The Gilded Curse: Will the young heiress be the next victim of her family's curse? (34 page)

“Lexie, it’s true your family has had its share of trouble. But not because of a curse from these things.” He pointed overhead. “Lots of people have problems, and they’re not connected to the island in any way. Maybe in your mother’s mind it made sense, but did you believe everything she said?”

“No.” A muffled voice spoke against his chest. “She was sick, mentally, and had been for a long time. I think it started when Kenneth died, then she just got worse with each relative’s death. After Father’s death, she never wanted to return to the island.”

“Lexie, sadly, there is evil in the world—everywhere—the Germans and the Japanese represent evil to us now because of the war. But there’s evil here, too, and, unfortunately, Abner ran into it. And don’t tell me it was because he was in your cottage.”

She relaxed against him and sighed. Then she sat upright with a
start.

“Abner! I haven’t checked on him today. I need to see him, find out how he’s doing.”

“All right, we’ll go to the infirmary after lunch.”

“No, Russell. I can’t eat until I see about him. Don’t you understand?”

Determination flashed in her eyes, and he knew he was beaten. Shrugging, he said, “Sure Lexie. We’ll go see him first.” His stomach growled, but he told it to wait. There were more important things than food.

When Lexie and Russell entered Abner’s room in the infirmary, they walked to the other side of the screen. But he wasn’t there. The bed had been made up, and the room was empty.

Lexie covered her mouth as her heart plummeted. She stared at Russell. “No, Russell! He couldn’t have died!”

“Surely someone would have sent word.” Russell took her hand and pulled her toward the door. “Let’s find the doctor.”

At the nurses’ desk, Lexie breathed a sigh of relief to discover Abner was still there and still alive but had been moved to a private room, per doctor’s orders.

“He’s in room six.” The nurse pointed two doors down the hall to her right.

The room at the end of the hall was smaller than the first, with only one bed instead of two. They walked in to find Abner propped up in a sitting position. Lexie glanced at Russell before hurrying over to the man.

“Mr. Jones, can you hear me? It’s Alexandra Smithfield.”

The old man’s eyes opened slowly. He stared at Lexie, then found his voice.

“Miss Smithfield.”

“Oh, you’re conscious! Thank God!” Maybe God had listened to her after all.

“Yes, ma’am. Got a bit of a headache though.” He pointed to his bandage-wrapped head.

“I’m so sorry this happened to you.”

Russell stepped forward. “Abner, good to see you awake. You had quite a gash back there.”

“The doctor said you found me and called him. Thanks.”

“Abner, I hate to bother you, but can you remember anything that happened? Did you see anybody?”

He shook his head slowly. “I’ve been racking my brain to remember, but so far, nothing. Guess whoever hit me was behind me, and I couldn’t see them.”

Russell touched the man’s arm. “Don’t worry about it, Abner. You just rest up and get better.”

“Thank you for coming to see me. Think I’ll take a nap now.” He closed his eyes, and Russell took Lexie’s arm and led her from the room.

“Not much more we can do here. He needs to rest. Are you ready for lunch?”

“I guess so. I still hate leaving him alone though.” Lexie twisted her lips.

“He’ll be fine. Let’s go.”

On the way to the clubhouse, Lexie turned to Russell. “Russell, why didn’t you tell the Maurice sisters what really happened to Abner? Why did you say he fell?”

“Well, first of all, we don’t know what really happened. I had to tell them something though, to explain why I wanted you to stay with them.”

“Russell Thompson, you told a lie.”

Russell winced. “You’re right. But Bernon knows what happened, and he asked me to keep it quiet. He doesn’t want the other members to get upset. The truth will come out—it always does.” He ran his finger around the inside of his collar.

“Just like the Germans, right? Just pretend everything is all right, keep up appearances.”

Russell’s face glowed crimson, and he shifted his shoulders. His customary smile disappeared. Instead, deep lines furrowed his brows and drew his eyebrows together.

“It’s a vacation spot, so it’s our duty to keep the worries of the world away.”

“Except that some of them are right here.”

He nodded slowly. “You’re right, Lexie. But I must do what my boss tells me. Do you understand?” He faced her and stared into her eyes, as if trying to instill comprehension.

“Yes, Russell. I guess I do understand.” And in a way, she did. But she didn’t like it. She didn’t like any dishonesty, especially from Russell,
the one person she thought she could trust. But something in his eyes bothered her. He was used to keeping secrets, but was he keeping a secret from her? A chill shook her body, but she didn’t think it had anything to do with the weather.

Chapter 37

“Y
ou know our nephew Albert Jr. and his family are coming to visit next week.” Marian lifted her glance over her cards. They were playing bridge again, which Lexie and the sisters had done every day she’d been there, vastly improving her game. “I know you’ll enjoy them.”

“I really should go back to the clubhouse. I’ve taken advantage of your generosity too long already.” Lexie made the opening lead to start the hand.

“Nonsense!” Peg turned to Lexie. “We love having you here, don’t we, sister? And we certainly have plenty of room for all of you here, with nine bedrooms.”

“We always have room for company,” Marian added. “Mother and Father enjoyed opening their home to guests, and we take pleasure in continuing the tradition.”

“Well, I thank you. You’ve been wonderful hostesses.”

Lexie did enjoy being with the sociable sisters, but she was getting restless. The island had been inundated with a week of chilly rain. The clouds hovered over the treetops, refusing to let the sun penetrate. Russell came by daily to take her to visit Abner Jones, who had yet to remember anything else about his attack. But the doctor said his wound was healing and his memory might return as well, respecting his patient’s desire to stay on the island instead of being sent to the Brunswick hospital.

“If this rain doesn’t let up by tomorrow, the tennis tournament might have to be cancelled. The indoor courts at the Morgan Center don’t offer any room for spectators.”

Peg’s remark startled Lexie. She’d completely forgotten about the tournament. Thankfully, she hadn’t seen Spencer again but heard through the sisters that his attention had shifted to the daughter of another member. She hoped somebody would warn the girl and her family about the cad. Somebody, but not Lexie. She wanted to sever all ties to the man.

When Russell picked her up later, he told her the tournament had indeed been cancelled.

“Just as well,” he said. “I don’t think it would have been well-attended. With the war going on, people aren’t traveling as much.”

So Spencer would be gone. Lexie breathed a sigh of relief that he wouldn’t be around to run into, and his next “victim” would be spared. Good riddance.

A few minutes passed in silence as Lexie stared out the side of the car watching raindrops hit the window and form rivulets that ran down the door.

“Russell, I think I should move back to the clubhouse.”

“Why? Do you think the sisters want you to?” He looked her direction while he gripped the steering wheel.

“They haven’t said so, but they’re going to have more relatives at the house next week.”

“Yes, I believe Al and his family are coming. But that shouldn’t be a problem. The Maurice family has always had guests at Hollybourne.”

Lexie didn’t answer and continued staring out the window, her mood reflecting the gray weather. Truth was, she was bored. She wanted to be productive, not just sit around all day and play bridge. Maybe she should go back to the hospital where she was needed. Here, she was no use to anyone, not even Abner Jones.

When they arrived at the man’s room, his color looked better, not gray like it had been.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Jones,” Lexie said, as she and Russell approached the bed and stood on either side.

“How’re you feeling today?” Russell offered a smile at the old man.

“Almost normal. Maybe I can go back to work next week.”

Lexie and Russell exchanged surprised glances.

“I don’t think you better rush things, Abner.” Russell patted the man on the hand. “We need you to get well. Besides, you can’t do any gardening in this weather.”

“No, sir. But I could stand guard. Anybody seen anything out there lately?”

“No, nothing.”

“You know, I think I remember something from that night I got hit over the head.” Abner jabbed his finger at the air.

Lexie sucked in a breath waiting for his next words.

“What, Abner? What did you see?” Russell asked.

“I seen somebody go in the house, so I followed them.”

“Did you get a good look at them?”

“Not too good, but one of them was a man—wearing a hat and coat. He went up the back stairs, and I was gonna go up after him, but somebody hit me from behind.”

“One of them? So, did you see two people, Abner?” Russell leaned toward the man.

“Yep, the other’n was smaller. He must’ve been the one what hit me. Guess he saw me coming and hid till I got in there.”

So at least two men were in the house. If only Abner could describe them.

As they left the infirmary, the sun squeezed through gaps between the clouds, trying to brighten the dreary day.

Russell peered up at the sunlight peeking in the windshield. “Looks like the rain might be over with, finally. And just in time too.”

“What do you mean, just in time?” Lexie cocked her head at him.

“Just in time for Sunday. You know it’s not supposed to rain on
Sun
days.” He turned and gave her a wink.

“Is that a Jekyll Island rule?”

“Absolutely!” He laughed, and Lexie’s mood lifted with the clouds. “Say, if you don’t mind being early, I’ll pick you up and take you to church tomorrow. You know, I need to warm up a little before the service.”

“Sure. You can give me a private concert.”

“It’ll be my pleasure.”

The sun wasn’t the only thing shining the next morning. Lexie was radiant when Russell picked her up, and she seemed genuinely happy to see him. His heart did a jig when she smiled and said “Good Morning” to him.

“Looks like you’re right about the sun shining on Sunday,” Lexie said as she got into the car.

“Of course. Did you doubt me?” He gave her a wink and covered his heart with his hand. “I suppose we could have walked. Maybe after church when it’s warmer we can take a stroll.”

“Sounds great. I’ve been cooped up in the house way too long.”

On their way to the chapel, they saw one of the island guards on
horseback. He waved as they passed and Russell waved back.

“Too bad they have to be on duty this morning.”

“I know. That’s why I’m going to take a shift this afternoon and relieve one of them. They shouldn’t have to work on Sunday.”