Flora's Wish (29 page)

Slowly, she stepped away from the rail to blend into the crowd on the cabin deck. Once again she found a free chair and settled in to enjoy the view of St. Louis in last rays of the afternoon sun.

Indeed the fresh air and open space worked wonders, for as the giant stacks belched their smoke and the paddle wheel began to turn, Flora felt nothing but exhilaration at her fortunate and unplanned escape from Lucas McMinn.

The city soon disappeared in the distance as the steamboat picked up speed. When a steward arrived on deck to announce that dinner would be served in a half hour, she reluctantly returned to her cabin, where she found a trunk had been delivered and her evening clothes had been prepared in her absence.

The dress left hanging on the hook behind the door was a green silk gown with beading that she could don without assistance, though she soon despaired of her hair and wished for her maid's help. Even the Pinkerton agent had done a better job of taming her curls than she did with her poor attempt.

Finally Flora gave up and returned her brush and mirror along with the remaining hairpins to the trunk. If only hats were in style this season.

A check of her wrist for the time caused Flora to recall the loss of her watch. A watch that would be returned once Mr. McMinn discovered how wrong he was about Will Tucker, she reminded herself. She thought of earrings and decided Mama's pearls would be just right.

A search of the trunk failed to locate them, so Flora opted for a pair of tiny emeralds that dangled from her ears. A pair of bracelets and an emerald-encrusted locket on a gold chain brought the outfit together, though it hardly made up for her poorly dressed locks.

Considering the likelihood that Mr. McMinn had missed the sailing, Flora decided not to wait for a knock that would not come. Instead, she gathered up her evening bag and tucked one last curl into place before walking out of her stateroom and down the corridor. Before she reached the entrance to the main dining room, she could hear the three-piece orchestra tuning their instruments over the hum of the diners' conversations.

“Good evening, Miss Brimm,” the steward said as she arrived at the double columned arches leading into the area reserved for seating. “Please come this way, and I'll show you where you're to sit tonight.”

She followed the uniformed man around a maze of well-appointed tables, noting that a majority of the ladies and gentlemen had already been seated. “Miss Brimm, may I introduce you to your fellow guests, the Lennarts?”

The three women she'd seen promenading on the deck earlier looked up to greet her with smiles as the steward pulled out her chair. Upon closer inspection, Flora decided the trio was comprised of a mother and two daughters, an arrangement that made her think of those times when she'd traveled with Mama and Violet.

Unlike the Brimm ladies, however, these three had not only agreed upon the same fabric and color for their gowns, but they also wore the same style. Tonight that color was a vivid shade of purple, the style decidedly frilly with ruffles and puffs and a heavy decoration of ebony lace around the sleeves and neckline. All three wore matching necklaces of jet and black pearls.

“Welcome, Miss Brimm,” Mrs. Lennart said. “What a lovely gown you're wearing. The green in those beads goes quite nicely with your emeralds and that red hair of yours.”

Auburn,
she wanted to correct, for she'd never liked any references to herself as a redhead. “Thank you,” she said instead. “And you three look lovely.”

The daughters, who Flora figured to be near her own age, giggled like schoolgirls. “Thank you,” their mother said. “Did I understand you're a Brimm? Might you be related to the New Orleans Brimms?”

Flora nodded. “I am. Winthrop Brimm is my cousin. Our fathers were brothers.”

“Winthrop Brimm,” Mrs. Lennart said thoughtfully as she looked first to her daughter on the right and then to the daughter on the left. “Well, of course. I know him well. My husband has business interests in New Orleans, and unless I am mistaking him for someone else, I do believe he has certain ventures in common with your cousin. Isn't it a small world?”

“It is,” Flora said as she glanced at the two empty chairs at the table. “Is your husband traveling with you?”

“Oh, no. He's hunting in India this month. In fact, I thought your cousin was in the hunting party. Perhaps I misunderstood.”

Flora laughed. “Oh, it's very possible. For all I know, Winny could be out buying silk in China. I haven't heard from my cousin in ages, I'm sorry to say.”

The orchestra struck up a lively tune as the food was marched in under silver platters that looked very much like the one she and Mr. McMinn had used to borrow chocolate cake from the Crescent Hotel's kitchen.

“What about you, Miss Brimm?” the Lennart girl on the left asked. “Are you accompanied tonight?”

“Actually, I—”

“Flora Brimm!” the Lennart on the right exclaimed.

She turned her attention to the girl. “Yes, I am Flora Brimm.”

“Oh, oh…oh, I thought so. I do know you.” She shook her head. “No, that's not true. Actually, I know
of
you through Winthrop.”

“I should have mentioned that your Winthrop had thought to call on my daughter,” Mrs. Lennart interjected. “I hope you understand, but at the time, well…” She leaned closer. “My Eudora had, well, other prospects who were a bit more favored by her father, if you know what I mean.”

“That is not true,” the girl in question said. “I always preferred Winthrop and so did Father. You know that he was just being awful after he heard the news about—”

“Eudora, hush this instant!” Mrs. Lennart said sharply.

All three sets of Lennart eyes turned to focus on Flora. The older woman's face had begun to turn an interesting shade of scarlet. The other two, however, appeared to suffer no such embarrassment.

“The news about what?” Flora asked gently.

“About you,” the other daughter said.

“Delphinia, do stop talking at once,” Mrs. Lennart snapped. “Can't you see you're causing this sweet girl distress? Surely the rumors about those poor dead men are just that.” She offered Flora a placating look. “I am terribly sorry.”

Flora's heart sank. So her fame had spread beyond the Natchez folk down the Mississippi to New Orleans. The ridiculous thought that Winthrop could at this very moment be carrying on a conversation with someone in Bombay who had heard of Fatal Flora came to mind.

“I assure you the entire thing blew over ages ago,” Eudora said.

“That's true,” Mrs. Lennart added. “I know it because my Martin had no qualms about going all the way to India with the man.” She reached over to place her palm over Flora's. “So don't you worry. I certainly don't believe anyone gave serious thought to the idea that Winthrop Brimm might have done harm to any of your fiancés so that he might be the one to inherit the Brimm fortune.”

“I…I'm sorry. I don't think I heard you correctly.” Flora shook her head as her mind caught up to what her ears had heard. “People believe Winthrop—”

“Might have a good reason for stopping your grooms from reaching the altar,” Delphinia said boldly.

“Yes, well, I supposed that's one way to put it,” Eudora added, frowning at her sister. “But I never believed he was a murderer, and I was quite insistent to Father and anyone else who mentioned it that I felt all of those six men—”

“There were only four!” Flora interjected.

“Ah. Well, in any case, I always did believe him innocent, and never once did that belief waver.”

“So, Flora, dear,” Mrs. Lennart said. “May I call you Flora? You're so like my own girls.”

“Yes, of course,” she said, her thoughts still rolling around this new information regarding Winthrop.

“Flora, dear,” Mrs. Lennart continued as she nodded to the empty seat beside Flora, “I've not asked if you're traveling alone.”

“She is not.” Lucas McMinn settled onto the seat beside her looking far too smug and even more handsome. He had exchanged his traveling suit for more formal attire, the growth of stubble on his chin for a fresh shave.

Had he been anyone other than the Pinkerton agent who had irritated her with his insistence on things like personal custody and Will Tucker's guilt, she might have allowed herself to be swept off her feet with the mere look of him. A glance at the Lennart women told Flora they certainly had.

“Well, now,” Mrs. Lennart said with far too much enthusiasm. “Just who is this handsome man, Miss Brimm?”

“Is he your next fiancé?” Eudora added as she unashamedly studied the man in question.

“He is
not
.” After a deep breath in and a slow release of that breath, Flora was ready to continue. “Ladies, may I introduce Mr. Lucas McMinn? Mr. McMinn, this is Mrs. Lennart and her daughters.”

“Charmed. And which of you is Mrs. Lennart?”

Mrs. Lennart beat her girls in reaching across the table in a most unladylike way to allow him to kiss her hand. “Oh, my, but you are quite the gentleman, sir. May I present Eudora and Delphinia, my lovely and currently unattached girls of marriageable age and sufficient fortune?”

“A pleasure, ladies,” Mr. McMinn said as he made a great show of kissing their hands, a gesture that had worked so very well with their mother. A chorus of giggles followed. Flora, however, found it difficult not to roll her eyes at the ridiculous display.

“Mr. McMinn, it appears you have won over my daughters. Perhaps you'll do us the honor of paying a visit should you ever find yourself in New Orleans.”

“Had you not introduced yourself as their mother, madam, I might have been hard pressed to know which of you was the parent and which were the daughters. I can certainly see where they get their beauty.”

He actually said that to Mrs. Lennart, and with a straight face. Flora struggled to keep her own expression neutral as she watched Mr. McMinn completely charm the ladies in less than three minutes flat.

Had the food not arrived at the table at just that moment, it's likely the three women would have continued to fawn over the Pinkerton agent. Instead, while the steward distracted the Lennarts with their dinner selections, Flora seized the moment to speak to Mr. McMinn privately.

“Where have you been?”

“I could ask the same question of you, Miss Brimm.” His smile never wavered, though his tone bore an unmistakably hard edge. “I specifically required you to stay close by until called upon and what did you do? You left without waiting for me to—”

“I was exactly where you told me to be, Mr. McMinn.” She leaned closer so as to keep from being overheard. “You said I was to meet you on the balcony in five minutes. When I arrived on the balcony you were not there. I did in fact see you down on the dock in a heated conversation with a stranger, but I did not ever find you in the very place you demanded I should be.” Flora gave him a triumphant look. “So, I will ask again. Where have
you
been?”

“Ladies,” Mr. McMinn said, “would you excuse us a moment?”

“But your food's only just arrived,” Mrs. Lennart said. “Are you already leaving?”

“No,” he said firmly. “I just need to speak to Miss Brimm. She's a little hard of hearing and the music…well, it's not easy for her to hear me.” He gestured to the orchestra. “I'm sure you understand.”

“Of all the nerve!” Flora said quietly but fiercely as he attached himself to her elbow and practically lifted her from the table.

She followed him out of the dining room as much because of his grip on her arm as to keep from making a scene. When they reached the corridor, she stopped short.

“All right, Mr. McMinn. That is quite enough,” she said as she shrugged out of his grasp. “What in the world were you thinking telling those women I was hard of hearing?”

A steward passed them, his food tray overflowing. Though he appeared far too busy to listen in, his eyes were trained on them.

“Out here,” Mr. McMinn said as he turned Flora toward the exit. He placed his palm on her back and led her through the doors and out onto the balcony.

The night was dark, but the moon cast just enough light on the Mississippi River to cause a ripple of golden water to dance along beside the steamboat. The splash of the paddle wheel and sound of the boiler and the men who fired it was muted up here, combining with the sounds of the orchestra in the dining room and the night sounds on shore to make a symphony worth enjoying.

Unfortunately, being in the presence of Lucas McMinn meant that Flora would likely neither enjoy this nor wish to repeat the experience. So she decided to get the conversation finished quickly and return to the dining room before the Lennart ladies came looking for them.

“Mr. McMinn, I'll ask you again. How dare you tell those women I am hard of hearing? And what in the world has gotten into you? Was there a purpose for bringing me out here or did you just want to reinforce the fact that I am in your personal custody?” She paused but only long enough to take a breath. “Something, I might add, that you were willing to forget about when you left the steamboat while I was waiting exactly where I agreed to be.”