[Song of Alaska 02] - Morning's Refrain (13 page)

The carriage turned off of the busy avenue and made its way via a series of twists and turns to a more residential area of town. Here, the traffic thinned considerably and a large canopy of trees lowered the temperature a bit.

Dalton studied the architectural styles of the palatial homes and tried not to think so much about his family. The estates were large and plush. Such houses were not even imaginable in Sitka. Glorious arrangements of marble, brick, and limestone rose up from immaculately kept lawns like shrines to the owners.

“Oh, I wish there were more of a breeze,” Evie grumbled. She, too, had purchased a few more formal clothes in Seattle so that she might better fit in with the society of her family. Dalton could see that she was every bit as uncomfortable as he was.

They finally turned down another long avenue of homes, even grander than the others. “We’re nearly there,” Evie announced.

Her brows knit together, and she bit her lower lip.

Dalton couldn’t help but reach out and touch her gloved hand.

“It will be all right. No matter the circumstance.”

She nodded. “I just wish this day might never have come. I would have been more than happy to go on as I was in Sitka.”

“But if you had done that,” Dalton said in a teasing tone, “you might not have had the possibility of courting Joshua.”

Her head turned quickly as she met his gaze. “What?”

He laughed. “I’ve hesitated to say this, but Joshua Broadstreet is enamored with you, and I’m quite sure you care about him, as well. You have both behaved admirably over the years, but if your husband has died, you’ll be free to marry again.”

“I hardly expected such talk from you.”

“Why not? I see no reason to hide from the truth. I’ve always regretted that you two could not be together.”

She relaxed a bit and lowered her head. “I have missed out on so much. I hardly dare to hope that I might yet know true love.”

“Well, I think it’s entirely possible.” Dalton cleared his throat rather nervously. “Do you believe in love at first sight?”

Evie shrugged. “I don’t know why it wouldn’t be possible. People form instant attachments to things, so why not people?”

“I don’t know. I just . . . well . . . I keep thinking . . .” His words trailed off. Maybe he shouldn’t even talk to Evie about it.

“Is this about Phoebe Robbins?”

He snapped his head around to meet his sister’s amused expression. “Why do you ask that?”

“Because I think you have fallen for her.”

“Again, why?”

“I can’t really say. There’s just something about the two of you together.”

“See, that’s the way I feel. I know we haven’t been together but a few times, but I think about her constantly, and when Yuri told me he liked her, well, I wanted to punch him.”

His sister laughed and patted his knee. “Violence won’t win her heart.”

“Neither will being down here in Kansas City. Yuri intends to go out of his way to steal her affections. I just keep thinking of how they’ll have all this time together, and I won’t even be around to make my feelings known.”

“If she’s the one for you, and it’s meant to be,” Evie said in a sympathetic tone, “it will happen. God has a purpose and will for each person. If you are to share your life with Phoebe Robbins, Yuri’s attentions won’t mean a thing.” She sat up straighter. “We’re here.”

Dalton looked out at the massive three-story brick house and tried to forget the image of Phoebe’s gentle smile. “It’s huge. I can hardly wait to see the inside.”

The carriage came to a stop and a uniformed man came down the steps to open Evie’s door. The young man looked up and offered his hand. “Ma’am?”

Evie squared her shoulders and gave Dalton one last glance. “I suppose there is no sense putting it off.” She allowed the man to help her from the carriage. “I’m Mrs. Thomas Gadston.”

The young man’s eyes widened. “The mistress of the house?”

“Yes. I realize you do not know me. Are there any servants still in employment from eighteen years ago?”

“There are. I will take you to them.”

Dalton bounded out of the carriage to walk behind his sister. He heard her hesitate and clear her voice before asking about her husband.

“I’m sorry, ma’am. He is no longer with us.”

“It’s just as I presumed,” she replied in a formal tone.

The front door was opened by an older gentleman. He looked at Evie for a moment, then nodded as if in approval. “Mrs. Gadston, welcome home.”

She nodded and looked around the foyer. Dalton did likewise. It was a wonderment to behold. A heavily ornate marble and gold table with a large arrangement of flowers graced the entryway. Beneath this, a plush, but slightly worn rug of golds and reds accented the room’s crimson wallpaper.

“When did Mr. Gadston . . . die?” Evie asked as the butler took her gloves and hat.

“The thirteenth of June,” a man answered from somewhere to their right. The pocket door slid back to reveal the source.

“Trayton Payne,” Evie whispered.

“One and the same. I wasn’t sure you would recognize me after all this time. The years have not been nearly as kind to me as to you. You could still pass for seventeen.”

“Hardly that,” she replied. “As I recall, you were the one who knew every detail of my husband’s business dealings. I will need a full accounting.”

Dalton was stunned at the way she got right to business. She instantly became someone Dalton had never known. Was this the Mrs. Thomas Gadston from the past? Had she always been like this when it came to running her household? Or was this the woman who was borne out of years of encasing her heart in stone?

“Is this still my home?” she asked.

“Indeed. However, there is a great deal of business to discuss if you are up to it.” Trayton smiled in a way that made Dalton feel possessive of his sister. Evie, however, seemed unimpressed.

She turned to the butler. “Would you have our things unloaded and see that Dalton is shown to the room next to mine? Also, give the driver this and dismiss him.” She handed some money to the man and turned back to Trayton. “I will discuss matters with you now.”

“I can stay,” Dalton told her. He was still uncertain it was wise to let her be alone with this man.

“It’s all right. You go and rest. I’ll be up directly to let you know everything.”

He exchanged a look with Payne and nodded. “And you will send for me if you need me?”

She smiled. “Absolutely.”

Evie knew she was showing far more security in her position than she truly felt. Being in this house again threatened to steal away her breath. She followed Trayton through the sitting room to the back of the house, where Thomas had kept his office.

“You’ll find very little has changed over the years,” Trayton told her. “Thomas liked keeping things as they were.”

“What took his life?”

Trayton turned, looking surprised at her question. “I presumed you knew. He developed consumption of the lungs.”

“I see. There has been much of that in Alaska, as well.”

She watched Trayton as he moved to one of the large leather chairs in front of her husband’s desk. “Please have a seat. I will try to answer all of your questions. Would you care for refreshment?”

“Tea would be most welcomed.”

“Have you tried it iced? Sally makes the most marvelous iced tea with lemon and ginger.”

“Who is Sally?”

“She’s been the cook’s assistant for about four years.”

“It sounds wonderful.” Evie took the chair while Trayton rang for the maid.

A young, attractive woman appeared and nodded eagerly at Trayton’s instruction. He introduced her to Evie, and she curtsied ever so slightly. “This is Miss Dahlia Cummings. She is one of the household staff.”

Evie nodded while Trayton finished explaining who Evie was and why she had come. The young woman seemed enthralled. Perhaps there had been a great many stories about Evie and her exploits. She could only imagine. Wives did not often run away from home and never return.

Well, I suppose it’s not a matter of never returning,
she thought.
I am here now.

Trayton took a seat at the desk and reached into one of the side drawers. “Your sister told me that she had the highest hopes you would come. I’ve tried to keep things readied for just such an occasion. I have remained in your husband’s service as his personal secretary all these years. I know his business dealings probably better than anyone, save his lawyers. I know his personal dealings better than even they do.”

He placed several files atop the desk. “Where would you like to begin?”

“Why did Thomas ask for me? After all these years of silence— why did he ask Jeannette to send for me? Or did he even do that? Was that just a fabrication of Jeannette’s to entice me here?”

“He did ask for you,” Trayton assured her. “While on his deathbed, he dictated a letter to me, which was for you. It was his one and only bit of unfinished business, and he could not rest until it was concluded.”

Evie couldn’t suppress a laugh. “Unfinished business, eh? That’s exactly how I thought of Thomas. It’s the only reason I’m here. I need to put the past to rest once and for all.”

Trayton studied her for a moment. His gaze captivated her, and Evie immediately remembered the seductive manner in which he’d controlled her so long ago. Her own husband had hired Trayton Payne to keep her entertained. The thought sickened her even now.

“Why did you leave, Evie? I mean, I understand that you wanted to return your brother to his mother, but why not come home after that?”

She thought to rebuke him for asking her such a personal question, then decided against it. “I had no home to come back to. You know that as well as anyone.”

“Thomas would never have denied you anything. He gave you all this and more. Why shame him just because he couldn’t be the husband you desired?”

“I never intended to shame him,” she replied. “He shamed himself. He never wrote to me—never attempted to come to me. He never loved me.”

Trayton didn’t deny this. Instead, his expression changed to one of discomfort. “He did bring great shame upon himself. Most of society was too fearful of his power to question him on it or to shun him, but they suspected the truth all the same.”

“And what truth would that be, Mr. Payne?”

He met her fixed stare. “That he had taken a lover even before his marriage to you. That his lover was not another woman, but rather a man.”

Evie felt the warmth drain from her body, leaving her icy and numb. Her sister had often suggested the possibility of such a liaison, but Evie had never been able to believe it of Thomas.

“And how do you know this?”

He leaned back in the chair. “Because, as I said, I know everything about Thomas Gadston’s personal life. It was my job to keep the public from ever knowing, but I did that job poorly.”

“It’s abominable to even imagine such a thing. Why do you tell me this now?” Evie tried desperately to conjure up feelings of sympathy or regret for her dead husband, but there was nothing but a blank void where her heart should have been.

“I tell you this because of the will. Thomas’s will leaves his wealth and properties divided between the two of you.”

“His lover and I?” she murmured.

“Exactly so. He left this house and its contents to you. The gentleman in question—we shall call him Mr. Smith—has been given another residence.” Trayton opened one of the files. “You are otherwise provided for in separate settlements. Each portion is enough to leave you both quite comfortable.”

“I see.”

He produced an envelope and handed it across the desk to Evie. She stared at the outreached letter for a moment before taking it.

“This will explain Thomas’s desire that you make no public scandal regarding the matter. He further hopes that you will not oppose his wishes and create a scene where his will is concerned.”

“I see,” she repeated. She could hardly form the words. Looking down at the letter, Evie couldn’t bring herself to open it. Not yet.

“Evie, I know all of this is difficult for you. I am sorry. I think in his own way, Thomas did care for you. I think he was greatly disturbed to know you were so miserable and unhappy. The letter will say as much.”

“How sad for Thomas.” She got to her feet, unable to think about the situation anymore. “I believe I will go to my room and rest. Please have those refreshments brought to me there.”

Trayton was on his feet immediately. He came to her and took hold of her arm. “Evie, I know my words may come as something of a shock, but I have never stopped thinking of you. You surely know that my interest in you involved more than following Thomas’s instructions.”

She looked at him and saw the same appealing expression in his face. That same look that had so captivated her as a young woman—barely a woman.

“Are you not married?” she asked.

“I was once. It was long ago. She died in childbirth.”

Evie saw a glint of sadness in his eyes. “I’m sorry.”

“She was the only woman who ever took my thoughts from you, and when she was gone, you came back to haunt me in a fierce way. I could not pass through this house without reflecting on our time together.”

What sort of spell did he cast on her? Evie pulled away, hoping to distance herself from the emotions of the past. She walked quickly to the door only to find him there, just ahead of her.

“Evie, please don’t reject me now. We both know there was never any love lost between you and Thomas. Now that he’s gone, you are free to love me. Free to do what you like. You handled yourself most admirably in not divorcing the man, but now he’s dead. There is no shame in remarriage.”

She looked at him for a moment. He seemed so very sincere. It almost made her laugh. Here, she and Lydia had been worried about Dalton and the temptations that Kansas City would offer
him
!

He reached out to touch her cheek. “Just give me a chance, Evie. I’m certain I can convince you to feel something for me.”

“I’m going to go rest now.” She walked away without another word, terrified that if she spoke, she might say the wrong thing. The fact of the matter was, she wasn’t all that sure that Trayton Payne couldn’t convince her to feel something, and that frightened her a great deal.