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Chapter Fifty

All That Glitters May Not Be Gold

A week later:

"At least, the little medium isn't nearly as bossy as your mother," Martha remarked as Carolyn helped her with her morning chores of changing the bed linen. "If you don't mind me saying, I do wish the Williams' womenfolk would do the same and learn their place. Not go about constantly trying to push in when and where their opinion isn't asked for or wanted."

"Of course, I don't mind you saying it." Carolyn shook her head quickly as she opened out and tossed a fresh sheet onto the bed. "But, my mother and the twins will never change. Remember, they're the reason we left Philadelphia to come here to Schooner Bay in the first place. The best decision I ever made."

"Oh, I remember that, all right," Martha replied as she smoothed out and tucked in the clean sheet. "My agency always told me it never paid to become attached to any family I worked for. There was no future in it, they said."

She straightened from her task. "But when you told me you were thinking of running away to the seaside…"

She shook her head. "I wasn't going to let you three go anywhere without me. Your children had become like my own. And you'd finally stood up to your mother. A feat worthy of a medal."

"And we love you for it…" Carolyn walked around the end of the bed to hug her good friend and kiss her cheek. "I am so sorry my mother didn't see you as family. But we do and always will. It's a shame she cannot be happy for us."

"Oh, I don't pay that Emily no mind," Martha sniffed, pulling her handkerchief from her apron pocket. "She would've married you off to that shirker, Mitford, if you hadn't dug your heels in and refused to go along with her plans. I seem to remember you told me once that Bobby was also her choice of a husband for you."

"Which is what annoys my mother the most. That she had no hand in finding Daniel for me. Not that she has any idea of how it all came about." Carolyn smiled as she took the housekeeper's hand.

She turned to look at the closed bedroom door before she moved closer, lowering her voice. "But it seems that all that glitters may not be gold, after all," she confided softly.

"Whatever do you mean?" Martha blew her nose even as her eyes widened with interest. "Oh, do tell me. What have I been missing out on?"

Daniel appeared in the room behind them. "It means that the Mitford may be running a new scam. Or a variation of an old one. We have yet to uncover the whole truth."

"Go on…" Martha demanded, sitting down on the side of the freshly made bed.

She took Carolyn's hand to encourage her to sit beside her. "I hate to be left out of anything juicy. My life was so dull before I came to work for you Muirs."

Carolyn smiled as she nodded. "We couldn't be sure. But that was the other reason we needed Mother and Father to go back to Philadelphia. To be there for Harriet when the truth comes out. There are soon going to be things uncovered about Owen that will finally change their minds about him."

"Okay…" Martha frowned. "But that will take some kind of miracle. Emily thinks the world of that two-faced snake."

Daniel took his wife's hand and kissed her fingers. "We deal in miracles."

He smiled down at her. "Mitford will soon learn not to reach for things that cannot be his. I will not allow it."

"Yes, he will." Carolyn grasped his hand tightly. "Take that diamond ring…"

She turned to Martha. "The one Harriet was showing off to us all out at the island."

"What about it?" the housekeeper demanded impatiently. "It certainly looked like the real thing. But then I only saw it from a distance. Are you saying it's not?"

"Yes. It turns out that it's a big, fat fake. A well-made piece of cubic zirconia. It seems Hazel has some sniff of the truth, but Harriet refused to believe her. She's very much in love with her husband."

"Ohhh, how do you know the ring is a fake?" Martha looked from one to the other in awe.

Daniel shrugged. "Lucius consulted the shade of a certain well-known French jeweller. He confirmed it."

Martha clapped her hands. "Oh, to see Harriet's face when she finally finds out she's been duped!"

She put an apologetic hand to her lips. "I'm sorry. Does that sound truly awful?"

"Not at all." Carolyn shook her head. "It's nothing that we haven't already thought," she confessed. "But I can feel sorry for Harriet. It's not her fault her husband has turned out to be both a fraud and a cheat. She doesn't deserve to be so badly treated."

"No, she doesn't." Martha whistled softly. "But to think your own mother wanted you to marry that snake. And she sniffed at you making a living with your writing too. Owen would never have allowed you to continue in that either. It really is too bad. I have held my tongue on many an occasion when something needed to be said."

"Mitford presents to the world the face he thinks will gain him the most kudos and make him the most money," Daniel commented harshly, taking both of his wife's hands in his. "I have sent Lucius to ask our very own money-grubbing, spineless jellyfish a few pertinent questions to which we need answers. We must step up the pressure so Mitford no longer has any place to hide his wretched perfidy."

"You didn't…" Carolyn shook her head at him, even as her eyes widened with delight. "Oh, poor Claymore…"

She tightened her fingers in his. "He will faint dead away with fright the moment Lucius appears."

Her husband shrugged as he assisted her to her feet. "Poor Claymore, nothing. To expedite the search, who else is better qualified to answer questions about how a twentieth-century man may cheat on his taxes or commit insurance fraud and think he can get away with it?"

He shook his head. "The Tibaldi has arrived back from town and awaits you downstairs. I could wish that Applegate had not sung her praises so loudly that she feels the need to outstay her welcome."

"Olivia means well…" Carolyn hugged him. "And she has been useful. I don't have the heart to send her on her way. She's so looking forward to being here when our twins are born."

"I know…" Her husband kissed her forehead. "You are too good to her. But if she makes you happy she may stay."

Carolyn shrugged. "Well, now that my visits to Dr Morgan have become weekly, Olivia's skills may be needed."

Martha stood up and crossed to them. "You will tell us all the very moment you feel a twinge or anything," she said stoutly. "Your bags are packed and everything's in order. Twenty minutes will see you to the hospital and into safe care."

"It's for the best…" Carolyn said to the thoughtful look in her husband's eyes.

"Yes, I know…" he said again before letting her go.

※※※※※

Claymore had been bent over his figuring when he became aware he was no longer alone in his office. He frowned morosely at his unexpected and unwanted visitor who had just materialised before his desk. It seemed just when he had managed to move one ghost on from meddling in his life, another took his place.

"What do you want from me?" he demanded to know, fiddling nervously with his pen. "What does he want from me now?"

His gaze probed the office for any sign his great-uncle had accompanied his chief henchman. But the morning sunshine showed he wasn't in sight. It didn't make Claymore feel any better or reassured.

"I have been directed to come to you, seeking some advice." Lucius grimaced as he settled deeper into the chair on the opposite side of Claymore's desk. "I said it wasn't a good idea. But I was overruled in that."

He glanced around the office, looking for any sign of cigars or some good wine. He well knew the other man's reputation for having a parsimonious nature. Seeing no sign of sustenance, he shrugged as he lifted the heels of his boots to rest on the corner of the desk.

"What sort of advice?" Claymore asked suspiciously, pulling off his green eyeshade. "I mean, nothing in this world is for free."

His lips twitched into the semblance of a nervous smile. "I have my price."

"Daniel did say your very soul is for sale," Lucius replied evenly. "I can quite believe that of you."

"A man has to make a living. Especially someone like me," Claymore defended himself. "I'm on my own. No rich wife to support me or buy my property."

"Oh, very well…" Lucius waved one hand and a cloth bag appeared on the blotter in front of his unwilling host. "They say a man should be worthy of his hire. But that is a down payment only."

He scowled at Claymore. "If your advice proves to be worthless then I shall rescind the offer. You run a tight ship."

"Oh, I'm sure we can make a deal…" Claymore snatched up the bag, weighing it expertly on his open palm, closing his eyes to assess the sound of the coins moving inside. "A goodly sum for an hour of my time…" he said softly, listening to the clink of the coins.

"A single hour?" Lucius's boots hit the floor loudly as he leaned forward, shaking one fist. "Robbery, sirrah! Daylight robbery!"

"Well, then, maybe one and a half…" Claymore's eyes flew open as he cuddled the bag to his breast and huddled back into his own chair.

He reached to pull his eyeshade back on with one shaky hand. "I… How may I assist you this morning? W… what do you wish to know?"

"That's much better." Lucius settled back again, returning his boots to the corner of the desk. "Daniel assures me you well know the ways of this modern world and the things some men will do to hide that which they do not wish to be found."

He moved his fingers, deeply missing the comfort of a good cigar. It was a poor showing to be here without the necessary aids which helped him to think. "You're a very poor host," he grumbled.

"I… don't have time to entertain. As to your other concern, I do have some experience of such," Claymore allowed cautiously.

He swallowed tightly, easing one finger around inside the collar of his shirt. "Of course, none of it was of my own doing. I hide nothing from the taxman."

His narrow chest swelled. "My whole life is an open and honest book. Anyone may read it."

Lucius frowned at the other man's attempt to appear completely innocent. His weak smile was not something that inspired confidence in his honesty.

"This is a matter of fraud and deception," Lucius confided slowly. "On the part of a man who seeks to make himself seem entirely trustworthy. It is past time for the world to see him differently."

"Who is this man?" Claymore crocked. "And why do you wish him ill?"

"We wish only to see him get what is coming to him," Lucius assured him grimly. "He is nothing more than a perfidious fool."

He looked around the office once more in vain. He licked his lips. As soon as he could leave this dry hole, he would be seeking some sustenance where he knew there was something decent to drink and smoke.

※※※※※

"I am so very pleased I was able to come to your rescue. We are going to be so comfortable together," Madame Tibaldi remarked with a contented smile as she sipped her cup of coffee.

"I'm truly sorry we needed to involve you in all this," Carolyn replied quickly. "But I'm sure we can cope. If you have other places you need to be now."

The medium reached to pat her hand comfortingly. "Oh, don't you go worrying yourself about little old me." She twinkled. "You know I'm never one to interfere or intrude. I never poke my nose in where it's not wanted. My spirits are content to wait."

Carolyn stared at her, feeling a little confused by hearing her cousin Harriet's troubling reassurances. She smiled worriedly at her table companion, not sure what else she could say.

As soon as Carolyn's parents had left the house, the little medium had gone out to her car for her suitcases. She'd quickly changed from her stiff white uniform back into her floating assortment of lavender clothing. Over the past week, she had been caring and attentive, but never pushy. Carolyn was at quite a loss as to how to proceed without offending the older woman.

She breathed a sigh of relief as her husband walked into the kitchen. He'd taken on the responsibility of driving the children to school, which was a complete novelty for them and a worry for their mother. But managing to fit comfortably behind the steering wheel now was becoming a luxury. And her new nurse had strictly forbidden her to even attempt such a dangerous task when she had a man perfectly willing and able to perform the task.

"Your spirits have not called for you yet, I see," Daniel remarked drily as he poured himself a cup of coffee and sat down at the table.

The medium smiled at him. "Oh, they chatter away to me all the time, with all the latest news. But they know I must be here, for now."

"Do you know something we don't?" Carolyn asked.

The medium tapped the side of her nose with one forefinger. "All my spirits will tell me is that all will be well and in good time. I can't say any more than that."

"You're being very mysterious," Carlyn complained, taking Daniel's hand.

Her husband turned his hand beneath hers to grasp her fingers. "It's her stock in trade, my dear." He shook his head at both of them.

※※※※※

"Now you, go on upstairs and take a nice, long, hot bath, my dear Mrs Gregg," Madame Tibaldi ordered that night after dinner. "You're looking quite worn out. And we can't have that. Martha and I can take care of the children."

"You could teach us more about playing poker?" Candy asked keenly.

"Or you could read the bumps on my head," Jonathan offered, pointing to his skull. "You never did the last time you were here."

"See?" The medium smiled. "We shall be well occupied."

"And I've made the coffee…" Martha added, entering the living room carrying the tray.

"Come on…" Daniel pulled his wife gently to her feet. "I think we're both surplus to need tonight."

"Most assuredly, my dears." The medium twinkled at them. "Enjoy this more peaceful time while you can. Chaos will ensure soon enough."

Carolyn shook her head as she walked slowly toward the open doors. "Don't remind me. Three o'clock feeds loom large in my memory."

"But I was a good baby, right, Mom?" Jonathan asked worriedly.

"Of course," his mother reassured him quickly. "You were both the very best of babies."

"And we're big enough to help with our brothers too, after they're born." Jonathan nodded decisively.

"You mean our sisters," Candy was quick to reply. "Girls are better than boys. Everyone knows that."

"No, you're not!" her brother fired back. "Boys can do anything! Climb trees, and make sand castles too. Right, Captain?" He looked to his stepfather for confirmation.

"I do believe you'll be needing a hand with that bath, my love…" Daniel was quick to distance himself from the heated conversation.

"Go on now, we'll be fine." Martha shooed them from the room, closing the doors firmly behind them.

Carolyn shook her head as they walked slowly up the staircase. "Remember when I said I would get fat and my ankles would swell?"

Daniel put his arm around her as they walked toward the bathroom. "I remember."

Carolyn shrugged. "I also said there would come a time when I wouldn't be able to see my own feet." She looked down at the swelling of her abdomen with a deep sigh.

"Oh, I well remember that particular conversation," Daniel replied patiently. "And I would never offer you the insult of saying you are fat. Blooming is the word I would use and mean it."

Carolyn hugged his arm closer to her. "I can understand why women were confined to the house in your century."

Daniel shook his head even as his lips twitched. "Ah, is that what's worrying you? That I could still turn into a nineteenth-century husband and insist on locking you away from being seen."

He sighed as he turned her to face him. "I told you then that the past is a pleasant place to visit. But as a long-term arrangement, I must prefer the here and now, with you. And I have enjoyed seeing you in every one of your stages. The good and the bad. They have all been very beautiful."

He spread one hand wide across her abdomen. Carolyn swallowed tightly as she laid her own hand over his.

"I'm glad…" She smiled mistily. "I must warn you the bad can get pretty awful at times. Hormones can make a woman hard to live with."

Daniel kissed the end of her nose. "I've sailed a ship through the eye of a force ten storm and faced down pirates and a man-eating shark."

He smiled. "Also that female witch doctor who wanted to part me from my very manhood long before I met you. I have Lucius to thank for my rescue that day. I'm well prepared for what lies ahead of us both."

"I'll hold you to that," Carolyn whispered, pushing her fingers between his and holding on tight. "Just remember you said it."

"I will. Now you must come and have that bath," Daniel murmured against her hair. "I also promised that when you could no longer see your toes I would wash them for you, as well as your back."

He smiled. "Elroy had the right of it. He might not be the sharpest of intellects but he was entirely correct about one thing. Don't forget, you will always be my very pretty lady."

He leaned down to kiss her with slow deliberation.

※※※※※