Butterfly Palace (13 page)
A shutter came down over Jane’s expression. “I can care for my own.”
“Of course you can. Friends help one another out. You’d do the same for me, I think. May I come in?”
Jane’s eyes softened. “I’m forgetting my manners.” She stood aside. “I’ll get tea.”
Lily followed her into a parlor. Though small, there was not a speck of lint or dirt anywhere. The sofa and chair were worn, but it was clear Jane took pride in her home.
Jane pointed at the sofa. “Please, make yourself comfortable. I’ll prepare some tea.”
“Could I hold your little one while you get it? I adore babies.”
Jane hesitated, then passed Hannah to Lily. “She’s sleepy and won’t give up. She likes to be sung to.”
Lily cradled the baby in one arm. “I can manage that. Here, you can put the food away. There’s ham and a few other items. And some nappies for Hannah.”
Jane’s smile was shy. “Thank you, Miss Lily.” She hurried toward the kitchen.
Lily settled the baby against her shoulder and began to sing “Amazing Grace” to her in a soft voice. The sweet smell of the infant grew stronger as the little one nuzzled against her. She kissed the baby’s soft, downy head. For just a moment she let herself imagine holding her own baby—hers and Drew’s. What a ridiculous dream. He’d made it perfectly clear how little he thought of her when he deserted her without a word.
Jane returned with a tray holding a chipped teapot and two cups. “I hope you don’t mind your tea black. I’m out of sugar.” She bit her lip and shot Lily an apologetic glance.
“That’s exactly how I like it.” Lily accepted the tea with her free hand. “Hannah’s very sweet.” She managed not to grimace at the bitter tea.
A tender smile lifted Jane’s lips. “She’s my world. I’d do anything
for her.” She glanced around the room. “I wish I could give her more than this.”
“You work at the big house here? Are they good to you?”
Jane took a sip of her tea. “My mistress isn’t the most understanding lady. When I had Hannah, she let me go but allows me to live here with my brother until I find another position. He works nights in the master’s tavern. They don’t want to lose him. I—I am having some problems finding another position. Most employers don’t want to deal with an infant.”
“How are you living?”
“My brother is helping me. I don’t know what we would have done without Nathan.” She let out a heavy sigh. “It’s impossible to work right now anyway. Hannah needs to be fed and cared for. Nathan says he can watch her during the day while I work, but if he does that, he’ll only get a few hours of sleep every day.” She shook her head. “He says he doesn’t need much sleep. We could use the money though.”
“I’ll ask around and see if the Marshalls need any help,” Lily promised.
Jane’s lips trembled. “Why are you being so good to me, Miss Lily? You hardly know me.”
“I feel a connection to you, Jane. I hope you don’t mind.”
“I’m grateful for it. I could use a friend.”
The back door slammed, and heavy footsteps came down the hall. Nathan stepped into the tiny parlor. His smile faded when he saw Lily. “What are you doing here? We don’t want any trouble. You sent the police by.”
She shook her head. “Miss Belle, my mistress, saw the fellow with you and thought he looked like the man who shot at her uncle. We all assured her it wasn’t the same man, but she insisted her uncle report the incident. The police weren’t worrisome, were they?”
Nathan shook his head. “I told them the truth about who we were and what we were doing there. They spoke with my friend, and he was exonerated. Your fellow came by this afternoon too. He took the butterfly globe to the police.”
“Mr. Hawkes, you mean? I didn’t know.”
Nathan scowled. “We just want to be left alone.”
Jane rose and extended her hand toward her brother. “Miss Lily brought some things by for the baby and me.”
Nathan’s fingers curled into his palms. “We don’t need charity. I’m taking care of you, aren’t I?”
Lily rose quickly. “Of course you are, Nathan. I like Jane though, and I could use a friend here. I’m new to town.”
The tension in his shoulders eased. “You’re not here to try to coax more information out of me about Vesters?” An edge of hostility still lined his words.
She shook her head and smiled. “That wasn’t my reason for coming. If you’d like to tell me more, I will listen, but I care about Jane and little Hannah. Surely we can be friends?”
Nathan eyed her. “I don’t think so.”
She watched him stalk away. “I think I upset your brother.”
Jane sank back onto the chair. “Most things upset him these days. Ever since he got involved with Mr. Vesters.”
Lily shifted the baby to her other arm. “He’s working for Mr. Vesters?”
Jane nodded. “Don’t say anything though. I think Mr. Vesters is forcing Nathan to do things he doesn’t want to do.”
“What kinds of things?”
Jane bit her lip. “I wonder if your man friend could help Nathan. What if Nathan were to give him information? With Mr. Vesters in jail, maybe Nathan and I could start over somewhere else.”
“Mr. Hawkes is not my man friend. But he might be able to help you. I can ask. Do you think Nathan would cooperate?”
Jane nodded. “I smell the fear on him every time he comes home. And he’s afraid Mr. Vesters will do something to Hannah and me.”
“Why would he bother with you and Hannah?”
Tears swam in Jane’s eyes. “He’s Hannah’s father.”
Lily left Jane’s house and hurried down the sidewalk toward the trolley stop. She slowed outside Lammes Candies. A few dollars were safely tucked inside her bag. A bit of sweet might soothe the hurt that resided somewhere in the region of her heart.
She bought one chocolate, then took it to the café tables outside. A familiar figure waved to her, and she went to join Emily.
Emily smiled as Lily sat in one of the iron chairs. “What was your indulgence today?”
“Chocolate. I thought about ice cream.”
Emily scooped up some. “It’s very good.” She eyed Lily. “You look rather glum. What’s wrong? Is it Mr. Hawkes?”
Lily straightened. “What an odd thing to say.” Her laugh sounded forced to her ears.
Emily lifted a brow. “I know there’s something between you two. You already admitted you knew him before you came here. You can tell me the rest of it. I won’t say anything.”
Relief coursed through Lily. If she’d been back in Larson, she could have discussed everything with Lucy, but she’d felt so alone here. She exhaled and sat back in the chair. “We were engaged once.”
Emily’s jaw dropped. “To a swank like him?”
She wanted to tell Emily Drew’s real last name wasn’t even
Hawkes, but she clamped her teeth against the revelation. Though she trusted Emily, the other woman might inadvertently let something slip. She took a bite of her chocolate.
“My, my.” Emily’s eyes sparkled. “You just might put Miss Belle’s nose out of joint. This is far more than just knowing him from your old hometown.”
The pressure in Lily’s chest intensified, and she swallowed hard. “I don’t think he’ll put up much resistance. She’s quite beautiful.”
Emily studied Lily’s face. “You still care about him, don’t you?”
A breeze cooled her heated cheeks. “It was long ago. We were so young.”
“Yet you never married. You’re a lovely girl, Lily. You never got over him, did you?”
“I was perfectly happy in Larson with my mother. I didn’t need a man.”
Emily inclined her head. “There they are now.”
A carriage rattled past, and Lily spared a quick look to her left. Her gaze met Belle’s, but only her uncle and Mr. Vesters accompanied her. “He didn’t go with them after all. Listen, Emily, how well do you know Mr. Vesters?”
Emily blinked. “Not well. He’s been coming around the house for about six months with his eye on marrying Miss Belle. She’s not interested, but her uncle is pressing her. Vesters is filthy rich, and he is an avid butterfly collector just like Mr. Marshall. They belong to some kind of butterfly organization called Novo. It’s Latin for ‘change,’ and it uses a butterfly as its logo.”
Lily shuddered. “The butterfly conservatory is creepy. I don’t like going in there. All those beautiful butterflies pinned into display cases . . . Why does Mr. Marshall do it?”
Her friend shrugged. “He thinks they’re beautiful.”
“They are when they’re
alive
.”
“Why are you asking about Mr. Vesters anyway? If you’re hoping he’ll attract Miss Belle away from Mr. Hawkes, you’re quite wrong.”
Lily shook her head. “I believe he may have had something to do with my father’s death.”
Emily’s eyes widened. “Your father was in Austin?”
How much should Lily reveal? If she told Emily about the possible counterfeiting, there would be more questions. Questions that might lead to Drew’s interest in the man. “Our fathers were killed in a fire. He heard a rumor it was set and one of Vesters’s accomplices did the deed.”
Emily’s spoon clattered into her empty bowl. “I didn’t want to speak ill of anyone, but I did see something the other day.”
Lily’s pulse stuttered, and she leaned forward. “About Mr. Vesters?”
Emily nodded. “He had a stack of money, and he threw it in the fire.”
“He burned money?”
“Quite strange, isn’t it? He stirred the fire until the bills were ashes.”
Counterfeit money? She needed to let Drew know. “How much money did he burn?”
Emily held her fingers about two inches apart. “A stack like that.”
“Did you see the money? Was there something odd about it?”
“I wasn’t close enough to see any details. Just the bills.” Emily lowered her voice. “Do you think it was fake money?”
“It seems likely. Who would burn real money?”
“What if it was stolen, and he was afraid he’d be caught with it?”
Lily paused at the thought, then shook her head. “Why not just hide it until it was safe to use? I bet there was something wrong with the money. This was in the parlor? Where were the Marshalls?”
“They hadn’t arrived yet from a lunch engagement, and Mr. Vesters dropped by unannounced. I put him in the parlor and told him he could wait.”
“He probably wants to marry Belle for the money. If he’s desperate enough for that, he might be willing to step across the law to save his estate too. Did he see you watching?”
Emily shook her head. “I saw him in the hall mirror. It reflected his behavior clearly. I’m sure he has no idea he was seen.”
Lily tried to hide her rising excitement. “Still, it seems odd he would burn it in our parlor. Why not take care of it at home rather than where his actions might be discovered?”
“It’s strange, I admit.”
Lily’s attention was caught by a tall figure striding her way, determination stamped on his face. Drew motioned to her, then vanished behind a shrub. Though she told herself the heat in her cheeks was from the warm day, Lily couldn’t explain away the throb of her pulse in her throat as she took her leave from Emily. It was several minutes before Emily finally let her go.
T
he wind stiffened as dark clouds began to gather overhead. The days were getting short, and the clouds brought an even earlier dusk. Lily glanced behind the tree and along the side of the storefront but didn’t see Drew. A boy on a bicycle saw her and waved, so she approached him. “Can I help you?”
He had a smudge of black on his upturned nose, and his hair didn’t look like it had been combed in days. “Are you Miss Lily? The gentleman gave me a quarter to tell you to meet him in St. David’s Episcopal Church.” He pointed to the steeple. “In the garden.”
Lily thanked him and hurried toward the church. The moonlight tower wasn’t on this early, though it was dark enough that its illumination would have helped. The church was on the corner of Eighth and San Jacinto. No one was about when she made her way across the grounds to the garden. At least Drew had the sense to talk to her in a private setting. Someone would have been sure to notice their conversation at the candy store.
She paused near a bank of roses. “Drew?” The hair prickled on the back of her neck. The silence pressed in on her, and she peered into the gloom. She retreated a few feet. “Who’s there?” Her voice trembled even though she knew there was nothing to fear here in the steeple’s shadow.
She started to whirl at a footfall behind her, but a hard hand came down over her mouth and dragged her off the path and behind a line of shrubs.
He crushed her against his chest and kept her from turning her head. She caught a glimpse of something shiny and stilled. A knife blade. The cold metal touched her under the chin.
“So beautiful,” the man crooned.
Lily’s throat closed. This man intended to kill her. Had he been watching her? She quit struggling. Maybe he would loosen his grip. Her bag was still in her hand. Was there something she could use as a weapon? Her hand touched the hard clasp. It was sharp on one end.
She waited for her opportunity as the man dragged her farther into the shadows. His grip loosened on her right arm, and she brought the bag up with the point toward him. She hit his face with all her strength. She felt the protrusion sink into skin, and her fingers touched hair.