The Ghost of Christmas Past

by Rhys Bowen

  “I’m so sorry,” Ivy said, her face bright red. “I don’t know what I was thinking. I must have forgotten where I was and thought I was at your house, where the door to the stairs is just behind your chair.”

  She gave us a frightened glance and fled from the room.

  Mrs. Sullivan looked across at us. “I don’t know what’s gotten into the child. She has been so sweet and docile until now. Let’s hope this is not her true nature coming out.”

  “People act out of character when they feel ill at ease,” Winnie said.

  “And I am sure it is easy to get two big houses confused when one is used to the confines of an orphanage,” I said.

  Winnie nodded. “I can imagine that a house like ours could be intimidating. I was quite intimidated when I first moved here, when I married Cedric.”

  “That may be true,” Daniel’s mother said. “But now I’m beginning to wish that I hadn’t suggested she accompany me. I only brought her as my mobility is somewhat limited and I didn’t want to inconvenience your servants.”

  “We’re delighted to have her,” Winnie said. “As I just told you, what this house needs is—” She broke off at the sound of footsteps.

  At first I thought it would be Ivy returning and marveled at her speed. But instead it was a younger man, light haired with a Germanic look to him, dressed in what appeared to be the height of fashion, carrying himself with such a haughty air that I knew right away he had to be the master of the house.

  “What does this house need, Winnie?” he asked. He spoke in a clipped way, as if English might not be his first language.

  “Laughter,” Winnie said. “A joyful holiday.”

  “And now we have guests, I see, and we shall certainly do our best to make the holiday joyful.” He came across the room, moving with grace, and held out his hand to Daniel. “How do you do, sir? I am Cedric Van Aiken. You must be Captain Sullivan. We have enjoyed getting to know your mother.”

  “How do you do, Mr. Van Aiken? Thank you for including us in your celebration.” Daniel shook his hand warmly. “It is most kind of you to invite strangers. May I present my wife, Molly. Our son and our young ward are both upstairs.”

  “Mrs. Sullivan, you are most welcome.” Cedric Van Aiken came over to me, took my hand, and cradled it in his for a long moment. “Delightful,” he said. “You’ve a handsome wife, Sullivan.”

  A shiver of alarm went through me. Was this a ladies’ man? Would I have to watch that I didn’t catch myself alone in a room with him? I had experienced some such in my life but it would be an added layer of awkwardness if he were the master of a household in which we were guests.

  He looked across at Winnie as he still held my hand. “I hope you and Mrs. Sullivan become great friends, my dear,” he said. “It’s time you had more friends of your own.” He turned back to me. “You live in the neighborhood, Mrs. Sullivan?”

  “No, Cedric. I told you they live in New York City,” Winnie said. “It is Captain Sullivan’s mother who lives not far from us.”

  “I don’t know how you can stand the city,” he said. “Couldn’t countenance it myself. I need my land around me and enough room to breathe.”

  “I’m afraid my profession demands that I live in the city. What kind of business are you in, Van Aiken?” Daniel asked.

  “Me? I have no profession. A man of leisure. I was fortunate enough to have inherited this estate from my late father. I have made many improvements during my tenure here. I must give you a tour when you have settled in.” He looked around with distaste. “But you haven’t been offered anything to drink yet. A glass of sherry, Mrs. Sullivan? Or may I be so bold as to call you Molly, since we will be in close quarters for several days?”

  “Oh, no, thank you. I am not used to drinking in the middle of the day,” I said, stumbling over the words in my embarrassment. “But please feel free to call me by my Christian name.”

  “Oh, go on. You’ve had a long journey. You need to be fortified.” Cedric went over to a sideboard where a decanter stood amid glasses and poured me a glass of amber liquid. He came back to me and thrust the glass into my hand. “And for you, Captain Sullivan?”

  I noticed he hadn’t wanted the same level of familiarity with Daniel.

  “A whiskey like my father-in-law or a sherry?”

  “A sherry would be most acceptable,” Daniel said, casting a glance in my direction and clearly also ill at ease.

  “You haven’t asked me, Nephew,” the great-aunt said in a petulant voice.

  “You’ve already had one, Aunt Clara. I see a glass in your hand.”

  She looked down at her hand with surprise. “Oh, yes. Silly me. Of course. But I wouldn’t say no to another.”

  “We can’t have you dancing on the table at luncheon, can we?” Cedric said, with a chuckle.

  “As if I ever danced on a table in my life,” Great-Aunt Clara replied indignantly.

  Ivy had crept back into the room and handed Daniel’s mother her yarn. “Sorry I took so long,” she whispered. “I get lost in this house. I was sure your room was to the left, but it was to the right.”

  “That’s all right, child,” Mrs. Sullivan said, patting her hand. “A house this size is quite confusing, even for me.”

  Ivy was going to sit on the stool again when I said, “Ivy, can I send you on another errand? Would you please go and fetch Bridie down? Tell her we are about to go in to eat and she should be introduced first. You turn right at the top of the stairs and go all the way to the end of that hallway. It’s the last door on the right.”

  She looked puzzled. “Isn’t that Mrs. Van Aiken’s room?”

  “No, dear. Ours is on the left,” Winnie said. “Clearly you are at sixes and sevens today.”

  “I’m sorry. It’s all too much to take in.” She hung her head. “I’ll go and find your Bridie for you, Mrs. Sullivan.”

  She had only just left when Aunt Florence appeared to say that luncheon was served. I put down my sherry glass, still almost full, glad that I didn’t have to finish it. Winnie’s father helped the frail Great-Aunt Clara to her feet. “Come along,” he said. “It doesn’t do to keep the dragon waiting, you know.”

  “Dragon?” she looked confused.

  “She who wishes to rule the world,” Mr. Carmichael said.

  Aunt Florence turned back. “I heard that,” she said. “And I have no wish to rule anything other than my own behavior.” She went over to Daniel’s mother. “Do you need help, Mary?”

  “Thank you, Florence. How kind you are,” Daniel’s mother replied as Miss Lind helped her from her chair and then took her arm.

  “We should wait for the girls or they will never find us,” she said.

  “Of course,” Winnie agreed. “We just sent Ivy up to bring Bridie to join us.”

  “Do you want the young ladies to join us at the table or should we send them to eat in the kitchen, where they’d feel more comfortable?” Aunt Florence asked.

  “Oh, that’s a good thought,” Winnie said. “What do you think, Molly?”

  “I think both girls might welcome it today, since they are clearly overwhelmed by the house,” I said.

  As we reached the doorway leading to the foyer they were coming down the stairs, moving close together as if for protection. Bridie’s light hair contrasted with the dark hair and eyes of the other girl and they made a handsome pair.

  “Miss Lind has suggested that you might prefer to eat in the kitchen today, just until you feel comfortable in the house,” I said. “Then you two can chat together.”

  “Yes, please,” Bridie said. I saw the relief in her face as she looked at Ivy.

  “Is Liam asleep?” I asked, feeling suddenly uneasy about leaving him alone in such a big house.

  “Yes, he fell asleep right away.”

  I glanced at Daniel. “Perhaps I should go up to him? Or ask one of the maids to go up.”

  “Don’t be silly, Molly. The door is shut, isn’t it, Bridie? What harm can possibl
y happen to him if he wakes up?”

  I told myself I was worrying about nothing. Liam was a good sleeper. He’d be out for a couple of hours. “Of course. He’ll be fine,” I said. “Off you go to your lunch then, girls.”

  I watched as they set off down a passage toward the back of the house.

  We followed them but instead of going straight ahead and through a baize door to the servants’ part of the house, we turned to our left, into a formidable dining room with a table long enough to seat thirty. Only one end of it had been set for us and we sat together, enjoying an excellent luncheon of a thick vegetable soup, meat pie and cauliflower in a cheese sauce, and finally a chocolate mousse and coffee. Afterward it was suggested that we go up to our rooms to rest, then maybe take a sleigh ride if the weather held.

  There was no sign of Bridie. I presumed she and Ivy were chattering away somewhere, or even exploring the house together. As Daniel closed the door behind us he gave a long sigh.

  “Not what I expected. How about you?”

  “No. How strange that it’s just elderly relatives and us. I wonder why they invited us.”

  “I think it was the formidable aunt who invited us,” Daniel said. “And the others could hardly refuse. I have to confess I wish we hadn’t come. I sense a tension in the air, don’t you?”

  I nodded. “There’s definitely something strange.”

  “One thing is quite clear to me,” Daniel said. “And that is Winnie Van Aiken seems to be afraid of her husband.”

  Seven

  There was no question of a rest for us. I was not used to an afternoon rest in the first place and certainly not in such strange and grand surroundings as these. The matter was decided for us when Liam awoke from his nap and was ready to start exploring. We kept him amused until Daniel said that he’d heard voices going down the stairs. I took Liam to the bathroom, potted him, and washed his face before we took him downstairs to find the party, apart from the great-aunt, assembled around the fire in the gallery. Liam immediately went to his grandmother, of whom he was extremely fond.

  “What a delightful little fellow,” Winnie observed. “So full of joy.”

  “Yes, he is a happy little boy on the whole,” I said. “Very active, but loving too.”

  “You are fortunate to have a son, Captain Sullivan.” Cedric Van Aiken looked up from the newspaper he had been reading. “Although I don’t suppose it is so important to carry on the name when there are many Sullivans in the world. I am the last of the Van Aikens in this country, unfortunately.”

  “You are both still young enough to have children, surely,” Mrs. Sullivan said.

  I didn’t miss the look that passed between Winnie and Cedric. It wasn’t one of sadness or regret. It was one of accusation. As the conversation continued I observed Winnie Van Aiken to see if I could pick up what Daniel had noticed. It was true that she shot her husband a nervous glance each time he addressed her, and her answers sounded short and defensive, even to the most innocent of questions. But Cedric seemed a harmless sort of chap—though rather full of his own importance, to be sure.

  “Now how about that tour of the house?” Cedric said.

  “Should we not take everyone for a sleigh ride while the weather holds up so fine?” Winnie asked.

  I saw a frown cross Cedric’s face. Then he said, “Of course. Good idea. Why not? Who feels like coming on a sleigh ride?”

  “I, for one, would not wish to leave the comfort of the fire,” Mrs. Sullivan said, “but where are the young girls? They will certainly enjoy it.”

  Bridie and Ivy were located in Ivy’s room and needed no urging to come on a sleigh ride with us. We bundled into the sleigh pulled by a big draft horse and set off, sleigh bells jingling, across the estate. I had underestimated the size of the property. The snow crunched beneath the runners and the wind in our face was icy. A red sun was setting on the far shore of the lake, tingeing the snow pink. I expected the others had been on sleigh rides before, but it was my first and I found it quite magical. So did Liam, who gave little chirps of delight, and Bridie, who glanced at me from time to time. The worried look had vanished from her face and I was glad that we had come here, if only for her sake.

  When we came to a wide meadow covered in pristine snow Cedric said, “We must come back here tomorrow, if the weather holds, and make the world’s biggest snowman.” He turned to Liam. “You’d like to make a snowman, wouldn’t you, young man?”

  “No-man?” I had to grab Liam as he was ready to scramble out of the sleigh at that moment.

  I was surprised to see that Cedric looked enthusiastic. Maybe our coming had been a good thing after all. Maybe the reason for the tension and bitterness Daniel and I had noticed was that they couldn’t have children. Obviously it was important to Cedric to have a son to inherit the property and carry on his name. I found myself wondering how Daniel and I would be getting along if we hadn’t had Liam and knew there could be no child in our lives. Darkness was falling as we made our way back to the house, where servants greeted us with hot chocolate topped with whipped cream. All in all a satisfactory afternoon.

  We took off our coats and hats and came into the gallery to find my mother-in-law and the two aunts deep in conversation. They looked up, smiling.

  “You’ve had a good time, I can see,” my mother-in-law said. “Rosy cheeks, and Liam has a mustache of cream from the hot chocolate.” She patted the seat beside her. “Come over here and tell me about it, Bridie. And you too, Ivy. Was it your first sleigh ride?”

  The two girls went over to her. Miss Lind came to me. “Do you have everything you need for the little boy, Mrs. Sullivan? I’m sure we can assign one of the maids to act as nanny so that you are not encumbered with him all the time. You should be enjoying your holiday too.”

  “He’s really no trouble and I look after him all the time at home,” I said.

  “You have no servant?” She looked shocked.

  “We have Bridie living with us and she is a great help when she is not in school.” I realized as I said it that when Bridie left us, Daniel would insist I finally hire a servant to help with the chores. Maybe I’d find a girl from the same orphanage as Ivy. She seemed a nice enough little thing.

  “Do you enjoy living in the city?” Miss Lind asked. “I must say I miss the noise and excitement in some ways. I don’t miss the dirty, slushy sidewalks when it has snowed.”

  “Especially not when it freezes afterward,” I agreed. “Walking is so treacherous.”

  “But apart from that?” she insisted.

  “I have good friends nearby and Daniel is close to his work.”

  “His mother was saying that he is encountering problems and may well be looking for new employment. I understand he may be applying for the position of chief of police out here in White Plains. Wouldn’t that be lovely? His mother would be so happy to have her family out here with her.”

  I glanced across at Mrs. Sullivan, who was chatting with the two girls. Was this some kind of conspiracy to get Daniel out to Westchester County? I wondered. I decided to change the subject. “I understand that you were actively involved in the suffrage movement?”

  “I most certainly was, and still am,” she said. “I am a passionate suffragist, Mrs. Sullivan. It makes no sense to me that half the population cannot have a say in the running of our country. Your mother-in-law disagrees with me. She liked her husband to make all the decisions. Having no husband I cannot understand that way of thought.”

  “I have a husband, but I agree with you,” I said. “My close friends are also workers for the cause.”

  “You know you have come to a hotbed for the cause right here,” she said. “One of our champions, Carrie Chapman Catt, has rented a house just up the road from here. Her husband had been ailing and died earlier this year so she decided to move out of New York for a while, to get over his death.”

  “I’m so sorry. I met her once at my friends’ house,” I said. “I was most impressed.”


  “Then you might want to accompany me tomorrow evening,” she said. “Carrie is hosting a soiree for some friends and I plan to attend. Would you like to come?”

  I glanced around, hesitating.

  “That is, of course, if you think your husband will permit you to be among such dangerous women,” she said with the hint of a laugh in her voice.

  That did it. “I should be delighted to accompany you,” I said. “I am sure Daniel can amuse himself and entertain his mother while we’re away, and Bridie will be happy to watch over Liam.”

  She looked pleased. “Well, that’s settled then. I think you will find the assembly at Carrie’s house most entertaining, and instructive too. She gives splendid parties.”

  As I had suspected Daniel wasn’t at all keen on my going. “Surely it’s not polite to walk out on one’s hostess so soon after we have arrived,” he said.

  “You have observed Miss Lind,” I said. “When she wants something she seems to get it, and she wants someone to accompany her to this gathering.”

  “I’m not sure that I want the word to get out that my wife is attending a meeting of suffragists,” he said in the same sort of clipped voice that Cedric had used earlier.

  “I don’t know how you think the word is going to get out,” I said. “Besides, it’s a yuletide party, not a plotting session. And I’ve already accepted Miss Lind’s kind invitation.” Then I walked away from him.

  I received a similar reaction from Winnie when I explained to her that I had been asked to accompany her aunt. “Are you sure that’s wise, Molly?” she asked, her large blue eyes looking even larger. “I mean, you do know that Carrie Chapman Catt is the leader of the suffrage movement, don’t you?”

  “Of course. I have met her before at a friend’s house. I was most impressed. A woman of substance.”

  “But what does your husband say? Surely he cannot be in favor.”

  “While I respect my husband I am not under his thumb,” I said. “I am entitled to my own thoughts and opinions, and so should you be.”

  “You are lucky to be able to move freely in the city,” she said. “Out here I am told what to think by my husband and my father.”