Sadie's Secret: 3 (The Secret Lives of Will Tucker) (37 page)

The room was tiny in comparison to the grander rooms on the ground floor. It was filled with a dizzying array of floral patterns on the wall, on the cushions of the petite sofas, and in the art Mama had chosen for the walls. Even the chandelier bore a profusion of flowers captured in crystal by Lalique in Paris and specially hung to appear as if blooming from the ceiling.

The sight of her uncle standing tall among the decidedly female furnishings would have been humorous had his expression not been so grave. “Where were you?”

She clutched the carpetbag and her reticule to her side. “I went shopping in the city.”

He didn’t believe her. His face told her that much. And the crease of his brow told her there was more than just his concern for her.

“Has something happened?” she asked, trying not to sway as she stood.

His hand rested on the back of a slipper chair as if he were the one who needed steadying. “We’ve had a visitor.”

“Oh?”

Uncle Penn pulled a paper-wrapped package from his coat pocket. “He left this.”

“Henry?” she asked as she accepted the package. Though it appeared slightly off size for a book, there still might be a volume inside.

“No, Sadie.” He went to the door and shut it firmly. “How well do you know the Tucker fellow?”

She shrugged. “I don’t suppose I can’t claim I know him well. Why?”

“Because that package was delivered for him.”

She turned the box over to see that indeed the name of William Jefferson Tucker had been written in a neat script with black ink. There was no return address or postmark. Nothing gave away the sender’s identity.

She thrust it back at Uncle Penn. “Then give it to him. I shouldn’t be opening it.”

He refused the package. “Aren’t you curious as to what’s in it?”

“No,” she said, although that wasn’t completely true. “Who delivered it?”

“That’s the interesting part. No one knows.”

Sadie shook her head. “How can that be?”

“I don’t know.” He shrugged. “I only know that I nearly broke my neck stumbling over it when I went out the front door. I thought it prudent to show the curious item to you before it was delivered to Mr. Tucker because he’s apparently here at your request, or in pursuit of you, depending on who is telling the tale.”

“It is neither, I assure you.”

“So you’ve not made his previous acquaintance?”

“He is the man I saw released from prison. That was our only acquaintance before he arrived here.”

“I see.” Uncle Penn looked away.

The headache that had abated was returning. Worse, a glance in the mirror over the fireplace revealed that her tumble in Monsieur Valletta’s courtyard had soiled her dress and ripped the skirt in two places.

If Mama saw her, there would be no end to the questions she would ask. Sadie determined to decide what to do with the package later.

She tucked the wrapped item into the crook of her arm and resolved to put on a neutral expression despite the pain. “Thank you, Uncle Penn. I will see that Mr. Tucker gets this.”

“I thought you might.”

Moving past him to the door, she stopped when he called her name. Sadie turned to see her uncle looking more worried now that when they first stepped into the parlor.

“Your dress,” he said. “What happened?”

Sadie mustered a smile. “Just a little accident.”

“You do not have accidents, Sarah Callum.” When she did not respond, he shook his head. “I can see you’re not keen to tell me anything, so I will offer my best advice.”

“And that is?”

“Hurry upstairs before your father sees you. He’s already concerned he has one spy in the house. What will he do if he decides he has two?”

She gave her uncle a hug and hurried away. What indeed? And imagine if Daddy were to realize he just might have three spies under his roof?

Not that she believed Uncle Penn was anything other than a man with a curious streak and a yen to travel.

“Oh,” he called from the bottom of the stairs. “I almost forgot.”

Glancing over her shoulder, she watched her uncle catch up to her. The exertion caused him to pause, his breathing slightly labored. Indeed, age was catching up to Uncle Penn, something Sadie disliked greatly.

“Pearl will be joining us soon.” He grinned. “Apparently one of us won her over with our letters.”

Resting her hand on her uncle’s arm, she looked up into his kind and familiar face. “She misses you.”

“Perhaps. Will you miss me when it comes time to travel again?”

“Terribly, although I am not yet certain you won’t be traveling with me.”

“Oh, I am.” He glanced around the empty stairwell and then leaned closer. “My traveling days are coming to an end, dear girl. I fear you may have to go it alone.”

She patted his arm. “Not until I must.”

“Well, should Pearl decide to stay a while, then you must. I fear my lovely bride would not be pleased if she arrived here in time to say goodbye to me. And truly, I do miss the woman. So perhaps if our Henry calls you back to duty, he will also provide a companion with whom you can travel.”

“And an excuse that my father will accept?” She shared his smile. “That is a tall order, even for Henry Smith.”

“As long as I have known the man, I’ve never found him unable to find a solution to any pressing problem.”

The front door opened and voices drifted up toward them. Uncle Penn nodded toward the hallway leading to the bedchambers.

Daddy. And Mama was with him.

“Looks like rain tonight,” her father was saying. “But then it has looked like rain for several nights now. I suppose that is just May in Louisiana.”

Mama’s response was too quiet to hear from this distance. The sound of their footsteps told Sadie they were heading this way across the marble floor.

“He can’t find me like this,” she whispered as she calculated the distance to the end of the very long hallway. “I’ll never get inside my bedchamber quick enough.”

“Off with you, girl. I’ll stall them until you can get yourself inside and do something with that dress you’ve ruined.”

“Thank you.” She turned to go and then Uncle Penn reached out to grasp her elbow.

“One more thing.” He seemed to be studying her face intently. “Are you certain you don’t want to tell me where you have been and what you were doing to return in such a state?”

“I’m certain,” she said. “I wish I could, but—”

“Just tell me one thing. Did a man cause this?”

She almost laughed, but with Daddy’s footsteps coming nearer, Sadie did not dare. “Actually, yes, but not in the way I think you mean. This was work, Uncle Penn, and yes, Henry knows of the persons involved. I plan to give him a full report as soon as I can manage it.”

“All right, then. I cannot argue with that.” He gestured to her head. “Summon your maid as soon as you close the door.”

“I plan to,” she said as she offered a kiss on the cheek and then slipped from his grasp.

“Be sure you have that maid of yours brush out your hair. Unless I’m mistaken, there’s a fern stuck in your curls.”

Twenty-Eight

T
hough Julia managed to repair the damage she did to her coiffure, there was no remedy for the pounding in her head that refused to abate, even after a dose of headache powders and a cup of willow bark tea. Nor did there appear to be a fix for the dress she’d ruined in Monsieur Valletta’s courtyard.

“Perhaps I can restyle it to something that doesn’t require as much fabric.” Julia held the dress up and studied the material. “I see potential for a nice riding outfit. What do you think?”

“I think that would be fine.”

The maid draped the garment over a slipper chair near the window and then returned her attention to Sadie. “Will you be wearing the sapphires with the blue gown, miss?”

“Yes, I suppose. But just the necklace. I don’t care to bother with the earrings or bracelet. It’s only supper.”

“Supper with the man who’s aiming to marry you.” She met Sadie’s astonished look. “At least, that’s what the staff is saying.”

“Are they?”

Julia shrugged. “Not that I am adding my opinion, for I promise I am saying nothing. However, I felt you ought to know.”

“Yes, thank you. I appreciate the warning.”

“And next week, when you’re to wear the navy ball gown?” Julia continued. “This set will also look nice with it, don’t you think? Unless you do not wish to be seen in the same jewels so soon.”

Sadie nodded and then winced. The party to which Julia referred was
a full week away. And though she wouldn’t tell the maid just yet, if at all, she would likely be gone well before then.

“I doubt anyone but Mama will notice, and she will keep our secret.”

“Yes, miss.” Julia went to the armoire to retrieve the necklace and then secured it at Sadie’s neck. “You do look pretty. The mister will be pleased.” Ignoring the comment, Sadie rose from the mirror and went to the window. The sun had just set, leaving the oaks trailing shadows across the remains of the gold-orange light. At the edges of the horizon, purple fingers of twilight climbed up into a sky that threatened rain.

“If there’s nothing else, miss, I will take this dress and begin working on it.”

“Yes, of course.” Sadie glanced back at Julia. “Thank you.”

The maid looked as if she might blush. “Mending and repurposing the wardrobe is what a lady’s maid does.”

“No, I mean thank you for being willing to accompany me today.” Sadie settled onto the window seat and looked up at Julia. “I think we both agree that our adventure does not fit into the category of things a lady’s maid does.”

“I rather enjoyed it. And I shall keep the secret of what happened no matter who should ask.”

“Has anyone asked?”

Her fingers clutched the fabric. “No, miss. I just meant…well, never mind. I shall keep the secret, and should you need someone for another adventure, I’m your girl. And if you have any questions as to whether I’m fit for that service, I hope you will believe I learned my lesson and will await only your instructions from now on.”

Julia crossed her fingers over her heart and then grinned. Sadie wanted to believe her. Unfortunately, only time would tell as to whether the girl’s claim was true.

Time and perhaps yet another test.

Sadie mustered a smile. “Then perhaps we shall discover whether that’s the case someday soon.”

“Yes, miss. I do thank you. And I shall see that you have more of those powders and willow bark tea for when you come back upstairs after supper. You do look as if you are still not feeling completely free of your headache.”

At Sadie’s nod, Julia hurried away, leaving silence in her wake. Sadie glanced over at the package she had placed beneath her valise atop the armoire.

She should see that Jefferson got his parcel. When and how was yet to be determined. Also yet to be determined was whether she would peek inside it before she made good on that delivery. After all, Henry had instructed her to keep close tabs on the man should she have the ability to do so.

Didn’t that include investigating strange parcels without postmarks?

By the time she reached the dining room, the meal was about to get under way. She settled into the only seat remaining, the one directly across from Jefferson.