Katie Rose (37 page)

Jennifer also worried about Winifred. Although she had been accepted into law school, aside from the question of funds, her future looked bleak. What client would put his legal future in the hands of a scandalous woman? Although Jennifer was deeply grateful for Charles’s loyalty, and that he tried to involve Winifred in his own cases to keep her active mind busy, Jennifer knew that playing second fiddle to his first would never be enough for her intelligent sister.

For the first time ever, Jennifer was truly frightened. Every door seemed closed to them, and potential disaster lay ahead. More than once she had toyed with the idea of seeing Gabriel, begging him to marry her, only so she would no longer be a burden to the family, but she realized that wasn’t really an answer. Gabriel, understandably, hadn’t called on them. Charles had intimated that Gabriel was still very hurt, and was convinced that Jennifer had refused him because she enjoyed her notoriety more than a life with him. Yet even if she could convince him now, and if she were safely wed, what about the rest of them?

To Jennifer’s surprise, Aunt Eve stood up and shook a finger at them. “You girls have to stand up for yourselves now, and not give in to this. You’ll have to be the examples, and show your sister the way. You must accept any invitation that comes your way, look and dress your best, publicize your good deeds, and continue to let those who love you help. Wallowing in self-pity won’t do anything. Mildred Adams is still coming, and she will be here in a few days. If you girls impress her sufficiently, she will put her stamp of approval on you. I, for one, will do everything I can to make that happen.”

Jennifer looked at her aunt and a huge smile spread over her face. Relief poured through her as a plan of action came to her mind. “Yes, I’d almost forgotten! I think Auntie’s right!” She turned excitedly to her sister. “We’ve agreed to give Mildred a spiritual session. Don’t worry, Auntie, we won’t do anything rash. We’ll simply have to make it the best experience she’s ever had!”

Charles shifted uncomfortably in his chair. Apparently, the idea of a séance didn’t hold much appeal for him. “I think it might be better for you to wash your hands of the whole spiritual business at this point. It seems only to associate you with trouble. Gabriel, also, will never understand and only think his conjecture was right. Perhaps you should give it all up, and let the gossip die down.”

“Yes, but then how do we make a living?” Jennifer cried. “Our stock purchases have done well, but recently, the market’s taken a turn for the worse. If we abandon our readings, then what do we do? Accept positions as governesses and companions—if anyone would even hire us at this point?”

“That won’t help Penelope much,” Winifred pointed out. “That will put our station just above the serving class. No man would take her seriously as a marital prospect.”

“And I don’t know if Gabriel will ever forgive me,”
Jennifer said pointedly. “I can’t allow us to become bankrupt because of his disapproval.”

Winifred nodded reluctantly. Even Charles and Aunt Eve had to accede the point, and no one had a better suggestion. Jennifer continued softly, “Besides, if we abandon our work now, we admit defeat. We are, in fact, saying that the old biddies are right, and that we are engaged in something evil. Moreover, after what happened with Mrs. Hawthorne, I think I really am starting to develop some kind of special talent. I have to explore that, and see where it goes.”

“Jennifer is right,” Aunt Eve said after a moment’s thought. “The women will look to what you girls do. Unfortunately, much of the world’s opinion is made up not of fact, but of perception. If you girls act guilty, they will assume you are. No, better to go on as you have and hold your heads high than to act like convicted witches.” The older woman shuddered.

“Then it’s decided. I’m going shopping to see if I can find some better props—ours are looking a little wretched. Winnie, why don’t you think about adding some new harpsichord music, and ask Penny to do something with the paintings in the room, like make their eyes move.”

“I can do something,” Eve said determinedly. “I’m not as addled as you young misses thought. Perhaps I can volunteer my special tea. That will help with the mood, and my presence may lend legitimacy to what you’re doing.”

“Good,” Jennifer said, surprised and touched at her aunt’s suggestion, and her eagerness to help with their work. “We have to make spiritualism fashionable again,” Jennifer continued. “Once we do that, we’re fashionable as well.”

Everyone nodded in agreement. Jennifer put on her cloak, then gave them a brave smile. It seemed they were back in business. And no one knew more than herself how important it was to make this séance a success.

•   •   •

Alone in her room, Penelope withdrew the letter from her pocket and read it again. Slowly, the portent of James McBride’s words sank in, and she understood what they meant with a frightening clarity.

It wasn’t going to happen for her. Everything that she had wanted, everything that she had struggled for, was gone in a flash because the Appletons were now socially unacceptable.

Penelope sobbed like a brokenhearted little girl. She cried for the jewels she’d envisioned, for nice carriages and gorgeous gowns. She cried for the dreams of sumptuous banquet tables, laden with rich food, surrounded by splendidly gowned women and elegant men. She saw herself in that picture, surrounded by beauty and the kind of security that only real money could buy. The vision dissolved the same way the Irishman’s words, smeared from her tears, ran off the letter.

It just wasn’t fair. She’d done everything right; she knew it. James McBride was beginning to care for her. She knew he was close to proposing, had been talking lately of building a new mansion on Fifth, so it would be easier to dine with their friends. Although she’d only slipped out of the house a few times to see him, not sure Winifred and Jennifer would understand, she could tell that he was succumbing to her charms.

And she genuinely liked the man. James made her laugh, treated her like a princess, doted on her every whim. If sometimes she felt a little uneasy when he paraded her before his wealthy friends like another glittering bauble he’d purchased, well, she understood that. She had planned to marry him, to be secure with his money, and to help her sisters and Aunt Eve as well, for James had more than they could spend in ten lifetimes. It was her secret
ambition, her way to help the family, and now it was all gone.

Sobbing bitterly, she barely heard Winifred’s sharp footfall, or the door close behind her. When she looked up and saw her sister, she opened her arms, wanting solace from the kind of pain she’d never experienced in her young life.

“Dear, what is wrong? I knew it was something more than the lack of invitations. I could tell.” Winifred sat beside her sister and smoothed her pale locks from her wet, red face.

“Here.” Plaintively, Penelope thrust the envelope at her sister.

Winifred opened the letter, and as she read, her lips got tighter until it seemed she would almost have to pry them apart if she ever wished to speak again. When she finished, she folded the paper into a tiny piece, then tossed it aside as if it were nothing more than the morning rubbish.

“Penny, I’m so sorry. I know you’d been secretly seeing this man, and even though I dreaded it, I understood.”

“You did?” Penelope sat up, wiping her face, looking astonished. “How did you know?”

A wan smile came to Winifred and she held her sister in her arms as if she were a child still. “I saw you with him at the ball and I guessed. But Penny, as disappointing as this must be, I’m sure you didn’t love him, did you?”

Penelope shrugged, fresh tears starting. “I don’t know. I mean, I liked him well enough. He was good to me.” She turned her tear-streaked face toward her sister. “But don’t you realize what this means? James had enough money for all of us! You wouldn’t have had to worry about me anymore, and for once, I could have helped all of you! And now it will never happen!”

“I see.” Winifred nodded, then smoothed her hand along Penelope’s back as her sister sobbed. When she finished
crying, Winifred handed her a handkerchief, even though she knew Penelope would never be without her own. “Now here. Dry your eyes. Dear, none of us would want you to make such a sacrifice on our behalf. Whatever made you think such a thing?”

Penelope sat upright, mopping her face with the linen. She put it aside and stared at her intelligent sister as if she were daft. “Winnie, you are the brains. We all know that. You will always figure out a way to survive, because God gave you that gift. Jenny is clever. Like a cat, she will land on her feet because she will make it so. But I …” She stared off toward the mirror, and automatically began to neaten her appearance. “I realized that my contribution would have to be this way. And I really thought it would work. Now, no man will want me.”

“That’s not true.” Winifred sighed, shaking her head at her lovely sister. “Penny, you are so much more than your looks, and don’t ever think that you aren’t again. All of us would have been severely disappointed had you sold yourself to McBride, just for money.”

“You would?” Penelope looked at her sister incredulously. “But you always wanted to help me make my debut, to marry a rich man.…”

“We’ve always wanted you to wed, because that’s what you seemed to want. But above all, we want your happiness, and marriage to a man you don’t love will never bring you that. And McBride doesn’t love you. This letter proves that. Penny, you can do so much better. Even living with someone like … Lorenzo would bring you more happiness if you loved him.”

Penelope thought of the poor grocer boy who stared at her with such intense devotion. “But … I would still be poor!”

Winifred smiled. “Yes, but if you were happy, you’d manage. We haven’t been unhappy, and yet we are poor. It’s true, money does solve some problems, but it creates
some too. And marriage is the single most important decision you’ll ever make. To chain yourself for eternity to a man who doesn’t love you, and who you don’t love, will only buy you misery, no matter how much money he has.”

Penelope nodded. Looking up at her brilliant sister, she felt some of the pain ease from her soul, and she forced a smile. “Winnie, I think you’re right. Even Charles and Gabriel have supported us through this. James couldn’t think much of me at all to drop me this way. My God, what if we were married? He might even have divorced me, which would have ruined me entirely! How could I have been so stupid?”

“You weren’t. You simply made the same mistake a lot of girls make. The fact that you realize it shows me something else.” When Penelope looked at her questioningly, Winifred smiled softly. “You’re growing up. It’s not always fun, is it?”

“No,” Penelope shook her head. “It’s not fun at all.”

“I know. But I’m proud of you.”

“You are?”

“Yes. This was a hard lesson for you, and I know you’ll pull through. Come, Aunt Eve made us a lemon cake to cheer us up, and we have some exciting plans to talk about. Mildred Adams is coming for a séance, and we have some wonderful ideas on how to make it a success. We really need your help, and want your ideas as well. The Appletons are a team, you know!”

Penelope straightened, and seemed to actually grow taller. She smiled, more genuinely this time, and followed Winifred toward the stairs. As she passed the rubbish can, she threw James McBride’s letter into it, and never looked back.

It was twilight by the time Jennifer headed home. Inside her shopping bag she carried a broad assortment of goodies designed to lend an even spookier flavor
to the house. Now that Aunt Eve knew what they were doing, it was even easier to decorate, since they no longer had to dismantle everything before her return.

Excited, Jennifer thought about the contents of her sack. She’d bought purple curtains, believing as Poe did that there was something ominous about the color. In an art shop, she’d found plaster busts of Napoleon and other dead heroes, which would lend an “otherworld” look to the séance room. There were also cheap oil paintings of family ancestors, long forgotten in the war, some with eyes that simply begged to be cut out and replaced by Penelope’s. There was a mynah bird, who, with his glossy black coat and ability to really speak, would give the parrot a run for his money and remind visitors of the creepy poem “The Raven.” All in all, it would create an atmosphere not to be forgotten.

There was only one problem. There was something missing, the one special effect that would really hone in on the séance flavor and give it an authenticity that was lacking. Jennifer left her sack in the carriage, then crossed the street to a row of gloomy shops. She didn’t really know what she was looking for, she just knew she’d feel it when it was discovered.

Most of the more fashionable stores on Broadway were closed. Jennifer had wandered from the main thoroughfare and found herself in an unfamiliar neighborhood. Peering down the dismal alleyway, she saw one dark window after another. Gaslights cast an eerie halo in the fog, and the rain-drenched streets looked like they ran with oily boot polish instead of water. Shuddering, she was just about to give up and go home when she saw a single light gleaming right in the middle of the row of stores.

It was a strange little shop, complete with dusty windows and dim lighting. A black candle burned in the window, and Jennifer noted the odd effect it created, reminding herself to look for similar tapers. The door was
also black and featured a knocker in the shape of an old man’s face. It stared back at her with a fierceness that startled her. Grinning, she pushed open the door, knowing this was the right place.

Inside was just as gloomy as outside. Jennifer saw the proprietor, a cackling old woman with flowing white hair who nodded in her direction, then went back to reading her book. Rows of herbs, unusual vials, and strange instruments graced the shelves before her, while beautiful stones, crystals, and incense were displayed on a table. There were brightly painted tiger cats from Africa, and horrid masks designed to ward off evil spirits. Gargoyles grinned wickedly from the corners, and tiny skeletons danced in celebration of a Spanish festival. Jennifer saw over a dozen items she could easily use, but a worn leather book caught her eye and seemed to call to her.