Katie Rose (32 page)

Charles’s scowl deepened as he realized the same thing. He seemed full of repressed emotion as he stopped, then took Aunt Eve’s hand in his gloved one, and held it firmly.

“You must accept my apologies for the actions of myself and my sister. Between the two of us, we have caused tremendous difficulties for you and your family, and at this moment, I am deeply ashamed. Rest assured I will leave no stone unturned to right this dreadful wrong, and I certainly expect no compensation for that. Am I understood?”

Eve smiled, and tears sparkled in her eyes. “I am most grateful, sir. You are truly a gentleman.”

“Will you accompany me to the jail?” Charles asked as he prepared to leave.

Aunt Eve shook her head. “I will come later. I was thinking of going to see your sister, and pleading with her to withdraw her complaint. Do you think it will do any good?”

Charles shook his head. “No, unfortunately, it may have an even worse effect. Also, legally, it could be construed that you were trying to influence her. I’ll see to Allison.”

Eve nodded, then covered her head with her shawl once more. “Then I will see you at the jail later. There is one more person I wish to visit. I think Gabriel Forester should know what has happened.”

“I demand to speak to whoever is in charge of this investigation! Now!”

The policeman looked up from behind his desk, where he complacently chewed a sandwich, and sighed. More visitors for the Appletons. In the past few hours, the office had been thronged with suffragettes, spiritualists, stockbrokers, and impassioned admirers. Counsel had already arrived and was advising the Appletons of their rights. Now, another polished-looking gent and a grandmotherly old lady stood before him, ordering him around as if he were some lackey.

“The chief of police is with the girls now, as is their lawyer. Now, why don’t you have a seat right there—” He gestured to the bench.

“But you don’t understand,” Gabriel said in frustration. He’d come immediately with Aunt Eve, sick with guilt when he’d heard what happened. All the way to the station, he could picture nothing but his poor Jennifer, stuck inside a jail cell with only moldy bread and water. It was intolerable. “I am a witness, I can help you with the case. I have important information. These girls have been wrongly accused …”

“I’m sorry, but you’ll have to wait. If I let every jackanapes inside who claimed he was here to help the girls, I’d be knee-deep in assistants. Sit down, or I’ll have to throw you out.” The policeman calmly chomped on his lunch, annoyed at the interruption. His eyes narrowed as he appeared to recognize Gabriel. “Don’t I know you? Weren’t you that Peeping Tom we caught a while back—”

Gabriel snarled. Before the policeman could object, he grabbed Aunt Eve’s hand and burst through the doors, heading toward the cells where the prisoners were kept.

“Hey, you can’t go in there!” The barrel-chested policeman jumped up, losing his sandwich in the process, but Gabriel and Aunt Eve were already halfway down the hall.

“ ’Tis all right, Murphy. I know them.” Tim O’Roarke nodded, admitting Gabriel and Aunt Eve while the officer scowled. “Come in and join the rest of us.”

Inside, it was more like a party than a jail cell. Gabriel stared in astonishment at Charles and Winifred talking intently, Penelope preening before a gilt-edged mirror as if she were still at home, and Jennifer, his poor incarcerated heroine, lying comfortably on a donated couch. Food of all kinds sat on a table before them. Gabriel saw baskets of fruit, covered silver dishes, flowers, cakes, and homemade cookies, piled with cards from well-wishers, more than one of them male. Something hot and possessive rose in him, a feeling that was not relieved when he spotted a vase of roses from Vanderbilt himself.

“They’ve been arriving all day.” The police chief shrugged. “Seems the Appletons have a few supporters.”

“Gabriel!” Jennifer gasped, obviously pleased to see him. She sprang up from the couch and came to stand pathetically by the cell door. Charles and Winifred glanced up, giving him a cool look which made his stomach tighten, and Penelope grinned before going back to her primping. Aunt Eve held onto his arm as if to protect him.

“Girls, I am deeply sorry this has happened,” Gabriel said, his voice filled with urgency. He clasped Jennifer’s hand through the bars and held onto it tightly. “I came as soon as I heard. Jennifer, are you really all right?”

She nodded. “Tim has been treating us well, and keeping out the riffraff. Charles and Winnie are working on our defense. We’re as well as we can be.”

“They wrote us up in the paper,” Penelope said with a sigh. “My hair must have looked horrible with all that wind! Do be a lamb and bring by the
Post
and the
Sun
, Gabriel. I’d like to see them.”

“I’ll bring all the papers, and anything else you want. Before that, I intend to go see Allison and persuade her to drop these ridiculous charges. When I think of what she’s done—”

“I don’t know if that’s wise,” Charles interrupted. “It may look as if you’re trying to influence a witness. It might be better to wait.”

“Charles,” Gabriel said, dropping Jennifer’s hand and struggling to rein in his temper. “I know she’s your sister, but she has to be stopped. It’s my fault she’s done this, and I have to take responsibility for that.”

Charles rose to his feet. His normally calm expression tightened, and his eyes flashed with fury. “I don’t give a damn that she’s my sister. Do you think I would try and protect her after this? I just meant that it might harm the case more than help it, especially considering your role in this drama.”

“And what is that supposed to mean?” Gabriel faced Charles, his fists tightening in outrage.

“I don’t think it would help for you two to start fighting,” Aunt Eve said calmly, giving them both an admonishing look. “Imagine when the newspapers get hold of that.”

Charles lost some of his righteous anger, and he extended a hand toward Gabriel. “I’m sorry. Mrs. Appleton
is right. I’m just upset with the situation. Allison’s part in all this has me furious as well as embarrassed.”

Gabriel took the proffered hand and shook it, nodding to his friend. “I’m a little touchy on the subject myself. Look, I’m here to help. What can I do?”

“There’s a pretrial hearing in the morning. That will determine if there is enough evidence to go to trial, and the judge will set bail. I’m putting together a defense for the girls, but maybe you could fill in some of the gaps for us. Do you know what caused Allison to do this? I don’t want any surprises in the courtroom.”

Gabriel glanced at Jennifer, who shook her head beseechingly. He understood her silent communication, but couldn’t in good conscience obey her. It was far better for Charles to know the truth and prepare for it, rather than be blindsided.

“Yes, I do know.” He saw Jennifer roll her eyes, and he continued without looking back at her. “Somehow Allison must have discovered that Jennifer and I … are attracted to each other.”

“Oh, dear.” Aunt Eve flushed, then withdrew her arm from Gabriel’s and sat down. “I believe I feel faint.”

“What else?” Charles persisted.

“I have witnessed one of the girls’ performances, and am more than willing to testify that they have helped their clients, not harmed them. Furthermore, the woman they performed the séance for, a Mrs. Hawthorne, happens to be a good friend of my mother’s. She sent me a note this morning, stating that Jennifer’s vision has helped her locate her husband’s orphaned child. She’s on her way to get the boy, but is willing to testify that Jennifer is, indeed, a legitimate mystic.”

“Good Lord.” Aunt Eve fanned herself. For once her clever niece didn’t seem to have anything to say for herself. Jennifer simply stared at Gabriel in stunned surprise.

“Anything else?” Charles continued ruthlessly, making another note. “There is one thing here that doesn’t make sense, and that is why Allison would do this
now
. Is there anything that happened recently, anything that would infuriate Allison to the point of desperation? Something that so intimidated her, that she’d risk scandal?”

“Yes.” Gabriel gave Jennifer one more apologetic look, then turned back to Charles resignedly. “I think Allison may have found out that I spent the weekend at the Appletons’.”

“I am going to faint,” Aunt Eve said, and she slid elegantly to the floor.

The police chief and Charles brought her quickly to a bench, while the guard rushed to fetch water. Gabriel administered the drink, gently slapping the blood back into her hands, while Charles brought her feet up, level with her body. Aunt Eve slowly came around, while Charles glared at Gabriel.

“You what? What the hell were you thinking? Do you realize that when this gets out, you’ll have destroyed the reputations of these girls? When I think of poor innocent Winnie—” Charles glanced in fury at the cell. It didn’t help his outrage to see Winifred’s guilty shrug. “Gabriel, there had better be an explanation for this. Otherwise, as a gentleman, I must demand satisfaction—”

“Oh, it isn’t like that,” Penelope said quickly, wanting to correct his misconception before fisticuffs resulted. “We kidnapped him.”

“What?” Charles asked, astonished.

“I’m going to faint again,” Eve murmured, turning even paler.

“I think I am, too.” The police chief sat down and removed his cap, scratching his head in perplexity. “You girls kidnapped him? A grown man?”

Gabriel sent Penelope a look betraying his lack of appreciation for her revelation. Penelope shrugged, then hastened
to explain. “Was that the wrong thing to say? But we did. Jenny used Uncle’s gun. At first we put him in the wine cellar, but then we felt sorry for him—”

“Penny, that’s enough,” Gabriel said quickly. He turned to Charles, who looked torn between outrage, shock, and horror.

“Unfortunately, Penny is right.” Winifred nodded. She met Charles’s gaze with a sheepish expression. “And it was all my fault. I thought Allison and Gabriel were in cahoots together. We had a séance planned, and I was afraid Gabriel would cause us trouble, so we kidnapped him when he came to dinner. When he wouldn’t leave the next day, it was my idea to put a sleeping draught in his wine. Gabriel cannot be falsely accused here.”

“Winifred, that’s enough!” Charles insisted, appalled.

Gabriel held up his hand as everyone tried to speak at once, each of them protesting everyone else’s innocence. Only Jennifer buried her face on the couch in mortification as one outburst overtook another.

“I have the real explanation here,” Gabriel said, cutting them all off. “The fact is, Charles, I am in love with Miss Appleton. I spent the weekend at Twin Gables for that reason. I understand that this admission may harm the girls’ reputations, but you might as well know the truth. I will do anything I can to make this right, and to help them. That’s all the press or the court or anyone else needs to know.”

The noise of a moment ago died as quickly as it started. Winifred’s spectacles nearly fell off, Charles smiled as if finally proud of his friend, and Aunt Eve’s color came back quickly. The police chief nodded, as if everything finally made sense, and Penelope giggled. Jennifer looked up from the couch, her mouth gaping like a shucked clam, as Penelope would tell her later. She stared at Gabriel as if really and truly seeing a ghost.

“Are there any more questions, counselor?” Gabriel asked stiffly.

Charles sank down on the bench beside Aunt Eve, taking the old woman’s hand in his own. “Yes, only about a million. This does put a whole new light on everything, especially the fact that you’ve witnessed the girls’ performance. I think you and I had better get together this evening and go over the briefs. We also have to raise money for bail. Judge Winthrop will ask for a lot, with this case being so spectacular. He won’t want to risk upsetting the Christian vote, which will naturally be against the girls.”

“Charles,” Winifred protested indignantly. “I do insist upon seeing everything before court tomorrow. I have some ideas as well.”

Charles gave her a stern look. “I’ll deal with you soon enough, young lady. It sounds as if some of your brilliant ideas are what got everyone into this mess. I am truly disappointed in you, Winifred, truly disappointed.”

Winifred flushed at his tone, but gathered her composure and rose, facing Charles directly. “I can understand your feelings, but that doesn’t change the fact that I can assist with this case. I’ve already researched some decisions that will aid our cause.”

Charles nodded coolly. “Fine. I’ll be here before breakfast. I have a lot of work to do tonight to get this case prepared.”

“You may want to look up
Clafflin versus the State
,” Winifred said, then her voice trailed off as the lawyer gave her a furious glare. “I just thought it would help.”

“Do they really have to be here all night?” Aunt Eve asked, her face creased with worry.

“Unfortunately, yes,” Charles said softly, trying to comfort the old woman. “But don’t worry, we’ll do our best to get them out of here.” Charles gave one last glance at the cell, where beautiful Penelope looked intrigued,
Winifred contrite, and Jennifer blushed prettily. He shook his head, then slung his arm around his friend’s shoulder. “I hope you’re free to give a deposition this evening.”