ELISE’S CONVALESCENCE WAS SLOW. DESPITE her youth, she seemed unable to regain her strength. She assumed that was why her mother avoided returning to the story of her dad’s death. She could just hear her. Oh, Edwin, don’t worry about it. We’ll get it all sorted out as soon as Elise is stronger. Elise didn’t care. All the wanted was to see Lawrence. If she could see Lawrence, everything would be okay.
She trusted Peyton, but at the same time she knew what she’d experienced, and nothing he could say would convince her otherwise. But each time she tried to think it through, she was overcome with fatigue, and the headaches that continued to plague her. Her days were restless and her nights tossed with dreams. In one she saw Lawrence striding up the road, coming for her. And in another, the happiest of the dreams, she found the painting of Annelise hidden inside the cheval, a dream so real she wondered at times if she’d actually located it.
EDWIN WENT TO THE SHOP every day at noon so that Margaret could come home and have lunch with Elise. She never imagined the pain this thoughtful gesture brought her daughter. Elise nibbled at salads tossed with bittersweet memories of lunches shared with Lawrence and Mrs. Myers at her oilcloth-covered table.
They ate at the glass-topped table set with woven placemats and linen napkins. Margaret twirled some sprouts on her fork and looked up at Elise. “I saw Ty just as I was leaving. He said he’d stop by later. He and Peyton have surely been loyal visitors.”
“They really have. Dallas came by the other day too.”
“Really? I’m surprised she didn’t mention it. What did she have to say?”
“Oh, the usual.” She didn’t tell you because she didn’t want you to know I’d pressured her to tell me more about this house and about the missing painting.
As soon as Margaret left, Elise cleaned up the kitchen and went to the porch. She had just settled in a rocker when Ty pulled up. He started toward the porch when she called, “Let the dogs come too.”
“Honest?”
“Honest.”
Ty sat on the top step and the dogs stretched out on the porch. “See, didn’t I tell you a couple of dogs would look good out here?”
“Oh, Ty, that seems such a long time ago.” She dropped her hand, and Lady came over and laid her head across Elise’s lap. “I have to admit this is sweet, Ty.”
“She’s been running in the woods this morning and probably doesn’t smell too great. Needs a good dose of that soap your mom sells. If you like, I’ll put my head on your lap instead.”
“How do I know you haven’t been running in the woods too?”
“You won’t unless you let me put my head in your lap.”
“You wish!”
“Yes, I do.” He cleared his throat. “Elise, you never did ask what I was trying to tell you that morning in the coffee shop.”
“I’m sorry, Ty. I don’t remember.”
“Don’t guess I should expect you to. I wanted to tell you that I’m opening my own business.”
“A music store?”
“Cute. No, I’m going into construction. I decided there’s no use in letting all these people come in here and make a killing on the building and remodeling. I’ve developed my own company.”
“That’s great, Ty. I’m so happy for you, to know you’ve found what you want to do. And just think what a public service it’ll be.”
“Public service?”
“Sure. Exposing all your workers to classical music. Why they’ll be hammering to Beethoven’s Fifth and singing the Messiah every Christmas.”
“Very funny. I did want to ask you to help me choose a name for the company, though.”
“How about Classical Construction?”
“Be serious. I’ll need customers.”
“I don’t know, Ty. That’s something you should do yourself. You’ll have to live with it a long time.”
“That’s why I want your help.”
She bent her head and replied softly, “I’m not able to help myself or anyone else these days.”
“I understand, but think about it.”
“The gentleman’s dilemma.”
“Seriously, do you really think I’m a gentleman?”
“Seriously, Ty, yes. You’ve been much more than that to me, though. You have no idea how much I value your friendship.”
Ty looked at her with a pained expression and started to say something but stopped and laughed. “Want me to take the dogs or leave them here the rest of the afternoon?”
“I’ll be sleeping most of the time. Otherwise, I’d surprise you and say leave them.”
“You’re all right, Elise, you know that?” Ty kissed her on the cheek and bounded down the steps with the dogs.
Elise watched the truck until it was out of sight. She could hardly believe how comfortable she felt with Ty and how she’d come to depend on him in ways she’d never imagined possible. She went to her room and fell asleep thinking of him and his dogs. She hadn’t slept long, less than an hour, when she woke with a start and jumped out of bed. She stood in the middle of her room, confused for a moment, and then followed a current of cold air to her parents’ room.
Like a sleepwalker, she went straight to the cheval. She stood behind it, beyond the glass, and began a meticulous search. Time and again she ran her hands over the polished wood that secured the mirror. Finally, there it was. Her fingers touched the tiny recessed catch just as they had in her dream. The back slipped off the mirror. She gasped and clapped her hand over her mouth when she saw the nearly life-sized painting of a beautiful young woman in a long, flowing dress, white as bridal silk. She faced a mirror, her back to the artist, and she was turned slightly, looking back, long dark hair draping her shoulders.
“Oh, Annelise,” she whispered, her eyes wet with tears. She blinked hard to clear her vision and saw that the mirror in the painting reflected the presence of a man. Annelise was looking back at the man! It was just a series of short brush strokes, hazy and indistinct but reminded Elise somehow of Lawrence. It had to be Coulton! Oh, Lawrence, she thinks you’re Coulton. Little wonder. The green eyes, just like Lawrence’s.
Turned over, the mirror was transformed into the painting. Flipped again, and there was the mirror, so lovely, so innocent, hiding its treasure all these years. The dark, sparkling eyes of the young girl were filled with amusement and adoration.
You’re a girl in love. No doubt about it. It wasn’t Seth you loved, though, it was Coulton. Is that what you want me to know?
A bone-numbing chill passed through her body. Her breath was shallow, and the room seemed to spin ever so slowly. With hurried movements, she started to replace the secret panel when something caught her eye. She stopped and looked carefully at the lower left corner of the painting. Only partially in the picture, but unmistakably, was an orange tabby cat with a star on its forehead.
Her hands shook as she struggled to replace the panel. Before leaving the room, she steeled herself and stood in front of the mirror. The reflections of Margaret and Edwin were no longer there, but neither was she. It was as though the painting had come through a mirror that could reflect no one but Annelise.
18
With what had become ritual, Elise spent more and more time on the front porch, not unaware she was emulating Nadine Fletcher. She was just coming inside when she saw a stack of mail on the hall table. Her name was on an envelope yellowed with age. She opened it and read the simple message. Honey, we miss you. Not I miss you, but we miss you. She pressed the note to her heart and slipped it in her pocket.
Later that afternoon she saw Peyton’s truck pull up in front of the house. “You don’t know how glad I am to see you,” she called.
“Likewise. How’s my best girl?” He stopped at the carriage stone. “You planning on leaving this here?”
“Oh yes. It’s very special to me now. Provided a real breakthrough.” She rubbed her fingers over the fading purple scar on her forehead.
“That right? Well, I guess that’s good. Your dad here?”
“Probably. He spends a lot of time in his study. He gets work from his law firm in Atlanta. I’d just as soon we not let him know you’re here.”
“It’s your call. I came to see you, not him.” Peyton sat on the top step, almost at Elise’s feet, just as Ty often did.
“Hon,” Peyton cleared his throat, “I bring bad news.” Something froze inside Elise, and she had difficulty breathing. Edwin! He made good on his threat! He had the Myers’ home condemned.
Peyton squeezed her hand. “It’s Aunt Lacey, hon. She died last night. In her sleep.”
Elise drew a sharp breath and licked the taste of relief from her lips.
“In a way it’s a blessing.” Peyton sighed. “She doesn’t have to be afraid any longer.”
“But, Peyton, I feel responsible for that fear. I know she wanted to help me, despite Aunt Jenny.”
“That was between them. There was so much between them. And she died peacefully, in her own bed.”
“How can we ever know death is peaceful? Don’t you think it’s something we say to make us feel better?”
“Maybe. I can’t speak from experience, that’s for sure. You seem to be getting stronger every day. Have you ever thought of getting away from here? Just a change of scene for a while?”
“You want to get rid of me too, just like my parents.”
“No, that’s the furtherest thing from my mind. I just thought you’d find it easier to put some distance between you and the things that bring you pain.”
“Oh, Peyton, there’s so much that brings me pain, but I can’t talk about it here, not with Edwin in the house.”
“Well, come down to the store sometime. We’ll have another heart-to-heart.” He stood up, kissed her cool cheek and tipped his imaginary hat.
“I’ll do that. Real soon. There’s something I’m absolutely dying to tell you, but not here.”
“I can hardly wait.”
“Thanks for coming by.”
Peyton was nearly to his truck when Elise called to him and rushed across the yard. “Oh, Peyton, I have something to show you! I have proof.”
“Proof ?”
“Yes,” she laughed, “proof.” She reached in her pocket for the envelope but couldn’t find it. She searched all her pockets, patting the sides and back of her jeans. Peyton stood in the middle of the yard, staring at her.
“Oh never mind. I guess I left it in the house.” She watched his truck until it drove out of sight. Deep in thought, she walked back to the house wondering what she could have done with the envelope. When she reached the top step of the porch, Edwin came to the door.
“Was somebody here?”
“Yes.”
“May I ask who?”
“It wasn’t Lawrence Myers, if that’s what concerns you.”
“Elise, I’m getting awfully tired of your sarcasm. I’ll never forgive myself for hitting you, but you can’t go on blaming me for your problems. Get on with your life and stop sitting out here feeling sorry for yourself.”
When Elise didn’t answer he said, “I’m going to the shop to help your mother.”
As soon as he left the house, Elise started down the steps. It took all her strength to make the hurried walk to Peyton’s, but she couldn’t keep the secret of the painting another minute. When she walked in the store, Peyton paled. “Are you okay? I’d of given you a ride if I’d known you meant to visit today.”
“I didn’t know it myself, but I couldn’t wait. There’s something I have to tell you.”
“Let’s go in my office. It’s all yours, Bobby,” he called as they walked to the back of the store. Peyton closed the door. “When you said we’d talk soon, I didn’t realize it’d be within the hour. This must be good.”
“It is. I found the painting.”
“Good God!” Peyton stood up so fast he turned his chair over. “You found it?”
“It came to me in a dream. You’re the only one who knows. I’m not telling my parents.”
“You gonna tell me where it is?”
“Promise you’ll never tell?”
“Promise.”
“There’s a secret compartment behind the cheval in the master bedroom. A small wooden clasp releases the panel. It lifts off, and there it is. Peyton, it’s so incredible, it nearly took my breath away. It wouldn’t be out of place in a museum. She was so beautiful.”
Peyton gave a low whistle. “Well, I’ll be damned. Sarah would have a fit if she knew that. In that cheval, huh?”
“I think that’s why it stayed with the house all this time. Annelise wanted it to stay there. It’s her proof that it was Coul ton she loved. You can tell by the way she’s looking at him in the painting.”
“Coulton’s in the painting too?”
Elise nodded. “It has to be his likeness in the mirror.”
“Legend has it she was painted wearing the ball gown she had on the first time Coulton laid eyes on her. They were at the opera.”
“Opera?” Elise interrupted. “I’d forgotten that. Here though?”
“Right here. At one time there was plenty of money for an opera house. Men like Annelise’s dad made fortunes shipping cotton. All these newcomers . . .” Peyton hesitated, not wanting to lump Elise in the statement. “Well, this isn’t the first time Apalach has risen from the ashes. That’s why the lovely Annelise was able to wear a fine ball gown to the opera and turn the head of a handsome stranger.”
Elise decided to help him out. “What you’re trying to tell me is that Apalach is no stranger to progress.”
“That’s right. Not a stranger, but not always a willing participant either.”
Elise gazed at Peyton and her eyes glistened with tears. She spoke softly. “You missed your calling selling shoes. You should have been a psychologist. I always feel better after I talk to you. It’s funny that you and my mother don’t get along and yet we’re such good friends.”
“Yeah . . . that’s real funny.”
“Peyton, could you give me a ride home? Edwin’s in the shop with Mom, and I don’t want him to know I left the house. And,” she smiled sheepishly, “this hurried trip kinda tired me out.”
She was still talking when he jumped up and ushered her outside to his truck. He pulled up in front of the house and ran around to open her door, just like Ty. He walked her to the rocker and turned to leave when she said, “Peyton?”
“Yes?”
“It didn’t look like a ball gown.”
“Huh?”
“Annelise’s dress. It looked like an old-fashioned wedding dress.”
“Well, I’ll be damned. So much for legend, huh?”
She laughed and waved him goodbye. Soon the air was chilled and fog began rolling in, but she was on the porch when she heard Edwin’s car pull up at the back of the house and still later when he drove to the shop and brought Margaret home from work.
“Elise! You shouldn’t be out here in this damp air. Edwin,” she called, “why didn’t you have Elise come inside?”
He walked to the door. “You must be joking. If I suggested she come inside, she’d probably have her bed moved out here.”
“Oh, Elise, I was waiting for you to get stronger, but I think we’d better talk now. Tonight.”
After waiting so long, Elise was suddenly afraid of what her mother might say. “NO! I don’t want to talk. My head hurts.”
After dinner Margaret followed Elise to her room. “Sure you don’t want to talk?”
“I’m sure.”
“It’s always so cold in here. Would you like to move to another room?”
Elise shook her head. “Thanks, but it wouldn’t matter.”
“Well, it might. You could try another room.”
“Believe me. It wouldn’t matter.”
ELISE WAS SITTING BY HER bedside table, trying to think what to do about the painting, when she heard sirens. A short time later the sirens faded to music. She looked out her window and saw Ty’s truck. Before she realized what an unlikely
action it was, she rushed to the bathroom where she looked in the mirror and began applying lipstick. She froze with the tube to her lips. She was looking at her reflection, not her parents’ or Annelise’s. Elise Foster stared back at her. She looked at the lipstick in her hand, surprised by the gesture, surprised that it mattered. She fluffed her hair and started downstairs.
Ty gave her a big smile. “How ‘bout going for a ride? Think your folks would care if I promise not to let you trip over the carriage stone?”
“I’d love to get out of here. Mom’s in the back. Let me tell her I’m leaving. I’ll only be a minute.”
When they were in the truck, Ty eased onto the road and then floored the accelerator.
“Ty?”
“I’m sorry, Elise. There’s something I want to show you, and we need to get there before dark. Actually, I don’t want to show you, but you’ll find out soon enough, and I want to be with you when you do.” He headed out of town and turned right at the fruit stand.
“Ty?”
“Yeah. That’s where we’re going.”
Elise’s heart began beating with joy, and she said, “Oh, Ty, you are the dearest friend.”
“We aren’t there yet.”
A fire truck passed them going toward town and she gave an anguished cry. Her mouth went dry and she whispered, “Edwin.”
It was dusk when they pulled up to the gate. The living room and most of the kitchen were little more than a pile of ashes. The rest of the house was black and charred.
“How could Edwin hate me so?”
“Why would you think your dad did this?”
“He threatened to have the home condemned. Maybe that didn’t work out.”
“Could be coincidence. A lightning strike maybe. It’s a miracle any of it is left standing. This place was built of chestnut hauled down from the mountains before the blight. I doubt anything but a lightning strike could have burned it.”
“Oh, sure, after all these years, the house is suddenly struck by lightning. Are the Myers okay?”
“Oh, Elise. The place was empty. You know that.”
“It is now, isn’t it?” She opened the door of the truck, and when Ty started to follow, she put her hand on his arm. “Wait here. Please?”
House on the Forgotten Coast Page 19
