Bless Her Dead Little Heart

CHAPTER 5

An’gel opened the door of the second guest room and stood aside to let the women enter. Maudine brushed past her, still obviously rankled by An’gel’s refusal to let her check on Rosabelle.

“I suppose this will do,” Maudine said. Bernice nodded with a tentative smile at her hostess.

Annoyed by the rude tone, An’gel suspected that Maudine, as the elder of the two, took the lead in everything, leaving Bernice to follow meekly in her wake. Thank goodness Dickce had more gumption. An’gel couldn’t abide women who didn’t speak up for themselves.

Juanita slipped past An’gel to stand beside her mother. “What a lovely room,” she said, her face alight with obvious pleasure. “Miss Ducote, does all the furniture date from the antebellum period?”

An’gel noted that Maudine frowned at her niece’s enthusiasm. “Yes, it does, although the mattress is modern, I can assure you. You should find it comfortable.”

“What about the bathroom?” Maudine glanced around the room. “There’s only one door in here, and that has to be a closet.”

“The bathroom is next door,” An’gel replied, her tone pleasant despite the other woman’s rudeness. “You will be sharing it with your mother.”

“Oh, dear,” Bernice muttered with a glance at her sister.

“I suppose you have to expect it in an old house like this.” Maudine sniffed. “My house in California has four bedrooms, and each one has its own bathroom.”

Juanita frowned at her aunt. “Before this, I’ve never had the opportunity to be a guest in a house with such a long history, Miss Ducote. I’m sure I’ll enjoy every minute I spend here.”

An’gel smiled at the young woman. At least one member of Rosabelle’s family had manners, though An’gel had to wonder how on earth Juanita had learned them. Miss Manners would have a field day with the rest of the clan.

“Thank you.” An’gel noted that Maudine didn’t appear to have paid any attention to Juanita’s rebuke, although Bernice at least had the grace to appear slightly abashed.

“Where did you put Wade and Marla?” Maudine asked.

“They have the guest room upstairs,” An’gel said.

“Don’t tell me we have to share the bathroom with them, too?” Maudine glowered at An’gel.

“No, there is a bathroom upstairs,” An’gel said, already anticipating Maudine’s sour reaction to this bit of news.

“I can’t believe Marla gets a private bathroom while we have to share one.”

The way Maudine’s nostrils flared, An’gel thought, she looked like an irritated horse. Dickce was hard put not to laugh.

Bernice touched her sister’s arm. “Now, Maudine, it won’t be that bad. It wouldn’t be right for Wade to have to share a bathroom with Mother, after all.”

Maudine frowned at her sister. Before she could speak, however, Juanita intervened. “Perhaps it would be better if we went to a hotel. I’m sure you can recommend a good one in town, Miss Ducote?”

Both Maudine and Bernice appeared aghast at Juanita’s suggestion. Maudine opened her mouth but nothing came out.

Appreciative of the young woman’s tactics, An’gel nodded and smiled. “The Farrington House is the oldest and most highly regarded hotel in Athena. I’d be more than happy to call and make a reservation.”

“No, that won’t be necessary. I’m sure we’ll be perfectly comfortable here.” Maudine smiled weakly. “After all, it is really kind of you to open your home to us like this.”

Maudine changed her mind pretty quickly, An’gel was amused to note. She was also pleased that the woman finally made an effort to behave in a more polite fashion.

“My sister and I are delighted to help our old friend and her family. I’m sure you all must be in need of refreshment,” An’gel said briskly. “If you would care to join me in the front parlor in about ten minutes, there will be iced tea for you. Miss Cameron, we’ll get you settled once your grandmother is finished resting.” She paused long enough to get nods from the sisters and a broad grin from Juanita before she left the room, pulling the door closed behind her.

An’gel had begun to descend the stairs when she heard whistling from nearby. Startled, she turned to her left to see Rosabelle, her door cracked about two inches, mouth pursed to whistle again.

An’gel approached the room, and Rosabelle stood back to let her enter. She closed the door and leaned against it.

“What are they doing here?” she asked.

“The same as the rest of your family, I suppose,” An’gel replied tartly. “They’ve come to check on you.”

“To murder me, you mean,” Rosabelle muttered. She moved away from the door and sank into a chair in front of the vanity. “I have nowhere else to go and no money to get anywhere either. So I guess I’m stuck.” She closed her eyes and sighed.

“You ought to be safe enough here,” An’gel said. “They’d have to be crazy to try to harm you while you’re our guest.” Given what she had observed thus far of Rosabelle’s family, she couldn’t put a lot of conviction in her tone. She felt she had to try to reassure her old sorority sister, though.

Rosabelle’s eyes popped open. “You don’t know how desperate they are.” She shuddered. “They would throw me to a pack of ravenous dogs if they thought they could get away with it.”

An’gel wanted to shake her. She understood that Rosabelle was badly frightened, but her tendency to overdramatize got old quickly.

“There’s no pack of ravenous dogs here, and you’re certainly not Jezebel,” she said in a mild tone. “So you’re safe from that.”

Rosabelle glowered at her, and An’gel thought how much Maudine resembled her mother. “I’m glad you find my situation so humorous.”

All at once An’gel felt tired, so she went over and sat on the bed. Maybe Dickce had been right to suggest that she throw the whole clan out. Why had she even agreed to let them stay in the first place?

Because I am accustomed to thinking that I can fix anything I set my mind to, she acknowledged ruefully to herself. And in my arrogance I just might have mixed Sister and me up in something nasty.

She realized Rosabelle was still waiting for her to acknowledge her last remark. Get a hold of yourself, An’gel Ducote. You can help Rosabelle, so stop trying to borrow trouble. “I didn’t mean to make light of your plight,” she said. “You’re still tired, and I’m sure everything looks grim to you. Dickce and I will do our best to help you sort it all out, and you’ll be able to go home and not worry anymore.”

Rosabelle appeared mollified by An’gel’s reply. “That would be wonderful. I could sleep the night through without being terrified.”

“Why do you think one of them is so desperate to do away with you?” An’gel asked. “You told us that your house goes to Wade, but is that all? Would your daughters and grandchildren inherit anything significant?”

Rosabelle shook her head. “I don’t have anything to my name really, not even the house. It’s mine for my lifetime, but then it goes to Wade. I get a barely adequate income for life from a trust set up by my first husband, but I can’t touch the capital. When I’m gone, however, the trust is dissolved, and the money goes to Maudine and Bernice.” She paused. “My second husband, Wade’s father, also left me a small income from a trust. Same situation, though. When I’m dead, Wade gets everything.”

Though she had no idea how large the trusts were, An’gel suspected they were huge. Rosabelle wouldn’t have married poor men, or even moderately wealthy ones. Rosabelle liked money too much to settle for anyone less than a multimillionaire. An’gel also thought both men shrewd to set up trusts for Rosabelle; otherwise, she might have burned through the money and been left with nothing. Evidently the third husband had nothing to leave. She thought it odd Rosabelle didn’t mention him.

Now that she was aware of Rosabelle’s financial position, however, An’gel could understand why the woman was frightened. Her children and grandchildren stood to inherit significant sums of money, and one of them might be tired of waiting to get hold of it. The question was, who was the most desperate? She and Dickce would have to ascertain what they could of the younger generation’s finances.

An’gel reached over and patted Rosabelle’s hand. “Dickce and I will get to the bottom of this. In the meantime, you try to relax. I believe you’ll be safe here. I will let your family know, discreetly, of course, that Sister and I will be guarding your welfare closely.”

“Thank you,” Rosabelle said, her eyes suddenly wet. “I don’t deserve such good friends.”

An’gel forbore to respond to that comment. Instead she stood, her energy coming back. “Don’t think any more about it. I do have a question for you, however. Would you allow your granddaughter to share your room? There’s a trundle bed she can use, and we can move it across the hall to your daughters’ room if you’d prefer to be alone.”

Rosabelle shook her head. “Juanita can stay with me. She and Junior aren’t like their parents, thank the Lord. They’re both sweet and loving.” She shrugged. “Anyway, I’ll feel safer with Juanita in the room with me at night.”

“Very well, then. When you’re ready, you can let Juanita know. In the meantime I’m going downstairs to prepare iced tea for everyone. You can join us in the front parlor when you feel like it.”

Rosabelle nodded, and An’gel left her, still ensconced in the chair, staring down at her hands.

On the way to the kitchen, An’gel resolved to get to the heart of Rosabelle’s troubles quickly. She wanted the whole clan out of her house as soon as possible.