The Gilded Curse: Will the young heiress be the next victim of her family's curse? (8 page)

“I did speak to a maid in the hallway when I left the room.”

“And?”

“She just apologized that the room wasn’t satisfactory. She didn’t really confess to doing it herself—said another maid could have done it.”

“Hmmm. What did she look like?”

“About my height, average, thin with brown hair.”

“Well, that describes a lot of people. Can you tell me anything else about her?”

“She looks like she used to be pretty when she was younger, but her face appears tired, like she’s had her share of troubles. Of course, they all wear the same black dress with a white apron and cap.” What was it that stood out? Her eyes. “You know her eyes were quite noticeable, that is, what I saw of them. She kept her head down like she was afraid to look at me. I guess you’d call them ‘hazel’.”

Russell rubbed his chin and nodded. “Sounds like Stella.”

Stella. That name rang a bell. “Has she been here long?”

“Ever since she was a teenager. Like most of our employees, she’s been here a long time. That’s why it doesn’t make sense for her to bother your personal belongings. She knows better.”

“Well, someone did. I didn’t dream this up.”

That smug grin again. “I never said you did, Lexie.” He patted her hand.

“I’ll speak to housekeeping about it.”

“Thank you. You know, Russell, I feel like I’m not welcome here.”

He raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean? Of course you are.”

“No, really. I’ve gotten the strangest reactions from people.”

“You’re talking about Abner, aren’t you? Well, he’s just a strange person.”

Lexie stretched out her legs, wincing with the movement. She leaned over and massaged her calf.

“Your leg hurts? Would you like me to look at it?”

He gave her a little wink. She tried to ignore the flip-flop in her chest.

“No, thank you. It’ll be all right. It’s just sore, that’s all.” She looked up at him. “It’s not just Abner. That maid—Stella—she seemed afraid to look at me, like she wanted to avoid me.”

He laughed, his dimple deepening. “Probably just shy.”

“Maybe.” Remembering the boat captain, she said, “And that fellow that drove the club launch. He was very unfriendly—almost rude.”

“Jack? He’s Stella’s husband. I admit he’s kind of gruff. He’s always had a chip on his shoulder.”

“Well, it just seems to me that people aren’t as friendly as they used to be.” She brushed sand off her hands. “It doesn’t matter. I won’t be here long anyway.”

“You keep saying that. So you came just to see the cottage?”

Lexie jerked her head toward him. “Well, yes. Isn’t that what your telegram was about?”

He cocked his head. “My telegram? What telegram?”

“The one you sent me.”

Russell leaned close to her face, his expression dead serious for a change. “Lexie, I didn’t send you a telegram.

Chapter 8

L
exie drew back and stared at Russell, her mouth agape. She stammered for words.

“B … but you signed it.”

“Did you say it was a telegram?”

“Yes.”

“So I couldn’t have signed it.”

She shook her head. “But it had your name on it.”

Russell laid his hand over hers. “Lexie, I promise you, I didn’t send you a telegram.”

She jerked her hand away. “Really? So how did you know I was coming? Why did you meet me at the dock when I arrived?”

“Lexie. It’s my job to know which members are coming to the island. I review the reservations every day and discuss with the staff what preparations need to be made. So, when I saw you’d made a reservation for the twentieth of January, I knew you’d be coming on the club launch. That’s why I was at the dock looking for you.”

He must be telling the truth. Yet, someone had sent her a telegram and used his name.

“I don’t understand. If it wasn’t you, who was it? Why would someone pretend to be you?”

“Because you might not respond to an invitation from them? I don’t know—what did the telegram say?”

“Destiny needs you. Please come right away.”

“Destiny needs you?” Russell shook his head, his lips curving upward. “Rather cryptic.”

Lexie frowned. “Why must you find everything so humorous? Here I am, in a place I never intended to be because I believed someone I knew wanted me to come!”

Russell sobered, tenderness softening his eyes. “Okay. Okay. I didn’t mean to joke. I’m sorry, Lexie. The whole situation is just bizarre.”

She blew out a breath and turned away from him, facing the sapphire
water of the Atlantic. Why on earth was she here?

“So, if you didn’t want me to come, I don’t see why I need to stay. I’ve seen the house and know its condition. I’ll just have our accountant draw up the papers to sell it.”

Russell laid his hand on her arm as if to hold her in place. “Must you leave so soon? You’re already here, so take a few days to relax.”

“Ha! Relax, he says. That fall back there wasn’t very relaxing.”

“Let me make it up to you. Surely I can do something to make your time here more enjoyable. Or is there something back in New York you must return to? Or someone?” The last comment was accompanied by a wistful expression.

Lexie shook her head. No one waited for her back home, other than the staff at the hospital. She had taken a leave of absence, but expected to be back by the end of the month.

“I can afford a few more days here, if necessary.”

“Necessary? All right then, I declare your enjoyment necessary to your health. But don’t you want to stay to find out who sent the telegram?”

She did, but her gut feelings warned her to be careful. Still, she was curious about the strange events that had occurred since her arrival. The faces of people she had encountered paraded through her mind. Did one of them send the telegram? Based on the less than friendly reception she received, none of them seemed to want her here.

Cold water lapped her feet and she jumped, watching the stealthy wave recede back to the ocean.

“Tide’s coming in.” Russell stood and stretched, then leaned over to pull their things away from the encroaching water.

The wind picked up, sending a rush of cold air through Lexie’s thin sweater. She hugged herself, rubbing her arms to get warm. “I think it’s time to go,” she said.

Russell glanced at her, nodded, and picked up the basket. Lexie took the tablecloth and shook the sand from it before folding it and placing it back in the basket. She brushed off her hands when she finished and turned to leave. Russell lifted the bike and joined her.

“Want to ride back?” He leaned the bike toward her.

She shook her head. “No, thank you.”

“It’s a long walk back.”

Lexie’s bruised leg throbbed, telling her the long walk would be painful.

“Well, we can’t both ride the bike.”

“Why not?”

“What?”

“Sure. You sit on the handlebars and I’ll pedal. Remember when we used to race like that, with you sitting on Robert’s handlebars?”

“But I was just a girl and much smaller.”

“Oh, come on. Be a sport.”

If there was one thing Lexie couldn’t do, it was refuse a challenge.

“Promise me you won’t run into any trees or anything.”

Russell crossed his heart with his fingers then raised his hand as a pledge.

“I’ll be very careful with you, m’dear. We’ll take another path back.”

“Well, okay. Hold the bike steady.” Russell slipped the handle of the picnic basket over the handlebars and straddled the bike, bracing it while Lexie climbed up, using his shoulder for support.

“You can lean back on me if you’d be more comfortable.”

The invitation was attractive, but she preferred to sit up and balance with her hands beside her on the handlebars.

“Okay, I’m ready.”

“Keep those pants away from the spokes.” Russell started pedaling over the hard-packed sand, and they were on their way.

“Good thing I wore pants, isn’t it?” She spoke over her shoulder.

“Ha!” Russell laughed. “You didn’t plan this, did you?”

“Of course I did. I planned to fall off the bike.”

Russell might find the situation funny, but she didn’t. What if someone did plan for her to fall? Maybe the tree was supposed to fall on her instead of just trip her.
Stop it!
She had to quit letting her imagination run wild. Accidents did happen, and she had no reason to believe someone was trying to hurt her. She gazed out at the ocean to their right. On the other side of this ocean, a war was being fought. There were more important things than falling off a bike. She noticed Russell hadn’t turned off the hard-packed sandy beach yet.

“Russell, where is the other path?”

“Thought we’d go down to Driftwood Point then take the beach road back.”

She started to protest but realized she had no place else to go, and no hurry to get there. They rode past part of the golf course that ran near the beach, but she didn’t see any golfers out. She and Russell headed north for a while until the shore of Saint Simons Island came into view.

“Let’s take a little break, stretch our legs.” Russell stopped the bike
and steadied it so she could climb down. “There’s the lighthouse.” He pointed across the water to the tall structure.

“Saint Simons. We used to go over there in the Vanderbilt yacht. Does a lighthouse keeper still live there? I heard some of the lighthouses are automatic now.”

“Far as I know, there’s still a keeper, but he’s part of the Coast Guard. And it’s electric. The keeper doesn’t have to use kerosene to light it anymore. Just flip a switch.” Russell mimicked the process with his finger.

“That must make his job easier. I always thought it would be such a lonely job.”

“Could be, but he has the ghosts to keep him company.”

Lexie shoved him. “Stop it. You don’t believe that nonsense, do you?”

“Hey! You hurt me.” He acted wounded. “I didn’t make up those stories. There’s supposed to be the ghost of the light keeper who got killed in a duel.”

Lexie crossed her arms, staring at the tower across the water. “I remember that story. I might have even believed it when I was a child. But I don’t believe those things anymore. Everything has an explanation.” Just like the so-called ghosts at Destiny.

“Yeah, yeah. I don’t believe in that stuff either.”

“So I wonder if the light keeper gets bored if he doesn’t have as much work to do now.”

“Don’t bet on it. He’s part of the military now, so he has to protect our country from the enemy.”

Lexie raised her eyebrows and looked up at him. “Enemy? Here?”

“Rumor has it the Germans have submarines off our coast. Those guys up there in the lighthouses are looking out for them.”

“Surely the Germans wouldn’t come this close to our shore!”

“I hope not, but I hear they’ve been spotted up north not far out.”

“North? How far north?” Lexie pointed in that direction.

“From Cape Hatteras, North Carolina up to New York.”

Lexie’s heart trembled. Even though North Carolina was several hundred miles north, it was too close if German submarines had been seen there. She tossed her head. “Well, I just don’t believe in rumors. And I don’t believe they’d get that close to us here.”

“Never can be too sure about those Nazis. Ghosts may not be real, but Nazis are.”

Lexie was no longer comfortable standing on the beach. She shivered
from the cold. Or was it from the threat of Nazis nearby?

“Can we go now? I’ve had enough of the beach today.”

Russell chuckled, then arched an eyebrow. “Afraid the Germans will see you here on the beach?” His gaze scanned the ocean. “I don’t see any out there. Don’t worry, I’ll protect you,” he said with a wink.

“Honestly, Russell. I don’t know when to believe you. I can’t tell when you’re joking and when you’re serious. Did you just make that whole story up about German submarines?”

He sobered his expression. “No, Lexie, I did not make it up. I have friends in the Coast Guard that told me about them.”

“So why hasn’t it been in the news?” Lexie faced him, her hands on her hips.

Russell spread his hands. “He said the government doesn’t want people to panic, much less tip off Hitler that he’s giving us any room for concern.”

“So the Coast Guard will get rid of them, won’t they? At least we don’t have to worry about them being on our soil.”

Russell didn’t answer as he continued gazing out at sea. The faraway look in his eye was unsettling, as was his change to a more serious mood. As she studied him, she had the impression she was seeing a different person, not the happy-go-lucky guy she’d spent the afternoon with.

“Russell?”

He faced her, a smile emerging. “Sorry, Lexie. Did you ask me something?”

She shook her head. “It wasn’t important.”