Chapter 6 - THE PHOTOGRAPH OF MY MOTHER
“My mother worked for the Aldridges.”
“She did,” Rebecca said.
“Not the Vales.”
Rebecca touched the photograph.
“Eleven years ago, she worked here for six weeks.”
Cassian looked at me.
I barely saw him.
All I could see was my mother standing beside Celeste Vale.
Eleven years younger.
Holding a laundry basket.
Looking terrified.
“We’re going to her.”
Cassian didn’t argue.
Rebecca came with us.
By the time we reached the Aldridge employee cottages, afternoon had turned dark beneath heavy clouds.
My mother was sitting near the window beneath a crocheted blanket.
When she saw Cassian, she nearly dropped her tea.
Then she saw Rebecca.
Finally, the photograph in my hand.
Her entire face changed.
“Lydia.”
“You knew.”
She closed her eyes.
I hated how weak my voice sounded.
“You knew about the wives.”
“Not all of them.”
“You knew enough.”
Cassian remained near the doorway.
He didn’t enter until my mother nodded permission.
That mattered to me.
Rebecca sat beside her.
“Mrs. Carter, we need the truth.”
My mother looked at Cassian.
“I’m sorry.”
Cassian’s voice was quiet.
“Tell me why.”
She folded her hands.
“After Lydia’s father died, I took temporary work anywhere I could. The agency sent me to your estate. Celeste had been your wife four months.”
Cassian looked down.
“She was miserable.”
“I know.”
“No, you didn’t.”
The words were not cruel.
Just certain.
My mother continued.
“She thought you wanted her gone.”
“Why?”
“Dominic told her.”
Cassian closed his eyes.
My mother looked at me.
“Celeste believed she had embarrassed Cassian at a dinner. Two days later, Dominic came to her room and said she should leave quietly before Cassian decided what to do with her.”
Rebecca whispered, “Same words.”
My mother nodded.
“Celeste asked me to help pack.”
“Why you?”
“Because I was invisible.”
I knew exactly what she meant.
Housekeepers heard everything.
Saw everything.
People forgot you were in the room.
“She left through the service entrance. I thought I had helped a frightened woman escape a dangerous husband.”
Cassian accepted the sentence without defending himself.
That surprised my mother.
“Three days later,” she continued, “I was cleaning coats after a storm. Dominic’s coat was among them.”
She pushed herself slowly from the chair.
“Mom, don’t.”
“I need something.”
I helped her to the bedroom.
She opened the bottom drawer of an old dresser.
Beneath folded scarves was a small wooden box.
Inside lay a rosary.
Black beads.
Silver cross.
Cassian stopped breathing for a second.
“My mother’s.”
My mother nodded.
“I found it in Dominic’s coat.”
Cassian picked it up carefully.
“I thought this was lost after her funeral.”
“I knew it belonged to your family because I had seen photographs. I took it.”
“You stole it?”
“Yes.”
My mother looked directly at him.
“I was scared.”
He ran one thumb across the worn beads.
“Why keep it?”
“Because when Dominic told Celeste he spoke for you, he showed her that rosary.”
Rebecca covered her mouth.
My mother continued.
“He told her anything he said came from the Vale family itself.”
Cassian looked at the rosary like it weighed a hundred pounds.
“My mother gave him access to the house after my father died.”
“Dominic used what people recognized.”
My anger shifted.
It didn’t disappear.
But it moved.
“Why didn’t you tell anyone?”
My mother’s eyes filled.
“Because two days after I found it, a man from the agency said my assignment was over.”
“Dominic?”
“I don’t know.”
She looked down.
“A week later, Mr. Aldridge offered me permanent work and this cottage.”
I stared at her.
“You think they were keeping you quiet?”
“I didn’t know then.”
“But later?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“You were twenty-two, working two jobs, trying to keep us afloat. I thought the secret was dead.”
She looked at Cassian.
“Then Evelyn came here.”
Everything stopped.
“When?”
“Two nights ago.”
I sat beside her.
“What did she want?”
“She asked if I had ever worked for Cassian Vale.”
“How did she know?”
“She found my name in an old household photograph Rebecca showed her.”
Rebecca nodded.
“Evelyn had been searching for anyone connected to the first marriage.”
My mother looked at me.
“She told me she didn’t believe Cassian was the man everyone said he was.”
That sentence made Cassian look away.
“She asked about Dominic. I showed her the rosary.”
Cassian looked at the box.
“You let her take it?”
“No.”
My mother shook her head.
“She wanted me to keep it safe.”
“Then what happened?”
“She said she was going to bring Rebecca to Cassian before the wedding.”
Rebecca leaned forward.
“She did come to me. We met near Rhinecliff. We drove toward the chapel together, but I lost my nerve.”
Cassian said softly, “You were afraid to see me.”
“Yes.”
Rebecca wiped her eyes.
“Evelyn said she would go back alone and tell you everything.”
I looked at my mother.
“But she never reached the chapel.”
My mother went pale.
“No.”
“What?”
She looked toward the window.
“Evelyn came here first.”
Rebecca stood.
“What time?”
“About eight fifteen.”
“That was after she left me.”
My mother nodded.
“She was upset. She said she needed Lydia.”
I felt cold.
“What happened?”
“Before I could call you, Margaret arrived.”
My heart dropped.
“Margaret?”
“She came in furious.”
My mother’s voice shook.
“She told Evelyn she had ruined everything. They argued.”
“What did Evelyn say?”
“That she was going back to the chapel. That she would tell Cassian the truth herself.”
Cassian stepped closer.
“And Margaret?”
My mother looked at me.
“She told Evelyn that if she walked into that chapel, Lydia would pay for it.”
I stood.
“Where did she take her?”
“I don’t know.”
“You saw them leave.”
“Yes.”
“Was Evelyn forced?”
My mother hesitated.
“Not physically.”
That answer was somehow worse.
“Margaret told her the cottage, my medicine, and your job would all disappear if the wedding agreement collapsed.”
Rebecca whispered, “Evelyn believed her.”
My mother nodded.
“She got into Margaret’s car.”
I couldn’t speak.
Cassian’s face had become frighteningly calm.
My mother reached for my hand.
“There’s one more thing.”
She opened the side table drawer.
Inside was a thin gold necklace.
A small pearl pendant hung from it.
I recognized it immediately.
Evelyn wore it almost every day.
“She took this off before she left,” my mother said.
“Why?”
“She said she didn’t want Margaret to take it.”
I turned the pendant over.
There was a tiny hinge on the back.
I had never noticed it before.
I pressed it.
The pendant opened.
Inside was a piece of paper folded so small it barely fit.
Two words.
One address.
Cassian read it.
“West Seventy-Second Street.”
Rebecca whispered, “The Aldridges have an apartment there.”
I looked at my mother.
“You knew?”
“No.”
I closed the necklace in my fist.
Cassian turned toward the door.
May you like
“We’re bringing Evelyn back.”
---
