Dead With The Wind

CHAPTER 8

Over Jacqueline’s bowed head, An’gel and Dickce exchanged startled glances. Horace Mims was reputedly worth millions, but he didn’t have the money to pay the florist for his stepdaughter’s wedding?

“That’s certainly unfortunate,” An’gel said.

Dickce sat on the other side of Jacqueline and patted her on the back. “What can we do to help?”

“I’m so embarrassed by all this, you cannot believe how much,” Jacqueline said, still gazing at her hands. “I don’t dare tell Maman about Horace’s little cash flow problem, as he calls it. It’s only temporary, he says, but it couldn’t happen at a worse time.”

“These things happen in business from time to time,” Dickce said, “or so I imagine.” She raised her eyebrows in An’gel’s direction, and An’gel gave a tiny shrug in return.

“We’ll be happy to lend you the money, Jacqueline,” An’gel said in a bracing tone. “I’m sure Horace will get his affairs sorted out quickly. Tell me how much you need, and we’ll take care of it.”

Jacqueline raised her head, and An’gel was dismayed to see that she had been crying. “Thank you, Tante An’gel, Tante Dickce, I can’t tell you how much this means to me, and to Sondra and Maman, of course, although I’ll never let either of them know anything about it.”

“We’ll keep this to ourselves,” Dickce promised. “Tell An’gel how much you need, and she’ll write you a check.”

“Two thousand dollars,” Jacqueline said. “I know it’s a lot to ask, but if I don’t get the money to the florist today, there won’t be any flowers for the wedding.”

“We certainly can’t have that,” An’gel said. “I’ll get my checkbook, and we’ll take care of this right now.” She patted Jacqueline’s arm before she rose from the sofa.

“Let me get you some tissues,” Dickce said. Jacqueline was sniffling, and her face was turning blotchy from crying. Dickce got up and went to the bathroom in search of the tissues.

An’gel came back with checkbook and pen in hand and resumed her seat next to her goddaughter. “Would you like me to make it to you, or to the florist?”

“To the florist would be fine.” Jacqueline supplied the name. “Thank you, Tante An’gel.”

Dickce returned with the tissues and handed them over. Jacqueline smiled her thanks and began dabbing at her eyes. She accepted the check from An’gel with a slightly watery smile.

An’gel glanced at Dickce, as if asking her sister a question. Dickce nodded, and An’gel spoke in a brisk tone to her goddaughter. “I tell you what, my dear. Why don’t you let this be one of our wedding gifts? It would be our pleasure.”

Jacqueline’s face reddened, and she didn’t speak for a moment. “You’re being far too generous, but I thank you. You’ll never know how much.”

For a moment An’gel thought her goddaughter was about to burst into tears, but Jacqueline collected herself. She thanked the sisters again as she folded the check and tucked it into the pocket of her pants.

“I’d better get back.” Jacqueline rose. “Maman will be wondering where I am. You’ll be coming up for breakfast soon?”

“Yes,” An’gel said, “and if there’s anything we can help with this morning, do let us know.”

Dickce echoed her sister’s words, and Jacqueline thanked them. “I think we have everything under control. Estelle is still here, so it’s breakfast as usual.”

“Is Mireille going to fire her?” An’gel asked.

Jacqueline shrugged. “Honestly, I don’t know. After Estelle’s behavior last night and Sondra’s ultimatum, I thought she’d be gone this morning. But there she is in the kitchen as if nothing happened. I tried to talk to Maman last night about Estelle, but she told me she would take care of everything in her own way and not to pester her about it.”

An’gel wasn’t surprised. Mireille could be stubborn, and her loyalty to Estelle, though puzzling to everyone else, might turn out to be more important to her than having her granddaughter follow family tradition in wearing the antique wedding gown. An’gel had no doubt Sondra would follow through on her threat not to wear the gown when she saw Estelle still in the house.

“I’m sure Mireille will do what she thinks is best for everyone,” An’gel said with a confidence she was far from feeling in her cousin.

“Two more days, and this will all be over.” Jacqueline sounded weary, An’gel thought. “I’ll see you up at the house in a bit.”

Dickce showed her out. She leaned back against the closed door and regarded her sister. “Horace must be having serious problems if he can’t come up with two thousand dollars to pay for the florist.”

An’gel nodded, her tone grim when she spoke. “Definitely. I’m concerned about Jacqueline. She has money of her own from Terence’s estate and should have been able to pay the florist herself. The fact that she had to come to us for money is deeply troubling.”

Dickce returned to her place on the sofa near An’gel. “I had forgotten that. I hope Horace hasn’t squandered Jacqueline’s inheritance.”

“I don’t remember the terms exactly, but I thought Jacqueline had only the income from a trust for her lifetime,” An’gel said.

“If that’s the case, then she’s probably okay,” Dickce said, “but I suppose she could be giving money from her trust income to Horace.”

“Very possibly.” An’gel sighed. “There isn’t anything we can do about it, though, other than counsel Jacqueline if she should ask for further help.”

“On the other hand, she could be using her income to help Mireille,” Dickce said. “Maurice didn’t leave Mireille all that well off; otherwise, she wouldn’t have had to go into business with the bed-and-breakfast scheme.”

“True,” An’gel said. “I hope that’s the answer, rather than giving money to Horace.” She pushed herself up from the sofa. “It’s close enough to breakfast time; we might as well head on up to the house.”

Dickce nodded. “I’ll go check on Benjy and see if he’s ready.”

“I’ll meet you outside in a moment.” An’gel headed to the bathroom to wash her hands and have one last check on her makeup. As she stared into the mirror, she realized she had forgotten to ask Jacqueline about Sondra’s car. She was curious to find out what had happened with the brakes. She would ask her goddaughter at the earliest opportunity.

A couple of minutes later she came out of the cottage to find not only Dickce and Benjy awaiting her, but Peanut and Endora as well. Peanut was on the leash, but the cat rode on Benjy’s shoulder.

In response to An’gel’s expression of surprise, Benjy explained, “Mrs. Champlain told me last night that I could bring the guys to the house with us. She said she loves animals, and she’s never seen either a Labradoodle or an Abyssinian before.”

“If Mireille okayed it, then it’s certainly fine with me.” An’gel stared at the animals. “But you two have to be on your best behavior, all right?”

Peanut woofed in response, and An’gel couldn’t help but smile. Endora, on the other hand, stared at An’gel like a small Sphinx.

“I’m sure Endora will be a perfect lady,” Dickce said. “Won’t you, sweetheart?”

Endora turned her head in Dickce’s direction and meowed. Dickce shot a triumphant glance at her sister.

An’gel was slightly piqued that Dickce could elicit a response from the cat and she rarely could. Peanut was rapidly becoming her favorite, because he at least appreciated her attention.

“Let’s go,” An’gel said and headed for Willowbank.

Benjy, with Peanut and Endora, soon overtook the lead, thanks to the Labradoodle’s enthusiasm. Twice the dog wanted to hare off after something only he could sense, but each time Benjy called him to heel, and he obeyed quickly. Benjy praised him, and Peanut wagged his tail happily and barked as if to acknowledge the command.

“Such a smart boy,” An’gel murmured after the second foiled attempt.

“He sure is,” Benjy said over his shoulder in response.

They soon reached the house, and moments later were at the front door. Before they could ring, the door swung open, and Jackson’s smiling face greeted them.

“Well, now, who is this?” Jackson extended a hand to Peanut, and the dog sniffed and then licked it. Jackson rubbed the dog’s head as Benjy introduced him.

“He sure is a friendly dog,” Jackson said. “And what about Miss Precious sitting there on your shoulder. I reckon I never saw a red cat like that before.”

“This is Endora,” Benjy said. “She’s an Abyssinian.”

“Do tell.” Jackson shook his head. “She come all the way from Africa?”

“A few generations ago,” An’gel said with a smile. “Isn’t she lovely? She’s not particularly friendly, though.”

As if to give the lie to An’gel’s claim, when Jackson reached out toward the cat, Endora butted her head against his open palm and meowed as if to thank him for the attention. Jackson laughed. An’gel shot the cat a sour look.

“I reckon she’s friendly enough,” the butler said. After a moment he drew his hand back. “Y’all come on in. We’re just getting breakfast set on the sideboard in the dining room.” He waved them in and shut the door behind them.

The butler led them into the dining room, where An’gel could see Estelle moving dishes from a serving cart onto the sideboard. The housekeeper did not acknowledge them when she finished. Instead she wheeled the empty cart out of the room as if she hadn’t seen them.

An’gel walked over to the sideboard to examine the choices: scrambled eggs, biscuits, sausage and red-eye gravy, three types of jelly, and grits. Almost as an afterthought, An’gel noted, there was a large plate of sliced melon, pineapple, and grapes.

“We certainly won’t go hungry,” An’gel said.

Peanut, obviously entranced by the smell of food, strained at the leash. “No, boy,” Benjy said. “That’s people food. You’ve already had your breakfast.”

Peanut looked up at Benjy and whined. Benjy shook his head. “No.” With that, the dog settled down, though An’gel thought he looked sulky.

“Good morning,” Mireille called out as she entered the dining room. She smiled when she spotted the animals. “Oh, how beautiful they are.” She approached Benjy and the animals, and he quickly introduced the cat and the dog to his hostess. Mireille gave them both attention, and An’gel decided grumpily that Endora would be nice to everyone except her.

“What sweet babies they are.” Mireille switched her attention from the animals to her cousins. “Please don’t wait, go ahead and help yourselves to breakfast. I have something to attend to, but I’ll be right back.”

A howl of rage echoed through the lower portion of the house, and An’gel and the others started. Peanut barked excitedly, and Benjy worked to calm him.

The source of the noise appeared in the dining room doorway. Sondra stormed in and marched straight up to her grandmother.

“What is that woman still doing here?” Sondra screamed the words. “I told you I wanted her out of this house.”

What happened next startled An’gel so badly she almost dropped the plate she had picked up.

In response to Sondra’s outburst, Mireille drew back her hand and then slapped her granddaughter resoundingly.