Hidden in a Whisper (22 page)

“Surely that's not all you plan to do!” protested Ivy. “That brooch is quite valuable. Of course those ninnies are going to say they didn't take it. The thief could hardly admit to it.”

“I didn't ask if they stole the brooch,” Rachel reminded her. “I asked if they had seen it. There's a big difference between seeing something and stealing it. Isn't it possible you left the brooch at your aunt's house?”

“No, it isn't possible I left the brooch at my aunt's house,” Ivy replied sarcastically. “It was here in my drawer. You may ask Faith if you don't believe me.”

Rachel knew better than to take that route. “Very well. What else would you suggest?”

“Search their rooms! I want that piece back, and I want the thief thrown into jail!”

“Ivy, if the brooch has been stolen, do you seriously think it would be left in plain view of anyone who might come along to find it?”

Ivy looked to be fairly seething by this time. Not that Rachel really cared, but she was getting weary of the game. She was supposed to have dinner with the O'Donnells that evening, and she wasn't about to let Ivy's madcap chase alter her plans.

“Everyone search your rooms and see if it is possible that Ivy merely dropped her brooch there by mistake.” Rachel turned to Ivy after saying this and added, “I'm sure if the piece is located, the girls will tell you.”

She started back to her office and had nearly reached the door when Ivy demanded she stop. “This is outrageous! You plan to bring in wealthy guests from all over the world, yet the brooch of one woman is not safe. I will tell everyone of this incident if you refuse to help me.”

Rachel knew the reputation of Casa Grande was at stake. She had no desire for the girl to spread falsehoods and finally nodded. “Very well, Ivy. Let us conduct our search.” Glancing at the gathering of girls, she spotted Gwen. “Gwen, I would like your assistance on the matter.”

“But perhaps she stole the brooch,” Ivy protested. “Remember, she did take Faith's hairbrush.”

“I did not. I found it in the hallway,” Gwen argued.

“Well, maybe you
found
my brooch there as well.”

“Enough!” Rachel declared. “We shall search Gwen's room first, and when we clear her of any suspicion, then she will take this side of the hall and I will take the other.”

This surprisingly seemed to satisfy Ivy and should have been Rachel's first clue in the matter. They entered Gwen's room, the only one not shared with another worker. As head waitress, she was given this extra privilege of privacy.

“Gwen, please open your closet and drawers,” Rachel instructed.

The young woman did as she was told while Rachel quickly went through each article. When she finally finished with the last drawer, she turned to the nightstand and bed. “Please pull down the covers, and Ivy, you stand on the other side with Gwen and help lift the mattress.” Every possible nook was checked. Rachel wanted to leave nothing undisturbed. She'd not have Ivy coming back later to complain of a less than thorough job.

They found nothing under the mattress, but as Rachel replaced the pillow on the bed, something rolled out of the case and made the sound of a dull thud on the floor. Looking down, she discovered the pin.

As she picked it up, Rachel was heartsick to realize that Ivy had planted it there. Rachel's trust in Gwen was complete, but how could she prove that Ivy was to blame instead of Gwen?

“Is this your brooch?” Rachel questioned, knowing full well that it was.

“That's it! See, I told you it had been stolen. Gwen Carson, I hate you!” Ivy declared.

There was much murmuring from the gathering of Harvey Girls outside Gwen's door, and Rachel knew the matter was about to escalate into madness. Calmly she asked, “Gwen, did you take the pin?”

Gwen had tears in her eyes. “Honest, I didn't take it. I don't know how it got there.”

“How convenient,” Ivy replied snidely. “Of course the thief can't remember how it found its way there. I demand that you fire her immediately and call the marshal!”

“Calm yourself, Ivy,” Rachel replied. “No one is getting fired or going to jail.”

“She stole my pin. I want her punished.”

“Your pin is safely returned to you and shows no mark of harm. Now, I suggest you all forget about this and prepare for the evening meal. Tonight's crowd will be the largest yet.” Rachel looked at Gwen, who was silently sobbing into her apron. “Gwen, you need to change that apron and prepare for the evening. You will be in charge, as I will be out until late.”

“You can't just leave her in charge. She's a—” “Miss Brooks, I have very little patience left,” Rachel stated firmly. “I believe this matter to be nothing more than a misunderstanding. Unless, of course, you wish for me to make more out of it.” She eyed the girl sternly, hoping Ivy would realize her determination in settling the affair.

“Well, fine! It will be a pity, however, when things start disappearing in earnest around the hotel.”

Rachel eyed Ivy seriously for a moment. She thought of all the missing articles in her inventory and wondered if that, too, was a part of Ivy's game. Glancing at her watch, she decided she could consider the matter in more depth at a later time.

“I want all of you to get to work,” Rachel declared. “Right now!”

The girls scattered, seeming to sense Rachel's frustration and mounting anger. “Ivy,” Rachel called as they made their way into the hall, “I want no more of this.”

Ivy looked at her, feigning stunned concern. “Why, whatever do you mean?”

Rachel shook her head. “You know exactly what I mean. I won't have it, and that's my final word on the matter. From now on, if so much as a radish disappears, I'm coming to you first.”

Ivy's eyes narrowed and her face contorted hatefully. “You'll pay for this. You'll see,” she whispered loudly enough for only Rachel to hear.

“And then she stomped off to her room,” Rachel told Jeffery and Simone, “and I readied myself for our visit. But other than that, the day was fine.”

“It's too bad you can't fire Ivy Brooks,” Simone said, getting up from the kitchen table. “Come sit with me in the front room. I'll see to this mess later, and Jeffery can go check on his new pride and joy.”

“I thought that wasn't coming until March,” Rachel said, eyeing Simone's still-flat stomach.

She laughed. “Oh, it's not the baby. It's a matched pair of carriage horses. They came in on the four-o'clock freight.”

“Ah, I see. Well, then,” she said, turning to Jeffery, “I quite understand.” “I won't be a moment,” he said, kissing Simone on the head. “You ladies make yourselves comfortable.”

Rachel nodded and followed Simone into the parlor. “I have quite a bit to tell you before he comes back.”

“Oh?”

“Well, it's just that it's not exactly the kind of subject to share in a man's company.”

Simone grinned and touched a hand to her ebony hair. “Hmm, I believe this must be a matter of the heart.”

Rachel laughed. “Does it show that much?”

Simone nodded. “But then, you figured out my feelings for Jeffery long before I did. So tell me. Have you mended fences with the wonderful Mr. Parker?”

“I suppose I have, in a sense. I mean, he did ask me to marry him.”

“What!” Simone exclaimed and clapped her hands. “Why, that's wonderful! When is the happy day?”

“I don't know,” Rachel said, sobering rather quickly. “I didn't say yes.”

Simone shook her head. “I don't think I understand.”

“I'm not sure I do either. I mean, he forced me into his office, made me listen to his speech about loving me, then I started crying because everything at Casa Grande seemed to be overwhelming me.

The next thing I knew … well …” She felt her face grow hot. “Well, the next thing I knew, he was kissing me. And it was as if all the years melted away and we were back in Chicago—happy and engaged.”

“But that's what you wanted, isn't it?”

“I don't know,” Rachel said, giving a bit of a nervous laugh. “I thought I would never see him again, and even if I did, I presumed him lost to me. But this was the second time he assured me of his love. He chided me for not trusting him, begged me to put the past behind us—and when I reminded him that Harvey employees could not date, he proposed.”

“Is that all?”

“He reminded me that plenty of people along the line enjoy both matrimony and Fred Harvey's employment.”

Simone smiled again. “Rachel, I think you're finally getting your prayers answered. I mean, why fret over this turn of events? The man obviously adores you.”

“Does he?” Rachel questioned. She twisted her hands together. “I don't mean to be such a doubting Thomas, but what if this is just some grandiose scheme to win me back, only to turn around and crush me for having betrayed him in the first place?”

Simone raised a brow and asked, “Does that speak to the character of the man you know?”

“But it's been six years since I felt I honestly knew Braeden, and even now, I see that apparently I didn't know him well at all. He explained away the incident that divided us, chided me for listening to whispered gossip, and has lamented my lack of faith in him. I don't know what to do. I want to trust him, but I'm so afraid.”

“Why?”

The question seemed ridiculously simple, but the answer came at great price. “I suppose because I'm afraid of being hurt again. I'm afraid that he truly hates me and has played this like a hand of cards. Well … I just don't think I could take it.”

“If it were true,” Simone pressed, “and he merely wanted to punish you, what's the worst thing that could happen?”

“I think I would die.”

Simone smiled. “We both know that isn't true. Your heart might break and you might decide to never again love another, but I doubt seriously you would die.”

Rachel knew how silly it sounded, but at the same time she thought of how empty her life had been without Braeden. “It might not happen exactly that way, but—” “But you'll never know if you don't at least give him a chance. You may well be passing up your last chance for happiness. You've prayed about this, right?”

“Not really,” Rachel replied. “I mean, I prayed after we separated. I used to pray God would right the wrong between us and bring us back together, but I never believed it would happen.”

“I can't believe
you
, Rachel Taylor—woman of faith—would say such a thing. You're the one who taught me the benefit of believing in miracles. You helped me to come to understand how important it is to have faith—especially when nothing seems possible. And furthermore, you taught me that no decision should be made without first considering it in prayer. Are you telling me now that you doubt God's abilities in the matter?”

Rachel sighed. “I've never doubted God's abilities, but I've certainly doubted mine.”

“Show me someone who hasn't.”

“But in this case, Simone, I'm doubting not only myself. I'm doubting Braeden as well. And if I continue to doubt, I may ruin my only chance with him. I don't want to lose that.”

“Then don't. From what you say, I must believe that he loves you. Why would the man waste his time in grandiose schemes, as you put it? Men hardly think that way in affairs of the heart. That sounds more like the reasoning of a woman.”

“Truly? Do you really think so?”

“It doesn't sound like anything Jeffery would ever do. No, if Jeffery wanted to play that role, he would completely snub me. He'd have nothing to do with me. He certainly wouldn't open his heart to me— going out of his way to make sure I listened to him, pleading his case.

Mr. Parker may be wounded by the past, but from what you are telling me, he sounds sincere in his desire to put it behind him.”

“I hope you're right. I would really love to agree to his request,” Rachel replied, feeling happiness at the mere thought of marriage to Braeden.

“I wouldn't fret anymore about this, Rachel. I think after tomorrow's grand opening, you'll be under far less pressure and you'll see for yourself if Braeden is sincere.”

“Tomorrow is just the tip of the iceberg,” Rachel said with the hint of a laugh. “There are so many other problems to consider that I can't begin to explain.”

“Why not try me?”

Rachel looked at Simone in appreciation. “Ivy Brooks is causing me no end of grief.”

“Jeffery told me that her aunt forced your hand in accepting Ivy at Casa Grande. Is that true?”

Rachel sighed. “Yes. It's a constant source of frustration, mainly because of how unfair it was to accept Ivy into a position that was considered to be a privileged assignment. Money bought her that position, and money is keeping her in place.”