A Beauty Refined

by Tracie Peterson

  Elizabeth took the letter and unfolded it. She quickly perused the contents and nodded. It seemed perfectly in order, but her doubts were still strong, given her knowledge of Frederick’s deceptive nature.

  “I have already revealed to my husband that I know about his thievery. I needed to tell him this to give myself leverage in keeping him from taking our son—Phoebe’s little brother. Frederick knew nothing about the boy, but when we met I told him about Kenny. He, of course, threatened me and promised to steal the boy away. Thus, I felt it important to explain to him that I was prepared to reveal to your aunt all that I knew.”

  “I see. Well, that needn’t be a problem,” Eckhart said after several thoughtful moments. “In fact, this entire situation should work to our benefit. With the graf preoccupied with your return to his life and the news that he has another son, he will hardly be worried about my dealings. However, I wonder if you do have written proof of what your husband has done in the past. Proof that would aid my case.”

  Elizabeth considered this for a moment. “I have some papers listing various transactions. I copied them before leaving Frederick. The information was taken from papers Frederick had in his desk. They show the dates and amounts of money given him by your aunt, his expenses in purchasing the gems, and then what he actually charged your aunt. The totals are vastly different, as you already presumed.”

  “Those records would do much to aid us in seeing Graf Von Bergen pay for his crimes.”

  Elizabeth nodded. “Then after I resolve this matter of custody and our marriage, you may have them. But not until. I cannot risk Frederick somehow getting ahold of them until after he agrees to my terms. The man is fully capable of altering the records and explaining away the discrepancies.”

  Eckhardt smiled and nodded. “I understand. Believe me, once I am able to catch him in the act, your husband will be taken by the authorities and deported. I will, of course, accompany him. It would be enough for you to mail the information to my tante.”

  This gave Elizabeth an immediate sense of peace. “Very well. I will help you in any way I can.” A thought came to mind. “I could arrange another meeting with Frederick. Perhaps I could get him to admit to what he’s doing here. You could have it witnessed.”

  “Perhaps. I will keep that in mind,” Eckhardt replied. “For now, however, I will take my leave. I’ve kept you from your family far too long.” He rose, clicked his heels, and bowed. “I thank you for your willingness to speak with me.”

  Elizabeth rose. “I wish you the very best in seeing my husband incarcerated. No one deserves it more than he does. However, I caution you to watch your back. Frederick wouldn’t hesitate to have you beaten or even killed should he learn the truth of what you’re doing.”

  “Do you have any problem killing women?” Frederick asked, eyeing the rough-looking man.

  The man spit on the floor and then laughed. “I’d kill my own mother if the money was right. You pay me enough and I’ll kill whoever you want.”

  “There are two women in particular. One has a young boy. I don’t wish for any harm to come to the child. Do you understand me? If he suffers so much as a scratch, you’ll answer to me.”

  The man’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t like threats, mister. I’m happy to do a job for pay, but I’m my own boss. If you can’t work with that, then I’m not your man.” He started to get up, but Von Bergen motioned him to remain seated.

  “I don’t intend to be your boss. I simply do not want to see harm come to my son.”

  The man smiled in a vile manner. “So you want me to kill your wife, is that it?”

  “Yes. And my daughter. Neither are of any use to me anymore, and both deserve to die for the way they’ve deceived me. I want it done quickly and without any sign of who was responsible. I’ll give you half the money now and the other half when the job is done.”

  To prove this, Frederick put the first half on the table. The man’s eyes widened considerably at the large sum. His glance went momentarily to Hubert, who stood at the ready to defend his master, before he returned his gaze to Frederick.

  “You got a deal, mister. I got me two brothers who’ll be happy to help get the job done.”

  “I’m not paying any more than what I’ve already agreed to.” Frederick leaned back in his chair and folded his arms. “So don’t even think of asking.”

  “I wasn’t gonna.” The man reached for the cash, keeping an eye on Frederick the entire time. When he saw that Von Bergen didn’t intend to stop him, he grabbed up the bills and stuffed them in his pocket.

  Frederick watched him with stern caution. The man was scum, but that was the kind of man who would kill two women without asking questions or pointing fingers later.

  “I need it done as soon as possible.”

  “Where will I find ’em?” The man lifted the nearly empty beer mug, eyed it with obvious displeasure, then looked at Frederick. “I could use another drink while you’re explaining.”

  Frederick thought of telling the man he had more than enough money to buy his own beer, but he decided against it. Instead he motioned for the barkeeper to bring another beer.

  “You’ll find that the women live in a small cottage on the Broadwater Hotel grounds. I’ve drawn you a map.” Frederick pulled the paper from his pocket. He’d paid dearly to get a groomsman to tell him where the women were living, but it had been worth it. At least it would be worth it if this scheme worked out.

  “I want you to get in there, get them, and take them well away from here,” Frederick said, handing over the map.

  The man looked at the drawing for a moment, then nodded. “We’ll grab ’em and ride out to one of the canyons. There’s a lot of old abandoned mines. It’ll be easy enough to dump the bodies there.”

  Frederick nodded and waited until the bartender brought the beer and took his money before continuing in a whisper. “Leave word for me here. I’ll have my man check each day around two. When the job is done, just let the barkeeper know when you want to meet here again. He’ll give my man the information, and I assure you, I will come.”

  The man nodded and drank the beer down in one long gulp. He got up from the table without another word. Frederick smiled, feeling quite satisfied with this turn of events. It felt good to have things arranged. Soon Elizabeth and Phoebe would no longer be a problem and the only thing left that he had to worry about was finding the boy and the papers that Elizabeth claimed to have.

  It was the latter that particularly troubled Frederick. Elizabeth had told him she had given a lawyer the papers—the proof of his fraudulent dealings. He didn’t know if she was really cunning enough to have done that, but she was smart enough to at least pretend she had. Still, he couldn’t risk it being true and someone mailing those papers to the Sapphire Duchess. No, the only way to get the truth out of Elizabeth was if he had the boy.

  “Wait,” Frederick called out to the man who’d agreed to kill for pay. “I need something else. It involves the boy, and it might even make things easier for you in the long run.”

  A few minutes later with his business finally concluded, Frederick walked out of the bar and found Hubert waiting for him just outside the door. “Let’s get out of here.” Hubert nodded, looking quite happy to comply.

  “It’s late, and you should just stay the night with us,” Georgia Harper insisted. “You and Phoebe can have my room.”

  “No, let them have mine,” Ian insisted. “The bed is bigger. I can take one of the third-floor bedrooms.”

  “There, you see,” Georgia said with a smile. “It’s all settled.”

  Phoebe felt rather strange at the thought of staying in the Harper house—in Ian’s room and bed. Especially given that she and Ian had just declared their love for each other. She hadn’t even had time to share that news with her mother.

  “I should go check on Kenny,” Mutter said. She got up and headed for the stairs.

  “And I’ll go make up Ian’s bed for you and Phoebe. Meanwhile you
two can just enjoy each other’s company.”

  She gave Ian a wink. Phoebe felt her face grow hot. No doubt she was as red as a beet. Keeping her gaze lowered to the patterned living room carpet, she tried not to let her nerves get the best of her.

  “I wonder if you might like to sit on the porch with me,” Ian said, getting to his feet.

  Phoebe nodded and stood. She followed him to the open front door. The sky was muted in the soft tones of twilight. Ian escorted her to a chair.

  When he didn’t move to claim a seat for himself, Phoebe looked up and found him watching her, his expression rather serious.

  “Is something wrong?”

  He shook his head and leaned back on the porch rail. “Not at all. I just figured we ought to talk about what happened earlier.”

  She nodded. “I suppose we should.”

  “I’ve wanted to tell you about my wife for some time now. I know I told you she died in childbirth.”

  “Yes.”

  Ian looked down at his boots. “We eloped. Nora—that was her name—assured me that our love was strong enough to endure anything. She didn’t want a big church wedding. In fact, she really didn’t want a wedding at all. She thought it far more romantic to elope. At least that’s what she told me. So we left letters for our folks and took the train to Great Falls to be married there. Nora had always wanted to go to Seattle, so after we saw the justice of the peace, we boarded another train and headed for the coast. I had plenty of money. My father had always paid me and my brother well, and I’d been able to save most of it. In fact, I used part of my money to build the little house where I now have the shop. I had long planned to marry Nora and had already figured to build the house for us. It had just been completed when we eloped.”

  “Did Nora’s folks live nearby?” Phoebe asked.

  Ian nodded. “Her father was a bank manager. They’d moved to Helena from Bozeman in order for him to take the job. That was when Nora was seventeen and I was nineteen. We met at church and . . . well . . . it was love at first sight for the both of us.” He laughed. “We were, as my mother used to say, silly in love.”

  Phoebe met his gaze and smiled. “I think that’s wonderful.”

  “I thought so too.” His tone was bittersweet and his smile more sad than joyful. “Nora was everything I thought a wife should be. Considerate, beautiful, and full of life. I knew we were young, but I had a good job and could provide her with a house and a living, so I threw caution to the wind and proposed. She accepted. After a short time she convinced me to elope. Nora assured me that her parents would be fine. She told me they really liked me and wanted us to marry and were in fact arranging an expensive wedding that Nora didn’t think necessary or desirable. But that wasn’t the case at all. When we got back, her parents were livid and tried to take Nora from me. They told me they’d have the marriage annulled. But then Nora announced that she was already expecting a baby.”

  “A honeymoon baby. How romantic.”

  He shook his head. “It wasn’t that way at all. She lied about the baby, only I didn’t know it until later. Her mother broke into tears, and her father stormed off. I didn’t understand until later why they were so upset.”

  Phoebe heard the sorrow in his voice. “You don’t have to tell me if it’s too painful.”

  Ian shook his head. “No, I need for you to know. That way you’ll understand why I hate lies so much and why there can never be any between us.”

  “I despise lies. You know very well why.” Phoebe shook her head. “I won’t lie to you, Ian.”

  He studied her for a moment. “And I won’t lie to you.” He drew a deep breath and let it out. “The reason her parents were so upset was that Nora had a weak heart. She’d had a bout of rheumatic fever just the year before they moved to Helena. The doctor told her parents that she should never exert herself—never marry and more importantly never have children. Her heart wasn’t strong enough.”

  “And she never told you.”

  “No. And she should have. Her folks said I killed her, and I guess in some ways I did.”

  Phoebe could only imagine how hard it must have been to hear that news. Learning the truth about her mother had led to happiness, whereas Nora’s lie only led to death.

  “That’s not true. She chose a life with you, even a short one, because she loved you.”

  “I don’t know if she really did or if she just wanted to get away from her parents. They were quite overbearing. She lied to me about so much, and I don’t see how love could exist in the heart of someone so steeped in falsehoods.”

  “I’m sorry, Ian.” His expression was troubled. She wished she could ease his suffering, but she’d already told him he didn’t need to tell her everything. What else could she say?

  “Like I said earlier, she wasn’t really pregnant, but her folks and I thought she was. That’s when her father told me about her heart. I was really angry that Nora had kept the truth from me, but I didn’t want her folks to know it. I promised them I would see that she had the best medical care. There was nothing else I could say.

  “Nora thought it all a lot of fuss about nothing. When I confronted her about lying to me, she told me it wasn’t a lie at all—that I’d never asked if she had a weak heart. She always had an excuse for her lies. If I’d known she wasn’t expecting I would have . . . well . . . I would have seen to it that she didn’t get that way.” He cleared his throat. “I’m sorry to talk so openly, but I want you to understand.”

  “I do understand.”

  He looked at her and nodded. The fading light made it hard to see the details of his face, but Phoebe knew he was in misery at the memories.

  “Nora lied about a lot of things. She bought things on credit but told me her folks had purchased the items for her—for us. Whenever I learned the truth, she’d sweet-talk me and explain how she just had to have whatever it was. Within a few weeks she was truly with child and confessed to me how she’d lied earlier to keep her parents from annulling our marriage. I was so hurt and angry, but the lies just continued.

  “She lied about her doctor appointments, telling me the doctor had assured her she was doing fine and that her heart was stronger than they had originally thought. I guess I wanted so much to believe it I didn’t question her.” He shook his head. “But as time went by, it was clear she wasn’t well. I finally had the doctor come to the house, and he told me he hadn’t seen Nora in months. She had quit his care, telling him she was seeing another physician. She wasn’t seeing anyone, and by then it was too late.”

  “How awful.”

  “The doctor told me she would never live long enough to deliver the baby. The strain on her heart had been too great. He figured she’d be dead in a matter of a week—maybe two.” Ian paused. “I was stunned. I never expected to hear that. I never thought it could be that bad. I arranged for her to be moved to the hospital, thinking that might keep her from dying. Of course, it didn’t, and the move maybe even hurried her death. Within the week she was gone and so was our baby.”

  Phoebe felt a warm tear trickle down her cheek. She wanted only to go to him and hold him close, but she knew that wasn’t an acceptable way to behave. For a long time, Ian said nothing more. Phoebe let the silence linger between them, praying that God would give Ian the comfort he needed. It was the first time she’d really prayed for someone else.

  “I needed you to know the truth,” Ian finally said. “I vowed I’d never marry again, because I didn’t want to get hurt again. But now, I . . . I’m in love with you, and I want very much to marry again.”

  Phoebe felt her breath catch. Ian was proposing to her—at least in a sense. She remained silent, hoping he wouldn’t notice she was trembling.

  “Well, here you two are,” Georgia declared as she pushed open the screen door. “I thought I heard voices. Looks like a nice evening.”

  “It is, Mother,” Ian said. “Will you join us?”

  Phoebe tried not to show her disappointment when Georgi
a Harper agreed and took the chair beside her. She supposed now Ian wouldn’t continue with talk of marriage and love, and she was right. Instead, Georgia brought up the topic of the hotel and how poorly it was doing, and Ian said nothing more about his feelings or the past.

  22

  Phoebe and her mother returned to the Broadwater cottage just after breakfast. Ian had wanted them to stay, despite being hard-pressed to get anything done with Phoebe so near. He feared for their lives, but Elizabeth felt confident, given her threat of exposing Von Bergen’s underhanded dealings, that her husband would cause no further problems. Ian only wished he could be sure.

  Throughout the night he had tossed and turned, thinking about the problems at hand. He worried that his past with Nora had caused him to push Elizabeth and her children into a deadly situation. Had he been wrong to insist the truth be told? Surely not. God called for honesty. Ian considered all that Eckhardt had said about Von Bergen and the stones and had decided to dedicate himself to seeing the gems faceted as soon as possible. The sooner he completed the order, the sooner Von Bergen would leave. At least that was what he hoped.

  Throughout the day and well into the evening Ian worked, faceting stone after stone. He lost track of time, and only his mother’s appearance brought to mind the hour.

  “You won’t help either of your causes if you fall over dead.” She stood with a tray, offering sandwiches and coffee.

  Ian shook his head. “Either of my causes?” He took the plate and coffee, leaving his mother with the tray.

  “Getting the stones completed so Eckhardt can have Phoebe’s father arrested. And getting this all wrapped up so you can propose and marry Phoebe.”

  Ian laughed and set the plate aside. “I should have known there’d be no keeping my feelings from you. I suppose I’ve made quite a fool of myself.” He drank the strong brew and hoped it might restore some energy.