A Most Peculiar Circumstance (21 page)

Theodore nodded. “I have a bit of a situation on my hands.”

Theodore’s grandfather squinted at the carriage. “Who do you have in there?”

“A few of my friends.”

“Well, get them out of the cold, boy. You’ve forgotten your manners.”

Theodore strode back to the carriage and extended his hand to Arabella. He helped her down and pulled her over to his grandfather. “Grandfather, I’d like you to meet Miss Arabella Beckett. Arabella, this is my grandfather, Mr. George Wilder.”

Before Arabella could get a single word out of her mouth, George took her by the arm and nudged her toward the house, leaving Theodore behind. “Good heavens, Miss Beckett, whatever has my grandson done to you? You look as if you’ve had a rough time of it.”

Arabella couldn’t help but fall immediately in love with the
gentleman. She’d never met him before, but for some strange reason she felt as if she’d known him for years. She sent him a smile as he helped her up the steps to the porch. “I’m afraid I must admit that your grandson made me ride part of the way stuffed into an old trunk on top of the carriage.”

George came to a halt. “He stuffed you into a trunk?”

Arabella nodded and was about to embellish, but then Theodore began climbing the steps with the ladies trailing behind him. George was in the midst of shaking his finger at him when he paused in mid-shake and frowned. “Well, who do we have here?”

“I’ll tell you as soon as we get the ladies out of the cold,” Theodore said before he turned to help Sarah up the steps.

George took her arm again, ushered her quickly into the house, and shut the door once everyone had shuffled inside. He arched a brow in Theodore’s direction.

Theodore grinned. “Grandfather, I’d like you to meet my friends. This is Violet, Hannah, Sarah, and Lottie. Ladies, this is my grandfather, Mr. George Wilder.”

The ladies muttered hellos and huddled together, all looking terrified.

“Did you stuff them into trunks also?” George asked.

Theodore’s grin widened. “There was no need. They aren’t as much trouble as Miss Beckett.”

Arabella let out a huff. “You did not stuff me into that trunk because I was causing you trouble. Good heavens, Theodore, your grandfather is going to think I’m a complete hoyden.”

“My grandfather likes hoydens. My grandmother was famous for landing herself in trouble, much to the dismay of
my
father.”

“Indeed I did,” a lilting voice said, causing Arabella to spin around to find a lovely older woman with white hair, a fine bone structure, and a regal demeanor walking down the
hallway. “Although I readily admit I have not caused much mayhem in recent years. My rheumatism holds me back.”

“Hello, Grandmother,” Theodore exclaimed. “You’re looking more beautiful than ever.”

“You did have to inherit your looks from someone,” Theodore’s grandmother said with a grin, letting out a laugh when Theodore picked her up and squeezed her. He set her back down, and she patted his cheek before she turned and set her sights on Arabella.

“You’re Arabella Beckett.”

Arabella nodded.

“How lovely it is to finally get to meet you. I’m Ethel Wilder. I had the pleasure of listening to one of your lectures. It was riveting, and you were so eloquent in your speech.” Ethel smiled. “May I assume, given the earliness of the hour and your state of slight disrepair, that you’ve landed yourself into some mischief?”

“I’m afraid I have, but it was completely unintentional.”

“It always is,” Ethel said, her gaze moving to drift over Violet and her friends. “No sense standing in the foyer with the chill leaking through the door. Shall we move to the parlor where I’ll send for some tea and coffee?”

Violet shook her head. “We wouldn’t want to put you out, Mrs. Wilder. We can just wait right here until plans can be made for where we’ll stay.”

Ethel put her hands on her hips. “What is your name, dear?”

“Violet.”

“Well, Violet, as I said a moment ago, I’m Ethel Wilder. It’s time for breakfast, and in this house I expect everyone to accept my offer of a meal. I suggest you follow Dolly, and she’ll take you to wash up. I will expect to find you in the parlor soon, where we will have coffee, tea, and pastries while breakfast is being prepared. Understood?”

“I see it’s not only your looks you get from your grandmother,” Violet muttered to Theodore before she moved to follow Dolly, who was obviously the downstairs maid. The rest of the ladies followed, Lottie sending Arabella a grin as she passed.

Ethel set her sights on Theodore and arched a brow.

“They’re in danger, Gran.”

“Should I hide the silver?”

“I don’t think you need to worry about that,” Theodore said. “I thought they could stay in the room above the barn.”

George narrowed his eyes. “They’ll be our guests, so they’ll stay on the third floor, which will allow them the safety of the house while giving them the space I’m sure they need.”

Theodore shook his head. “I’m not certain they’ll be comfortable there, Grandfather. It took everything they had just to walk through the door.”

“Well, they’re not staying in the barn,” Ethel said with a snort.

“They might prefer that.”

“Will they also prefer the grooms who have their quarters there?” Ethel asked.

Arabella stepped forward. “They won’t proposition anyone while they’re here, Mrs. Wilder. I’ve gotten to know these ladies, and they would look on that as dishonorable.”

Ethel tilted her head. “Hmm, interesting. I’ve never met a lady of the night who possessed such strong morals.”

“And have you met many ladies of the night?”

“I suppose I haven’t,” Ethel admitted. She took Arabella by the arm and walked with her down the hall. “The lecture I saw you give was in upstate New York last year. George and I were sufficiently impressed by what was said, and George made a sizable donation to the cause.” She lowered her voice. “Don’t let that information get out, though. He hates for people to think he’s gone soft.”

“I heard that,” George muttered from behind them. “Now, would someone please explain to me what Miss Beckett was doing locked up in a trunk?”

Ethel stopped walking. “Well, that certainly explains your appearance, Miss Beckett. I have to say, you do look as if you’ve been put through the ringer.” She smiled. “Not that you’re anything less than beautiful, as you very well know, but I’m sure you’ve looked better.”

“Grandmother, what a thing to say,” Theodore said.

Ethel shrugged. “Miss Beckett is perfectly comfortable with her looks. From one beauty to another, we’ve learned to live with our burden, haven’t we?”

How in the world was she supposed to respond to that? Did she know she possessed a measure of beauty? Certainly, but it wasn’t something she ever talked about, and certainly not so frankly. She caught Ethel’s gaze and couldn’t help but smile at the twinkle she found in the lady’s eyes.

“I’m sure you’ve come to the same conclusion I have, haven’t you?” Ethel asked before Arabella could even think of a response to the first question.

“What conclusion is that?” she asked.

“Why, that God gave us our beauty to help us in our chosen path in life. Many years ago, I found my good looks a bit of a burden. Fortunately I realized that they aided me in my work, so I thanked God for them and got on with the plan He’d laid out for me.”

Theodore cleared his throat. “You really believe that?”

“Of course, darling, and you should too. There’s a reason you’ve been given your pleasing appearance, and you should take a moment to thank God for your face. You can’t tell me you haven’t benefited from your charming smile as you’ve gone about investigating a case. As for Miss Beckett, I know for a fact she uses her smile as a weapon. It certainly worked at the lecture your grandfather and I attended. George
practically knocked people over in order to extend her a donation, and then he was most distraught when some elderly lady insisted on taking it from him, instead of allowing him to give it directly to Miss Beckett.”

“That’s not true,” George blustered. “Not that I’m denying you’re a beautiful woman, Miss Beckett, but I have only ever had eyes for my Ethel.”

“Oh, here we go,” Theodore muttered. “If you think Hamilton and Eliza are bad, just wait until you’ve been made to suffer my grandparents’ affection for each other over the next few days. You’ll be ready to get back to New York.”

“I think it’s sweet,” Arabella said.

“Ah, you’re a romantic,” Ethel said. “I thought I detected a kindred spirit.”

Theodore rolled his eyes. “Speaking of kindred spirits, you’ll have plenty to read while we’re here, Arabella. My grandmother keeps a library well-stocked with romance novels.” He winked. “I’ve even caught my grandfather reading them on occasion.”

“Theodore, must you divulge all our secrets to this young woman?” George asked, though his tone was more amused than annoyed. “Now then, back to the trunk. You didn’t make her ride in it for very long, did you?”

“I let her out a mile past my house. But, just so you know, her appearance was ruffled before she even got into the trunk.”

“There is absolutely no need to go into that with your grandparents,” Arabella muttered.

“My dear, you must tell us everything,” Ethel said as she steered Arabella into a charming parlor decorated in soft pink. “As I said before, I’ve not been able to indulge in many adventures of late, but I can live vicariously through you.”

Arabella stepped farther into the room and smiled in delight. “What an enchanting room. Pink is my favorite color.” She took the seat Ethel offered and looked up to
find Theodore watching her with something strange in his eyes. “What?”

“I never realized how much in common you have with my grandmother.”

Ethel sat down in the chair next to her, a frothy creation covered in pink, and laughed. “That’s a high compliment indeed, coming from Theodore. He adores me, and I’m his most favorite female.”

“Don’t let my mother or sister hear you say that,” Theodore said.

Ethel waved his statement away with a dainty flick of her wrist. “Louise most likely knows it’s the truth, and Katherine
would
be competition for your affections, if she hadn’t turned into such a stick-in-the-mud when she married that Harold.”

“I thought you liked Harold,” Theodore said.

“I did when he first started courting her, but I’m not pleased with his behavior of late, or your father’s for that matter. It is beyond my comprehension why Samuel has taken to abandoning his wife. It’s disgraceful, and he’s the one who has always been mortified by my behavior,” Ethel said with a sniff.

Theodore caught Arabella’s eye. “My grandmother had quite the reputation in her youth. “My father was always worried her past indiscretions would reflect poorly on him.”

“They weren’t actually indiscretions, dear. I don’t know if you realize this or not, Theodore, but I used to work with your grandfather, and my work often demanded I place myself in precarious situations.”

Arabella winced when Theodore’s eyes suddenly turned stormy. “You worked with Grandfather?”

“Indeed,” Ethel said with a nod before she lowered her voice. “I was a spy.”

 17 

A
rabella opened her eyes and blinked a few times. None of her surroundings looked familiar. Weak light filtered through sheer pink curtains, and the sight of pink brought it all back.

She was at Theodore’s grandparents’ house, and Ethel had insisted on giving her this particular room because of the pink décor. She’d also insisted Arabella take a short nap after they’d had breakfast, but given the dimness of the light coming through the window, the storm had either taken a turn for the worse or she’d slept the entire day away.

She stretched her arms over her head and wiggled down into the soft mattress, wincing when her body protested the movement. Apparently, being carted around in a traveling trunk was not conducive to a lady’s well-being.

Arabella stuffed some pillows behind her back to cushion her aching body and then closed her eyes.

Dear Lord, I feel I have been remiss in praying as often as I should lately. You opened my eyes yesterday and showed me the wrong turns I’ve been taking. Forgive me for wallowing in self-pity. I’ll strive to do better and work harder to help those
who wish for my help, while trying not to badger everyone into seeing my point of view. I know you have a path chosen for me, and even though I’m not exactly sure what that path is, I’ll try and listen closer to your words. Please give me the strength and the courage to move forward.

She opened her eyes, allowing herself a few minutes to simply be quiet. She’d had a lot to think about since she’d gotten arrested again, and some of her thoughts had been somewhat difficult to accept.

She’d been so angry with Dot, but . . . the lady had been right.

She
was
judgmental and entirely too opinionated.

She’d been walking through life with blinders on, but now they were off. The real horrors of some women’s lives had been exposed, and Arabella knew she couldn’t simply sit by and do nothing.

All she had to figure out now was how to help without coming across as a condescending, unpleasant know-it-all.

She snuggled down into the covers and closed her eyes again, but an image of Theodore immediately flashed to mind, which had her eyes springing open again.

What was she going to do about him?

She liked him, there was no sense denying it anymore, but she had no idea if he returned the sentiment.

He kept watching her, all the time, with something new and slightly dangerous in his eyes.

What did that mean?

He was a contradiction in every sense of the word. He didn’t believe a woman’s place was outside the home, but he’d barely batted an eye when his grandmother proclaimed the fact she’d been a spy for the government.

Poor George had turned bright red as he’d advanced on his perfectly calm wife, demanding to know if the woman had just suffered some type of fit. Ethel had simply smiled at
her husband and patted his cheek, telling him it was about time the family knew their little secret. Her smile hadn’t dimmed when George pointed out that Arabella wasn’t exactly family, even though she’d sent Theodore a rather pointed look.

A knock on the door suddenly pulled her from her thoughts. “Yes?”

She peeked over the covers as Ethel stepped into the room, carrying what appeared to be clothing in her arms.

“Good to see you awake, my dear. You must have been exhausted. It’s a little past three.” Ethel dumped everything she’d been carrying onto the nearest chair and moved closer to the bed. “I’m surprised you were able to sleep so soundly, what with the howling winds battering the house. George was right. We’re in the midst of an early blizzard. I’m afraid you’ll be stuck with us for quite some time.”

That notion didn’t seem to bother Arabella in the least.

“Now,” Ethel continued, “I hope you don’t mind, but I took the liberty of gathering up a few articles of clothing that will be better suited for the weather than those flimsy gowns you brought with you.”

“I thought I packed warm gowns.”

“Not unless you packed them in a bag Theodore neglected to notice. Upon my word, I would have never believed a woman could travel so lightly. I only found one measly little bag for you, and, good heavens, the three gowns stuffed inside were hardly sufficient for a trip out of town. George is always nagging me endlessly when we travel.” Her eyes twinkled. “I tend to bring at least four trunks, even if we’re only going away for a few days.”

Arabella struggled upright. “Theodore must have dumped out all my clothes in order to fit me in that trunk.” She blew out a breath. “It never occurred to me that he’d stuffed me into my own trunk, one, I might add, that I’d packed, somewhat
rapidly of course, with all my necessities. He should have just asked my mother for another one.”

“He’s a man, and men don’t often think like we do.”

“Now there’s a profound statement,” Arabella said with a grin. “I guess I will be in need of those clothes, Mrs. Wilder.”

“Please, call me Ethel. Mrs. Wilder always brings to mind my mother-in-law.”

Amusement began to bubble through her. Ethel was at least in her late seventies, and yet she balked at being called Mrs. Wilder. “Thank you, Ethel. You must call me Arabella.”

“How lovely,” Ethel exclaimed. “We’re already on our way to becoming fast friends. Since we’re now friends, I have no remorse whatsoever in asking you some questions.”

Arabella laughed, unable to help but adore the woman standing beside her bed. “Ask away.”

“You are delightful,” Ethel said. “I must admit that I’ve been thinking about something for hours but knew I wouldn’t get a straight answer from Theodore. Since you brought up the traveling trunk, what in the world possessed you to agree to travel in it?”

Arabella shrugged. “I’m not actually certain. I readily admit being tied to the top of the carriage did make me quite queasy, but your grandson has an . . . intuitiveness about him, if you will, and because of that, I realized it was necessary for me to do as he asked.”

“Theodore’s instincts are usually always right. He takes after his grandfather in that regard.”

“From what you said this morning, I would have to believe your grandson got some of his abilities from you.”

Ethel grinned and surprised Arabella when she hopped lightly up on the bed and made herself comfortable. “You’re probably right. I was quite adept at subterfuge in my younger years, and I do believe Theodore inherited a bit of my talent. George and I were disappointed when it became clear
Samuel was not interested in the family business. Our hopes were restored when Theodore was born. It was clear from an early age he possessed a sense of adventure.”

“I thought your family business was finance,” Arabella said.

“That was just a front,” Ethel replied with an airy wave of her hand. “It was a rather profitable front for us, mind you, but a front all the same.”

“Why was there a need for a front?”

“George had to spread something around, dear. He couldn’t very well say he’d been rewarded handsomely for tracking down pirates who were plaguing our rivers.” Ethel’s eyes gleamed. “He was allowed to keep a bit of the booty, you see, but George has always been a cunning man, and he thought it would serve him well to allude to a mysterious circumstance surrounding his newfound wealth. That mystery gave him a daunting reputation that made people wary with their questions. No one ever realized he worked in secret for the government.”

“He tracked down river pirates?”

“Indeed, that’s how we met.”

“You were a pirate?”

“Don’t be silly. Although . . . that life would have been exciting when pirates actually traveled the high seas, searching for treasure.” She shook her head. “How I do go on. If you must know, one summer I went to spend time with my auntie who lived on the shores of the Ohio River. I was out walking one evening, close to dark if I recall, and spotted what I knew was certainly one of the pirate sloops everyone in the vicinity had been talking about. My curiosity got the better of me, and I’m afraid I couldn’t resist investigating. I ended up in a bit of a pickle, and George rescued me.” Her lips twitched. “He wasn’t exactly thrilled to save me. I was a headstrong lady in those days, and I didn’t take
to the blistering lecture he felt I deserved after he saved my neck. You see, I’d jeopardized his mission by snooping around, but in my defense, how could anyone be expected to ignore pirates?”

“That
would
have been difficult to ignore. Am I to assume your presence was detected by the pirates as you were snooping around?”

“Indeed, it was. I found myself the captive of a ruthless band of men, and I was certain I was about to be killed.”

“What happened?”

Ethel’s eyes turned distant. “I remember it as if it were only yesterday. I was locked in a storage room, rats scurrying around me, and I sent up a prayer asking God to send help and then . . . George arrived and saved the day. We’ve been together ever since.”

“You fell in love at first sight?”

“Good heavens, no. We fought almost constantly at first, and I swear I wanted to bash the man over the head almost daily. But then, well, we both began to compromise, just a bit you see. Nothing drastic, except for the fact he stopped demanding I act like a demure lady, and I stopped demanding he act like a more sensitive gentleman. We came to realize we were perfect for each other. We’ve shared a wonderful life, and I’ve come to believe it was God’s plan all along.”

“Why didn’t Theodore know you were a spy?”

“That was Samuel’s doing. He made me promise to keep my little occupation a secret, even though he finally relented and allowed George to tell Theodore about his position with the government once Theodore got older.” She shook her head. “I fear my son thought I would be a bad influence, especially on Katherine, and he was vehemently opposed to his daughter following in my footsteps. Samuel tried to hide it from me, but I always believed he was slightly ashamed to have such unusual parents, or rather, such an unusual mother.
It’s what made him the way he is, such a stickler for the proprieties.”

“I can’t imagine anyone would be ashamed of you.”

“That’s very sweet of you to say, dear, but after he chose Louise to be his wife, it was quite clear Samuel wanted a wife completely different from his mother. Louise came from a very distinguished family, and I’m certain she’s never once dabbled in any mischief.”

“She locked Samuel out of the house last week.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“It’s true, and I have to admit that I do believe your son and Katherine’s husband think it’s my fault your daughter-in-law and granddaughter are suddenly running amok.”

“But that’s wonderful. Now they have someone to blame besides me.”

“
I
wasn’t responsible for Samuel or Harold getting locked out of their houses.”

Ethel grinned. “Katherine locked Harold out of the house as well?”

“She did, and from what I understand, Harold was forced to spend the night at his mother’s house.”

“Oh . . . dear.”

“Exactly,” Arabella agreed. “I’m still not sure why Samuel blames you for anything, though. You apparently kept your promise and never told Theodore or Katherine about your spying.”

“True, but you see, George is the one who was responsible for talking Theodore into opening up his agency. Samuel assumed that once his son graduated from the university, he’d join the
reputable
family business. George understood that Theodore wouldn’t be happy doing that. Our grandson has always been extremely active, and sitting behind a desk all day wouldn’t have suited him at all. George put Theodore in touch with some of his government contacts, and the rest is
history. Samuel didn’t speak to us for over a year, and even now our relationship is strained.”

Arabella frowned. “What did you mean when you said George put Theodore in touch with his government contacts?”

Ethel’s eyes turned crafty. “What do you think I meant?”

“Surely you’re not suggesting Theodore works for the government?”

Ethel began whistling under her breath.

“He runs his own private investigating firm,” Arabella said.

“Yes, dear, just like George ran a lucrative finance office.”