Swan's Way (31 page)

“Looks like you were right, Elspeth. That must have been a ghost who shot me. And I guess it was a phantom bullet, too.”

Elspeth gave him a knowing smile and leaned close to whisper, “Time cures a lot, don’t it? The greenhouse got powerful magic in it, sure enough.”

Ginna stared, amazed, at Neal’s uninjured arm. “How could this happen?”

Again, Elspeth spoke in a whisper. “I know where you two been. And you needed to go one last time. Did you see my great-gran, Polly?”

Ginna nodded. “She saved Channing’s life.”

“Well, I reckon her potions must of helped Neal heal up too. She was a wise woman, that Polly.”

Sister and Marcellus Lynch were across the table, deep in some private conversation, ignoring the others. Only Pansy seemed left out by everyone. Ginna smiled at her, trying to draw her into their group.

“What’s wrong, Miss Pansy? You’re so quiet today.”

Pansy glanced toward Elspeth, as if asking her permission to speak. Elspeth answered for her.

“She needs to talk to you private, after we finish dinner, Ginna. Isn’t that right, Pansy?”

She nodded, but still looked ill at ease. “If you say so, Elspeth.”

“About what?” Ginna asked.

Elspeth was quick to cut her off. “It’ll keep for now.”

Dr. Kirkwood burst into the dining room just then, looking like a thunderstorm about to rain on all of them. He glanced about, then came directly toward Neal and Ginna.

“What are you doing out of bed?” he demanded.

In answer, Neal raised his arm to show the doctor. “All healed,” he said with a smile.

“And the Mini ball? Did you take that from my office?”

“Haven’t seen it,” Neal answered.

“Well, it’s gone. Somebody took it. What am I supposed to tell the police?”

Elspeth spoke up. “Seems to me, Dr. Kirkwood, that if Neal’s all well and the bullet’s gone, then the whole thing must have been them ghosts fooling around, like I said all along. You reckon the police are going to take kindly to you calling them out here to report on some Confederate phantoms?” She paused and laughed. “Why, they be locking
you
up in some padded cell!”

“I really should report this incident,” Kirkwood mused aloud, his face one massive frown of puzzlement.

“No need now, doc,” Neal said. “I’m fine. Seems almost like I dreamed the whole thing.”

Kirkwood let out a sigh and shook his head, muttering under his breath.

“Doctor, Neal and I would like to have a look at that old Bible you mentioned to me. The one with the Swan records in it,” Ginna requested.

“I’m not sure where it is. Somewhere in the store room, I suspect”

“This really is important” Ginna urged. “Could you find it for us? Please?”

“All right. I’ll go upstairs and see if I can locate it. Maybe that will take my mind off all this ghost mess.”

Ginna smiled and squeezed Neal’s hand under the table.

“But I must talk to you first” Pansy begged.
“Before
you look at the Bible.”

“All right Pansy. As soon as we finish.”

“Oh, thank you, Ginna. I have the courage now, but I might lose it if I have to wait.”

Ginna eyed Pansy suspiciously.
What now?
she wondered.

She didn’t have to wait long to find out. As soon as the plates were cleared, even before dessert was served, Pansy rose and motioned for Ginna to come with her.

“I want to go, too,” Neal said.

Pansy hesitated, but seeing a slight nod from Elspeth, she motioned for Neal to join them.

The three had the parlor all to themselves. Pansy closed the door and locked it, something Ginna had never seen her do before.

“I don’t want that busybody, Lynch, bursting in and interrupting us,” Pansy explained. “Sit down, both of you. I have a tale to tell.”

Ginna and Neal sat close, both of them on edge, not knowing what to expect

“I have something of yours, Ginna.” Pansy fished into her pocket and brought out something small and shiny. She handed it to the younger woman.

Ginna gasped. “My locket! Where did you get it, Pansy? It’s been lost for years.”

The old woman looked down, embarrassed to face the locket’s owner. “I stole it” she confessed.

“Pansy, no! I can’t believe that.”

“It’s true. The very first time you came here to visit your foster mother, you were wearing it. I knew at the moment who you were.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Let me begin at the beginning, dear. I’ll try to explain, although I know you’ll never be able to forgive me.” She paused and sniffed, then blew her nose daintily into her lace hanky.

“I come of fine old Virginia stock. Never was there a blemish on my family name—not until I put one there. You see, back before the second world war, when I was young and pretty and foolish, I fell in love. He was such a handsome boy—so sweet and adoring. He, too, came of old Virginia folks. Had times been different he would have wooed me, courted me, then finally asked my papa for my hand in marriage. We would have had a long, lovely life together, I’m sure. But that was not to be. To make a long story short, the night before he left to go fight in the Pacific, I allowed the unthinkable.”

Ginna might have smiled, had Pansy not been so miserable. The “unthinkable” was obviously the act of love, something women gave hardly a second thought to, nowadays. But back when Pansy had been young, a girl’s virginity was something to be closely guarded until after she wed.

Pansy was crying now, silently. “After we—you
know—he
gave me that silver heart locket. He said it had been in his family for a long time and that his grandmother had passed it on to him to give it to his wife.”

“But I don’t understand, Pansy. If the locket was yours, how did I get it?”

“I’m coming to that, dear.”

Transfixed by Pansy’s story, Ginna was hardly aware when Neal reached over and took her hand.

“My poor, dear Billy, the only man I ever loved, was sent to Pearl Harbor. He never knew when our daughter was bom. I did my best to raise her alone, but it was never easy. I suppose Billy Jean was my cross to bear for the sin I had committed with her father.”

“It wasn’t a sin,” Ginna said, gently. “It was love, Pansy.”

“Well, maybe now it would be considered so, but not back then. At any rate, I gave Billy Jean your silver locket on her sixteenth birthday. Two days later, she ran away from home. I never saw her again. I tried to find her, but young people were roaming all over, back then, living in communes, practicing free love. I didn’t understand any of it. I just wanted my baby back. She called me a few months after she left. She said she was fine and that I shouldn’t worry. She said she was in love. I begged her to come home, but she said she couldn’t leave her man. I never even found out his name. She did sound happy. That gave me some peace of mind. But a few months later, she called again. She was crying, hysterical. She said she was all alone, that her fellow had left her. I remember her words exactly, ‘Mom, I’ve had a baby and something’s wrong with her. I’m real scared. I can’t take care of her.’”

Pansy broke down, at this point. She had to stop for several minutes to regain her composure. Virginia went to her, trying to soothe her tears.

“It’s all right, Pansy. It wasn’t your fault.”

“Oh, but it was! I should have married Billy before … I should have been a better mother to my daughter.”

“What happened to your granddaughter, Pansy? Did you ever find her?”

Pansy raised her eyes to Ginna’s. Tears flowed down the old woman’s cheeks. “Yes,” she whispered. “Yes, Ginna, I found her.”

Pansy reached out and touched the silver locket that Ginna had fastened around her neck.

“The last thing Billy Jean told me was that she had named her baby Ginna, because that was the name on the locket. When you came here and I saw that silver heart—the same one Billy gave me so long ago—and you told us the story of how you were found on the hospital steps, I knew that you were Billy Jean’s daughter, my own granddaughter, Ginna.”

Neal rose and came to put his arms around Ginna. She stood in stunned silence for a moment, before she wrapped her arms around her grandmother.

“What happened to my mother?” she whispered.

“I never found out. Like so many other young people in that lost generation, she simply vanished. I had no one, until you came into my life, Ginna. And, oh, I have grown to love you so!”

“Why didn’t you tell me all this sooner?”

“I was ashamed. Not because of what Billy and I did, but because I stole the locket from you. When you first came here, I didn’t make the connection. I only knew that the locket belonged to me and that it was all I had left of Billy and Billie Jean. I wanted it back. Then when I realized who you really were and that you
should
have the locket, that it was rightfully yours, I was too embarrassed to admit that I’d taken it. Can you forgive me—for everything?”

Virginia’s emotions were churning inside her. She wanted to weep for her grandfather and her mother. At the same time, she wanted to cry out with joy at finally finding out who she was and where she came from—at finally having a family. She had loved Pansy long before today. Now that love was multiplied a thousandfold.

“You look like her, you know,” Pansy said, gently stroking Ginna’s cheek. “And you look even more like Billy Jean’s great-great-grandmother, my dear Billy’s grandmother.”

“Who was she?” Ginna asked, holding her breath in wonder.

“Virginia Swan.”

Silence fell in the room, and the name seemed to echo off the walls.

“The
Virginia Swan?” Neal asked at length.

Pansy nodded. “That’s why I came here when I could no longer live alone. Somehow, being at Swan’s Quarter made me feel closer to my Billy. Sometimes I think I see him down by the pond, or sitting out under the tulip poplar. It’s only my imagination, I know, but it makes me feel closer to him.”

“Oh, Pansy, I don’t know what to say.”

“You needn’t say anything for now, Ginna. But I knew I didn’t have much more time, and I did want you to know. You’ve made my last years the happiest of my life, dear. I love you, Ginna.”

“I love you, too, Grandmother Pansy.”

Pansy stepped out of their embrace and looked sternly at Ginna. “There’s been too long a history of love gone wrong in this family. I want you and Neal to get married, Ginna, just as soon as you can.”

“Is day after tomorrow soon enough?” Neal smiled gently at the old woman.

“Glory be!” Pansy cried. “I never thought I’d live to see the day!”

She hugged them both, crying tears of happiness now.

Noise from out in the hall told them that the dinner hour was over. Soon, someone would be pounding on the door. But it was done, the story told. Pansy looked happy, but weary.

“I think I’ll go up to my room for a nap now, children. It’s been a long day … a long life. But, my goodness, it’s been worth it, now that I’ve found you, Ginna.”

Pansy kissed her granddaughter, then unlocked the door and left Ginna and Neal alone.

For a long time, Neal held Ginna, letting her cry it all out. Tomorrow would be soon enough to search the old Bible for the secrets it held. For now, they needed time alone together, time for Ginna to rethink and reshape the entire picture of her life.

“I need to go into Winchester,” Ginna said. “It’s important.”

She and Neal had been strolling about the grounds, watching the two swans glide over the pond, talking quietly of this and that. Her statement came out of the blue.

“What about the Bible? I thought you wanted to look at that, before we do anything else.”

“Yes, I do want to see the Bible. But we have other business to take care of first. We need to get blood tests and a marriage license. Also, there’s someone I want you to meet. A good friend of mine.”

“Ah!” Neal laughed, but he sounded nervous. “I have to pass inspection, eh?”

“Don’t be silly.” Ginna went up on tiptoe and kissed his cheek. “You’ve passed
my
inspection, and that’s all that matters. I just think you should know more about me, darling.”

Neal already knew a good deal of her life story, from hearing Pansy’s confessions. Still, there was one more segment of her life that she had kept secret from him. Besides, Lucille had been a good friend for many years. She wanted Neal to meet her and see the Rebel Yell Cafe. She wanted the man she loved to know
everything
about her.

“Maybe Dr. Kirkwood will let us borrow his car. We’ll only be gone a couple of hours.”

“Whatever you say, Ginna. Let’s go ask him.”

They headed back up the hill in silence. There was too much to discuss today, so not talking at all seemed the best course of action.

When they reached Kirkwood’s office, he was bending over the Swan family Bible, a massive tome bound in rusty-black leather. He looked up and grinned at them.

“I found it!” he said. “There’s some interesting stuff here. You can use my office to look it over, if you’d like. I hear you have a family connection, Ginna.”

“News really travels fast in this place, Doc.”

Kirkwood chuckled. “There’s little else these people have to do but gossip. And to find out, Ginna, that you are actually one of them, through Pansy, is the best news they could hear. There’s also word that we’re having a wedding here day after tomorrow. Am I right?”

Ginna gave Kirkwood a huge smile, glad that he approved. “That’s what we’ve come for. May we borrow your car for a couple of hours? We need to drive into Winchester to get a license.”

“Sure. But I thought you were so eager to get at this Bible.”

Ginna glanced longingly at the old book. She would have loved to dive right into her research this very minute. “That will have to wait until we get back.”

Dr. Kirkwood handed Neal his car keys. “Drive carefully,” he said.

They slipped out the back way to avoid getting held up, if they ran into Elspeth or any of the others, who’d be bound to want to talk a blue streak about Pansy’s revelation.

They climbed into Dr. Kirkwood’s car, and Neal took off with a squeal of tires. Safely off Swan’s Quarter property, they both visibly relaxed.

“Ah, alone at last!” Neal said, with a sigh and a wink.

Ginna laughed. “You keep your eyes on the road. We’ll have plenty of time alone later.”

“Promise?”

“Promise!”

“Are you going to show me where you live?” Neal asked.

“If you’d like.” Ginna smiled and pressed his hand. “You’ll be surprised when you see it. Amazed, in fact.”

“Why’s that? You live in an old mansion or something?”

“Better still. I live in the old parsonage, where Virginia and Channing went when they eloped.”

Taking his eyes off the road for a moment, Neal turned to stare at her. “You’re kidding me! You knew all along?”

“Not when I rented the place. Not until after we went back in time and actually experienced the elopement. I think the spirit of Virginia Swan drew me there, even before all this started.”

They passed a car headed toward Swan’s Quarter about a mile up the road. Neal grimaced.

“Looks like we left in the nick of time. Did you see who that was?”

“No. Did you?”

“Mr. Henderson and all his kids. I sure don’t want another session with that man.”

Once again, Ginna gripped his free hand. “Neal, don’t. We’re on our way to get our marriage license. Don’t even think about anything else. It’s all in the past. It wasn’t your fault. You have to get over it.”

Neal made no reply, but pressed harder on the gas, as if his only wish were to put more distance between himself and the Hendersons. Ginna made it sound so easy—forgetting. It wasn’t!

They rode the rest of the way to Winchester in strained silence, Ginna thinking of the future, while Neal’s mind remained on the past.

“Turn left here,” Ginna directed, when they reached the heart of town.

“Where are we going?”

“Just up there in the middle of the block. The Rebel Yell Cafe.”

“I can’t eat a bite. I’m still stuffed from dinner—all that ham and potato salad.”

Ginna smiled at him, excited about getting her friend and her lover together for the first time, but nervous too. She was about to destroy her illusion of mystery. “We missed dessert. You can at least have a piece of Lucille’s apple pie.”

“Lucille? That’s your girlfriend?”

“Yes, Neal. Lu’s both my friend and my employer. She’s helped me through some rough times, in the six years I’ve worked for her as a waitress at the Rebel Yell.”

“You? A waitress in a greasy spoon?”

“Don’t let Lucille hear you call it that. Does it bother you that I work there—that I’m not the mistress of some grand old plantation?”

Neal didn’t hesitate before he said, “Not at all. I’m just surprised. I figured you for some computer expert, or maybe a model. It’s hard for me to picture you slinging hash.”

Ginna laughed gaily. “It’s the best hash in town, my love.”

Neal pulled up to the curb and got out to open the door for Ginna. Lucille spotted them and came to the front door, waving frantically.

“Well, if it isn’t the prodigal daughter! Where on earth have you been, Ginna? I must of phoned your place two dozen times.”

“Any problems? Don’t tell me Noreen quit!”

“No. I was just concerned about you. I knew you weren’t feeling well. I even called the hospital to see if you’d checked in again.”

She grinned at Lucille. “I’m fit as a fiddle, etc. And, Lu, I’d like you to meet Neal Frazier, the man I’m going to marry.”

Neal stuck out his hand to shake, but Lucille grabbed him in a bear hug. “Well, if this don’t beat all! I knew it was serious the first time she told me about you, Neal. When’s the big day?”

“Day after tomorrow,” Ginna said. “Out at Swan’s Quarter.”

“Well, glory! I couldn’t be happier for you, Ginna. You all come on in here and have something to eat. I just took a fresh apple pie out of the oven.”

Over pie à la mode and steaming black coffee, Ginna and Neal caught Lucille up on some of the curious happenings of the past few days.

“So, you found your family, at last.” Lucille leaned over and gave Ginna a peck on the cheek. “I’m real happy for you, honey. I knew you’d find your people someday.”

“I can’t wait for you to meet my grandmother. I know you’ll just love Pansy. She’s so sweet and dear.”

All the while Ginna was talking, Lucille was giving Neal the once over. She leaned down and whispered to Ginna, “You got you a good one, girl!”

Ginna giggled. “I think so.”

Neal looked up. “What are you two whispering about?”

“You!”
they both said together. Then Lucille added, “But you needn’t worry, Neal. It’s all good stuff we’re saying about you. I reckon Ginna is just plum head over heels in love for the first time in her life. It’s brought out the bloom in her cheeks.”

“That goes both ways,” Neal said, seriously. “Meeting Ginna is the best thing that’s ever happened to me. You could say she brought me back from the dead. Now I’m looking forward to living again—with Ginna, for a long, long time.”

Lucille gave a sudden cry. “Speaking of long times, I’ve got something for you, Ginna. I almost forgot. Old Huckabee down at the post office brought it over here and said I should give it to you.”

“What is it?” Ginna couldn’t imagine who would be writing to her at the Rebel Yell.

“A letter. Wait a minute. I’ll get it. It’s in my purse.”

Lucille returned a minute later and handed Ginna a dirty, ragged envelope. It was addressed to “Mrs. Virginia Swan McNeal, Swan’s Quarter, Virginia.”

“Huckabee figured you could take it out to Swan’s Quarter next time you visit. It’s been lying in the dead-letter file gathering dust all these years. They just found it when the post office was being remodeled.”

Ginna took the fragile envelope with trembling hands. She could just make out the return address. “Why, it’s from Tennessee! From Captain Royal’s sweetheart, Amanda.”

“Well, open it!” Lucille prompted. “Let’s see what she has to say.”

“Should I? It’s not addressed to me.”

“But according to what Miss Pansy told you, you’re her closest living relative,” Lucille remined her. “Maybe the only one.”

“Open it, Ginna,” Neal urged.

Ginna slit the brittle paper carefully with a knife. The ink on the folded piece of vellum was still sharp and dark. “It’s dated April the twentieth, 1863.” Ginna first scanned the letter silently, then read it aloud to Lu and Neal.

Tears were streaming down Ginna’s cheeks, by the time she finished reading Amanda’s letter.

“Don’t cry, darlin’,” Neal said gently. “Think how happy Virginia would have been to know that Amanda got that kitten. And this letter fits one piece into the puzzle. We know that Captain Royal returned to Swan’s Quarter at least once more.”

“But it’s so sad that he was killed before they could be married. Poor Amanda! Poor Jake!”

“Well, I just think it’s amazing,” Lucille said. “Imagine that old letter being lost all these years, then finding its way to you, Ginna.” She looked over at her friend and saw that her face had gone deathly pale suddenly. “Ginna? Are you all right? You aren’t about to have another attack, are you? Lord, I’m going to call an ambulance!”

Ginna caught her hand.
“No, Lucille!
I’ll be fine in a minute. It’s just… Amanda’s letter came as a shock.”

“What are you talking about, Lucille?” Neal demanded. “What kind of attack?”

“You mean she hasn’t told you, and the two of you fixing to get married?”

“Told me
what?”

“Lucille!”
Ginna warned in a stern voice.

“It ain’t right, Ginna, you not telling him.”

“What
is going on?
Somebody tell me!”

“It’s nothing, Neal,” Ginna fibbed, putting a reassuring hand over his.

“Nothing
, my eye!” Lucille exclaimed. “If you don’t tell him, Ginna, I’m going to.”

“Tell me, Lucille, please,” Neal begged.

Before Ginna could say a word, her friend blurted out, “She’s got a bum ticker, that’s what!”

Ginna sobbed and Neal slipped his arm around her shoulders. “Ginna?” he whispered. “Why didn’t you want me to know? That explains so much. Your fainting spells.”

“She’s been fainting again?” Lucille said. “Well, I should of guessed, the way she was dragging around here. Girl, you better get yourself over to that hospital right now.”

“No!” Ginna cried. “I’m fine! Now both of you just leave it be. Yes, Neal, I have a heart condition. I didn’t want to tell you because I was afraid you wouldn’t want to marry me. Not after you’d lost one wife already.”

Neal cradled her in his arms. “Ginna, Ginna, of course I still want to marry you. I want to take care of you, darlin’.”

“I don’t want to be taken care of. I want to be loved. Now you’ll be scared to touch me.”

He chuckled, a low, sexy sound. “Wanna bet? It’s your call now, darlin’. Do you need to see a doctor, or are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” she murmured, her heart racing erratically.

“Then why don’t we go on and take care of our business, then get on back to Swan’s Quarter. You can rest a while, and then we’ll tackle that Bible.”

Ginna brightened. “The Bible! It totally slipped my mind. After reading this letter, I’m more eager than ever to read those old entries.”

“You take good care of her, Neal,” Lu said.

“Don’t you worry. I’m not going to let anything happen to the woman I love.”

They stopped only briefly at Ginna’s place. She didn’t want to say anything to Neal, but she was feeling weak and drained. It would be good to get back to Swan’s Quarter. The sooner the better.

Neal grew quiet the minute they walked through her door. He seemed caught between times in this place. The memories the parsonage brought back were anything but pleasant for him.

“I hate to rush you, Ginna, but could we get out of here? It’s like Jedediah Swan and Virginia’s brothers are still here, at least in spirit. Gives me the creeps.”

“I’m ready,” she said. “Just needed to pick up a few things. Let’s go get that license.”

“Good idea, love!”

The lurking presence of the Swan men didn’t stop Neal from taking Ginna into his arms and giving her a deep, thorough kiss.