The Guests on South Battery (Tradd Street #5)(12)

Ginette rubbed her leather-gloved hands together, the sound unnerving. “Because the girl was calling your name. And it doesn’t necessarily mean this house, either.”

I looked grimly back at my mother. “I haven’t had any experiences in almost a year—so I don’t know who that could be. Except . . .” I stopped, remembering the newly exposed cistern and the footsteps following me across the garden.

“Except?” Ginette raised an elegant eyebrow.

“We’ve discovered a cistern in the backyard. But it’s all bricks—no walls. I don’t think they’re connected. Maybe there’s another Melanie.”

My mother stared back at me unblinkingly. “Regardless, you should call Rebecca and thank her. I know you don’t get along, but she’s still family.”

Nola made a gagging noise, then pretended to cough.

“I will. And since you’re here, I’ve got some good news to share. I think I’ve found a nanny. She has to pass inspection with everybody here first, of course, and I’m going to ask Detective Riley for a background check, but I have a good feeling about her. We share the same views on child-rearing at least.”

“That’s wonderful news! Not that I don’t mind babysitting, but it will be nice for you all to have a regular routine and for the children to have consistent caregiving. I’m afraid Amelia and I are too much the doting grandmothers and err on the side of spoiling them.”

I didn’t protest or attempt to correct her, because she was absolutely right. And that was one of the reasons I needed a nanny. “Yes, well, her name’s Jayne Smith and she walked into my office today to ask for my help in selling a house she’s inherited and buying a new one, and it just so happens that she’s a professional nanny.”

“How lucky—for both of you.”

“Actually, I was going to call you about her. She’s inherited Button Pinckney’s house.”

Ginette stilled, an odd expression on her face. “Button was a friend of mine. Amelia and I went to her funeral just last month.”

“I know. That’s what I wanted to ask you about—if she’d ever mentioned Jayne or if you knew if Button had any family. Jayne’s from Birmingham and never even heard of Button until the lawyers found her to tell her she’d inherited the entire estate.”

She looked down at her gloves for a long moment. “There was no one. She never married. She did have an older brother—Sumter. He married Anna Chisolm Hasell, another classmate of Amelia’s and mine. They had a daughter, I believe, but she was sickly. She died when she was still a child. Anna and Sumter divorced shortly afterward, but Anna remained in the house with Button. She died about ten years later.”

“That’s so sad. What about Sumter? Did he ever remarry or have more children?”

After a slight pause, she said, “No. He’d always wanted to be a mover and shaker on Wall Street and moved to New York after his divorce. Just a couple of years after I left Charleston to pursue my music career.” She sent me an apologetic glance, a brief acknowledgment that when she’d left Charleston, she’d left me behind, too.

“I’m not sure if he ever came back, but Button told me he’d died of a heart attack. He was only fifty-three.” She gave me a lopsided smile. “Button adored him. I don’t think she ever got over it. That’s when she started taking in strays—animals and people alike. She’d pluck them from the streets and give them a room and money for as long as they needed it. I feel she got taken advantage of more often than not, but she said it made her happy to help others. That’s probably how she found your Jayne.”

“Possibly. Jayne grew up in foster care in Birmingham. Maybe someone who knew Jayne came into contact with Button at some point and that’s the connection.”

“Could be,” she said as she stood. “I must get home—James will be waiting.” Her cheeks pinkened and I tried not to think of my parents—recently remarried to each other—as having a healthy romantic relationship that included physical contact, but there it was when she merely mentioned his name. I should have been thrilled that my parents were madly in love with each other after all these years, but I was still their daughter and it made me a little queasy sometimes if I thought too much about it.

She said good night to Nola and I walked her to the door, pausing just for a moment in the alcove to face me. “Why does Jayne want to sell the house?”

“She doesn’t like old houses.”

She frowned, her eyes meeting mine. “Hopefully you can change her mind. Button wouldn’t have left it to her if she didn’t mean for her to keep it. Button was a wonderful person. The best kind of person. We should do our best to honor her request. Maybe you should tell Jayne what Mr. Vanderhorst told you.”

“It’s a piece of history you can hold in your hand,” I said softly.

“Yes. And that sometimes the best gifts in life are the unexpected ones. Including old houses.”

She put on her cape, then opened the door to allow in a frigid blast of cold air. She kissed my cheek and pulled up her hood. As she tucked her hair inside, I said, “I don’t want to lie to her.”

“But would you be? Good night, Mellie.” She smiled and then walked down the piazza to the front door and let herself out.