Though Hilda saw Calvin frown, then pick up Verbena’s prized marble statue of David, she didn’t get a chance to answer Verbena or stop him. Because in the next second he came down on Verbena’s head with it. Without a sound, the woman crumpled to the floor.
“Oh, my Lord, Calvin, what have you done?” Hilda cried.
Calvin’s voice was flat and without compassion when he said, “She should’ve got me a dog.”
Chapter 21
“Oh, Lydia, it’s been a wonderful birthday.” Hannah clapped her hands and sat back on the small settee in her hotel room. “The pretty yellow dress you gave me is perfect. The lunch in the dining room was delicious, and I’ve enjoyed being here with you so much. It’s the best birthday I’ve ever had.”
“It has been wonderful spending it with you, little sister. I’m so glad Jarrett was thoughtful enough to give us this time to ourselves.”
“Yes, it was thoughtful of him. He’s a wonderful man.”
“I’m so glad he had the doctor see you today and bring you the crutches, and I’m glad the doctor said you were well enough to travel.” Lydia smiled at her sister. “It was sweet of Jarrett to give you that lovely cape, too.”
“He said I’d need it in Arizona this fall.”
Lydia reached over and took her hand. “Being eighteen is special, and you need to share it with those you love. I’m so glad we got to be together most of the day.”
“It’s certainly been different from the birthdays I spent at Aunt Verbena’s house.”
“I know. I remember how she’d only allow me to visit you for about an hour, at most.” She squeezed the hand she was still holding. “You never have to worry about spending another birthday at her house.”
“I’m happy about that.” She smiled at Lydia with bright, shiny eyes. “Jarrett told me this morning that he’d always protect me, and I know he will.”
“I’m sure that as long as he’s around, he’ll do just that, and when you get to Arizona, you’ll have Drina and her husband to protect and love you.”
“I’m sure I’ll still have Jarrett, too.”
“I know he’ll be your friend, but you won’t see him much after you move in with Drina and her husband.”
Hannah gave her sister a coy look. “Oh, I think I will.”
Lydia frowned. “What makes you say that?”
Hannah wasn’t sure she should tell her sister, but she felt she had to share her happiness with somebody. Still smiling, she said, “He kissed me, Lydia.”
Lydia raised an eyebrow. “Why did he do that?”
Hannah knew since she’d started, she had to tell her sister the details. She explained about the bad dream, her calling out, and Jarrett coming in her room to comfort her. “And when I told him I loved him, he kissed me.” She sighed a contented sigh and leaned back against the flowered pillow of the settee.
Lydia frowned. “How dare he.”
“What do you mean? It was wonderful.”
“Did he do anything else?”
“No. He said he had to go back to his room and he wanted me to go back to sleep.”
“And that was all?”
“Well, I did thank him for the kiss, and asked him to kiss me again.”
“Did he?”
“Yes, but it was quicker the second time, and he hurried out of the room before I could tell him I wanted it to last longer.”
Lydia sat upright and glared at her sister. “You must never do that again, Hannah.”
Hannah was confused. “Do what?”
“Oh, Hannah, you’re so naïve. A woman never tells a man she loves him before he tells her, and she certainly doesn’t ask him to kiss her.”
“Why not? He didn’t seem to mind. When he kissed me the second time, I knew he loved me, too.” Hannah went on. “I told you how we had a wonderful breakfast together, and how he left for a while, then came back with the doctor and those crutches. As soon as the doctor left, he gave me the cape. He said for the rest of my birthday present he was going to teach me to walk.”
“I’m glad he’s doing that. I suggested crutches to Aunt Verbena once, but she said you’d fall and hurt yourself. I knew it was useless to argue with her.”
“Well, Jarrett has faith in me. He held me up and walked me around the room to strengthen my good leg. He said in a day or so, he would let me try the crutches, but only when he was here to make sure I didn’t fall.”
“I’m glad he’s so attentive, Hannah, but you must remember, he’s not doing these things because he loves you. Drina’s husband hired him to come here to investigate Aunt Verbena and to make sure you were all right. Once he collects his money for doing the job, his responsibility for you will be over. I’m sure he plans that once you get to Arizona, he’ll leave you with Drina and you may never see him again.”
Hannah frowned. “What are you saying?”
“Surely, you knew he was only doing the job Aaron Wilcox paid him to do.”
Hannah felt her heart plummet to her knees. So Jarrett didn’t kiss her because he loved her. He was only doing it because she asked him to. How could she have been so stupid? To keep Lydia from seeing how crushed she felt, she smiled and said, “Well, at least he got me away from Aunt Verbena.”
“That’s true.” Lydia stood and looked down at her. “Now, when he gets back today, don’t you dare ask him to kiss you again. Just be thankful for the reason he came into our lives, and look forward to going to Arizona to live with Drina.”
“I promise to do as you say, big sister.” Hannah reached for her. “Let me hug you good-bye, and thank you again for spending my birthday with me.”
Lydia hugged her. “We’ll spend more time together before you leave.”
As her sister went out the door, Hannah let the tears she’d been able to hold back slide down her cheeks. So Jarrett didn’t care for her. He’d only kissed her because he was a man, and they did that sort of thing. How could she have been so unwise as to think he loved her? And how was she going to keep her broken heart from showing the world how she felt about the man? A man she knew she’d fallen in love with, not because he was being good to her, but because he was the type of man she’d always wished for.
It was a good thing she had all the experience of hiding her feelings from Aunt Verbena through the years. She just hoped she could continue the ruse with Tobias and Minerva. And especially, Jarrett. She only hoped he thought her confessing her love for him was just a slip of the tongue, or merely gratitude. Not the truth that it really was.
♥♥♥
“Good morning, Miss Hannah.” Minerva opened the drapes as Hannah began to stretch. “Did you have a good birthday yesterday?”
“It was wonderful. For the first time, Lydia and I weren’t interrupted, and we got to spend a lot of time together.”
“Good. Mr. Jarrett said you was tired last night and went to bed early.”
“I did, and I slept wonderfully.” She sat up and looked at Minerva. “I’ve been meaning to ask, where are you and Tobias staying?”
“We’s has some friends we stay with.”
“I wish you could stay here with me.”
Minerva grinned. “Mr. Jarrett said he’d get us a room, but we’s told him not to try. There ain’t no way this here hotel would let us stay here. We been free for more’n twenty years, but white folks still don’t want to associate with us.”
“That’s such a shame, Minerva, but I don’t guess we can do anything about it.”
“Mr. Jarrett says it won’t be as bad in Ariezonie.”
“I’m so glad you’re going to Arizona with me.”
“We’s always said wherever you go away from here, we goes, too.” She moved to the bed. “Now, let’s get you dressed. Mr. Jarrett done asked Miz Lydia and her husband to come and have breakfast with you and him this mornin’. Does you want to wear the new dress your sister give you?”
“I was going to save it, but since they’re coming, yes, I will wear it. I want Lydia to see ho
w nice it looks on me.”
“I’s glad you’s gonna wear it. I think yeller will look purty on you.”
“Thank you.” She took the pan of water Minerva brought over and began to wash with the soft washcloth. “Did Jarrett say why he’d invited Lydia and Bradly to come for breakfast?”
“No, Miss Hannah. He didn’t tell me nothing. He just sent Tobias to get them.”
“Then I better hurry. I don’t want then to have to wait on me.”
Thirty minutes later, Minerva rolled Hannah into Jarrett’s room. He stood and laid the paper he was reading aside as they entered. “My, don’t you look pretty this morning. Yellow is a good color on you.”
“Thank you. Lydia gave me this dress for my birthday.”
“She did a good job picking it out for you.” He moved to take the back of the wheelchair from Minerva. “I’m going to go ahead and roll you up to the table. Everyone should be here soon, and they’ll serve breakfast. In the meantime, I have some tea for you.”
“Thank you,” she said again, and tried to avoid his eyes. She wished he wouldn’t be so nice. It was making it hard for her to hide her feelings from him.
By the time she stirred the sugar in her tea, Lydia and Bradly arrived. Soon after the greetings, the waiter arrived with the breakfast trays. Again, Hannah was amazed at the amount of food, but everyone else seemed to take it for granted. She guessed it was because she was so used to what Aunt Verbena sent her. Unless Minerva slipped her extra food, she was often relegated to one or two things on her plate.
“It was nice of you to invite us this morning, MacMichael,” Bradly said as they all sat at the table.
“I think what I have to tell you is of interest not only to Hannah and Lydia, but to you and the Johnsons as well.” He looked around at them. “I know you said you’d already had breakfast, Tobias, but I want you and Minerva to join us, even if you only have coffee.”
They were reluctant at first, but were finally persuaded to join the others at the table. After the plates were filled and everyone was settled, Jarrett said, “Tobias is aware that I visited Burl Hamilton a couple of days ago and was able to convince him to let me have the paper that was drawn up between Verbena, your mother, and your father.” He looked at Lydia, then Hannah. “The only other person to know what the document said was the banker who drew it up and is now dead, like your mother. Until I got a copy, the only two people living who knew what the paper contained were Verbena and Burl.”
He took a deep breath and went on. “In return for what I paid for the paper, Burl signed an agreement saying that when something happened to him or if he failed to keep up the taxes on the place, the farm was to go to you, Lydia.”
“What about Hannah and Drina?” Bradly asked.
“Drina is in Arizona and I already knew I was going to take Hannah there so the farm would do neither of them any good. The place is so rundown it isn’t worth much, but I thought maybe you and Lydia could sell it for a little profit.”
“I see.”
“Lydia, you told me about the meetings your mother had with Verbena and your father, though you were too young to know what they were about.” She nodded and he continued. “Of course, Hannah was only a baby and knew nothing of what was going on. One thing the paper says is that there was some family heirloom jewelry that was handed down by your grandmother. This jewelry was to be given to Hannah on or around her eighteenth birthday to be used to pay someone to look after her. The only stipulation was that if she was married by then, the jewels would go to Verbena to pay her for raising Hannah to this age.”
Hannah couldn’t help blurting, “That’s why she tried to marry me off. She wanted the jewels.”
Jarrett reached over and took her hand. “That’s right, honey. When I stopped the wedding, I foiled her plans. I had already read some of the document, and I knew what she was up to. I wouldn’t leave there that night without making her give the jewelry to me. It’s over there in the wardrobe, and as soon as we finish eating, I’ll give the box to you.”
“Why didn’t she just destroy the paper and take the jewels?” Bradly looked puzzled.
“She probably would have, but she knew Burl had a copy of it. As long as he was alive, there was no way she could get away with anything. He agreed to go along with their plans because she was to keep the taxes paid on the farm, bail him out of jail when needed, and give him a little money along the way.”
Hannah looked at him. “Why did she go along with it after mother died? She could have thrown me out at any time.”
“She had no choice.” Jarrett still had hold of her hand and he squeezed it. “She knew if she tried anything until you were eighteen, her world would crumble.”
“Why?” Lydia stared at him.
“I don’t know any easy way to tell you this, but your mother and Burl knew something that could have sent Verbena to prison for the rest of her life.”
“I don’t understand.” Hannah saw Tobias nodding. “Do you know, Tobias?”
“No. I didn’t know, but Minerva and me had our suspicions. We jest couldn’t prove nothing.”
“What had Aunt Verbena done?”
“It is all documented in the paper. But the gist of it is, your mother had come to see her sister to ask her to raise Hannah because she knew she wouldn’t live to do it. Of course, being the selfish person she is, Verbena refused to do so. Your mother was upset, but had to accept the fact that you would probably be put in a home since your father didn’t want you. It was too late for her to go home, so Ella decided to stay one more night at the Wedington’s house. Verbena and Hector had a big fight before they went to bed that night and the lady was livid. The paper didn’t say what the fight was about, but the next morning, Verbena got up first, put a string across the top of the stairs so when Hector started down he’d stumble. Which he did. The fall didn’t kill him, but he was unconscious, He never regained consciousness, and died a few days later. Verbena probably would have gotten away with it, but your mother had you with her, Hannah. And as little ones often do, you were fussy and your mother started downstairs to get you some milk. She witnessed the entire thing.”
Both Hannah and Lydia gasped. Bradly looked stunned and Minerva nodded her head.
Finally, Lydia asked, “If she murdered her husband, what kept her from doing the same to Hannah, and then claiming the jewels?”
“There is a line in there that says if something happens to Hannah before she is eighteen, the jewels are to go to you and Drina.”
“So, she had no choice but to keep me in her house, though she never wanted me.” Tears came to Hannah’s eyes. “I guess I’ve never had anyone but my mother and my sisters who really cared for me.”
“Now, Miss Hannah, you knows Tobias and me cares about you.”
“I’m sorry, Minerva. I know you do, and I appreciate it.”
Jarrett touched her arm. “I care about you, too, Hannah.”
She wanted to say, “As long as you’re being paid to do so,” but she didn’t. She only muttered, “Thank you.”
Lydia asked, “Is there anything else in there we should know about?”
“The only other thing is that if something happens to your aunt, the three of you get the house she lives in. The rest of the Wedington fortune goes to some nephew of Hector’s. He lives in Atlanta.”
“I don’t particularly want her house. Do you, Hannah?”
“No, and I don’t think Drina will, either.”
“Well, the fact that the woman is alive makes the point moot,” Bradly said.
“You’re right.” Jarrett nodded. “The other things in the document simply detail how Verbena is to raise Hannah until she marries or is eighteen and gets the jewels. I’ll be glad to let you read it, but the main thing I want to do is ask you what you want done about the crime Verbena has committed.”
“Maybe we should ask Drina, too. She also has a stake in all this.” Lydia took her husband’s arm. “I say we check with her. What about yo
u, Hannah?”
“I agree. She should be told.”
“I’ll wire Wilcox today.” Jarrett pushed back his chair. “Then, let me get the jewelry so you can see what your mother left.”
♥♥♥
Five weeks later, Everett MacMichael walked into his Flagstaff, Arizona office and found Jarrett slumped over his desk, writing.
“Well, speak of the devil. When did you get back?”
“I wasn’t speaking of the devil, but I got back this morning.”
“How did things work out?”
“Fine. I have the money ready to be deposited in the bank.” He tossed it to his twin.
Everett looked at the amount written on the slip of paper wrapped around the bundle of money and his eyebrow shot up. “Wow. Wilcox must have been pleased with your work.”
“He was, and his wife was ecstatic.”
“That’s all well and good, but I’m surprised you came into the office so quickly. I figured you’d be down on Chester Street as soon as you got home.”
Jarrett shrugged. “I’m in no hurry to go there.”
Again, Everett’s eyebrow went up. “Uh-oh, something must have happened to you in Georgia.”
Jarrett ignored him and handed him the paper he’d been writing.
“What’s this?”
“My report on the job I did in Savannah.”
“If I read this, will it give me a clue as to your attitude?”
“What do you mean?”
“You know what I mean, Jarrett. You usually get back from a job, rush to see Miss Newell and live it up with her for a few days before you get back to work. Now, here you sit on your first day back, working away.”
“I figured you and Miss Newell had cut me out while I was gone.”
“I haven’t seen much of the lady. There’s a new banker in town who seems to have attracted her attention. Besides, I’m tired of fighting you for her affections.”
“I thought we were having a friendly little competition.”
“The truth of the matter is, I’ve kind of lost interest.”
Jarrett eyed him. “That doesn’t sound like you.”
Hannah's Wishes Page 24
