said. “Those earrings are very pretty with that dress.”
“Thank you.” I beamed. “They were a gift from my mother.”
She tilted her head to one side. “The neckline of that dress is just crying out for something to jazz it up, though,” she mused. “Do you mind if I lend you a necklace?”
“That would be lovely,” I answered. That’s nice of her, I thought.
She disappeared and returned a moment later dangling a stunning necklace from her fingers. It was a long, luscious strand of pearls, and hanging from it was a large, gleaming diamond pendant in the shape of a teardrop. It looked somehow familiar.
“Alex,” I breathed, “that is absolutely beautiful!”
“I’m glad you like it,” she replied as she fastened the clasp at the nape of my neck. “It was Diana’s. I hope you don’t mind. It just seems fitting that you wear it this evening.”
Now I realized why the necklace looked familiar. I recalled the portrait of Diana in the living room; she was wearing t
he necklace. I wasn’t sure how I felt about wearing a necklace that had belonged to her, but I didn’t want to upset Alex right before the dinner party, so I decided not to voice my feelings.
“I’ll be happy to wear it,” I told her.
She smiled broadly. “Forrest and I gave that necklace to Diana for her eighteenth birthday. She just loved it. It’s been sitting in my jewelry box all these years. Shall we go into the dining room?”
As we left her sitting room, we met Will coming downstairs. He looked exquisite in a tailored dark gray suit, and his dark hair shone as he bent to kiss Alex’s cheek. He offered her his arm and they continued toward the dining room, with me behind them. He turned around once to fix me with a sardonic look, and as he did so, his eyes drifted to the necklace I wore. His veneer cracked visibly as his eyes widened and his lips set themselves in a thin white line. I fancied I saw his jaw tighten.
“. . . lovely night,” Alex was saying.
Will took his eyes off me and grinned smoothly at Alex, once more the solicitous and gentlemanly nephew.
“You picked a fine evening, Aunt Alex,” he said.
When we entered the dining room, Stephan, Brandt, and Giselle were already there. My eyes (and Will’s too, I noticed) were drawn immediately to Giselle. Her outfit, a one-piece black pantsuit, showed off her figure to magnificent effect, and its proportions were not lost on any man in the room. The tops of her ample breasts shone with a translucent, glittery powder, and her pant legs flared generously, giving her the illusion of floating as she moved. With her hair pulled back in a chignon, a few blond wisps carefully falling around her face, her appearance was electrifying. She was pouring herself a glass of wine as we came through the door, and when she finished she drifted over to where Brandt was standing, talking to Stephan.