The Gilded Curse: Will the young heiress be the next victim of her family's curse? (33 page)

Lexie glanced at Russell. He hadn’t mentioned that Abner might be moved. What would she do then—go to Brunswick every day to visit? One thing for certain—she wasn’t going back home until she knew he was well enough to go home himself. Her heart ached at the thought of his home—a dormitory room for workers on the island.

“Oh good, here comes Hazel with the tea.” Marian watched the maid carry the tray with the silver service and set it down on the coffee table. The maid poured each a cup of hot tea, but Russell held up his hand to refuse.

“Russell. You don’t want any? How about a tea biscuit?”

Russell smiled and accepted one of the dainty cookies from the plate the maid offered. He held it up and nodded. “Thank you, this is all I need right now.”

“Alexandra, one of the housemaids from the clubhouse brought your things over, so you don’t have to go back for them.” Peg spoke over the top of her tea cup.

“Oh?” Lexie raised her eyebrows and looked at Russell.

“Yes, I took the liberties. I hope you don’t mind.”

“No, I guess that’s all right. I didn’t bring that much with me anyway.”
She fingered the pearls at her neck, glad she wore all her jewelry. A thought jarred her mind. “Did you notice who brought them?”

Marian glanced at Peg for an answer.

“Yes, it was that unfriendly woman, I believe her name is Stella, that brought them. She acts like a smile would crack her face.”

“Peg! That’s not a very nice thing to say. Please excuse my little sister. She seems to have forgotten her manners.”

“Perhaps not, but it’s true, and you know it.”

Lexie glanced back and forth at the sisters.

“Well, maybe she has her reasons, and we don’t know what they are. Judge not, Sister.”

Peg twisted her lip, a crease between her brows.

Russell rose from his chair. “Ladies, I hate to leave such lovely company, but I must go. Will I see all of you at church in the morning?”

Lexie knew his emphasis on the word
all
was directed at her.

“Well, of course, you will!” Marian stood, as did the other ladies.

“Please don’t get up.” Russell motioned for them to sit. “I can see myself out.”

Lexie moved to his side. “I’ll walk you to the door.”

Russell grinned as he looked down on her. “If you insist.”

They paused at the door, Lexie looking down at her fingers. Russell put his hands on her arms and squeezed them gently. “The sisters will see to it that you’re taken care of. Let them—they enjoy doing it.”

Lexie peered up at him, gazing into his eyes, so inviting as they twinkled at her. “Russell, I just want to say ‘thank you’ for all you’ve done for me.”

He kissed her on the forehead. “You can thank me by coming to church tomorrow.”

She managed a slight smile. “All right. I will, just for you.”

“Fantastic. But it’s for you, too, Lexie. I think you’ll find it better than you remembered as a child.”

“I hope so, Russell, I really do.”

Sunday morning was overcast and chilly as the women scrambled up the front steps of the church, clasping their coats together at the necks.

“Oh, I do hope the sun comes out and warms things up,” Marian
said to Lexie and Peg.

“It could be worse, Sister. At least we’re not stuck in the snow back home.”

An usher held the heavy wooden barnlike doors open to the cedar-shingled building and the women bustled inside. Lexie stared at the interior, trying to remember how it looked when she was a child. Although somewhat dark due to the rich stained wood of the walls and pews, the room reminded her of a winter cabin. Deep scarlet carpet covered the floor, lending a cozy touch to the rustic atmosphere.

“Here’s our seat.” Peg motioned to Lexie to follow and headed down the center aisle, entering the third pew on the left. Lexie complied, sitting between the sisters. She scanned the front of the room, noticing the arch over the altar where the pulpit was. Behind the pulpit, a beautiful stained glass window covered the wall. A memory of sitting there as a child trying to count the panes of each color drifted into her mind. Warmth filled the room and spread from one club member to the other as they came in and took their places in the pews. Everyone nodded at Lexie and smiled as if they were happy to see her. How odd.

Lexie remembered there was another Maurice sister that had been married in the chapel. She pictured a bride and groom standing under the arch, and the image sent a thrill through her. What a cozy place to get married, so unlike the gaudy, extravagant weddings her college classmates had. Some of them had more attendants than would fit in this small chapel. As she pondered the differences, strands of a hymn emanated from a piano, barely visible in an alcove off to the left in the front. She caught a glimpse of the pianist’s back, a man, and her heart leaped. Russell?

She glanced at the sisters on either side, whose eyes were closed, their heads bobbing to the tune. Her attention diverted to the reverend who approached the pulpit. When the music stopped, he welcomed the guests then invited everyone to stand and sing along with the next hymn. Each of the sisters picked up a hymnal and Lexie looked on with Peg. Not wanting to appear heathen, she attempted to sing along. As she sang “Nearer my God to Thee,” the words pricked her, asking her if she really meant them.

The hymn ended and the minister began his sermon. She watched Russell move from the piano bench to a place on the end of the first pew where he could face the altar. Their eyes met before he sat down and the grin that spread across his face made her heart do a little dance.
Her face warmed, and her own smile eased onto it. Knowing she had made Russell happy made her happy in return. She still couldn’t believe he was the pianist. No wonder she’d seen him coming from the chapel before. He must have been the person playing the piano the day she went for a horse ride.

Her mind drifted to the events of that day, the day she’d found Abner on the beach looking for Nazis. Her heart wrenched, knowing how the man had frightened her. Before she knew more about him. She had been so wrong to judge him, so wrong to judge his motives. He wasn’t the person to be afraid of, yet someone was. Someone who didn’t mind hurting him. It angered her now that Abner had been unfairly attacked. How dare they? They shouldn’t be allowed to get away with it. The words of the minister yanked her attention back to the present when he said, “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”

All? Her eyes flitted to Russell, his gaze fixed on the minister. Even Russell? So, no one was perfect, not her, not Russell. Then the minister said, “Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with loving-kindness have I drawn thee.” And God still loved her. Even though she had ignored him. Her eyes misted as Russell returned to the piano bench and began to play another hymn. This one sounded familiar. The one she heard when she passed the chapel the day of the horse ride. The sisters opened the hymnal and began singing, “It Is Well with My Soul.” As the words and the music swept over her, Lexie wanted that to be true.

When the minister finished the benediction, the congregation began to shuffle out. Russell caught up with Lexie and greeted the women.

“Good morning, ladies. So glad to see you today.” He leaned over and kissed each of the sisters on the cheeks. “I see you brought my girl.” He clasped Lexie’s hands in his and kissed her on the forehead.

His girl? Although she wanted to argue his claim of possession, she didn’t, not caring to spoil the joy that bubbled inside her. She’d discuss his reference later.

“Good morning, Russell. I didn’t know you played the piano.”

“You didn’t? Sorry, I thought everyone here knew that. Yes, I’ve been playing since I came back from college and our former pianist retired.”

“And we’re so glad he was here to take her place, “Aren’t we, Sister?” Marian nodded to Peg.

“Certainly.” She leaned forward and lowered her voice. “Maybe we can talk him into playing for us next time he comes over. That piano of
ours doesn’t get enough use.”

Russell laughed as the sisters turned and walked up the aisle to the rear of the sanctuary, which led to the front door. As they did, Russell put his hand on Lexie’s back and ushered her along.

“So how do you feel about being in the chapel after all these years?”

“It’s lovely. I really enjoyed the service, and the chapel was more welcoming than I expected. I was afraid God was angry with me for staying out of church so long.”

“Well, you see, God isn’t angry with you. He’s even happier to see you here than I am, which is saying a lot.”

Her gaze fell on the stained glass window at the rear of the church, the sunlight filtering through, sending streaks of color across the floor.

“How lovely. I’d forgotten about this stained glass window.”

“This is the one commissioned by Tiffany for the chapel.”

Lexie studied the picture, marveling at the image of people standing before a king on a throne. As she took another step, she had the sensation of being watched. She glanced around but saw no one looking at her. When she looked up, her breath caught.

There they were—the object of her mother’s fears and the source of her paranoia.

Chapter 36

T
hank God, she came to church today. Russell’s heart almost leaped out of his chest when he saw her sitting there in the pew between the Maurice sisters. She looked so innocent, so angelic, but a little bit timid. He chuckled to himself. Timid was not a word he would normally use to describe her. Feisty maybe, independent yes, but the last couple of days had changed her. First the ordeal with Spencer, then finding Abner had sobered her, perhaps even humbled her.

He smiled, remembering the look of surprise on her face when she saw him at the piano. Her eyes were big with wonder when he joined her after the service. Yet she seemed comfortable, even appeared to have enjoyed the service. Maybe now she could put the past behind her.

But when she glanced at the ceiling and stopped, her eyes filled with terror. “Lexie, what is it? What’s wrong?” Russell followed her gaze to the carved wooden animal heads that adorned the ends of the exposed beams.

“Those.” She pointed up. “I remember now how they frightened me as a child.”

“But now that you’re an adult, you know they’re just decorations. Surely now, you’re not afraid of them.”

Lexie studied the six different animal heads, their features contorted into grimaces, above her. “Why would they put such hideous things in a chapel?”

Russell shrugged. “It goes with the gothic architecture of the building, like the gargoyles outside.”

“Mother said they represented the six faces of death, and that they cursed our family. Each time one of our family members died, she said it was the curse.”

“Do you really believe that, Lexie?” Russell peered into her eyes, hoping she didn’t.

“The sensible person in me says it’s just superstition. Yet, it’s uncanny, don’t you think, that our family deaths have paralleled the six faces?”

Russell noticed the Maurice sisters waiting at the front door with the minister.

“You ladies go ahead. We’ll be along shortly.”

“Will you join us for lunch at the clubhouse, Russell?” Marian said.

“Thank you, yes. I’d love to.”

“Reverend, would you like to accompany us?” Peg addressed the minister.

“It’d be my pleasure.” He grabbed his hat and coat, which were lying across a chair in the corner, and followed the sisters out.

“Please. Sit down a minute.” Russell motioned to the pew. “Let’s talk about this. You say your family was cursed. How is that?”

“Well, my little brother Kenneth drowned when he was only three, so I guess that fits the curse of flood. Next Grandmother Smithfield died from typhoid fever, which she got here, they said, so that’s the curse of pestilence. Grandfather had a heart attack, so that’s the curse of disease. Robert died at Pearl Harbor, so that’s the war curse, and you could say Mother died of starvation because she quit eating and just wasted away in the hospital. But Father’s accident—I don’t know where that fits, but he died here too. There’s only one curse that hasn’t gotten us, the curse of fire.”

Tears ran down Lexie’s cheeks, breaking Russell’s heart. There was a reason her father’s accident didn’t fit, but he couldn’t tell her. Not now. Not ever. What good would it do? Only upset her more. He reached for her and wrapped his arms around her slim shoulders, stroking her silky hair with his hand.