In the Shadow of Lakecrest(71)

I reassured her that I wasn’t near as bad off as she imagined. As if to make the point, the baby kicked so hard I gasped.

Blanche laughed in delight. “He can’t wait to get out!”

I know exactly how he feels, I wanted to say. I wasn’t ready to confess how trapped I felt—better to ease her into it.

“I feel terrible about what happened,” Blanche said. “The whole business with Cecily. Is it true? Were you here when they found the body?”

“Yes.”

I remembered the excavator shutting down. The workman racing across the lawn, waving his arms. It felt like years ago.

“It was all over the papers,” Blanche said. “There were pictures of Matthew and Hannah at the funeral, but they said something about you having a nervous collapse.”

I remembered screaming. I’d screamed and screamed and couldn’t stop.

“Oh, goodness, nothing as bad as that,” I said. “I just wasn’t up to it.”

“Looks like you’re doing better now, though.” Blanche smiled brightly.

“Tell me what you’ve been up to,” I said. “How’s Billy?”

She grinned. “Swell. In fact, he’s gotten some very good news. His wife agreed to a divorce. Once everything gets settled with the judge, we’re getting married.”

A divorced jazz musician wouldn’t sound like much of a prize to someone like Hannah, but he was just right for Blanche. I’d known it the first time I saw them together.

“Oh, that’s great! What changed her mind?” I asked.

“The money. Didn’t Matthew tell you?”

“Um, I don’t think so. Then again, I’ve been awfully forgetful lately.”

“Matthew offered to set Billy up with his own band,” Blanche explained. “He said it was his mother’s idea, that she was completely charmed by Billy when we spent that weekend up here. He is charming, isn’t he? Matthew told Billy there’s always work for a good bandleader, and they set up some kind of partnership. Billy got a nice payment up front, and it was enough to change Elinor’s mind—that’s his awful wife. I had a feeling all along that she cared more about money than she did about Billy . . .”

She went on as I fit the pieces together. Matthew gave Billy money. Money that allowed Billy to pay off his wife and marry Blanche. And it had all been Hannah’s idea. She had no love for jazz or nightclubs, and she’d never shown any particular affection for Blanche. So why did she do it?

I looked at Blanche. Smiling, giggling, happier than I’d ever seen her. I thought of my mother’s last letter, in which she’d proudly described her new house. It was the first thing of value Ma had ever owned, and it had been paid for with Hannah’s money. I remembered the open invitation to the Lakecrest beach that Hannah had offered to Eva and her family. Just the sort of kindness a mother with three children and a landlocked property would always remember.

One by one, Hannah had sought out the people most loyal to me and given them what they wanted. If Hannah wanted to break up my marriage to Matthew, would Ma risk losing her house to help me? Would Blanche give up her future with Billy for my sake? I could think of no logical reason Hannah would want to get rid of me; I had dedicated myself to her son’s well-being, and I was soon to present her with her first grandchild. But I couldn’t rid myself of the troubling suspicion that Hannah was biding her time. I pictured the words above Lakecrest’s entrance and nearly shivered, despite the heat. If Hannah cast me out, no one would come to my rescue. Factum est.

I forced a smile as Blanche described the latest scandal at the Pharaoh’s Club.

“It’s no wonder we both want to get out of there. Just think, I’ll get to be a singer at last. Wouldn’t it be great if we toured around the country? What I wouldn’t give to see New York!”

Me too, I thought. Self-pity had become an all-too-familiar condition. The baby, I told myself. The baby, the house, then I’ll be able to leave.

“Maybe you’ll be off to England yourself sometime,” Blanche said. “To visit Marjorie? Everyone’s been talking about her elopement. I can only imagine what her mother said!”

“She’s putting on a brave face for her friends, but she’s furious.”

“As it so happens, I’ve got some news from her.”

Blanche reached into the pocketbook she’d dropped on the floor and pulled out a thick ivory envelope. I saw Marjorie’s swooped handwriting across the front.

“She mailed this to me at the club,” Blanche said. “Here, look at the note.”



Dear Blanche,

Could you see Kate gets this letter? I’d rather no one else reads it, and I can’t be sure if I send it to Lakecrest. Prying eyes and all that—I’m sure you understand.

With my very best wishes,

Marjorie Lemont Macfarlane



Wrapped inside was a sealed envelope, marked simply Kate.

“Do the maids really snoop through your mail?” Blanche asked. “I’ve always thought it would be strange, having people around all the time like that. Now, if Billy’s band does well, I’d hire a maid in an instant and send out all the laundry. That would be heaven. You probably haven’t had to wash out a pair of knickers in ages.”