Into the Flames

by Multi-Author

  “I put her in the green room, like you said.” Disapproval soured Mrs. VanCleve’s tone. “I’ve given Mrs. Chalmers the gold. Are you sure you wouldn’t prefer me to put this…person up on the third floor?”

  “I asked for Miss Price to be in the green room because it’s very near the breakfast room and the small parlor. Once she’s on her feet again, she won’t have to walk far to eat or relax in comfort. I put my sister in the other half of the suite as she is acting as Miss Price’s chaperone. They were schoolgirls together. I imagine they can manage a shared bathroom.” There were only two suites on the second floor—Eli’s and the double-roomed guest suite. All the other bedrooms were up on the third. He wanted Nettie where someone could hear her if she called out at night.

  He deposited his burden on the freshly turned-down bed and explained the physician’s orders to the housekeeper, adding. “Bring some flowers in here, too. The place looks a little dark.”

  “Yes, Mr. Eli.” He’d turned toward the door but could about hear Mrs. VanCleve rolling her eyes.

  “In my sister’s room, too, of course. And make sure there’s luncheon for her as well as some soup or other soft food for whenever Miss Price gets hungry.

  “I know how to nurse an invalid, Mr. Eli.” This time Eli turned and saw the wry grin on Henrietta VanCleve’s face. “I suspect Mrs. Chalmers and I will be able to muddle right along. Meanwhile, your luncheon is getting cold. I left the tray on your desk, sir. Have a good afternoon.”

  Eli knew he’d been dismissed from the land of women. Smothering a chuckle, he made his way back to the reality of his everyday life, and cooled fried chicken with mashed potatoes waiting under a cover in his office.

  Chapter Four

  The next time Nettie woke, she felt as though she were lying on a cloud. If her arm and face didn’t still hurt, she’d be afraid she’d died and gone to heaven. A quick wiggle of her foot reminded her that her ankle was injured too.

  “Nettie?” A soft female voice called her name and fingers gently tapped the back of her good hand. “Nettie, you need to wake up.”

  She blinked, careful not to move more than turning her head. “Hello?”

  The brown eyes that gazed back at her sparkled with mischief. “Don’t remember me, huh? I bet you forgot all about putting a frog in Lily Bergsma’s coat pocket when we were eight.” The other woman had a crimped, ginger-colored bob and dark red lipstick.

  “Diana!” Nettie automatically lifted her shoulders from the pillows, but a sharp stab of pain from her arm changed her mind. Instead, she smiled. “Diana Lawson, is that really you?” After grade school, Diana had gone off to a private boarding school outside Chicago, so the two girls had mostly lost touch, crossing paths only when Diana had come to visit her parents’ summer home.

  “It is, though it’s Chalmers now. Has been for three years.” Diana wrinkled her nose. “Although right now I’m angry enough at Randolph that I’d like to forget it.”

  “What’s wrong?” It couldn’t be anything too awful or Diana wouldn’t still be smiling.

  “Oh, just Randolph being a man. They always seem to think of us as helpless flowers, don’t they?” Diana shook her short, copper waves. “He’s on a business trip to London, and didn’t want me to stay at our house alone—not that I would be with half a dozen servants, but that was beside the point in his mind. Since Mother stayed here a little later than usual, I decided to join her, rather than Father, who would be glowering at me whenever he had a spare moment from all his business dealings. He really does prefer to keep his women out of the way whenever possible.”

  “You’ve lost me.” Nettie’s head ached too much to follow Diana’s lightning reasoning.

  “I’m expecting, you see. So Randolph is being rather paranoid, since it took me three years to get this way. Hence being sent to Mother’s while he’s out of the country. Mother is fussing like a mad hen, so I was unbelievably grateful when Eli asked me to come stay here for a while. He doesn’t treat me as if I’d suddenly sprung another head.”

  “Congratulations.” Nettie tried to smile, but her split lip didn’t let her. “Are you sure you shouldn’t be the one lying down?”

  “Now don’t you start.” Diana looked down at Nettie and crossed her arms. “I’m fine, and Dr. Lexington agrees. I won’t be riding in any steeplechases, but as long as I feel well, I’m perfectly capable of day to day activities. Which, by that same man’s instructions, includes waking you up every two hours.”

  “Right.” It took a second, but she remembered everything that had happened since Eli had found her. “Are we at your mother’s house, or your brother’s?” She hadn’t imagined Eli would have such luxurious guest rooms. The paper was velvet-flocked, the bedspread was silk, and a large spray of fall flowers filled the dresser across from the bed.

  “Eli’s. He’s being remarkably possessive of you, by the way. Is there a thing going on that his little sister should know about?”

  “No.” Nettie twisted the covers with her good hand. “He’s protective by nature, I think. I don’t even know how he found me. There hasn’t been time to explain.”

  “Well, you’ve been asleep for two hours, so let me share what he told me.” Diana went on to relate an abbreviated version of his role in rescuing Nettie. “He’s sent his clerk, Gordon Johnson, over to open the store for you, by the way. He says he can spare Gordon for a few hours every morning. People will have to come in between nine and noon until you’re up and around, or the Websters come home.”

  “That’s wonderful.” But why had Eli done so much? What possible motive could he have for being so kind to Nettie? Other than Uncle James, she didn’t know many men who would go out of their way to help a virtual stranger. Still, if Eli had something wicked in mind, why invite Diana? The whole thing made Nettie’s head throb.

  Diana smoothed one hand over Nettie’s forehead, avoiding the bruises. “Poor dear, you look miserable. Would you like some ice for your cheek or your arm? All part of the instructions.”

  “A glass of water?” The medication had left her mouth feeling fuzzy.

  “Easy-peasy.” Diana poured a glass from the carafe on the nightstand, and then helped Nettie sit up enough to sip it. “I’ll have Mrs. V send up some icepacks, too. Eli put a speaking tube between his breakfast room—that’s next door—and the kitchen downstairs, so she can send things up on the dumbwaiter. My crazy brother can be smart on occasion.”

  Nettie couldn’t imagine Eli ever being anything but brilliant.

  After putting back the glass, Diana slipped out of the room, leaving an aura of lilac perfume in her wake. Her silk dress must have cost a month of Nettie’s pay or more. How had the snobby Lawsons produced two such kind children as Diana and Eli? Neither of the two sons in between them spent much time in Carstairs, but from what Nettie remembered, they were more like their parents. Diana and Eli, though, were cut from totally different cloth—otherwise, Nettie would still be lying in the creaky little bed she’d crawled into last night.

  * * *

  The first thing Eli did when his last client left was dart up the stairs to see Nettie. She was awake, to his relief, and allowing Diana to feed her from a bowl of broth. She didn’t smile when she saw Eli, her sore face probably wouldn’t allow it, but even through her swollen eyelids, he saw a blue spark that let him know she was happy to see him. Someone, probably Diana, had combed out her hair and tied it in a long dark braid that lay over her shoulder.

  “Everything all right?” He loosened his neck tie and leaned against the door jamb.

  “Bees knees,” Diana trilled. “Nettie’s a model patient. I can chatter all I want and she can’t talk back.”

  “Di—she’s supposed to be resting.”

  A snort that sounded something like an aborted chuckle came from Nettie. “Pulling your leg, Mr. Lawson. She’s been quiet as a mouse, except when I wanted the company.” Her voice was soft and still rough, but the steel was alread
y creeping back into her spine and tone. Thank the heavens. Nettie was going to be all right. Despite the doctor’s assurance, Eli hadn’t been quite sure of that.

  He nodded to Diana. “If there’s anything you need, give her a list. One thing my sister loves to do is shop.”

  “That’s true.” Di beamed as she wiped Nettie’s lips with a linen napkin. “To start with, she’ll need a couple more nightgowns and a bed jacket. I can run out and get those tomorrow morning, if you can get the gorgon to sit with her.”

  “Mrs. V is not a gorgon.” Eli made a face. His housekeeper was a little snooty sometimes, but she took good care of him. “She isn’t giving either of you any trouble, is she?”

  “No, I sorted that all out.” Diana’s smile was pure feline satisfaction. “She will be on her best behavior for my very good friend here.”

  Eli laughed. “I don’t want to know. Just don’t make her quit—please. Nobody makes pot roast like she does, and Mr. V is a wizard with the gardens and maintenance.” He started to say something more, but then he heard it—the fire bell, clanging away. He bent over and kissed Diana’s cheek, then, for the hell of it, he kissed Nettie, too. “Have to run. Tell Mrs. V to keep my supper warm.” He raced from the room, but heard his sister’s parting comment. “I’m sure she already knows.”

  * * *

  Every time the fire bell rang when Nettie was in the shop, she knew Eli would be one of the men responding. Once he’d even run out without his newspapers. She had no right to worry about him, not any more than any citizen might worry about all the men who risked their lives in such a manner. Yet she did. Today, even more so than before.

  Diana locked her gaze with Nettie’s. “It’s difficult, isn’t it?”

  “What?” Nettie tried to play innocent.

  “Knowing he’s headed into danger. My mother hates that he won’t simply donate money and leave it at that. A Lawson is allowed to be a philanthropist. A Lawson, especially the crown prince, is not allowed to risk his life putting out fires.”

  “Saving the peasants.” Nettie knew that’s what Mrs. Lawson would consider it. “He’s not supposed to think we’re worth it.”

  Diana nodded. “I’m ashamed to admit it, but you’re right. Mother’s going to have a conniption when she finds out about you and Eli. Sure you’re ready to take on the ogre in the castle?”

  “What about us? He’s too nice not to help people. There’s nothing between us.” Not that Nettie didn’t dream about him, but she knew he was miles out of her reach.

  Diana snorted. “Don’t be an idiot. He’s crazy about you. Otherwise, he’d have found somewhere else to stash you. He has friends you know, couples who would take you in without saying a word. No, he wanted you right where he could see you. Trust me, Net. My big brother is head over heels for you. So what are you going to do about it?”

  “I—he—” On top of everything else that had happened to her today, Diana’s revelation—true or not—was more than Nettie could stand. For the first time since her father had knocked her down, Nettie burst into tears.

  “Sssh.” Diana squeezed Nettie’s good shoulder. “It’s all right to cry. I feel the same way every time Randolph gets on an ocean liner or even a train—or plays polo, for that matter. Then I realized that if he didn’t do all those things, if he sat in a chair and gave orders, he wouldn’t be the man I love.”

  “I don’t love Eli,” Nettie whispered. “I can’t. I’m no one, Diana. A drunkard’s daughter from the wrong part of town. Can you imagine the laughter he’d face? I have to get out of here. He can’t be tarnished by associating with me.”

  “Well, now that took your mind off the fire, didn’t it?” Diana smiled. “One thing even Mother learned a long time ago. Eli is going to do exactly what Eli chooses. Whether it’s setting up his own business in Michigan instead of Chicago, or fighting fires, or falling for a girl who works in a shop. No one makes my brother do a blasted thing he doesn’t want to do. And don’t forget, your mother was from a good family and the Websters adore you. It’s not your fault your father is a drunk.”

  “But I promised Ma I’d take care of him.” She felt a tear slip down her cheek. “It was my fault she died. I’m the one who caught scarlet fever first. My mother caught it from nursing me. Right before she died, she made me promise to look out for Pa. I swore I would. How can I break my promise when everything is my fault?” And the night after that promise, Lucy Price had taken an overdose of laudanum and ended her own life. Nettie would never know if it was accidental or not.

  “Oh, darling, it wasn’t your fault. And your mother wouldn’t want you to stay, not knowing the man your father has become. She’d want you to have a life—a husband and children someday. You are not responsible for your father’s actions.”

  “You’re a good friend, Diana.” Nettie accepted the handkerchief the other woman handed her and blew her nose.

  “Now, other than nightgowns and a bed jacket, what do you need from the shops in the morning?” Diana pulled a gold fountain pen and a small notebook from her handbag.

  “My cardigan will work as a bed jacket.” Nettie looked down at her cut-off sleeve. She was going to need a second nightgown though. “There should be enough money in my purse for a flannel nightie at Woolworth. He did bring my purse, didn’t he?” Thank heavens Carstairs was big enough to have a five-and-dime store, even if a nightgown would cost more like a dollar or two. And thank heavens she still had some of the grocery money in her handbag.

  “And a housecoat for once you’re up and around a bit.” Diana blithely ignored anything Nettie had to say. “Talcum? Face cream? Perfume? Did my idiot brother think to bring those things?”

  “He did.” Nettie had never used perfume or face cream in her life, but she did have talcum powder and soap. She waved at the dressing table in the corner. “I don’t know about my toothbrush and toothpaste, though.”

  Diana inspected the items on the table, picking up the rose-scented talc. “Mrs. V will see to that. She’s the practical sort of housekeeper who always has necessities on hand for guests. It’s only that her idea of necessities is a bit more basic than mine. You like rose-scented things?”

  Nettie shrugged. “I’m not picky and the rose was on sale.”

  “So what’s your favorite fragrance?” Diana resumed her seat by the bed. “Lavender? Violet?”

  Nettie attempted to shake her head. “I like all the flowers.”

  “Come on. You must have a favorite. Geranium? Lily of the Valley?” Diana was apparently not to be deterred.

  “Fine.” Nettie sighed. “My tastes are more exotic than you seem to think. My favorite is jasmine. My mother had the tiniest little bottle of toilet water and whenever she’d go out, I’d smell it on her. I thought it was the most beautiful scent in the world.”

  Diana grinned. “Jasmine it is. Now what about lipstick? Red or pink?”

  “I don’t wear lipstick.”

  “You will. Rose, I think. It will complement your coloring and not make you look too modern, which wouldn’t suit you. How about reading material? Magazines? My brother’s library doesn’t really cater to feminine reading preferences.”

  “I read anything.” Nettie couldn’t imagine anything she wouldn’t read—well, some of Eli’s law books might be a bit beyond her. “Seriously, I love it all—history, biography, travelogues—especially travelogues. Novels are fine, too. I know he has a collection of mysteries. He bought them at my shop.”

  “Yes, he’s become much more of a book collector of late.” Diana chuckled. “I wonder why?”

  “Because he likes to read?” The pain was getting worse and it was making Nettie cross. She closed her eyes, hoping Diana would take the hint.

  She did. “Time for your aspirin, my girl, and a nap. I’m for bed myself.” She patted her belly, which showed no sign at all of impending motherhood yet. “The little one makes me sleepy. I’ll have Mrs. V wake you in two hours.”

&n
bsp; “No—wait.” Nettie opened her eyes again. “When Eli gets home—ask someone to let me know he’s all right.”

  Diana leaned down and pressed a light kiss on Nettie’s forehead. “Of course.” With a knowing smile, she turned off the light and left the room.

  Chapter Five

  The fire was another minor one, though this one hadn’t been caught so quickly as the last. The advantage was, it was an old boathouse near the lake, and had been abandoned for some time. Nobody was inside, and they could use the pump on the truck to put it out, saving the expensive chemical extinguisher by filling the reservoir with water from the lake.

  They stayed until the last ember was out. Joe Holland, one of the senior volunteers and a local contractor, agreed to come out the next afternoon to knock down the remaining bits of the structure and dock, to make sure no one got hurt playing around in the ruin. Eli drove the truck back to the firehouse and helped get everything cleaned up and ready for the next run.

  “Well, at least this time you got the other eyebrow.” Holland chuckled as they carefully rewound the long hose. “What is it with you and getting in too close?”

  “I don’t know. I’m one of the only men here who doesn’t have a family to worry about, so I guess I tend to jump in first so no one else will.”

  “You jump into a lot of things that can burn you, don’t you?” Holland quirked one of his perfectly intact eyebrows. “Heard you had it out with Al Price yesterday.”

  “How the hell did you hear that?” Eli hung his helmet on its peg and tucked his boots beneath, while Holland did the same.