Scarlet Nights: An Edilean Novel

by Jude Deveraux

  Frowning, Sara opened all three of the drawers in the chest. They were empty, as were the bedside table drawers, and nothing was under the bed. She even pulled the bedcovers back and looked under them, but there was not one thing of his in the room.

  As she left, she thought about his note and that he’d said he needed to run errands. What secret assignations did he have in Williamsburg?

  Sara had just closed the door behind her when she heard a car drive up and instantly knew it was her mother. It was, no doubt, some primal instinct that told her when her mother was near, and when she looked out, she saw that she was right. Before Sara could think how to escape, her mother was at the front door. When she saw Sara, she said through the glass, “I need some help.”

  “Don’t we all?” Sara muttered as she opened the door. To her surprise, her mother had eight canvas—never plastic—bags of groceries on the little porch. All Sara’s bad thoughts and feelings left her. Her mother knew how hard Sara was working to get the alterations done before the wedding, so she’d taken on the job of cooking for her. Armstrong’s—Eleanor Shaw’s maiden name—Organic Foods had grown since her mother opened it out of her kitchen in 1976. Now she ran three stores, one in Edilean, one in Williamsburg, and in the summer, a big fruit and vegetable stand on the highway to Richmond. She employed nearly a dozen women to cook food that sold out as fast as they could make it, plus another fifteen to handle the stores. That her mother would take the time in her very busy life to care about her daughter’s needs made Sara forget any complaints she’d had. She really did have the most wonderful mother in the world.

  Sara put her arms around her mother’s neck and hugged her tight. “Thank you. You are the best mother … the best friend … anyone ever had. How did you know I was practically starving?”

  When Eleanor was released, she handed Sara two bags of groceries. “Sorry to disappoint you, sweetums, but Mike bought all of this.”

  Sara’s face fell. “Mike? Tess’s brother?”

  “You have more than one Mike living with you?”

  Sara put the groceries on the counter by the refrigerator. “All right, so what heroic deed of monumental importance did he perform for you today?”

  As Ellie opened the refrigerator door, she raised an eyebrow at her daughter. “What’s got you so riled up? The fact that your husband-to-be went off and left you practically at the altar, or that he hasn’t called?”

  “How did you know—” Sara glared when she realized her mother wasn’t sure Greg hadn’t called until Sara’s outburst told her. “All right, out with it. Say what you have to, then go. I have work to do.”

  “You always do.” Ellie put a bunch of dark cavolo nero in the crisper and adjusted the humidity level. “In fact, it seems that now you have so much work to do that you don’t have time to even feed yourself, much less spend time with your friends and family.”

  Sara had heard it all before. Reaching into the bag, she withdrew a heavy chunk of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. “I don’t have—”

  “A grater for that?” Ellie said. “Don’t worry, Mike took care of it. He bought one from me. Paid for it with a debit card. You know, the kind of card that takes money out of his bank account instantly?”

  Sara didn’t have to be told what her mother was referring to. Not long after she introduced Greg to her family, he stopped by the grocery and got a cart full of expensive, premade food—then wheeled it out without paying. When the store manager went after him, Greg said he could have whatever he wanted with no charge because his “girlfriend” owned the store. It took the manager a few minutes to understand that Greg was talking about Sara, not Ellie. Later, it had been Sara who’d had to deal with Greg’s anger because his future mother-in-law wouldn’t give him everything he wanted from the store for free. Since then, Sara had done the shopping and paid for everything, even though she did get an employee’s discount. She didn’t tell Greg because she didn’t want to spend more hours explaining, but she was given many items without charge.

  Now, as Sara unpacked more food—none of it ready-made—she thought about how to get her mother on her side. The praise for Mike Newland was getting out of hand. “Look, Mom, I know he seems like a nice guy and all, and he is Tess’s brother, but there’s something about him that I don’t trust. Wait until you hear how he broke into my apartment in the middle of the night. He—”

  “I know. He came up through the old tunnel.”

  Sara paused, her hand on a small, reusable canvas bag full of chili peppers. “How do you know about that?”

  “Aunt Lissie told me about it when I was a kid, but it’d been closed up. Luke rediscovered it the year before he met Joce. You know, that time when he was so depressed he wasn’t talking to anyone. He got my father to help him shore it up. Do you think Dad could do something like that and I’d not know about it? I was the one who washed his filthy clothes and rubbed liniment on his sore back.”

  “Who else knows about the tunnel?”

  “Alive or dead?”

  Sara shook her head. “Okay, so lots of people of your generation and older know about it, but that doesn’t excuse how he—this stranger—used it. I think he wanted to scare me.”

  “I guess he should have knocked on the door of what he thought was an empty apartment.”

  “If he and Tess are so close, why didn’t he know I was staying here? And why is his room empty? He showed up here at night with nothing. Don’t you think that’s a bit odd?”

  Ellie looked up from the refrigerator. “Not if your apartment burned down and all you had left was what you were wearing and your car.”

  Sara stared at her mother, speechless.

  Ellie straightened up, her hand on her lower back. She was sixty-two years old and a handsome woman—due, she said, to not eating the poisons that were in commercially grown foods—but she didn’t look anything like her daughter. Sara’s delicate prettiness came from Ellie’s mother’s sister, Lissie, a woman of alabaster beauty. “I thought he might not have told you why he showed up during the night and why his room—which it looks like you’ve been snooping through—is empty. The poor man has nothing. I ordered kilts for him.”

  “You what?”

  “I measured him, called the shop in Edinburgh, and ordered two complete Scottish outfits for him, one for dress and one to wear to participate in the games at the fair.”

  “Games? At the fair? Are you talking about the Scottish games? Throwing a cable? Shot putting? The mock battles?! The Fraziers will slaughter him.”

  Ellie gave her daughter a sharp look. “What, exactly, is it that you have against this man? He’s certainly better—”

  When her mother seemed on the verge of saying more, Sara gave her a warning look. “If you’re planning on saying anything bad about Greg, don’t do it.”

  “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

  “Only because you can’t think of anything you haven’t already said.”

  “Think not? Give me three hours and I could fill them up.” At Sara’s look, Ellie put her hands up in surrender. “All right, no more fighting. It’s none of my business. So how’s your work going?”

  “Fine.” Sara wanted to get the subject away from Greg. “What are all these groceries he bought for? Is he planning to open a rival store?”

  “It’s what Mike needs to be able to cook.” Ellie’s face took on a look of enchantment. “I’ve never met a man who wasn’t in the business who knew so much about organic foods. We must have spent ten whole minutes talking about the benefits of flaxseed.”

  “That sounds fascinating.”

  Ellie ignored the snide remark. “Mike gave me a recipe for parsnip soup that I’m going to try on your father tonight, and they have a golf date this Saturday.”

  “Who does?”

  “Mike and your father.”

  “My father is going to play golf with a man half his age, someone he doesn’t even know? A policeman?”

  “I’ll tell Mike to leave his guns at h
ome, and Henry can wear his bulletproof vest. You didn’t answer my question about what you have against this man, who, by the way, isn’t so young. He’s thirty-six and he can retire from the police force in under three years. I wonder where he’s planning to live?”

  “Mother, if you think that this man and I—”

  “Never would I dream of interfering in the life of any of my dear daughters. Actually, I was thinking of Mike and Ariel. Wouldn’t they make a lovely couple?”

  “Ariel?” Sara asked, aghast. “Ariel Frazier? What’s she doing in town?”

  “Sara, dear, did you forget that Ariel lives here?”

  “She hasn’t lived here since high school when she told all of us that she couldn’t wait to get away from this backwater town and everyone in it.”

  “And she did. She went to medical school and now she’s finished and she wants to take a break before she begins the grueling work of doing her residency. Then she’ll be a doctor—and she wants to open a clinic here in Edilean.”

  Sara thought her mother was looking at her as though she expected her to say or do something, but Sara had no idea what it was. Ariel was one year older than she was, and her family had been in Edilean for as long as hers had. Since the beginning, the Fraziers had sold whatever moved on wheels, whether it was bicycles, wagons, tractors, or Lamborghinis. It was said—but no one had any proof—that the original Frazier was the best friend of Angus McTern Harcourt, the man who’d settled Edilean. It was also said—with even less proof—that the first Frazier had actually been the one who drove the wagonload of gold that had been the basis for the founding of the town. When Sara was in the first grade and Ariel in the second, she’d told Sara that her grandfather said that by rights Edilean Manor, even the entire town, should belong to them. That was the first of many fights Sara and Ariel’d had.

  “You aren’t saying anything,” Ellie said. “Don’t you think Ariel and Mike would make a great couple?”

  “How would I know? I don’t know him and I haven’t seen her in years.”

  “Oh! She’s just beautiful! Long red hair and dark blue eyes. And of course she’s smart. But then she always was. And Mike is quite handsome.”

  “Yeah, if you like men from a police lineup.”

  Ellie looked at her daughter with wide eyes. “I think all that sewing Greg makes you do has damaged your eyesight.”

  “So help me, if you say one more thing against Greg, I’ll—”

  Ellie walked to the door. “I told you last time we had a discussion about him that I’d keep my nose out of it. Everyone has to make his or her own mistakes. Sorry. I didn’t mean that as it sounded. I’m going. But Sara, my dear child, I do think you could cut Mike a little slack. His apartment and everything he owned burned and the only relative he has is his sister. And …”

  “And what?”

  “My mother used to tell me about Mike and Tess’s grandmother. After their parents died, she raised them, and my mother said Prudence Farlane was the most angry person she’d ever met in her life, that it was like a volcano of hatred was inside her. That Mike can retire so early means he joined the force when he was still a teenager. A child, really. Sara, I truly think you should have some compassion for the man.”

  Sara waited a moment before answering. “Good try, Mom, but I’m still going to marry Greg.”

  Ellie laughed. “I did my best. Let me know what he does with that cavolo. I might put his recipe in the store bulletin.” She paused at the door. “And you don’t think he’s handsome?”

  “I think he’s gay,” Sara said, even though she was lying.

  Again, Ellie laughed. “I wonder if I was ever as young as you are? Keep me up-to-date with any news. See ya.” With that, she left the apartment, and Sara leaned back against the door in relief.

  4

  BY LATE AFTERNOON, Sara had calmed herself somewhat. She knew that most of her nervousness was caused by not having heard from Greg for days now. And too, she was sick of trying to make the people of Edilean like the man she loved. If Greg would just allow her to tell people the truth about his very difficult life, she knew they’d understand. His childhood had been so harrowing that it was true that he was sometimes awkward in public situations. He’d even admitted that he was jealous of the love the people of Edilean gave Sara. “I’ve tried,” he said as he shed tears that made Sara’s heart nearly break. “I’ve tried hard to make them like me. I didn’t understand about the grocery store. I thought that since your mother owned the place that she would share what she had with her daughter.”

  Sara didn’t know what to say. The food was free to her, but not to him. “It has to do with accounting,” Sara said. “And inventory. I’ll talk to her and see what—”

  “No!” Greg said. “I don’t want her to do anything special for me. If your mother doesn’t want me to eat her food, so be it. We’ll go to a grocery in Williamsburg.”

  “If you’d just let me explain to her about your past …” Sara said, but Greg always forbid it, and she understood why. He said he wanted the people of Edilean to like him on his own merits—as the people outside the town did. Sometimes he said, “Afterward, you and I will leave here.”

  “After what?” she’d asked, but he would never answer her.

  “Am I disturbing you?”

  She looked up to see Mike Newland standing by the table, two glasses of iced tea in his hands.

  “I saw yours was empty so I … Is that all right?”

  “Sure,” she said and tried to smooth her forehead. If he stayed much longer she was going to get wrinkles from frowning so much.

  He set the glasses down and said, “Do you mind?” as he nodded toward the empty chair.

  She kept on sewing while he sat down.

  “Look,” he said in his raspy voice, “I think you and I got off on the wrong foot yesterday.” For a moment he didn’t seem to know what else to say. “Did you have a nice day?”

  “You seem to have been busy. Helped about a thousand people, didn’t you?” There was hostility in her voice.

  “I, uh …” He took a deep drink of his tea. “Miss Shaw, I know I offended you last night, but I thought I was entering an empty apartment. I can assure you that you were as much a surprise to me as I was to you.”

  Sara put her sewing on the table. “You’re right. I’m being rude. It’s just that—” She waved her hand in dismissal. “It doesn’t matter.”

  “No, tell me. I’m a good listener.” When Sara silently drank her tea and looked out over the garden, Mike said, “Does it have anything to do with your missing boyfriend?”

  “Fiancé.”

  “Sorry. I was told so much gossip this morning that I can’t keep up with it all. By the way, who is Ariel?”

  “A distant cousin of mine. According to my mother, she’s the most beautiful, brilliant, talented female ever put on this earth—next to my two perfect sisters, that is.”

  Mike looked at her for a moment, then stood up. “It sounds like you’ve had a hard day. Why don’t you come inside and let me cook something for you?” When she hesitated, he said, “It’s what I’ve done with Tess since we were kids.”

  It was so nice to have someone smile at her that Sara picked up her sewing and docilely followed him into the house. She sat at the table while he took over the kitchen. He tied a half apron (newly purchased) around his waist and began to rummage in the refrigerator. He emerged with an avocado, sour cream, and a couple of limes. “Talk to me,” he said as he set it all on the countertop and reached for a knife from the wooden holder.

  Sara watched him as he moved about the kitchen. He smashed a clove of garlic with the back of the big knife as though he were a professional chef. “I’m sorry about what happened to your apartment.”

  Mike gave a one-shoulder shrug. “Hazards of the job.”

  “It was burned because of your job?”

  Turning, he gave her a little smile. “The last thing I want to do is talk about my work or me. I’d ra
ther hear about you. Aren’t you having a wedding in a few weeks? Is your dress nice?” He was peeling the avocado.

  “It’s lovely,” Sara said as she hid her smile in her iced tea. He certainly wasn’t like the men she knew. “It was my great-aunt Lissie’s wedding gown.”

  Mike put a bowl of the avocado dip he’d made in front of her, along with another one of tortilla chips. “So when do I get to meet your fiancé?”

  He hadn’t taken long to start in on what everyone hassled her about! Sara thought. She was torn between wanting to throw the bowl at him and bursting into tears. But in the next minute he removed a frosty pitcher of margaritas from the refrigerator and poured her a glassful. She drank it in one gulp. He looked at her with wide eyes but quickly poured her another one.

  After she’d taken a long sip, he said, “Better?”

  Sara nodded and dug into the chips and dip.

  “I take it everyone has been asking about him, but you don’t know when he’ll be back, so you have no answer to give them.”

  “Exactly,” Sara said, feeling relaxed for the first time since Greg left.

  “Maybe he went home,” Mike said as he put slices of pear on salad greens.

  “He lives here. With me.”

  “No, I mean, maybe he went to the place where his parents live.”

  “Oh.”

  Mike sprinkled piñon nuts over the salad and drizzled raspberry vinaigrette on top. “Did you call his parents?” he asked as he put the plate in front of her.

  Sara mumbled a reply.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t hear what you said.”

  She waited while she chewed a bite of salad. “I don’t know where his parents live—or if they do. He told me about some extremely unpleasant experiences he had while growing up, but he didn’t give me details like names and addresses.”

  “Ah,” Mike said as he turned his back to her, and he thought that it was true that Stefan had had some very unpleasant things happen in his childhood. He’d served two years in juvie for stealing a car, six months for attempting to rob a jewelry store, and had been arrested twice for pickpocketing. By the time Stefan was eighteen, he was an experienced criminal and hadn’t been arrested since. “So you don’t know about his family?”