Rue Toulouse (40 page)

“I believe it’s time to leave, and I’m driving,” Caterine said. “We need to go thank your parents and tell them goodbye.”

Remi narrowed his eyes. “Caterine, what’s got into you? Are you pissed off over Kathleen kissing me? If so, she’s harmless. She’s just had a little too much to drink.”

She put her hands on her hips. “Remi, she’s not the only one who’s had too much to drink. So have you. I’m not getting in a car with you driving. So you have two choices. Either I drive or we spend the night here. It’s your decision.”

“You’ve been talking to my mother, haven’t you?”

Not answering him, she held out her hand. “Give me the keys, Remi.”

He gave her a defiant glare and opened his mouth to speak, then hesitated. He swore in Cajun, reached in his pocket, and handed her the keys. “You’d better be a damn good driver, Princess, because I don’t want my car messed up.”

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Caterine was awakened early Sunday morning by the ringing of her cell phone. Sleepily she answered, “Hello.”

“Cat, it’s Ray. Grandmère has fallen and is on her way to the emergency room in an ambulance.”

All sleepiness gone, Caterine sat bolt upright in bed. “Ray, what happened? How did she fall?”

“She was leaving the house to go to Mass and tripped over the newspaper, which was tucked under the front door mat.”

“What was the paper doing there?”

“Cat, I don’t know. Perhaps the delivery kid put it there because it’s raining and didn’t want it to get wet.”

Caterine turned toward the rain-streaked windows. “How badly is she hurt?”

“I’m not sure. She’s got a nasty bump on her head, and it looks as if she may have broken her ankle.”

“Who found her?”

“Thomas. He’d just pulled the car up when she came out of the house and fell.”

“I’m on my way.” She threw the blanket off and got out of bed. “Is the entire family going to the hospital?”

“I imagine. As you know, Hyacinth won’t leave the house until she’s looking perfect, and Charlotte isn’t known for moving quickly in the morning. But I expect sooner or later they’ll all show up.”

“I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

“I’ll meet you in the emergency room lobby,” Ray said and hung up.

“What’s going on?” Remi asked, now sitting on the side of the bed.

Caterine explained as she headed for the bathroom. “Will you drive me? If you’d rather not, I can take a cab.”

“I’m driving you. I’ll wait in the car until you find out how bad Miss Dauphine’s hurt.”

As they sat waiting at a light on South Claiborne, Caterine peered impatiently through the windshield. “Damn this rain, and why is there so much traffic out here on a Sunday morning?”

“Relax, we’re almost to the hospital,” Remi said. “I’ve been thinking about Miss Dauphine’s fall, and I don’t like it.”

Caterine turned to face him. “What do you mean? She just tripped over the paper.”

“Has the paper ever been put under the mat before?”

Caterine shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m not the one who gets it off the porch. We’ll have to ask Grandmère or Uncle Jules.”

“Does Miss Dauphine always go to early Mass?”

“Usually.”

“Does she normally go alone?”

“Yes. Everyone else goes later, if they go at all. Are you thinking someone intentionally put the paper there so Grandmère would trip?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. I feel we need to question anything out of the ordinary that happens to either you or Miss Dauphine.”

“Well, that takes care of that. We’re getting Grandmère out of that house. As soon as she’s released from the hospital, I’m taking her to the Royal Orleans. She can stay there with Miss Annabelle.”

“Wait a minute,” Remi said. “I understand your concern, but logistically that doesn’t make any sense. And before you argue with me, let me finish. First, Miss Dauphine will be more comfortable in her own home where people can take care of her.”

“Such as the person who might have intentionally made her fall?”

“There’re others in that house as well. What about the staff? Are they loyal to your grandmother?”

She nodded. “Yes, they’ve been with us for years.”

“And what if I ask Pet to go stay with her? She wanted to come up anyway. This way she could keep Miss Dauphine company and, since she knows the situation, keep an eye on her as well.”

“That’s a great idea. Would she do it?”

He snorted. “Are you kidding? I’m sure she’d jump at the chance to not only help out Miss Dauphine but to get involved in all this as well, the prospect of which doesn’t really thrill me.”

“Oh, for heaven’s sake, they’re two old ladies. How much mischief can they get into?”

Remi laughed derisively. “Princess, I’d hate to imagine.”

“Yes, well, it’s still a good idea.”

“I’ll call while you’re in the hospital. She can have either my father or John drive her up as soon as she’s ready. Until we know more about Miss Dauphine’s injuries, Pet can stay at the hotel. One other thing, Paul and a couple of his men were planning on working at the mansion today on the pretense of trying to finish before the party. I wasn’t going to help him because I don’t want to be seen by Charlotte, Randal, or Markus. If everyone will be at the hospital, I can go over and help. Can you get Ray to drive you back to the apartment?”

Caterine hesitated. “I’m sure he would, but I need to get some of my things from the carriage house, and it would be easier if I had my own car. We’re going to be going by Paul’s house. What if I drop you off there and I take the car? Paul can give you a ride home.”

Remi scowled. “I let you drive my car last night because it was easier than arguing with you and my mother. I’m sure Ray wouldn’t mind taking you by the carriage house.”

“Oh, for heaven's sake, Remi, I drove your precious car just fine last night, but if you’re so concerned just drop me off at the hospital, and I’ll call for a rental car to be delivered to me there.”

Remi scowled. “I need my car in case I have to leave your grandmother’s house.”

“Fine, I’ll call the rental company.”

“Caterine, I’ll get you a damn car. What do you have to get at the carriage house that’s so important?”

“I need to take my princess gown to Ma Chérie tomorrow so it can be repaired in time for the ball.”

“What happened to your gown?”

She smiled. “A pirate tore it trying to get it off of me.”

Caterine not only found Ray waiting in the emergency room lobby, Uncle Jules, Uncle Markus, and Aunt Frances were sitting there as well.

“Hello, Caterine.” Her Uncle Jules rose and kissed her cheek. “I heard you were back in town.”

“Yes, I got back Thursday night. Have you spoken to a doctor yet?”

“No. Mother is still in the examination room.”

“Ray said she tripped over the paper. Is it normally put under the mat?”

Jules shook his head. “No, it most certainly is not. I’m usually out there in my bathrobe searching for the damn thing in the bushes. Now, come over and sit down here with us. Would you like me to get you a cup of coffee?”

“Thank you, but I can go get it.”

Ray stood. “I’ll come with you. I could use another cup myself.”

Caterine waited until they’d reached the coffee machine before saying. “Ray, Remi and I are afraid Grandmère’s fall wasn’t an accident. We’re going to ask someone to come and stay with her.”

Ray looked into his empty coffee cup then back up at Caterine. The pain in his eyes had her blinking back sudden tears. “Ray, I’m so sorry. I know the thought of Randal or Charlotte intentionally hurting Grandmère has to be devastating to you. But there’re others who live in that house who could have just as easily placed the paper under the mat.”

“Like who, Caterine? One of my parents? Or how about Uncle Markus? Christ.” He angrily tossed his cup into the trash. “I kept telling myself whoever was behind your attack had to be someone outside our family, but this certainly blows that idea all to shit, doesn’t it?”

Caterine placed a hand on his arm. “Ray, we need to make sure Grandmère stays safe. Her old friend Annabelle Michaud happens to be Remi’s grandmother. I met her again at a family function Remi took me to. She said she would be happy to come stay with Grandmère and help keep an eye on things in the house.”

“How much did you tell her?”

“I didn’t have to tell her anything; Grandmère had already taken care of that.”

His brows lifted. “You’re kidding, right? I can’t imagine Grandmère sharing our dirty family secrets with anyone.”

Caterine shrugged. “Well, she did. She probably felt Miss Annabelle was the one person she could trust. In fact, Annabelle said she’d been considering coming to the ball anyway.”

“How are we going to explain her suddenly appearing and staying at the house?”

“We’ll say she was going to visit Grandmère, heard about her accident, and thought she could be of help. I doubt anyone will be interested enough to question it.”

Ray nodded. “You’re probably right.”

“There’s one more thing. Remi is going over to help Paul at the house, and I still don’t have a car, so I may need you to take me to a car rental company.”

“Sure, no problem. Speaking of our family, I found out that for the ball my parents will be dressed as Robert E. Lee and his wife, Uncle Markus as Mark Twain, and Randal as a riverboat gambler.”

Caterine snorted. “How appropriate for him. He won’t need a costume.”

Ray smiled. “That’s what I told him. I’ll let you know as soon as I find out about Charlotte, Paulette, and Aunt Hyacinth.”

“Is Charlotte bringing that Rivette person?” Caterine asked as they headed back toward the hospital lobby.

Ray scowled. “She had better not. I told her I wouldn’t have that scum in the house. It’s incredible what a mess she’s managed to get herself into. I’m on her ass so bad over the coke that I’m not my sister's favorite person right now. I’ve already lined up a clinic in Switzerland for her to go to. She doesn’t know it yet, but she leaves next week. And if I have to handcuff her to me and take her there myself, that’s what I’m going to do.”

“Good for you, Ray. Hopefully someday Charlotte will realize you were only trying to help her. Look, the doctor is talking to Uncle Jules.” She hurried over. They arrived in time to hear the doctor say that Miss Dauphine had a slight concussion and they were taking her to have her hip and foot X-rayed.

As they stood with the doctor, Caterine’s cell phone rang. “Hello.”

“Randal, Charlotte, and some people I assume to be Paulette and her mother are heading toward the entrance,” Remi said.

Caterine turned as the four came through the door. “Yes, that’s right,” she replied, moving away from the others.

“I’m going to go ahead and go to the house. I spoke to Paul, and he’s already on his way over. Also, you’ll have a car within the hour.”

“Oh really? How’s that?”

“Antoine’s bringing you one.”

Caterine sighed. “He didn’t have to do that.”

“It’s all right. He doesn’t live that far away, and he owes me for all the times I’ve gotten his ass out of trouble. He’s going to call your cell when he gets here, and you can come out and get the keys.”

“Okay, thank you. I’ll call you when we learn anything more about Grandmère.”

“I’ve also spoken with Pet. As I guessed, she’s happy to come stay with Miss Dauphine. She’s having John bring her, and she’s going to check into the Royal Orleans until Miss Dauphine is released.”

“Then I’ll talk to you later.”

“If for some reason I see you at the mansion, remember you don’t know me, but I’m hoping to be out of there before anyone gets back.”

Caterine ended the call and went to join the others in the waiting room. Taking a seat, she realized this was the first time she’d been with all of them since the attack.

Charlotte lifted one perfectly arched brow. “Well, if it isn’t Caterine back from her mysterious trip.”

“There wasn’t anything mysterious about it, Charlotte. I was away on Ma Chérie business.”