A Lady of Hidden Intent (5 page)

“And don’t I know that. Poor Winnie . . . she tries hard to keep the peace between our parents, but she’s seldom successful. Father wants only to see her married off to a wealthy man, but the poor girl is so shy she is seldom seen in public. My mother doesn’t make matters any better. She nags and pleads, constantly haranguing my father with accusations—granted, most of them true—and other nonsensical issues until not only does he want to be out of the house, but I want to be absent as well. Even now I’m steadying myself for the journey home.”

“You could come home with me,” Lee offered. “Share supper with us. At least delay your journey as long as possible.”

“I do enjoy a good meal with such fine company,” Carter said with a sigh, “but I promised my mother I would take supper with the family tonight. She wishes to discuss her Christmas preparations.”

“Ah, the annual Danby Christmas masquerade ball.” Lee chuckled. “I had nearly forgotten.”

“I wish I could.” Carter lowered his arms and leaned forward. “However, it does keep my mother much occupied for the latter half of the year, and that alone is well worth enduring the rest.”

“You know, if it becomes too much, you have an open invitation at our house. My mother already considers you an extension of the family. Had I any sisters, you would have no doubt found an engagement imposed upon you.”

Carter laughed. “Had you any sisters and were they of the same quality as your mother, an engagement would have been no imposition. I am wont to find a good wife, but I despair of there being any unattached woman of my requirements within one hundred miles of this place.”

“True,” Lee said with a sigh. “I have often thought the same. Mother suggested that I would find such a young lady at our church, but I see no one there to interest me.”

“And my parents only consider attending any type of religious service to be for social purposes and financial gain. If others are of their mind, I frankly have no desire to look for a wife at church.”

“Still,” Lee said, moving a stack of books to one side, “there must be women of worth in this town.”

“Perhaps, but I am certain they are either over fifty, under twelve, or already happily situated,” Carter said with a laugh.

“I suppose we must trust that in time our hearts will show us where true love lies,” Lee stated as Carter went to the window and pulled back the drape. “Have you come in your carriage today?”

“Yes. Do you want a ride home?” Carter let go the drape and turned. “I would be happy to have your company.”

“I would appreciate that. It’s still raining, and I have a stack of books to take with me. Father lent them to me a month ago, and I have been negligent in getting them back.”

“The Judge won’t like that—nor would he like it if they got wet,” Carter teased. Leander’s father was a retired judge, but he still commanded great influence in the community. People respected and loved him, unlike Carter’s father, Elger Danby. People feared him, despised him, and mistrusted him, but still he managed to succeed. The contradiction of men left Carter somewhat confused. Where Lee’s father was a good man who reverenced God and looked out for the oppressions of mankind, Carter’s father was simply an oppressor.

The confusion was in why God allowed both men to do well—to profit and accomplish great things. Carter constantly worried that his father would bring ruin not only upon his own head but upon the entire family. He prayed that it might not be so, but at the same time he truly desired that his father leave off his illegal practices and illicit affairs and conduct himself more along the lines of Judge Kendrick Arlington.

They reached the Arlington house just as the rain lessened to sprinkles. Directing the horse through the narrow wrought-iron gates, Carter wished that this were his home as well. He could only imagine the joy and satisfaction he might have in sharing his accomplishments with Lee’s parents. With a sigh he pulled the carriage to a stop and tipped his hat.

“There you are, sir. Safe and sound.”

“Think about what I said, Carter. You are always welcome here.”

“I appreciate that, Lee. I think the time has come for me to actually consider obtaining my own living quarters.”

“People will think it strange for an unmarried man to leave his father’s home for another in the same town.”

Carter laughed. “They’d think it even stranger for that unmarried man to strangle his father. No, I think it would do all of us good for me to leave.”

Lee gave Carter a nod and opened the carriage door. “If I hear of a small place, I will let you know.”

“And if I hear of a good woman . . .” Carter smiled and raised his brows before adding, “I’ll probably keep that news to myself. At least until I see if it can prove useful to me.”

Lee laughed and gathered his books. He’d wrapped them protectively in his coat and now stepped out into the weather.

“I’d likely do the same.”

Carter turned the horse and headed for home. He wasn’t looking forward to the chaos, but he figured with any luck at all, his father would have taken himself out for the evening. Contending with his mother and sister would be much easier with Father gone. Sharing supper with Winifred alone would have been even more ideal. He was very close to his sister, who was ten years his junior—an unexpected surprise in the Danby family.

The rain picked up again and with it Carter’s feelings of despair deepened. Why couldn’t his family be a decent sort? They had wealth and social standing, but the respect given them was a mockery. Those who positioned themselves close to his mother and father only did so for whatever financial gain might be had.

A groomsman met Carter the moment he stopped the carriage near the front door. Usually he would drive back around to the carriage house, but in the rain the groomsman would expect him to stop at the front and take advantage of an easier, drier access to the house.

“Evenin’, suh,” the dark-skinned man said as he took the reins.

“Good evening to you, Joseph. Thank you for taking the carriage.” Joseph was the only black man employed by the Danby family. Carter had found the man half dead on the road between Philadelphia and New York. Joseph had papers showing him to be free, but he had been robbed and left for dead when ruthless highwaymen crossed his path. Carter had brought him home and declared he would see the man restored to health and hired him as his own personal staff. His father had been livid, but Carter held his ground in a kind of private rebellion. Eventually his father had forgotten the matter and now considered Joseph an important part of the Danby work force.

“How are things today, Joseph?”

“Right as rain, suh,” the younger man said with a glint in his coal-black eyes.

Carter smiled. “Well, that is sure to change when I make my way inside. Is my father to home?”

“No, suh. Left ’bout an hour ago.”

“Good. Then perhaps things will continue to bode well.”

Carter dismounted the carriage and made his way quickly inside. He thought it sad that he would have rather spent the evening drinking coffee and teaching Joseph to read than to endure yet another of his mother’s emotional displays.

“Good evening, Mr. Danby,” the butler announced as he took Carter’s things.

“Good evening, Wilson.”

“Oh, Carter. I thought I heard the carriage. I am so glad you are home,” his mother declared as she scurried across the floor.

“Your father has gone again—to her. I just know it.”

“Good evening, Mother.” Carter gave her a peck on the cheek and pulled back. “How go your plans for the annual ball?”

His mother’s expression changed from fretful to excited.

“Well, I was concerned at first of not getting the proper gown made. Everyone knows that Mrs. Clarkson’s assistant, Catherine Shay, designs the best gowns in town. I, of course, insisted that

–Winifred and I must have a creation from this woman, but Mrs.

Clarkson argued that there were other requests ahead of mine. I told her that I could not be cast aside—that I would pay double what anyone else had offered.”

Carter headed for the warmth of the smallest of the Danby sitting rooms. There he found a fire already blazing. He pulled up a large wing chair and settled in to hear his mother’s tirade.

“I would like very much if you would accompany us tomorrow,” his mother said, standing directly in front of him. Overdressed as usual in a gown more suited for an outing than a quiet dinner at home, Lillian Danby struck quite a picture. She was not a great beauty, but neither was she unpleasant to look at. Carter could not understand why his father had taken a mistress, throwing away his chance at true happiness with the woman he married.

His father had taken his first mistress some fifteen or sixteen years earlier, when Carter’s mother had been considered quite lovely. She had also been far happier and less given to bouts of nerves and bitter musings. His father’s dalliances with other women had aged her before her time.

“Did you hear me?”

Carter realized he hadn’t been listening. “I am sorry, Mother.

It’s been a long day. A good one, but long. I received the final approval from Mr. Montgomery. He is commissioning me to design his estate.”

“Oh, the Montgomery family is a thorn in my flesh,” his mother said, offering no praise for her son’s accomplishment.

“Mrs. Montgomery believes herself well above the rest of us. She has declined my invitation year after year. I can only imagine she’ll do so again this year, and what will that say to the rest of our friends?”

Carter gave only a hint of a smile. “That she doesn’t like parties?”

“Oh, were that only true. But no. She will be seen at the homes of the Wellingtons and Duffs. Why, she was definitely present at the summer soiree that the Stanleys held. She even brought her nephew, who is a duke or some such thing. It was the talk of the town.”

“Now, Mother. Those were all summer parties. Perhaps she fears the winter night air will be harmful to her health.”

His mother gave a sniff and sank into a black-and-white striped chair. “I hardly believe that credible, but you are good to try to comfort my nerves. As I said before, I would like very much for you to escort your sister and me to Mrs. Clarkson’s tomorrow. We are to talk to Catherine Shay herself.”

“And what will this Catherine Shay do for you?”

“Why, she will design the gowns we are to wear to the masquerade. It’s all very secretive, you know. It hardly does any good to have a masquerade if everyone already knows what gown you will wear.”

Carter considered that for only a fraction of a second. “Of course.”

“Well, your father is having a meeting here—something about the mills. I’m certain you will not mind being absent from the house.”

Carter hadn’t realized a meeting had been planned, but his mother was right. He had no desire to be anywhere around. “I can accompany you and Winifred.”

“What about me?” Winifred asked as she swept into the room. Petite and sharing the same dark hair and eyes as Carter, she offered a sweet smile that seemed to brighten the entire room.

“I promised our mother that I would drive you both to the dressmaker tomorrow.”

“That is kind,” she said, kissing him on the top of his head.

“Too bad Mrs. Clarkson’s shop designs clothes only for women.

You could use a new suit or two.”

Their mother frowned. “Oh, it’s true. You need new clothes, Carter. You must take yourself to the tailor as soon as possible. I won’t have my friends looking down upon me because you’re running about Philadelphia in threadbare, out-of-date clothing.”

Carter laughed heartily at this. “I am hardly threadbare, Mother.”

“Well, promise me you will go, nevertheless. If you do not go,” she said, exaggerating the situation by waving her arms and fluttering her hands, “I am certain to hear about it. I only wish to keep the family from such negative gossip. Oh, it never fails to amaze me how innocent people can find themselves the focus of such twisted affairs.”

Carter found it amazing the way his mother never seemed to draw air. She was like a little hummingbird flapping her wings furiously to stay in one place. The way her voice raised an octave when she was truly upset was even more birdlike.

To their surprise the front door crashed open, and they heard the muttered curses of the master. Elger Danby stormed into the house and entered the sitting room, as if knowing he’d find everyone assembled there. The butler hurried after him to take the hat and gloves he’d just thrown onto a nearby table.

Anger and tension emanated almost visibly from his form, but Carter knew better than to question his father’s angry spirit. His mother, however, seemed to thrive on tormenting the man.

“What could possibly be wrong, my dear?” his mother asked in a sugary voice. “Was she not to home?”

Carter’s father, a tall, broad-shouldered man, took a threatening step toward his wife, then stopped. “My affairs remain just that. Mine and no one else’s. When is supper to be served?”

“Momentarily, sir,” the butler said as he helped Mr. Danby from his coat.

“It seems nothing is ordered properly today.”

“We hadn’t expected that you would join us for supper,” Carter’s mother said sarcastically. “In fact, we are never certain when to expect that you might grace us with your company.”

“Silence, woman! I will not be berated in my own home.”

Winifred had taken a seat on the settee by this time and looked at Carter with such pleading that he couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. She had never known a time when their parents had treated each other with respect and kindness.

“I have good news,” Carter offered as his father ordered the butler to bring brandy.

“Oh, and what might that be?” his father asked out of obligation, not sounding as though he cared much for the answer.

“I have been commissioned to design the Montgomery estate.

The new house will be over fifteen thousand square feet.”

“Braggart,” his father muttered.

Carter wasn’t entirely sure to whom the comment was directed— himself or Mr. Montgomery. It wasn’t until the butler had returned with the drink and his father had downed it that Elger Danby clarified his remark.