Page 23

K ate hauled the last of her pumpkin collection out to decorate her cement walkway.

She’d spent the morning at Hopewell Nursery’s local pumpkin patch, choosing and loading and hauling all twenty of them in varying sizes and colors back to the inn.

She had spent a full hour arranging them just so, and could only hope on Halloween night that they weren’t used by wayward teens as projectiles and smashed into smithereens in the street.

She had seen that happen often enough in the city, but was hopeful Hazard would be a mite calmer on a night of costuming and trick-or-treaters.

She had thought to invite Rory to go to the pumpkin patch with her, but he had been strangely absent.

Oh, she knew he’d come back to the inn to sleep, but he was gone before she had come down to make breakfast. Alone, she had drunk her coffee black, along with a simple piece of buttered toast. So much for the pumpkin spice pancakes garnished with whipped cream and pecans that she’d planned.

It was no fun to cook something special just for herself.

Kate stepped back to survey her efforts at seasonal decorating then jumped at a hard tap on her shoulder blade.

She spun to find the elderly, hat-clad Hazel Bestwick peering myopically up at her.

Hazel straightened her small-brimmed straw hat decorated with little black cats and a long orange plume, then gestured at the pumpkins.

“Lovely, dear. So wonderful that you’ve embraced the season.”

“How can I not be in the spirit of Halloween?” said Kate, mentally adding, especially after the last few days .

Hazel nodded. “Autumn’s such a special time with all the colorful leaves swirling in the wind.

Pumpkins and fog, chilly days, and hot cocoa.

Marvelous! We wanted to personally invite you to participate in our Harvest Festival in two weeks’ time.

It’s quite popular. Everyone will be there.

We hold it every year between Halloween and Thanksgiving.

It’s quite the social event.” Hazel beamed at Kate.

“I’d love to come and be involved. I’m looking forward to being part of the community. What did you have in mind?”

“Perform. We need you to perform. You have been practicing, haven’t you?”

Practicing? Perform? Kate’s mind was drawing a blank.

She had expected to be asked to man a booth or bring food, anything but perform .

She had no particular talent that lent itself to performances.

She barely knew this woman but had heard a great deal about the eccentricity of certain members of the Hazard Historical Society, in particular the oddness of Hazel Bestwick.

“I’m not sure…”

“The musical score, dear, naturally.”

The score? The impossible score that she had only barely started to master?

Kate thought hard for an excuse. She hated to disappoint, but she dreaded embarrassing herself.

Especially being new to the community. Then she had a thought and relaxed.

“Oh, but it’s a duet. I can’t perform it all by myself. ”

Hazel’s shrewd scrutiny made Kate’s shoulders tense. “It’s to guarantee your success, dear. We want your inn to flourish. If you perform the musical score at the Hazard Harvest Festival it will solidify your citizenry here in town.”

Kate nodded, while at the same time trying to process that along with images of her hitting sour notes and the crowd booing at her. She opened her mouth to decline when Hazel gave a decisive nod.

“Excellent, I’ll put you down and let everyone know you’ll perform the final act.”

Final act? Besides that sounding ominous, what if she totally screwed up? “Wait, I still need a duet partner to even perform the piece.” Good heavens, what was she saying? She wasn’t ready to perform anything. It was ridiculous.

“Oh, I’m certain that won’t be an issue. Of course it won’t. We’re all counting on you. I’ll have Ivy email you the details. She’s so much better at that sort of thing than I am.”

“Details?” said Kate.

“Email,” said Hazel, and toddled off down the street, orange plume waving, as Kate starred after her in wonder. She shook her head. Great, now she was performing at the town’s biggest event. Could she even make it work? Would she be ready to play the piece without mistakes in two weeks’ time?

She still hit an absurd number of wrong notes every time she practiced the music by herself.

And she needed to solve the duet partner problem.

Could she convince Rory to perform it with her at the festival?

She had a sneaking suspicion he might tell her no.

Oh, he seemed willing enough to practice with her, but something about his manner made her think he didn’t want to be in the limelight.

And that made no sense, really. She knew he had a band, but maybe that came with a certain image he needed to preserve.

Kate sighed. Suddenly her father’s offer held more appeal than practicing a complicated piano piece.

And that was just…wrong. She’d removed herself from his world, and yet Kate felt the tug of everyone’s expectations on her, which inspired her to take refuge in her mantra. “I am the innkeeper with a capital…”

“I hope I’m not intruding.”

Kate spun around again to find an elegant woman scrutinizing her pumpkin display. The woman looked familiar, and she tried to place her before realizing they’d met at a fundraiser last spring just after Kate bought the inn.

“You’re Malory Stone, aren’t you?”

“Yes, of course, aren’t you expecting me?”

Kate just blinked at her.

Malory scowled. “Hazel told me I needed to head over here right now.”

“Wait, just now?” Kate glanced down the street the way Hazel had gone, but she had vanished.

Malory blinked back at Kate. “At an impromptu meeting of the Hazard Historical Society half an hour ago.”

“Oh, but Hazel was just here.”

“Ah, she was checking up on me.” Malory frowned her displeasure.

The woman clearly didn’t like being ordered about, so Kate couldn’t resist asking. “Do you always do what she tells you?”

Malory bristled like a threatened hedgehog before capitulating on a long sigh. “It’s hard to explain. I suppose I can’t tell her no.”

That was a sentiment Kate could understand.

“Come inside.” Kate motioned for Malory to precede her.

At the steps, Malory reached down and straightened a pumpkin that had fallen out of line before she took the steps in purple kitten heels that contrasted sharply with the neon-green edged, rust-colored skirt swirling about her ankles.

All decked out in Halloween colors, Malory made Kate feel underdressed in her worn jeans and Green Day T-shirt.

But this was her inn. She was home, and the inn was technically closed—with the exception of her one guest. She led Malory back to the kitchen.

“So why did Hazel send you my way?” Kate set about making a batch of her special tea blend, courtesy of Ivy, and wished she had pastries to serve.

She reminded herself again that she really needed to up her baking skills.

Malory moved toward the kitchen hutch and studied it. “They said you wanted to know about your furniture.” She stroked a hand over the wood grain. “This piece is authentic. Quite lovely.”

“I use it for the breakfast china, which belonged to my grandmother.”

Malory began to give her a rundown on the origin of the hutch and Kate marveled.

“You really are an expert.”

“Oh, yes, acquisitions are a large part of what I do for the historical society, as well as tours of the mansions.”

Kate poured tea into stoneware mugs instead of china cups and took Malory on a tour around the inn.

Malory then proceeded to give Kate a rundown on which of her furniture was authentic, and which were reproductions.

She also detailed the care required to keep pieces valuable, particularly which ones she should not refinish if she wanted to preserve their value.

They ended up in the parlor next to the upright piano.

“I feel like I should have taken notes. I’ll never remember all this.”

“No worries, you can ask me anytime you have a question.”

Kate bit her lip. There was one piece they hadn’t discussed. “I do, actually, have a question. I found an antique writing desk in a hidden room.”

“Ah, the one with the musical score.”

“So you know about that. Does everyone?”

“Quite likely. It is Hazard.”

“I’d love more information on where the desk came from.”

“Show it to me.”

Kate led Malory back to the kitchen pantry where she had stashed the writing desk. She wasn’t sure why she had hidden it away, but had needed to keep it secure from prying eyes. She took back the mug Malory handed her.

Her breath caught as Malory dropped to her knees before the desk.

“This is exceptional.” Malory ran a finger lightly over the wood. She closed her eyes and seemed to commune with it from that single touch. Odd, thought Kate.

When Malory opened her eyes, she spoke in a mesmerizing tone. “It has a long history. First crafted by George Hepplewhite and transported by sea, it passed down through generations, but originally belonged to…” Malory paused, “…Selah Worthy.”

“I thought her name was Prudence.”

Malory shook her head. “I’m certain it was Selah. Where did you find the score?”

Kate knelt next to Malory and triggered the release that popped the drawer open. “Here, in this secret drawer.”

Malory peered in to see how it opened. “With these antique desks, it is possible to have two secret drawers. One to be discovered and one to be hidden.”

Kate blinked in surprise. This was news. “So…”

Malory shook her head. “I’m sorry, but I don’t have a clue how the second drawer would open. It wouldn’t be a simple mechanism, like the first. More likely, it will require a series of pressure points to open it. I only ever saw one desk like this before, and it was in a museum.”

So there was more mystery to the desk. Kate wasn’t surprised. Somehow, she had sensed it had more to reveal. Ominous foreboding washed over her, and she shivered. She turned to face Malory. “Why did you close your eyes when you touched the desk?”

Malory took a quick breath. “I…”

Kate waited.

She shook her head.

Kate took an intuitive leap, knowing she was right. “You sense something from the objects. That’s why you know so much.”

Malory shifted and wouldn’t meet her eyes.

“Do you have any special objects? Items you’ve acquired for the historical society…”

“That I can’t part with?” Malory nodded. “You’re very insightful. A fountain pen,” she admitted. “But I can’t tell you why it’s so singular. Only that it is. I’ve held it back rather than placing it in one of the mansion rooms.”

Kate nodded. “If I need more information…”

“You can always contact me, but I’ve told you all I know about the writing desk.

When it comes to the history of the community, Hazel Bestwick is your best source of information.

However, she may not share what she knows.

With Hazel, information is earned. You’ll need to prove yourself to her before she will share very much.

Her family has the longest history in Hazard.

Even longer than Lydia’s. Hazel traces her family back to the 1600s. ”

“So the Bestwicks…”

Malory shook her head. “Bestwick is her married name. Hazel’s maiden name was Hazard. Surely you know she is descended from Edwin Hazard? Edwin was expected to marry into the Worthy family, but fell in love with another. And she was the one who began the blessing. It all started with her.”

“But I thought Prudence’s cousin began the blessing.”

Malory frowned and shook her head.

So who exactly was Selah Worthy?