Murder in the Secret Garden (10 page)

At that moment, Muffet Cat rubbed against Jane's leg, signaling that he wanted to jump up. She pushed back her chair and he vaulted onto her lap. Stroking Muffet Cat's fur, Jane felt like an Ian Fleming villain as she declared, “I'm going to ask Mr. Alcott to be my date at tonight's wedding feast.”

*   *   *

When Jane stopped by Victoria and Hannah's guest room to deliver their floral bouquets for the wedding, she found Hannah in tears.

“Is she all right?” Jane whispered from the threshold.

Victoria, a vision of effortless beauty in a strapless white gown with a sweetheart neckline, moss green sash, and sweeping train, pulled Jane into the room. “Now that the time has come, she's scared. Change can be scary, but she'll be just fine. She has her work, her friends, her garden, and her darling cats.” She turned to face her sister. “Besides, it's not like we won't see each other again. Nothing could ever keep us apart. You're the light of my life, Banana Puddin'.”

“Don't call me that.” Hannah sniffed.

Jane slowly approached Hannah. “You look lovely.”

Hannah wiped her wet cheeks. “I do like my dress. It's the same hue as Via's sash.” She held out her bare arms and suddenly began to panic. “My jacket! Where's my jacket?”

“You have to stop hiding, Hannah.” Victoria's voice was steely. “Ms. Steward won't run out of the room screaming because you have a hump and scars. When are you going to
see yourself as more than the shape of your spine? When are you going to give someone other than me a chance to know the real and wonderful you?”

Hannah dropped her gaze and her sister crossed the room and grabbed her hands. “You are whip smart, amazingly funny, and supercool. I was incredibly lucky to have had you to myself after we lost Mom, but I can't leave this room and start the next chapter of my life until I know that you'll at least
try
to show people how awesome you are.”

Victoria waited for her sister to answer. When she didn't, Jane looked at Hannah. “Does she always call you Banana something?”

Hannah managed a small laugh. “Yes, damn it. Ever since we were kids. Our mom started it. She had a whole song about me. If there was a dessert made with bananas, it was in that song. Bananas Foster, banana cake, banana cream pie—you name it. My mom was clever with rhymes. Via was a teenager when Mom died, but she remembers every line to that song. She remembers everything about our mother. She wouldn't let me throw away a single thing that belonged to her. She kept it all. Even locks of her hair and hospital ID bands. When Via loves someone, she loves them forever.”

“I hope Carson realizes what a gem he's about to claim.” Jane offered Victoria her bridal nosegay. She then pointed at one of the tiny white flowers in the bouquet. “I know you have a marigold posy, Hannah, but I could pin a few of these in your hair. Having a few of your sister's flowers might help you feel . . . connected during the ceremony.”

Victoria beamed at her. “I love that idea. Are they chamomile flowers, Hannah? What do they mean?”

“Healing and protection,” Hannah said. “In medieval times, they were strewn over floors to give rooms a pleasant odor. They smell a bit like apples.
Not
bananas,” she added very quickly and the sisters broke out in a fit of giggles.

That's better
, Jane thought.

After using bobby pins to secure several white flowers in Hannah's hair, Jane left the sisters to their final preparations and went to the back terrace to meet Edwin.

Both the wedding ceremony and the medieval feast were being held in Milton's Gardens. In the summer twilight, the gardens were pure magic. The flowers were radiant with color. Floral scents perfumed the air and tiny white lights twinkled around the arbors and lampposts. As a wedding surprise, Jane had also strung the entire gazebo with white lights so that the bride and groom could share their first dance as man and wife on their own private dance floor.

“Why she picked marigold garlands for the ends of the chair rows is beyond me. What's wrong with magnolia or gardenia flowers with greens?” Jane heard someone grumble and turned to find Carson's mother standing a few feet away.

“Carson said that Victoria wanted their wedding to have some medieval traditions. He doesn't care about the ceremony. He just wants her to be happy,” Carson's father responded evenly. “I think the garlands are festive.”

Carson's mother grunted. “They'll keep the deer away, that's for sure.”

“Mosquitoes too,” said Vivian Ash. She smiled at the older couple, winked at Jane, and continued walking toward the garden.

“Victoria has strange friends,” Carson's mother said sourly.

“I believe they're Hannah's friends,” her husband pointed out.

His wife grunted again. “That's strange too. Why doesn't Victoria have her own? Why is she so wrapped up in her sister's life? It's not normal. I hope she doesn't plan to spend all of her time visiting that Hannah after she's married. Victoria will have a very large house to run, and with Carson focused on work, he'll need a wife who can manage things at home. She can't dash off to play therapist to her sister every time someone calls Hannah a name or gawks at that crooked
back of hers.” She sighed. “I wish Carson had listened to me and asked Victoria to have genetic testing done before he gave her that expensive ring. No testing and no prenup. Our only son could be pissing away the legacy we worked so hard to establish. Forgive me if I don't feel celebratory.”

“Deirdre, this is not the time or the place,” her husband said in a clipped voice. “Carson loves Victoria, and in about fifteen minutes, she's going to be our daughter-in-law. If you can't pretend to enjoy yourself, then fake it. Do it for your son.”

As Carson's parents descended the stairs to the gardens, Sinclair appeared next to Jane and whispered, “What a piece of work. Do you suppose Victoria knows what her future mother-in-law is like?”

Jane smiled. “I think Victoria can hold her own. She certainly got her way when it came to the wedding itself.”

Sinclair looked thoughtful. “Her choices seem to have been based on what would please her sister. It's very generous for a bride to share every aspect of her wedding day.”

“Maybe Victoria fears that Hannah won't have a wedding, so she included her sister in every facet of her own wedding day,” Jane said. “Theirs is a rare bond, Sinclair. I just hope Hannah can adjust to Victoria becoming Mrs. Carson Earle.”

“Victoria could probably move Hannah into a wing of their house and Carson wouldn't even notice. The Earles control a pharmaceutical empire, and Victoria's starter home is the size of Monticello.”

Having visited Thomas Jefferson's stately mansion several times, Jane recalled that the house was around eleven thousand square feet. She whistled. “That explains why the Earles are footing the bill for the wedding. How do you know all these details?”

“I decided to do further research into every member's financial status,” Sinclair said. “Hannah Billingsley lives frugally and raises no red flags. Victoria, a medical librarian
with a comfortable income, is about to enter a markedly different tax bracket.”

“A librarian?” Jane couldn't hide her surprise. “No kidding.”

“We don't all wear spectacles, suits, and bow ties,” Sinclair said.

Jane hooked her arm through Sinclair's. “And none look like Sean Connery's James Bond but you.” She shook her head in disgust. “I can't believe Mrs. Earle is worried about genes. Victoria's kind, smart, and gorgeous. What more does the woman want?”

“The ceremony is about to start, so I should get to my point.” Sinclair produced a slip of paper from his breast pocket. “These Medieval Herbalists are living paycheck to paycheck. Or in Ms. Kota's case, craft fair to craft fair.”

Jane's heart sank. “Do we have any reason to suspect her?” She read the second name on the list. “Not the Hugheses too!”

“I'm afraid so. They spent most of their earnings on their mortgage and college and graduate school tuition for their three children. Sandi then took an early retirement to care for her ailing father. Not long afterward, they had to dip into their retirement fund to cover nursing home costs for Phil's mother. The Hugheses have sunk every last penny into Storyton Outfitters.”

“They might face financial hardship, but neither Tammy nor the Hugheses would profit from killing Kira,” Jane said. “If Kira discovered a secret worthy of blackmail, then I think it was far more serious than a low savings account balance.”

Sinclair reclaimed the list and tucked it in his pocket. “I concur.” His eyes slid to the right. “Speaking of secrets, your date has arrived. Were you able to finish Lionel Alcott's diary?”

“I'm halfway through,” Jane said. “So far, it's only left me with more questions. And more doubts.”

“Let your instincts be your guide,” Sinclair advised before retreating inside.

Edwin Alcott appeared at the foot of the terrace steps. He stared up at Jane and smiled the rakish smile that had once made her blood rush to her ears. The sight of him still had an effect on her, but it was no longer as powerful.

He is the most alluring, elusive, and deceitful man I've ever known
, she thought. Remembering how he'd kissed her in the garden, she felt her body temperature rise by several degrees. She thought of Emily Dickinson's line,
The Heart wants what it wants—or else it does not care
, and reminded herself that she was on a mission that far outweighed the irrational desires of her heart.

“You look like you're made of starlight,” Edwin said, taking her hand. “You'll outshine the bride.”

Jane didn't think her champagne-colored dress, which was fairly conservative, merited such a compliment, but she thanked Edwin and held out her arm. “We'll watch the ceremony from the back. During the final reading, I'll have to sneak off to check on the food.”

“Ah, the Hildegard feast,” said Edwin. “Not one's typical wedding fare, but with Mrs. Hubbard in charge, it's bound to be a success.”

“Are you familiar with Hildegard?” Jane asked. She couldn't help being impressed, despite the fact that Edwin had once told her that his reading tastes were extremely varied.

Edwin nodded. “I've read her
Physica
.”

“The original version?”

Jane had only been joking, but Edwin flashed an enigmatic grin. “Did you finish the diary?” he whispered as they approached the marigold-covered arch that Victoria would pass under. The wedding guests, who were all seated and waiting for the bride to appear, were engaged in a bout of hushed and enthusiastic pre-ceremony chatter.

“I read a good bit,” Jane whispered back. “But it's done nothing to make things clearer. I still have no idea who, or what, you are.”

“You must finish it to understand,” Edwin said. “Still, I'd like to speak with you alone at some point this evening. There are things I need to say and I don't want to be overheard.”

Jane recalled how Edwin had suddenly appeared after she'd discovered Kira's body in Storyton River. Why had he really been following her that day?

She was just about to ask him this question when the delicate, fairylike sound of harp music floated into the air. The guests fell quiet and Jane pulled Edwin off the path.

Victoria and Hannah walked slowly down the garden path. Victoria was all smiles and confidence, while Hannah focused on the marigold petals being flattened beneath her silver ballet flats.

When they reached the arch, Victoria stopped and turned to her sister. She kissed Hannah on the cheek, embraced her, and then proceeded under the arch and up the makeshift aisle on her own. As soon as she was close to a beaming Carson, he took her hand. She returned his smile, but not before casting a final backward glance at her sister.

The ceremony was short and sweet. One of Carson's friends read from Corinthians, and Claude Mason recited a medieval love poem called, “Joyous in Love, I make my aim.” The band of musicians the Earles had hired delighted the younger guests with a medieval rendition of The Cure's “Lovesong.”

“Never thought I'd hear that melody from a mandolin,” Edwin said. “It's quite beautiful.”

Jane thought the whole ceremony was unique and beautiful. The flower-studded garden, the perfumed air, and the purpling sky formed the perfect backdrop. And yet she
couldn't help feeling sorry for Hannah. She sat near the arch, a forced smile plastered to her face, and held on to her nosegay as though for dear life.

“I need to go now,” Jane said. “I'll meet you after the meal's been served.”

It was highly irregular for Jane to sit with the wedding guests, but Victoria had been so insistent that Jane had eventually agreed. In the end, she was glad she did, for it was one of the most splendid meals she'd ever eaten.

After serving wine sprinkled with violets, the waitstaff brought out leek soup and rye rolls baked with garlic and thyme. Following the soup was a salad of prickly lettuce, celery, parsley, and cress. The entrées included lamb and lentil stew, pan-fried catfish flavored with coriander and cumin, and beef ribs in a wine, currant, and onion sauce. The side dishes were carrots with cumin and squash baked with garlic and cheese. For dessert, the guests were treated to Mrs. Hubbard's delicious wedding cakes as well as plantains drizzled in cinnamon, nutmeg, and honey and an apple, almond, and ginger compote.

The feast was a huge hit with both The Medieval Herbalists and the groom's family and friends. Mrs. Hubbard's excellent food and a seemingly endless supply of wine had all the guests smiling and laughing. Jane watched them and felt contentment flow over her like a warm wind.

By the time the dancing started, she had begun to believe that everything might be all right—that love, friendship, and goodness would triumph over evil.