Savage Autumn (2 page)

“I heard that you have a brother. Where is the little mite? I would like to meet him, too,” Margaret said removing her gloves and fanning her face with them.

“My brother’s name is Taggart. Simon, our coachman, has taken him on a sleigh ride around the park. He will be sorry that he missed you.”

“Hell, sweetie, he ain’t gonna miss us,” her aunt said, slipping into bawdy language. “Me and Howard don’t have any intentions of deserting you and what’s-his-name, in your hour of need. We’re staying right here, ain’t we, Howard?”

Howard looked into Joanna’s eyes and spoke in a voice she was sure he had perfected on the stage. “I wouldn’t dream of leaving you at a time like this. Your aunt and I will stay and look after you until your father returns. When do you expect him home?”

Joanna would have liked to say that he was expected home at any moment, but it was not in her character to tell an untruth. “I don’t know when my father will return. He has been away for almost a year.”

Joanna saw the glance that her aunt and uncle exchanged. It was almost a smirk, she thought.

“Well, dearie, you aren’t to worry about a thing. Your Aunt Margaret is here to look after you now.”

Some inner instinct told Joanna that these people were evil, and she knew that she must not allow them to move into her home. “I thank you for your kind offer, but I am perfectly capable of looking after my brother and myself. I will offer you lunch, and then when Simon returns he can drive you to wherever you are staying.”

Her aunt sat down and buried her face in her hands. “That’s just the trouble, Joanna. We ain’t got no place to stay or no money. It took all we had for passage from England. You can’t just throw us out to freeze.”

There were tears sparkling in her aunt’s eyes. Joanna was later to learn that Margaret Landon was an actress and could turn the tears on and off on cue. Now, however, Joanna’s heart softened and she felt pity for their plight.

“You are welcome to stay in one of the guestrooms until you can find a place of your own, or I could lend you some money if you would rather.”

Her aunt’s face brightened. “You are a good and kind-hearted girl, not at all like your mothe…”

“What Margaret means,” Howard broke in, giving his wife a warning glance, “is we would be grateful for your kind hospitality. Mind you, we aren’t looking for a handout, but I could sure use a loan until I get on my feet.”

Joanna rang for Franny. “I will have the housekeeper show you to your room. Did you bring your baggage with you?”

Howard reached out and drew her into his arms. Joanna felt revulsion as his sweaty hands moved up and down her arm. “I’ll take care of you, pretty girl,” he whispered, and his breath reeked of cheap rum. Joanna pushed him away and he smiled, but the smile never reached his eyes.

Franny appeared and looked sternly disapproving when Joanna told her to show her aunt and uncle to one of the guest rooms. After they left the room, Joanna sat down, feeling as if
she had been drained. She hoped she had done the right thing in inviting them to stay with her and Tag. She suspected her mother would not have approved, and she knew her father would object had he been home. She felt very uneasy. There was something about her aunt and uncle that troubled her. Oh, well, she thought, perhaps they wouldn’t stay more than a day or two, and she hoped her father would be home soon. He would know how to handle the situation.

It had been two weeks since Joanna’s aunt and uncle had moved into the guest room. Joanna had already had many occasions to regret her hasty invitation.

Her aunt spent most of the day in her bed, telling Joanna that as an actress she never got out of bed until long after the noon hour. She insisted on having one of the servants bring all her meals to her room, which didn’t exactly endear her to Franny.

Joanna stood before her aunt’s bedroom door hesitantly. She had already given her aunt a great deal of money, but she was now prepared to give her a substantial amount so she and her husband could find a place of their own. Joanna could hear her aunt’s voice coming through the door, so she rapped lightly.

The door opened and Margaret Landon motioned for her to enter. “I would like to talk to you, Aunt Margaret,” Joanna said, noticing that the bedroom was in a shambles. Discarded clothing was scattered on the floor, and the room reeked with an unpleasant odor of unwashed bodies.

Her aunt grabbed her chest and slumped down upon the bed in the worst display of play-acting Joanna had ever witnessed.

“Oh, dearie, I have a terrible misery in my heart. It’s painful for me to even move. The doctor said I could go at any time.”

Joanna had learned that Margaret was not given to telling the truth. She was determined that by tonight she would have her aunt and uncle out of her home.

“I was told by Simon that he took you shopping today. You must have become ill after he brought you home,” Joanna said, looking at all the packages and boxes which were scattered across the bed.

Aunt Margaret’s face became distorted and her eyes narrowed. “I had nothing to wear and I didn’t want to embarrass you with my shabby appearance should any of your friends come by. I hope you don’t mind my spending the money you gave me on a few needed items of clothing.”

“No, of course not,” Joanna said, eyeing the brightly colored gowns, and wondering why her aunt would buy clothing that would be more suitable for a young girl.

“You are a dear child, nothing at all like your mother. She always looked down her nose, thinking she was better than me.”

Joanna stiffened her back. “I will ask you not to refer to my mother if you have nothing nice to say about her.”

Aunt Margaret sniffed. “I meant no disrespect for the dead, but she never allowed me to visit my brother. How would you feel if you were restricted from ever seeing Taggart?”

Joanna was thoughtful for a moment. She saw no reason to tell her aunt that her own brother had also forbidden her entry into his home. Joanna remembered a time when she had overheard her parents discussing a letter they had gotten from her Aunt Margaret. Evidently she had asked for money because, at the time, Joanna’s father had angrily declared that he wouldn’t send her another penny. It had been at her mother’s urging that Russell James had finally consented to send his sister money.

“I was wondering if Uncle Howard had found employment yet?”

Margaret shook her head. “It’s mighty hard when one gets old, and no one wants to hire him. My poor Howard is beside himself with worry, wondering where he will get the money to live on.”

Joanna sat down on a chair and folded her hands in her lap.
“That’s what I wanted to speak to you about. I’m sure if he were to go to the shipyard, the manager would hire him since he is my father’s brother-in-law.”

Margaret lay back on the pillow and sniffed, dabbing at her eyes with a handkerchief. “My poor Howard could never stand up to manual labor; he is a gentleman.”

Joanna stood up grasping at straws. “I am prepared to give you and Uncle Howard a substantial amount of money if you would like to find a place of your own. I know how hard it must be not having your own home.”

Margaret’s eyes narrowed. “That would be most kind of you, dearie. You give me the money and I’ll talk to Howard about it tonight.”

Joanna walked to the door. “You talk to him and
then
I will give you the money.”

Once outside the room Joanna leaned against the wall to breathe in fresh air. No wonder Franny objected so strongly to cleaning her aunt’s room. It was like a pigsty, she thought. She felt guilty that she wanted to be rid of her aunt and uncle, but for some reason she had begun to feel fear whenever she was alone with Howard. It wasn’t anything he said, for he was always polite. It was more the way he watched her, and sometimes he would brush up against her and then act as if it had been by accident. She hated it when he touched her.

Joanna went downstairs, and when she passed her father’s study, she noticed the door was ajar. She entered the room and saw that her uncle was sitting behind her father’s desk. Her anger was boundless as she saw him going through her father’s papers.

“May I ask what you are doing in my father’s study?”

He smiled and propped his feet up on her father’s cherry-wood desk. “Get used to seeing me here, my dear, because as of this morning I became your and Taggart’s legal guardian.”

Joanna felt like the wind had been knocked from her body. “What are you saying? My father will never stand by while you commit such an atrocity.”

“Sit down, Joanna. I am afraid I have some bad news for you.”

“I prefer to stand, and I will ask you to do the same. I invited you and my aunt for a visit, not to take over as if my home belonged to you. I want you to go upstairs and pack your things and I will have Simon drive you into town immediately.”

Howard’s eyes narrowed. “You think that your aunt and I are just scum under your satin slippers. I have seen how you look down your nose at us. Well, missy, the shoe’s on the other foot now. I am in charge and you had better learn to be nice to me.”

Joanna sank down in a chair and gripped the arms until her knuckles hurt. “What are you saying?”

He stood up and walked toward her. “This is what I’m talking about, missy,” he said, thrusting a letter at her.

Joanna took the letter and saw it had been addressed to her mother. “How dare you open my mother’s mail? I will have Simon throw you out right now!” She started to rise, but he put a restraining hand on her shoulder.

“I think you had better read the letter, Joanna.”

She resented his high-handed manner and wanted to throw the letter in his face. There was something in that letter that made him think he could take charge of her life, and she had to know what it was. She opened it and began to read.

Dear Mrs. James,

You don’t know me, but I was a friend of your husband’s and it has fallen to me to tell you some unfortunate news. I am grieved to inform you that your husband took ship, heading for Philadelphia, and the ship went down just off the Oregon coast. Although an extensive search was made, we found no survivors. I know it is a cruel way to learn of the passing of a loved one from a letter, but I had no choice. Your husband often spoke of you, your daughter, Joanna, and your son, Taggart. I will soon be in Philadelphia and I
will call on you at that time to express my sympathy in person.

Yours sincerely,
Richard Land

Joanna didn’t know how many times she re-read the letter, but when the tears had dried on her face, she still clutched it tightly in her hand. “Oh, Papa,” she cried, “it can’t be true. There has to be a mistake!”

Howard took her hand, drawing her up beside him and put his arms about her.

For the moment her grievances with him were all but forgotten. He had become merely someone to lean on in her time of sorrow.

“How is it possible?” she cried. “How will I ever tell Tag?”

She felt her uncle’s hands move up her arm and over her shoulder. Suddenly she felt him caress her breast and she pushed him away angrily. “How dare you! You are a despicable man, and I want you out of my home this instant!”

He merely smiled and shook his head. “I have been with a lawyer all morning, Joanna. I am now your legal guardian and there is nothing you can do about it.”

Joanna’s mouth flew open in protest, but he held his hand up to silence her. “You are under my control now, fancy piece. You don’t breathe unless I say it’s all right.”

Joanna backed toward the door, too stunned to think clearly. When she reached the door, she fled into the hallway. She had to find Tag! First she had the heartbreaking task of telling him about their father, and then the two of them would go into town to speak to her father’s lawyer. There had to be some mistake. She would never submit to her Uncle Howard’s domination.

Joanna and Tag sat in Mr. Barker’s office, trying to digest all he had told them. They were still too stunned by the news of their father’s death to think coherently.

“I’m sorry, Joanna, but I feel I was acting in your best interest
when I handed your guardianship over to your uncle. When I talked to him this morning I was very impressed with his good business sense. I think you and Tag can depend on him to look after you.”

Joanna stood up and took Tag’s hand. She knew it would serve no purpose to tell Mr. Barker that her uncle was a lecherous old man who couldn’t keep his hands off her. He would never believe her anyway. Apparently Uncle Howard had impressed Mr. Barker with his great acting ability. She and Tag walked to the carriage and got in. Neither one was aware that the snow had begun to fall and a cold wind was blowing from the east. Tag laid his head over on Joanna’s shoulder.

“Why did they both have to die, Joanna?”

“Perhaps it was a blessing in a way, Tag. You know how much they loved one another. Each of them died without knowing that the other had…died. I know Papa hadn’t gotten my letter telling of Mama’s death. Just think of them as being together now.”

Tag looked up into her face. “What about you and me, Joanna? I don’t like Uncle Howard and Aunt Margaret. Do they have to live with us?”

“It won’t be forever, Tag.” She tried to smile. “We still have each other and no one can ever separate us.”

His arms went around her waist. “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of you, Joanna,” he said earnestly.

She hugged him tightly. “We will take care of each other, Tag.”

Winter was slowly releasing its grip on the land. The bleak snow-filled days turned to bleak rainy days.

Joanna and Tag were sitting in the morning room, quietly reading a book, when Franny appeared. “That man wants to see you and Tag in the sitting room,” she declared. “He thinks you are at his beck and call.”

Joanna laid her book aside and took Tag’s hand. “Whatever he wants it’s best to find out now,” she said.

When they entered the room Aunt Margaret smiled triumphantly,
as if she were privy to information that pleased her. Uncle Howard was standing by the window, and he motioned for Joanna and Tag to be seated on the settee, but they both remained standing.