Page 29 of The Pursuit of Elena Bradford

29

Her mother dismissed Elena’s suggestion that they leave the Springs with an impatient wave of her hand.

“This girl dying is sad, but the two of you are making it into more than it is.” She looked at Elena, then Ivy. “No one poisoned her. She must have been sick when she got here and then was foolish not to realize she should rest.”

“But she seemed fine yesterday when I met her,” Ivy insisted.

“Seeming and being are two different things. I can’t believe you two. We haven’t achieved what we came to do.” She stared straight at Elena. “We are going to lose everything. Everything. I will have to see if my cousin in Mississippi will give me a place in his house. You and Ivy will need to find positions as maids. The boys—” She sank down in the chair next to the desk and dabbed her eyes. “The boys will have to become street sweepers.”

“Street sweepers? What in the world, Mother?” Elena frowned.

Her mother jumped up from the chair and got right in Elena’s face. “Street sweepers. Day laborers. Farm hands. They will lose their opportunity to be anything else. We will never be a family again. You don’t realize what your father did to us with his unwise debts.”

With a strangled sob, Ivy sank down to the floor beside the bed.

Their mother glanced at her but didn’t move to comfort her. “Your sister will never be able to marry that boy she foolishly thinks she loves.”

“I do love him.” Ivy began crying harder.

Mother ignored her as she turned back to Elena. “This is our chance. You are our chance.” Her shoulders slumped and she dropped down in the chair again. She put her face in her hands. Her next words were muffled but each of them stabbed Elena. “Life will never be the same for us if we can’t make this work.”

Elena pulled in a shaky breath. Either way, life would never be the same for her. Even so, her mother was right. It was time to face reality. She could do as her mother said. Find a husband. Keep the family from the poorhouse. But could she keep Ivy safe if Vanessa had actually been poisoned and whoever gave her that poison knew Ivy saw him?

“But Ivy could be in danger. Let her go back to Lexington.” Elena moved to put her hand on Ivy’s shoulder.

“And stay alone in our house? With that Pennington boy wanting to come court her? I think not.”

“You could go with her, then.”

“You are panicking over something you don’t even know happened. You just told us that Dr. Graham doesn’t think the lady was poisoned. Even if she was, Ivy didn’t recognize whoever gave the drink to her. But to stay completely safe, Ivy cannot drink anything someone offers her and only take the drinks the servants pass around.”

“What if one of the servants poisoned the drink?” Elena said.

“You are being ridiculous, Elena. I do not want to hear another word about this. That girl died of some natural cause the same as your father did. Hearts stop. People die. Such is tragic and sad, but we are staying. You will find a proper suitor.”

“I can’t force a man to consider marrying me.”

“Leave that to me.” She pointed her finger at Elena. “I will find you the right man. The right man for all of us. It certainly will not be that artist.”

“Kirby Frazier has no romantic interest in me.” Elena ignored Ivy brushing away her tears and staring up at her.

“I saw you dancing with him last night.” Mother’s eyes narrowed. “The man is little more than a huckster talking women into those portraits.”

“He’s an outstanding artist.” Elena took up for him. “The portrait he did of Vanessa is incredible.”

“It is.” Ivy echoed her.

“A lot that matters to the girl now.”

“Her family might treasure it.” Ivy still had tears in her voice.

“If anyone shows up to claim kinship. If I understand what you are saying, nobody even knows who she really was. She might have pulled the name Vanessa out of a hat the same as she did Hasting. Claiming to be someone she wasn’t.”

“We are doing the same,” Elena spoke up. “Pretending to be who we aren’t.”

“That is nothing of the sort. The two of you are respectable young ladies. We aren’t making up names or pretending anything. I’ve made no secret of my desire to see you both well settled. I’ve even asked for help to know about the eligible men here.” She shook her finger at Elena again. “And you will look with favor on whichever match I arrange for you.”

“I don’t know how you can arrange any kind of match for me. We don’t have anything to offer.”

“You sell yourself short, my dear. You will make some fortunate man a wonderful wife.”

“I’ve already said I will do whatever you want, Mother. But tell Ivy not to go around staring at men to try to find whomever she saw.”

“Of course, you are not to do anything so unladylike, Ivy. You are no longer a child. Now wash your face and you and Elena go out and do something.” Mother put her hand to her forehead. “You’ve given me a headache.”

Elena was glad to step out into the hallway with Ivy and be away from her mother’s expectations. They weren’t gone, but for a while she could push them aside. They both stopped and stared at the closed door to the room beside them. It was locked. Ivy tried the knob to be sure despite Elena telling her not to.

Nobody was listening to her today. She wasn’t sure anybody had ever listened to her. But then she thought of talking with Andrew that morning and how intently he had watched her as she tried to explain how she felt the Lord had sent the cat to comfort her. Princess Cinderella. Elena smiled at the memory of the name. Somehow it fit.

“Are you smiling?” Ivy frowned at her.

“That’s not a crime.” She let her smile slide off her face.

“But now? As we are right here in front of Vanessa’s room? You don’t think her body is in there, do you?”

“No. I told you I saw Dr. Graham in her room a little while ago. The only thing there was the dress Vanessa wore yesterday. Not her party dress, but the day dress. That’s all.”

“I think I would like to travel like that. Without a lot of extra baggage. Just a dress and a bonnet.”

“We may both find out exactly how that feels. When we are forced to hire on as maids.”

Ivy turned wide eyes on Elena. “You don’t think that really is going to happen, do you?”

“No, not for you.” Elena saw no reason to make Ivy miserable. If or when their situation became that dire would be soon enough to face such an unsavory future. “You will marry your Jacob. He will become a lawyer or a professor or a business tycoon, and you will have maids instead of being one.”

“But Mother says his family is poor too. Like us.”

“He might not stay poor. Men become successes all the time without their families having money. All the time.”

“But not women?”

“Do you know any female business tycoons?”

Ivy smiled for the first time then. “No, but I think you could be the first.”

“If only.” Elena had to laugh. “What kind of business do you suppose I could run?”

“Oh, I don’t know.” Ivy stopped to study Elena. A smile continued to twitch her lips. “You could propagate roses. Write poems. Come up with a better paintbrush. Write a bestselling book. You could use your initials, E. R. Bradford, and everyone would think you were a man.”

“You are a funny girl, Ivy Mae, and the one with the imagination. You will have to be the one to write that bestselling book.” Elena reached over and gave her a hug. Then she gripped her shoulders to stare straight into her eyes. “Promise you will not try to find this man.”

“But—”

“No buts. Just a promise. I’ve not been the best sister to you, and I’m sorry about that now.”

Ivy interrupted her with a protest. “You have always been a wonderful sister.”

“That’s not true and you know it. I’ve ignored you, resented you, and never shown you the love you deserved. I can’t change how I was before, but from now on, I want to be here for you. And if Mother can pull off this amazing feat of finding a rich man willing to marry me, I will step up to the marriage altar and say ‘I do.’”

“Even if you don’t love him.”

“I can pray he will be a nice man and someone I can like.”

“I think you should marry Mr. Frazier.”

“Kirby Frazier doesn’t seem the marrying kind.” Elena turned away from Ivy to start down the stairs.

“That’s not true. I’ve heard he is looking for a wife.”

“He’s looking for a wife. General Dawson is looking for a wife. Everybody is looking for a wife.” Elena thought of Andrew. What if he was looking for a wife? A flare of hope went through her. But then it burned out. She shouldn’t clutch at straws.

“Not everybody.” Ivy giggled. “I think Mother is looking for a husband. For you.”

“If only she were looking for a husband for herself.”

Ivy looked surprised. “Do you think she would be? With Father only gone these few months? She’s still wearing black.”

“She could stop wearing black.”

“Isn’t there some kind of rule that you have to wait a certain amount of time before marrying again after your husband dies?”

“Only rules people make for themselves.” Elena shrugged. “Widows remarry all the time. Mother is an attractive woman. She could probably find a husband for herself easier than finding someone interested in me.”

“Oh, Elena. You are beautiful. Any man would be glad to have you as his wife.” Ivy grabbed her arm. “Come on. Let’s go see one of them. He wants to paint your portrait. I know he does.”

“I don’t have any money to give him in payment.” Even if she did, she wouldn’t spend it on a portrait.

“He doesn’t charge for his portraits.”

“But he expects some coin for his work.” That was true even if he had claimed to want to paint what he called her remarkable eyes. Was that the kind of word people used when beautiful didn’t fit?

“He might expect something different from you.” Ivy’s eyes lit up. “We can make it a test. If he offers to do your portrait, that will prove he wants to get to know you better.”

“And if he doesn’t have time for such foolishness?”

“We won’t tell him what we’re doing.” Ivy grinned. “If he knew, it wouldn’t be a true test. But if he seems too busy for you, for us, then we won’t have time for him.” She lifted her chin in the air with a disdainful look.

“You are so silly.” Elena had to smile. “But why not? I like to watch him work.”

“You’ll be posing. Not watching.”

Elena shook her head but let Ivy tug her toward the lake. At least this way she could keep an eye on the girl and make sure she didn’t start trying to find whichever man had given Vanessa her last cup of punch.

Sadness tugged at her heart. Yesterday she had hurried this way with Vanessa. They had laughed. The day had been good. Elena never dreamed it would be the young woman’s last day of life.

She looked over at a flower garden a little way off the walkway and wished she could go looking for the cat. Or for Andrew. Hadn’t she promised that she might be the one to seek him out next time? A smile came unbidden to her face. They had talked so easily that morning among the hollyhocks.

“Have you seen any cats since you’ve been here?” she asked Ivy.

“Cats?”

“One found me in the gardens this morning. It had the most amazing blue eyes. Like Vanessa’s.”

“A cat with blue eyes. Don’t most cats have green eyes?”

Elena shrugged. “Some cats have blue eyes. At least this one did.” She stepped a little ahead of Ivy to peer around her bonnet brim at her eyes. They were very blue but a bit darker than Vanessa’s and the cat’s. “As do you. Lovely blue eyes.”

Ivy waved away her words. “They’re just blue. Plain blue. I’ve always wished I had eyes like yours that change from blue to green according to what you are wearing or your mood. Much more interesting.”

“Why do we always seem to want to look somehow different than we do? You with your blue eyes and curly blonde hair. Me with my dark brown hair and eyes that don’t know what color they want to be. Wonder if Vanessa was that way too. Unaware of how pretty she was.”

“She did seem so, but she had to know her dress was beautiful. Do you think they will bury her in it?” Ivy answered her own question. “They should. They definitely should.”

“I suppose that will be up to her family.”

“But you said no one knows her family.”

“That doesn’t mean the doctor won’t find someone who does. She had to have family. Friends.”

“She had us.” Ivy looked sad. “For one day.”

“Ladies. What is with the sad faces?” Kirby came toward them.

Elena had been staring down at the pathway as she thought about Vanessa and hadn’t realized they were so close to the lake.

“We were thinking about Vanessa,” Ivy said.

“A good reason for sad faces. I’m sure it’s all the talk here at the Springs and perhaps why no one has come to ask for a portrait this morning. But that is good.”

“Good? I wouldn’t think that would be good for you,” Elena said.

“But it is. I’ve been mixing colors for days to find the perfect tint for your eyes. This morning I think I have finally found the right combination.” He reached out and took her hand to pull her toward him. “So, you cannot say no. You must let me paint your portrait.”

Ivy clapped her hands and did an excited little jump. “I told you, Elena.”

Elena looked at her and then back at Kirby. She should pull her hand free, but instead, she let him lead her into the shade of the huge oak tree where he had his easel. He seemed so strong and in control.

Somehow that was comforting. To let someone else decide what she should do. What could it hurt to let him paint her portrait? Still, she couldn’t let him think he would receive payment.

“No, I can’t let you do that. My mother wouldn’t approve, and I have nothing to pay you.”

“Worry not about that. Think only of art,” he said. “Surely, you can understand how there are simply some subjects an artist must try to capture. Your face is one of those. A must.”

“Please, Elena,” Ivy said. “Mother doesn’t have to know.”

“But that wouldn’t be fair to Mr. Frazier.”

“Come, come. I thought we were friends. Call me Kirby. Don’t worry about any kind of recompense. Your beautiful sister posed for my ‘Girl and Ducks’ sketch yesterday. I will be able to sell that to a magazine.”

“Really?” Ivy’s eyes widened. “Think of it, Elena. I might be in a magazine.”

“A good possibility.” He smiled at Ivy. “You and those ducks could sell hundreds of magazines.”

“I’d like to see it,” Elena said.

“That could be arranged.” He gave her a teasing look. “If you agree to let me paint your portrait.”

“Please, Elena. You have to let him.” Ivy circled around Elena. “You have to.”

“Very well.” She finally pulled her hand away from his, but the warmth of his touch stayed with her. “But if some other lady shows up wanting a portrait, I will step aside.”

“That won’t happen. I’ll hang up a closed sign.”

“You don’t have anywhere to hang a sign.” Elena looked around at the open space under the tree.

“Then Ivy can scare them off by telling them about the lake’s attack ducks.” He smiled over at Ivy. “She did tell you about our duck adventure, didn’t she?”

“Attack ducks?” Elena smiled remembering Ivy’s story about the lady afraid of the ducks. “Then they might attack me if I sit on the bench by the lake.”

“Never fear.” Ivy held up her fists. “I’ll protect you from the ducks.”

Elena had to laugh. All at once, the idea of posing for Kirby seemed like a lark and, oddly enough, a way to remember Vanessa. She had so enjoyed sitting for her portrait.

Plus it felt good to defy her mother in this small way. That wasn’t proper behavior for a daughter, but a little rebellion before she gave up her life surely couldn’t hurt.