“Hi, Dad.” Laura came to greet me with a kiss on the cheek and a hug. “Where have you and Diesel been?”
“Didn’t you see the note I left?” I frowned. “I stuck it on the fridge.”
Laura laughed, a throaty, infectious sound. “Yes, I did. But all it said was ‘Gone to tea. Back around five.’ I’ve been dying of curiosity ever since.”
“Sorry, I thought I said where we were going.” I loosened my tie and unbuttoned the top button. “Ah, that’s better. Diesel and I have been at River Hill having tea with the Misses Ducote.”
“Oh, do tell.” Laura’s eyes lit up. “You’ll have to fill me in on it. I can’t wait to see the house. All I’ve seen are pictures of the exterior, and it’s gorgeous.”
“You’ll see inside it soon enough. The gala’s only four days away now.” I shrugged off my jacket and folded it over my arm. “The house is every bit as beautiful inside as it is outside. At least the areas I saw were, the entryway and the front parlor. Antiques, portraits, and so on. A real showplace.”
“The gala will be such a hoot.” Laura went back to the oven and peered through the glass. “I think this needs another fifteen or twenty minutes.”
“Good. Then I have time to go upstairs and change out of my Sunday-go-to-meeting clothes.”
“Aw, you look so handsome and distinguished in that suit, Dad.” Laura pouted. “Don’t come back looking all scruffy.”
I offered her a mock-severe frown. “Young lady, I’ll have you know I’ve never been scruffy in my life. Well, at least not since I was about ten, anyway.”
Laura laughed again. “I know, I’ve seen Aunt Dottie’s pictures. You could be quite the dirty little piglet sometimes.”
“None of your sass, now.” I grinned as I recalled one picture in particular. I was dirt-splattered from making mud pies in Aunt Dottie’s backyard. My aunt snorted with laughter, then ran for her camera. Much to my chagrin in later years, she often pulled out that shot to show friends and family.
“I promise to be presentable,” I said as I headed for the stairs.
Laura arched an eyebrow. “You’d better be. Don’t forget, Helen Louise is coming to dinner.”
Hoping against hope that I wasn’t blushing, I scooted for the stairs. Behind me I heard Laura talking to Diesel and promising him some tidbits at dinner.
I hadn’t forgotten that Helen Louise was coming to dinner, but Laura’s reminder prompted me to think more carefully about my change of clothes. I put my suit away, kept the white shirt on, and slipped into dark pants. I added a light cotton sweater, a deep emerald green, which had been a birthday present from Helen Louise. She loved the color, and I knew she’d enjoy seeing me wear her gift.
Downstairs again I found Sean and Diesel with Laura in the kitchen. Sean had his hands in the salad bowl, tearing lettuce. My big helpful kitty kept a close eye on Laura as she put a tray of garlic bread into the oven to warm. He meowed as the bread disappeared and moved anxiously closer as Laura shut the door.
“It will come out all nice and toasty,” Laura assured the cat, “and I’ll make sure you have a few bites.”
I cleared my throat, and Laura started. She flashed me a guilty smile. “That is, if Dad says it’s okay.”
“He’s already had some nice extra treats today, courtesy of the Ducote sisters.” I put on a stern expression, then
spoiled it with a chuckle. “But you can give him two small—very small—pinches of garlic bread.”
“Okay, Dad.” Laura came closer and dropped a quick kiss on my cheek.
“You’re hobnobbing with the society crowd these days.” Sean finished with the salad and moved to the sink to rinse his hands. “Having tea with the Ducote sisters may put you on the A-list in Athena.” He grinned as he dried off with a tea towel.
I put on my best aristocratic drawl. “Yes, I’m thinking of hiring a chauffeur to drive the new Rolls I ordered. I can’t be seen driving myself around town now.”
“Wonderful.” Laura clapped her hands. “Does this mean I can have that diamond and emerald tiara I’ve always wanted? Christmas
is
only a couple weeks away, after all.”
“How about a Lamborghini for me?” Sean smirked at me. “I’ve been a good boy lately.”
“Whatever you want,” I said airily. “The sky’s the limit.”
We all had a hearty laugh, and as I watched my two children making merry I felt a deep sense of satisfaction. Having both of them with me these past few months was a great blessing, and I didn’t want to think about Laura heading back to California after the holidays. Sean could be moving out also, but perhaps not for a while. He seemed comfortably ensconced here, but if he and Alexandra did get married, they would want their own home.
The ringing of the front doorbell interrupted my journey down Melancholy Lane. “I’ll go,” I said. “I’m sure it’s Helen Louise.”
Sean and Laura exchanged a smile, and Diesel, hearing the name of one of his favorite people, loped after me as I headed out of the kitchen.
He reached the front door before me and reared up on his hind legs. With both his front paws he started twisting the knob. He had learned this little trick some time ago, and I suspected Justin had taught him to do it.
“Hang on, boy, there’s a dead bolt, too.” If he ever learned to open that, I could have real trouble on my hands. With my help at the dead bolt Diesel was able to open the door. We both moved back to admit Helen Louise. She looked lovely tonight in a crimson midlength skirt and jacket over a cream-colored blouse. The crimson suited her dark coloring perfectly.
“Charlie, Diesel, am I glad to see the two of you.” Helen Louise slipped off her jacket after giving me a kiss and the cat a scratch of the head. “I’ve spent the most frustrating hour. I’m about ready to take somebody’s head off.”
“Uh-oh. What happened?” I took her hand and tucked it into the crook of my arm. I led her toward the kitchen, while Diesel made circles around us on the way.
“Vera Cassity. That’s what happened.” The venom in Helen Louise’s voice didn’t surprise me, considering Vera was the cause of her distress.
“What did she do?” I asked as we walked into the kitchen.
“All she’s doing,” Helen Louise replied, eyes flashing hatred, “is trying to run me out of business.”
Helen Louise sank into the chair Sean pulled out for her. Diesel put a paw on her leg and laid his head beside it. He warbled for her, and she sighed and rubbed his head. “Oh, you sweet boy. You’re just what I needed.” She glanced at me and then at the other two faces regarding her with concern. “All of you.”
“How is the Wicked Witch of North Mississippi trying to run you out of business?” Laura handed Helen Louise a glass of iced tea.
Helen Louise took a quick sip before she responded. “Delicious. Vera had the gall to come into the bakery around four thirty this afternoon and inform me—in a voice loud enough for everyone within five miles to hear—that the Friends board was canceling its order for the gala. Do you know how much money I spent on the ingredients for all those pastries and cakes?”
“Why on earth would they cancel? The gala’s only a few days away.” Laura frowned. “That doesn’t make any sense.”
“No, it doesn’t,” I said. “Did Vera give you a reason?”
“She certainly did. She had the colossal nerve to say someone on the board had heard that several people came down with food poisoning after eating some of my food.” Helen Louise drained the rest of her tea. “That was an out-and-out lie.”
“Of course it was.” I squeezed her shoulder, and she put a hand over mine as she smiled up at me.
“How about a refill?” Sean reached for Helen Louise’s glass.
“Definitely,” she said. “Slip a little bourbon in it while you’re at it.”
Sean grinned. “If that’s what you want, I think Dad’s got some stashed away somewhere.”
Helen Louise laughed. “No, only kidding. If I start on the bourbon, I’ll just get maudlin, and none of you needs to see that.”
“What did you say to Mrs. Cassity about the food poisoning?” Laura asked. She bent to peek in the oven. “Time to get this out.”
“I lit into her like a wild dog after Jezebel.” Helen Louise offered a grim smile. “I told her exactly what I thought of her, and I also told her my lawyer would call her first thing tomorrow and she’d better be prepared for the biggest lawsuit for slander the great state of Mississippi has ever seen.”
Sean whistled as he handed her a fresh glass of tea. “I bet you were terrifying. What did Mrs. Cassity have to say then?”
“Not a blessed thing. She turned white as the proverbial driven snow—which she sure isn’t—and almost ran out of
there.” Helen Louise swigged down half her glass with evident satisfaction.
“I’m proud of you for standing up for yourself like that.” I bent to drop a kiss on her cheek. “Vera is a nasty piece of work, that’s for sure.”
Helen Louise frowned. “She did say something odd, though, in the midst of all those lies about the food poisoning. Now, what was it? Oh, I know, she said I ought to be more careful about the company I keep. What do you think she meant by that?”
I felt my blood pressure start to rise, and if Vera had been anywhere near, I think I would have set aside the manners of a lifetime and slapped the pee wadden out of her. It took me a moment to calm myself enough to speak.
“I know exactly what she meant, that vicious harpy. She’s angry with me because I wouldn’t let her snoop around in the Ducote family papers. She threatened me, but Miss An’gel thwarted her, so she decided to get at me through you.”
Helen Louise used a word I had never heard her speak, disconcerting me. Diesel drew back in alarm at her tone, however, and Helen Louise hastened to reassure him. He calmed under her touch.
Laura said, “Amen to that. That woman ought to be put away somewhere. Who does she think she is, anyway?”
“Evidently she thinks she can run roughshod over everyone in town.” Sean shoved his hands in his pants pockets as he leaned back against the counter. I could see his hands ball up inside the fabric as his face darkened in anger. “Dad, we can’t let her get away with this.”
“She won’t, I can promise you that,” Helen Louise said. “The minute Vera was out the door I got on the phone and called Miss An’gel to tell her about it. She advised me to
call my lawyer, as I threatened Vera I’d do. She also said she had plans to give Vera the comeuppance she so richly deserves.” She laughed. “She wouldn’t tell me what she meant. All she’d say was that I would enjoy this year’s gala more than ever and to go ahead and proceed as we’d planned with the pastries.”
That must have been the phone call Miss An’gel had to take as I was leaving River Hill, I realized.
“Who is your lawyer, by the way?” Sean asked as he set the heaping bowl of salad on the table.
Helen Louise’s expression turned impish. “Why, your future father-in-law, of course. I deal only with the best.”
Sean turned bright red, and Laura and I exchanged amused glances. Sean had been remarkably close-mouthed about his relationship with Alexandra Pendergrast since he’d begun working for her father. I could understand his reticence. His abrupt departure from Houston and his job there was connected to a prior romantic relationship.
“How
is
Alexandra? I haven’t talked to her in ages.” Laura couldn’t resist twisting the knife. She loved to rag her big brother; after all, turnabout was fair play when it came to sibling annoyance.
Sean shot a dark look at his sister. I read it easily. Payback would be no fun for Laura.
“If you must know, Alexandra is fine.
We
are fine, but we are
not
talking about marriage.” Sean’s icy tone boded ill for dinner conversation.
Helen Louise looked contrite. “All in good time. I’m sorry, Sean, sometimes I let my mouth run away from me. Forgive me, please?”
Sean glared for a moment, but his essential good humor quickly reasserted itself. But I didn’t trust that glint in his eye as he bent to kiss Helen Louise’s cheek. “I’ll talk about weddings
when I hear you and Dad talking about one, how’s that?”
Now it was my turn to blush furiously, and Helen Louise ducked her head, obviously trying not to laugh. “Enough of that,” I finally managed to say. “I think it’s time we ate dinner.”
The quicker we got away from the subject of weddings, the better. Helen Louise and I hadn’t looked that far ahead, and frankly, I wasn’t ready to just yet. Sean and I were alike in that respect.
At the mention of dinner Diesel meowed loudly and glanced from me to Laura and back again. His expression was so hopeful, and so funny, that we all started laughing, and the tension dissipated.
We busied ourselves with plates and bowls of salad, and the conversation shifted to other topics as we ate. Diesel sat first by Helen Louise, then by Laura, knowing full well they were easier touches than Sean. I would of course be his last resort.
“Where’s Stewart tonight?” Sean asked. “Isn’t this his lasagna?”
“It is,” Laura said. “He has a date tonight, and he was all atwitter.” She grinned. “Either it’s a first date or the guy must be pretty special. Stewart changed his clothes about seven times before he finally settled on something.”
While the others chatted about Stewart and the possible identity of his new flame, I found myself unable to shake Vera Cassity from my thoughts. Her attempts to cause trouble infuriated me, and I wondered what I could possibly do to put a stop to it.
The obvious answer to that was to let her have access to the Ducote archives. But there was no way I was going to compromise my professional ethics and allow that. I’d never be
able to look Miss An’gel and Miss Dickce in the face again if I did.
Thoughts of the Ducote sisters reminded me of what Helen Louise had told us earlier—and of my own conversation that afternoon with the sisters. The warlike gleam in Miss An’gel’s eyes meant trouble for Vera, but I had no idea what the Ducotes planned to do to neutralize her. Things might come to a head at the gala, according to Helen Louise. I was nervous enough already about that, and the thought of histrionics on a grand, public scale made me push my lasagna away, half eaten.
The biblical adage went around and around in my head: “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.” The language of the King James Version—almost always misquoted, which annoyed me—made it sound more doom laden than the modernized revisions of more recent years.