Jewel of the Pacific (23 page)

Eden realized her grandfather had changed the subject from annexation to his next favorite subject, the marriages of his two grandsons.

“It is past time for both of you stalwart young men to get married.” He frowned at them. “I need the Derrington name to grow, and you two sit about and moon over the Judson girl as if she were the only one in all Honolulu. And you, Zachary—Miss Claudia Hunnewell is the perfect young lady for you. She’s tolerant and has nerves of steel.”

Silas laughed. “She’ll need nerves of steel with Zach’s imagination running wild. Anyway, Miss Claudia told me that Zachary wants to marry Miss Judson. Whenever I see her around Honolulu, though, she’s escorted by Rafe.”

Ainsworth slapped his napkin next to his plate. “That was unnecessary, Silas.”

“Zachary,” Eden said calmly, “we need to leave for Great-aunt Nora’s. I want to get to Tamarind House before the weather changes. The wind seems to be rising.”

Zachary looked toward the lanai where the breezes were stirring the large potted ferns. “Yes, you’re right.” He stood and politely excused himself to Ainsworth who gave a brief nod.

While he ran upstairs to his room to get his overnight bag, Eden tried to smooth things over. “I’m sorry your luncheon was spoiled, Grandfather.”

“Not at all, my dear.” He shot another severe look at Silas who looked genuinely troubled about his slip of tongue.

“I apologize, Cousin Eden. I wasn’t thinking as I should have in your presence.”

She managed a smile. “I’m sure I’m not a bit offended at anything Mr. Easton is doing in Honolulu.”

Grandfather Ainsworth cleared his throat. “Well you don’t speak for me, my dear. I’m offended. I’d speak to Rafe about this broken engagement if I thought it would do any good.”

“Please don’t,” she said, and rose from her chair. “Any hopeful message for Great-aunt Nora about a loan, Grandfather?”

Ainsworth smiled. “You tell my stubborn sister that the best thing to do is to sell the
Gazette.
I won’t bail out a paper defending the corrupt monarchy—least of all one through which my own grandson, Zachary, is willing to give his family a black eye with stories of scandal.”

Silas hadn’t spoken; he stood by his chair until Eden left the dining salon.

Twenty minutes later, Eden met Zachary near the front door. They went down the steps to enter the waiting carriage.

“I should put an article in the
Gazette
about how to escape the Islands,” he said stiffly as the carriage rolled away from the house.

“You can’t put a story about Silas helping Townsend escape in the
Gazette
,” she soothed. “You’ve no proof of that.”

“Not yet.”

“Then you can’t print it. What will it gain any of us? And if you go against Grandfather’s advice about protecting the family name, I believe he’ll disinherit you as he warned.”

“I’ve no doubt of that,” he said bitterly. “He ran Rafe out of Honolulu a few years back, didn’t he? All because Rafe supported the monarchy back then. So Rafe was fired from the
Gazette.
Grandfather could do that because he owned part of the paper then, but he doesn’t own it now.”

“Neither will Nora if she doesn’t pay her debts,” Eden said with dismay.

He looked at her, bringing his golden eyebrows together. “Did she mention that she’s thinking of taking a loan out on Tamarind House?”

Eden turned her head, horrified. “Oh she wouldn’t.”

“She says she’s considering it.”

“Great-Grandmother Amabel’s house! Oh, that’s a horrid idea,” Eden said. “For one thing, Tamarind is all she has. And it’s part of our Derrington legacy. What if something should go wrong and she can’t pay the loan. She’ll loose an heirloom. And its family history means so much to all of us.”

“Nora said it would be her last resort.”

“When did she tell you this?”

“About a week ago.”

“Strange, she never mentioned it to me. I saw her a few days ago.”

“There’s a reason why she didn’t mention it to you.” He looked at her, a twist to his smile. “The Judsons are interested in Tamarind House, or rather, I should say Bernice is. She’s all but forgotten I’m alive since Rafe went to San Francisco.”

“I’m sorry you care for her,” she said, “but if you want my opinion—”

“I know you don’t like her. But Rafe seems … Oh, sorry, I shouldn’t be saying that.”

“It’s all right. He does like her. Very much, I would venture.”

“I’m not that sure. Maybe that’s why I’m not storming mad at him. He’s strange recently. Seems unauthentic, if you follow me. Everyone notices he’s different. It’s mainly Bernice that tries to capture his attention. She’s always having revelries and insisting that Parker Judson go and bring Rafe.”

Well no one can force him to go unless he wants to
, she thought. She gripped her seat. Bernice again. Stepping in, taking over, daring to push her aside as clutter in the way of her fashionable shoes.

“Bernice had one look at the house and nearly begged Parker Judson to buy it.”

“She was at Koko Head? When did she see the house?” she asked curiously.

“Well I don’t like to say it, but I think she was with Rafe.”

Eden felt a ripple of anger.

“If it hadn’t been that Nora wisely hesitated on a sale, the deal may have been signed, sealed, and delivered as they say, by now.”

“It isn’t right,” Eden murmured. “Anything as important as Tamarind House should first be talked over by the rest of the family. Nora just can’t sell it!”

“I’m afraid she can,” Zachary said, “and she will before she loses the
Gazette
.”

“If that’s true, she may have something to hold over Ainsworth’s head. He wouldn’t be pleased if she sold the house. Nor is the
Gazette
worth an exchange for Tamarind House.”

“Actually,” he said with a sigh, “I don’t think so either. But we don’t have anything to say about the transaction. Of course, she may not do anything so drastic. Let’s hope so, anyway.”

“We’ve got to get Nora a loan,” she said. “There must be someone with money.”

He looked at her. “Rafe. As I said earlier, I don’t think you’ll get far, but you can always try.”

“But Rafe brought Bernice to Tamarind to try and influence Nora to sell.”

“Oh, no, not that, I’m sure that wasn’t the reason.”

“But you said—” she began.

He looked at her. “I’d better tell you. Rafe came to Tamarind a few days ago with the same intention I have: to see if there’s any evidence Townsend may have stayed there until he could safely get to the mainland. I don’t know if he found what he was looking for. He hasn’t clued me in. Not that I’ve seen him since.

“I don’t know how Bernice happened to be with him. She has her whims, and when she has them, she gets what she wants.” He jerked a shoulder with irritation. “She may have run into him accidentally, or pretended it was like that. I can see her coming along, and when she saw the place she decided then and there how much she liked it. Once she liked it—she wanted it.”

Eden studied Zachary. His tone and insight took her by surprise. “You don’t sound as enamored with her as you once were.”

He shrugged. “I’m not,” he admitted. “Silas was wrong. Seeing how she’d turn her back on me to track Rafe showed how undependable she really is. Silas made a remark at the table about my interest in Bernice, but he was out of date.”

Eden was pleased to hear this. She hadn’t actually thought Zachary was truly in love with Bernice as he’d claimed. Eden continued to think Claudia Hunnewell was more adjusted to Zachary’s moods and temperament. Claudia loved him, and was a girl who did not easily ruffle. Although a Hunnewell and wealthy, she wasn’t spoiled. At least their grandfather was right about Zachary marrying Claudia, even if he’d gone wrong concerning Keno. Now, thankfully, he’d come to respect and like Keno, and wholeheartedly supported their engagement. Their wedding was within three months. As for Ainsworth’s support of her past engagement—he was grieving the loss of Rafe.

The ferryboat ride to Koko Head, where Tamarind was located, was pleasant with calm blue waters and a partially clear sky. The ferry arrived at the landing near Kuapa Pond at Maunalua. Eden and Zachary left the boat, and took the vinetangled path to the horse road, where a horse and buggy waited for them.

Eden noticed that Zachary was deep in thought as he paid special attention to his surroundings. She believed she knew what was on his mind. This isolated area and the land about it was so thick with wild lantana and palms that it provided an excellent cover for any person who wished to keep out of sight.

The horse road, which had been rough in places, was now level and smooth. As they rounded the bend, the house came into bright view, set on a terraced hillside with a wall of leafy tropical greens—emerald and lime-colored with splashes of crimson, pink, and yellow blooms. A strong structure, three stories high, Tamarind greeted them with memories, both light and dark. The buggy was halted on the familiar lava rock court, and as Zachary and Eden stepped down, Candace came to meet them, smiling cheerfully.

“She’s getting better. At first I feared her ankle injury was serious. The doctor assures us nothing is broken, just a mild sprain. She’s waiting for us in the parlor with refreshments. Come along.”

Neither Eden nor Zachary mentioned their suspicion that Townsend had hidden in the house during Nora’s stay at the Royal Hotel in Honolulu.

After refreshments, as the sun was setting, and they were informed that dinner wouldn’t be served until eight, Eden saw Zachary slip toward the back of the house. She knew he was headed for the basement or the trash hut in the backyard. She wanted to follow him for she had her own suspicions to satisfy, but after assisting Great-aunt Nora to her room to rest for an hour, Candace drew Eden away.

Eden decided there was no reason to be anything but forthright about the dilemma they faced, and Grandfather Ainsworth refusing to give Nora a loan.

“Tell me, Candace, were you here with Nora when Rafe and Bernice came?”

Candace raised her delicate auburn eyebrows and seemed to measure Eden’s mood. She must have decided that she was strong enough for the jolt.

“Yes I was. Bernice is beautiful, but I think she’s soulless.”

“Soulless? Everyone has a soul.”

“Oh, you know what I mean—without a conscience, or any genuine depth.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Well, the way she floated about, looking like the cover of a magazine, making over the house as if she were a child insisting on a certain bonbon.”

“I don’t know her very well. I only saw her one Christmas holiday.”

“She lived in Honolulu for a while when we were growing up. I used to play with her sometimes. Even then she had to win at everything, from ball and jacks to hide-and-seek. I can understand what most men see in her. You would too, if you were around her long enough. I’m just glad she never decided she wanted my Keno.”

“What I am really trying to learn is whether or not she was serious about gaining control of Tamarind. Zachary seems to think so. He thinks she will talk her father into offering Nora a great amount of money.”

Candace lounged on her daybed, twisting a ring of her lovely auburn hair around one finger. The diamond engagement ring from “her Keno” sparkled. Eden rejoiced to see it. Candace had never appeared so contented and happy as she had these few weeks since Eden had come home from Kalawao. Such satisfaction was a long time in coming, and to see her coolheaded cousin finally reap this reward was enough to cheer Eden’s heart.

“Yes, I do think Bernice was serious about wanting Tamarind. I know she offered Nora a large price, right in front of Rafe.”

Eden tensed. “Did he side with her?”

Candace looked off into the distance. “Well, you know Rafe better than I do. You know how he can be absolutely—what’s the word …”

“Enigmatic,” Eden said coolly.

“Yes. Sometimes it’s difficult to know what he’s thinking. He’s a master at shielding his emotions.”

“He said nothing to Nora about doing as Bernice asked?”

“Nothing. Actually, he just wandered off somewhere in back and returned later.”

She refused to feel mollified that Rafe had not tried to talk Nora into selling Tamarind. As far as wandering out back, she knew the reason for that—to look for evidence that Townsend had stayed here. She wondered if he’d found anything.

“Candace, we simply cannot let Nora sell this house. Like I told Zachary, it’s a family holding, full of history and memories. We must do something to keep her from such an error. She’s so worried about losing the
Gazette
she may decide to exchange a real Derrington treasure for a failing news journal. That would be a tragedy, and Grandfather is in a fighting mood.”

Eden went on to tell her about the disagreement at luncheon between Zachary and Silas, and what he’d threatened to reveal in the
Gazette.

“He wouldn’t do that. He doesn’t know Silas aided Townsend. I understand the cause for tension between them, but Silas is family. Anyway, Nora wouldn’t allow that in her paper.”

“A loan,” Eden murmured, pacing. “I have to find someone who will lend enough money to save the paper.”