Sadie's Secret: 3 (The Secret Lives of Will Tucker) (27 page)

“Unless donning a disguise?” he supplied. At her nod, he continued. “Then perhaps the next time we meet, I should wear my own disguise. Perhaps an organ grinder or some fellow who paints portraits in front of the cathedral?”

“Honestly, painting portraits might be fun, though I had no idea you held any interest in the arts.”

Gabriel seemed taken aback for a moment. “No. I don’t suppose that would be something you would know.”

“What an odd statement.” Sadie’s Pinkerton training kicked in, albeit with some measure of skepticism. “What are you hiding, Dr. Trahan?”

“Hiding?” He held out his hands, palms up. “I have nothing to hide, Miss Callum. I am but the boy who left here now all grown up.”

She laughed, and he joined her. “All right then, grown-up. Tell me something I don’t know. Tell me what’s happened with you in the years since we last saw one another.”

His smile faded as he nodded. “All right. Where do I start?”

Talk of Gabriel’s days at Tulane and his experience learning the practice of medicine took them all the way to the front porch, where they paused beside one of the columns.

He paused as if surprised they had reached the house so quickly. “It’s getting late, and I should go.” He reached to take her hands in his. “I’m very glad you’re home again at Callum Plantation. I do hope you’ll stay a while so we can become reacquainted.”

“I thought that’s what we were just doing, Gabriel,” she said firmly.

“Indeed.” He released her hands to offer a somewhat formal bow. “I’ll be watching for you under a widow’s veil or behind an easel, then.”

As he walked away toward the carriage awaiting him, Mama slipped into Sadie’s view. “What did he mean by that?” she asked, her attention fully on the retreating doctor.

Sadie studied her mother’s profile and then turned to reach for the door handle. “I have no idea, Mama, but please don’t invite him to supper again without telling me first.”

“And why is that?” Mama’s words followed her through the open door. “Does he not suit you? There are others who might.”

Sadie paused on the stairs to turn around just as the carriage rolled away down the avenue of oaks behind Mama’s silhouette. “He is nice enough,” Sadie said gently, “but I do not think he and I would make a companionable match.”

“Because he is of a mind to find a wife?” Mama rested her hands on her hips. “That is generally the first thing you dislike about any fellow who comes calling, and I am not going to hear it any further.”

“Was he coming to call, Mama?”

Her mother seemed completely nonplussed with the question. “I had hoped that tonight’s supper might cause Gabriel to believe he was welcome to call on you, yes. And I understand that you might be reluctant to allow a young man to call on you, but you needn’t have worried. Should he have made any untoward moves, you were completely safe.”

“Is that why you sent my brothers to spy on me?”

Mama’s posture went rigid. “That is ridiculous,” she said in a voice so high and tight that Sadie knew it wasn’t the truth.

She rested one hand on the stair rail to steady herself as a thought bore hard on her. “Mama,” she said on a sharp intake of breath, “you have been sending them after me for quite some time, haven’t you?”

When her mother turned to walk away, Sadie hurried after her. “I am a grown woman, and you cannot keep sending my brothers to see to my safety.”

Her mother whirled around so quickly that Sadie almost slammed into her. “No? Well, we both know there have been times when you were not here and should have been. Are you ready to explain your reluctance to remain at home?”

The breath went out of Sadie.

She readied herself for the confrontation she expected would now happen. Instead, her mother swept past her and moved gracefully up the stairs.

At the top of the staircase, Mama paused to look down at her. “I’ve ordered a bag packed for you. Tomorrow you and I will be paying calls in New Orleans and then staying over for the opera and perhaps a soiree or two. I’ve asked the new girl to act as your maid for the trip since you’ve not taken the time to choose someone.”

“Yes, that’s fine.”

Though seemingly willing to comply, inwardly she sighed. This would never do. With Henry giving her permission to move forward on the Astor case, Sadie had hoped she might find a way to leave. An unexpected trip to New Orleans would derail her plans.

Twenty

M
ama’s determination to see her daughter wed knew no bounds. Sadie came to this conclusion after the two nights at the French Opera House and a half-dozen visits to old friends had resulted in a dance card that had only one empty slot left for tonight’s soiree.

Sadie resisted the temptation to complain as the maid squeezed her into the gown of pale blue satin that had arrived just this afternoon. The girl was newly moved upstairs from the laundry and of sufficient talent, according to Mama.

Talent or not, the girl gave the stays another tug, and the last of Sadie’s patience fled. “Truly, that is fine,” she implored. “I will have no ability to breathe should you continue.”

A girl she guessed to be no more than sixteen or seventeen, the maid had seemed smitten with the idea of attending a grand ball and dancing the night away ever since she swept into the room with the ball gown.

“I’m sorry, but the missus wishes you to look your best tonight,” the red-haired girl said. “She left specific instructions that should she pull out her tape measure, your waist would be less than twenty inches. I gave her my word I’d at least try.”

“Then I shall be certain to hide her tape measure.” Sadie paused to attempt a deep breath and failed. “And you have certainly tried. I can attest to that.”

She rose and moved toward the bench, where she would accept a second round of torture in the form of having her hair styled in the latest fashion. In the mirror, she caught a glimpse of the girl as she pirouetted in a circle, the basket of pins and brushes tucked under her arm.

“Do you like to dance?” Sadie asked, catching the girl off guard.

Stuttering to a halt, the maid ducked her head and hurried to her side. “I’m sorry, miss,” she said as she awaited Sadie’s positioning herself onto the bench. “My mum says I get carried away and forget myself sometimes.”

“No need to apologize, at least not to me. I recall the days when I did not think these social occasions were such a chore.” The truth, though barely and never with such enthusiasm.

“Thank you, miss. I appreciate your understanding.”

“That’s a lovely accent you have,” Sadie remarked as she found a comfortable place on the bench and rested her hands in her lap. “Are you Irish?”

“By way of Cornwall. I was born in Armaugh, but only because a winter storm kept my mum with her people when she’d planned to rejoin my pa.”

She met the girl’s gaze in the mirror’s reflection. “And your name?”

“Julia, it is. Julia Katherine Oakman’s the name my mum and pa gave me, but I…” She shook her head and reached into the basket for the brush. “Sorry, miss. I do go on.”

“No, it’s fine, Julia. You’re doing a wonderful job of making me forget about the evening ahead. Tell me about your home and how you came to leave Cornwall.”

By the time Sadie’s hair had been dressed and the last jeweled hairpin set into place, she knew Julia’s tale of traveling from her beloved Cornwall to follow a young sailor, only to find he had a girl in more than one port.

“What an awful thing for a man to do.”

“No, miss,” Julia said as she went about the business of putting away the instruments of torture. “There’s much worse a man can do, and I praise the Lord that I wasn’t fool enough to allow it. My mum and pa raised me right, they did. I do miss them.”

“Are they still alive?”

“Goodness, yes.” She crossed herself and then moved quickly away to set the basket back in its place. “I’ll see the both of them soon as I’m able. That’s my plan.”

“To return to Cornwall?”

“Well, yes, though don’t you worry now. What with the cost of such a trip, I’ll be working for your family for a good long time, I will. Are you happy with the way your hair is styled, or would you prefer I do something different?”

“No, it’s lovely. Thank you. You have quite a talent.” Sadie swiveled on the bench to face the girl.

An idea took root, and she considered it. “How old are you?”

“Twenty years last Christmas Day, though I’m told I don’t look it.”

“No, you do not. And you would like to go home and see your parents?”

Ginger-colored brows gathered. “Forgive me, miss, for being so familiar.” She shook her head. “I’ll just go and fetch your dancing slippers. The missus will be wondering where you are.”

Just as the girl’s hand touched the doorknob, Sadie said, “Julia, are you well paid?”

She bit her lip and then worried with the trim on her sleeve before nodding. “I am.”

Though she said the words with confidence, Sadie doubted her. “Then you would not be interested in any sort of travel.”

“Wait now,” she said quickly. “What’s this?”

Sadie shrugged. “Just that I may be looking for someone to…” She paused to judge the girl’s expression. Indeed, she did appear interested. “Well, never mind,” she said with a wave of her hand. “You’re likely not interested in leaving Callum Plantation.”

“I’m not. Truly.” She wrung her hands and then studied them before looking back up at Sadie. “But if I were, then…” She seemed to be considering her words carefully. “Then where would this travel be, exactly?” Sadie rose and moved to the window, where the reflection on the panes of glass worked just as well as the mirror had. “Oh, here and there. A traveling maid must be prepared for all sorts of places.”

Sadie paused just long enough to appear as if she might not continue. “Both here and abroad,” she finally said.

“Abroad? Is that so?” Julia said, almost too softly to be heard.

“It is.” Sadie turned to lean against the windowsill. “But there’s a terrible burden such a maid must bear.”

Her brows rose again. “Oh?”

“Yes. Complete discretion is required, and any maid who would take
on such a duty would be forced to keep secrets she couldn’t share with anyone else. Not a soul.”

Now the girl looked less enthusiastic. “Miss, I don’t know what you’re referring to, but a woman who would let her tongue flap to anyone other than her employer…well, she doesn’t deserve such a post.”

“Agreed. Now, I believe you were going to fetch my dancing slippers, weren’t you?”

Sadie watched the maid scurry away as a plan began to formulate. Travel with Uncle Penn had become more complicated, especially given the fact that Aunt Pearl could very well be headed for River Pointe right now.

But travel with a maid, now that just might be the way to accomplish her purposes. Sadie had been watching Julia for a few days, ever since she overheard the girl fussing at one of the parlor maids for a slip of the tongue regarding one of her brothers.

The more she had watched the young maid, the more convinced she became that the girl could be trusted. She would still have to convince Mama and Daddy to allow Julia to leave. And her brothers must realize they could not continue to follow her.

Those were issues for another day, however. For today, it appeared the first piece of the puzzle as to how she would depart New Orleans for the Astor home in Manhattan had been put into place.