The Daughters of Julian Dane

by Lucile McCluskey

  “I don’t really know, unless--unless it’s because my father was a spirit.”

  “Oh, anybody I know?”

  “I don’t know that either. His name was Julian Dane.”

  “Dane. Dane? No. Don’t know any Danes. You a friend of my Lettie’s?”

  “She was kind enough to take us in out of the storm when the lightening destroyed our car.”

  “Wish I could trust you, girlie.”

  “Trust me? Captain Neilson, I’m as trustworthy as anybody you know.”

  “That’s my problem. I don’t know anybody. Nobody comes here. And I do need somebody I can trust. I’m so tired of this, but my Lettie needs me.”

  “Captain Neilson, I am a Christian. I don’t lie, cheat, or steal. If you can’t trust me, you can’t trust anybody. If there is anything I can do that will help Miss Lettie, I’ll be glad to do it.”

  “What would you do if you found a bag of gold coins?”

  “I’d try to find the owner. Why?”

  “The gold coins is why I’m still here. I used to bring my Lettie gold coins every time I came home. I knew that one day she’d need them. And she’s needed them all these years. I didn’t get to tell her about them before I died – where they’re hidden. Elsa took the ones I brought her from my last voyage, before I could add them to the others. My Lettie needs to know where they are.”

  “If you want to tell me where they are, I’ll try to let her know some way. I can’t just go to her and say your father told me to tell you where he hid some gold coins for you. She’d think I was nuts.”

  “Yeah. I see. Can I really trust you, girlie?” he begged.

  “Captain Neilson, who else do you have? Who else can you communicate with? And beside, my mother and I owe Miss Lettie a big debt of gratitude, and we pay our debts.”

  “I guess I have to trust you. You’re my only hope, and I’m so tired of this place. Will you just get the coins and leave them where she can find them?”

  “Would she know what to do with them? You can’t spend gold coins. But you tell me where they are, and I’ll figure out something.”

  “They’re under the first stair step. I put a back in it to make a box where I could hide them.”

  “The stair step! How am I going to get something from under the stairs?”

  “It’ll be easy.”

  “Oh, sure. Just tell me how.”

  “If you listen, I will! There’s only one spindle on the first step. If you pull it toward you, then push it to the left, it will come free of the banister. Then raise up the step board and you’ll see it – a leather pouch with the coins in it.”

  Addie just stood there looking at him for a minute. “I’ll try, but if it doesn’t work, or I wake her, what then?”

  “Girlie, go try. Please.”

  “All right. But don’t you go anywhere. Stay right here, you hear?”

  “Yes. I’ll be right here,” he said sarcastically.

  Addie looked in on her mother and changed candles. The one she had, had burned down very low. She crept as quietly down the stairs as she could, hoping that Miss Lettie would think she was going to the toilet if she awakened. Of course if she awakened while she was trying to get to the coins under the step, she didn’t know what she would do, or say. Hopefully, the herb tea was doing its stuff.

  When she reached the first step she placed the candle two steps up. One candle didn’t give all that much light, and there was no window to let in the moonlight. She sat down on the floor in front of the first step, grabbed the first spindle with both hands and pulled it toward her. Nothing happened. She pulled again as hard as she could. It didn’t budge. Maybe the dampness had swollen the wood. She’d have to pull harder. She bent forward and pulled again with all the strength she could muster. It moved! Just a little, but it did move. She pulled again. It came forward a couple of inches. Now, to the left, he said. But it wouldn’t move to the left. It was still wedged too tight between the step and the banister. Regardless of how much she pushed and pulled, it would not move.

  If I had my shoes on I could sit on the step with my back to the wall and push with my feet. It stood to reason, if part of what he told her had worked, the rest should also. Her jacket! She took her denim jacket off, folded it as small as she could and used it for padding for her feet. Bracing herself against the wall, she pushed as hard as she could with her feet and legs. The spindle went clattering to the bare, wood floor! She hadn’t counted on that!

  She sat as still as possible, waiting and listening. That should have awakened the dead, much less Miss Lettie, regardless of her herbs, and surely her mother. She waited. Not a sound. So she got up and lifted up on the step. Surprisingly enough, it raised up. And there it was. A brown leather bag covered with years of dust.

  She gingerly picked it up by its leather drawstring. Dusting it off, she could feel the coins inside. She was pleased with herself. She wished she could wake Miss Lettie and tell her. If they were gold, they were bound to be valuable, especially since they were so old. Miss Lettie’s life would be better now, all because she could communicate with a spirit. But she could not tell that to Miss Lettie, and maybe not to her mother.

  She replaced the step, but decided against trying to replace the spindle. The house was in such disrepair, who was going to notice a fallen stair spindle. She picked it up and laid it against the wall, then took her candle and crept back up the stairs to the Captain’s room. He was there waiting.

  “Did you have to make so much noise?”

  “It wasn’t easy. But I got your coins. So don’t complain,” she said showing him the bag. He smiled in his beard real big.

  “Well, open it. Let me see them.”

  Addie spread her jacket on the floor and poured the coins onto it. They were all sizes, and most had a shinny new look. “I have an idea,” she said. “There is a Mr. Arbuckle at the bank who knows about old coins. He can help Miss Lettie get the money for them, and...”

  “Now just a minute, girlie. I agreed to trust you. I don’t need no Mr. Arbuckle.”

  “Mr. Arbuckle is a vice president of the bank and a deacon in our church. Miss Lettie has to have somebody like him to sell the coins for her at the best possible price. And he knows all about coins. I’d make sure he’d give her a receipt for the coins ...”

  “You’d see that she doesn’t get cheated out of them?”

  “Of course I would, Captain Neilson. Please trust me – for Miss Lettie’s sake. She needs the money she can get for these coins. I would never take anything from her, or let anybody else. Mother and I are even going to replace the food, and a lot more, than she has fed us.”

  “All right, girlie. I’ll have to trust you. And I do thank you,” he said, as his figure began to fade away, and Addie watched in awe.

  She shivered. Probably the cold room, she thought, wondering if he would ever come back? She held the candle where she could see her watch. It was getting late. She had to try to get some sleep. She put the coins back into the dusty bag, slipped it into her jacket pocket, then put it on. Now, to slip back into bed with her mother without waking her.

  Chapter Thirty

  Addie awoke to daylight shinning in the bare window across the room. Della wasn’t in the bed. This startled her until she remembered that her mother had to go to the bathroom more often now that she was pregnant. She hoped she wasn’t being sick. Then she heard the creaking of the stairs. She jumped out of the lumpy bed and rushed to the chair where she had left her mother’s purse. The floor was cold to her socks covered feet, but then so was the room. She took the small spiral notepad, that Della kept for making lists and notes, out of the purse, hoping her mother wouldn’t miss it if she looked in her purse. Della came in the door.

  “Honey, did I wake you? The sun is shinning. It looks like it’s going to be a clear day, but wet after all that rain. Can we get going soon? I really need to get home. We’ll find a phone and call a cab. Did you sleep much? I don’t think I even moved.” />
  “I’m glad you slept, and I’m fine. Let’s get downstairs. I’ll go to the bathroom. I’ve been thinking we should go out the back way to the end of the row of houses, cross over River Road and go up to the shopping center. There’s a phone on the wall of the Super Market. Are you nauseated this morning?”

  “Not terribly, but I’m hungry. I think such a light supper must be good for morning sickness.”

  In the half bath under the stairs, Addie hurriedly took the small note pad and it’s attached pen from her pocket. ‘Miss Lettie,’ she wrote, ‘I found this bag of gold coins. I’ll bring a bank officer on Monday who can help you sell them. Keep them safe until then. They are valuable. Thanks for everything.’ She signed both their names and placed the note on top of the commode tank and sat the bag of coins on it. Then she hurried to her mother who was waiting at the kitchen door.

  They retraced their steps past the backs of the other houses, picking their way through the wet foliage. But their clothing was soon damp and cold. “It seems to be a lot colder after all that rain,” Della remarked.

  “Maybe we could walk a little faster,” Addie suggested. “We’re both getting pretty damp. I’d give you my jacket, but it’s just as wet as your sweater. I could run on ahead, but I don’t want to leave you.” She put her arm around her mother’s waist to hurry her along. By the time they got to the graveled place beside River Road, she could feel her mother shivering. She began worrying about her and the baby. They still had the bridge to cross. What should she do? “Mama, could you walk a little faster? Maybe it would warm you up some.”

  “I’ll try. Turn loose of me.” They speeded up as much as it was possible for Della, hurrying toward the bridge. But once on the bridge, they found the wind blowing even colder against their damp clothing. Addie could see her mother shivering as she walked, her steps getting slower. She had to do something.

  “Mama, I’m going to run on. I’ll be able to watch you from the phone. You keep walking as fast as you can. Is that all right?”

  Della nodded her head in agreement, and Addie took off running as fast as she could, thinking as she went. If she called a cab, it would take at least twenty minutes for it to arrive, but Mr. Cutler was just a few blocks up on Forrest Lane. She wondered if she could call him. He had said to, at any time they needed him. And they sure needed somebody right now. She would try him. She pictured the business card he had given to each of them. His phone numbers – office and home, she had matched to things she knew. His home number matched his office address. She turned to watch her mother a few moments. She was still on the bridge, and not walking very fast. What was her being so cold and damp going to do to her and the baby? And her just over the flu, Addie worried. She was scared for the two of them, and felt very responsible. She ran even faster than she thought herself capable.

  She had the change in her hand when she reached the phone, so out of breath she wondered if she’d be able to talk? She let Cutler’s phone ring six times, and no answer. Could he be in the shower? She couldn’t wait much longer. Finally she hung up the phone. Could he possibly be at his office? He had said he had a lot of work to do. It was worth a try. Even from there, he’d probably get to them quicker than a cab. Afraid that she was wasting her time, she dialed his office number, which she had related to her birth date. Her mother was crossing the street to the shopping center’s parking lot. One ring, and the phone was picked up. Addie was startled, and so relieved she burst into tears.

  “Mr. Cutler,” she cried, “this is Addie Martin,” she managed through her sobs. “We need your help. Can you ...?”

  “Addie! What’s wrong? Where are you?” he demanded.

  “At the shopping center. Mother and I are wet and cold. She’s shivering, and I’m scared,” she blurted out.

  “I’ll be there in fifteen minutes, but now listen to me. You go to Lilly’s – two doors from the phone at the super market, if that’s where you are?”

  “Yes, I am.”

  “Good. Lilly will meet you with towels and dry clothes and get you warmed up. I’m on my way.”

  “All right,” she whispered and hung up the phone. She took off running to meet her mother. As soon as she reached her, she knew she was in a bad way. She was shaking hard, her teeth were chattering, and she was barely taking one step after the other. Without saying anything, Addie hurried her along, almost carrying her, until they were closing the distance between them and the most exclusive woman’s shop in Riverbend.

  The owner, Lilly, a short, plump, past middle age lady was waiting at the open door with big towels in her arms. One look at Della, and she rushed out to meet her, enveloping her in a large, white, fluffy towel, and handing Addie the other one. Her arms around Della, she guided her the rest of the way into the warm store.

  Without asking questions, the woman, in a blue bathrobe and matching house shoes, helped Addie get Della through the store to the back wall and through a door opening covered by heavy velvet draperies. “Take off your wet clothes,” and she hurried back through the maroon draperies.

  Addie hung her towel over her shoulders and began removing Della’s clothes. Her lips were blue, and she was shaking so bad, she couldn’t help Addie undress herself. Miss Lilly was soon back and helping Addie, then bundling Della up in a heavy, white, terry cloth robe. She seated Della in a kitchen chair and began pulling heavy wool socks onto her feet. She handed Addie matching socks and robe, then rushed to the other end of the narrow room where there was a small, but efficient looking kitchen.

  She poured hot coffee into two mugs, added cream and sugar. “This should warm you up some, and here’s some aspirin,” she said as she removed a bottle from her robe pocket and handed Della two tablets. Then she returned to the kitchen sink and began running water into a plastic pan.

  Addie was taking her first sip of coffee when she heard the bell over the outside door jingle.

  “We’re back here!” Miss Lilly called out, and moments later Grant Cutler was coming through the draperies.

  “So, here are my ladies,” he said with concern.

  “And I’d say just in time. Mrs. Martin’s lips were already blue, and she was shaking something terrible,” Miss Lilly said, as she placed a pan of warm water on the floor at Della’s feet. “Put her feet in here,” she said to Grant.

  He knelt before the trembling Della and began removing the wool socks. He tested the water, then placed both her feet in the pan of extra warm water.

  Addie was sitting at the small round table sipping the coffee. It wasn’t bad, she thought, but it didn’t taste as good as it smelled while perking. But it was hot, and already she could feel its effects. She had about stopped her shivering, but her mother hadn’t, and she could tell that Della was clenching her teeth together to keep them from chattering.

  “Addie,” Cutler said, “do you want to tell me about this?”

  For the first time Addie looked at Grant Cutler. If she hadn’t known who he was, she was sure she wouldn’t have recognized him. His sandy, blond hair was as rumpled as his clothes. And he was in bad need of a shave.

  “Sure,” Addie answered, “but, Mama, how are you doing?”

  “I’m getting warmer,” she answered through clenched teeth. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine as soon as I stop shaking.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Cutler for helping us, and thank you, Miss Lilly,” Addie said.

  “Yes, you’ve been a lifesaver,” Della said to Lilly. “I’ll admit I’d just about had it. Thank you so much.”

  “You looked it,” Lilly said. “I’m glad I could help.”

  Grant was rubbing Della’s feet as he knelt in front of her. He turned his head and looked at Addie, waiting.

  “We went to Baker’s Landing yesterday afternoon to look for a house that a friend of mine and her mother and grandfather might move into,” she explained. “We stopped to look at the little house.” And she told Miss Lilly and Grant all that they had gone through up to the time she had called him,
except for her encounter with Captain Neilson and the gold coins.

  “You’ve really had a time of it, Della,” he said. “Don’t you think you should go to the clinic?”

  Della knew he was referring to the baby, and she wondered how he knew? “I’m getting pretty much okay now,” she assured him pulling the towel from her shoulders where Lilly had put it. Grant took it and began to dry her feet. She wanted to resist, but he pushed her hand away.

  “I’ll do this,” he said. “You just relax and rest.”

  Della wanted to tell him that she could do that for herself, but it felt so good having him do it. She couldn’t bring herself to say it. No one but her mother had ever done that for her before.

  “Lilly,” he said, “why don’t you take Addie into the shop and let her get some clothes. Addie, you might want to get two or three outfits to get through the weekend.”

  “Mama, you’re sure you’re all right?”

  “Yes, honey. Go ahead and pick out some clothes. I’ll do the same in a few minutes.”

  As soon as they were past the heavy draperies over the door opening, Grant took one of Della’s hands and said in a low voice, “Now that we’re alone, Della, I need to tell you something.”

  She looked at him questioningly.

  He took a deep breath and asked, “Do you know, or are you aware of some very nasty gossip that is circulating about you?”

  He was looking at her intently. “Why, why, what are you talking about?” She was sure Evelyn Ann Mobley had spread her own interpretation of finding her coming out of the parsonage rearranging her clothing the day of the accident, but ...

  “Della, I don’t want to have to tell you this, but for your own sake you need to know.” He shook his head as he hesitated. “The story going around is that you were carrying on an affair with Morris Kirkland, and that you’re pregnant by him and had gone to the parsonage to tell him. And that’s why he left town so hurriedly, bag and baggage, so to speak.” He was watching Della’s eyes grow bigger and bigger, her mouth, open in disbelief and shock.