Chapter 4
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Alcott, Mrs. Alcott,” Virginia said. “I’m Virginia Wiest. Please do come in.” It had been decided prior to the doorbell and Mr. Smith’s announcement of their guests that Virginia would greet them alone first and allow her father and his bride to make an entrance.
Mrs. Alcott was looking around the room, a sour expression on her face. “This is our son, Morris, and his cousin Bernard Alcott, Mr. Alcott’s younger brother’s oldest. Where is Nancy?”
“A pleasure to meet you both,” Virginia said and indicated the gathering of sofas and chairs near the fireplace. “I’m sure they’ll be along shortly. Newlyweds, you know.”
“I know no such thing. How ludicrous. Nancy is no young girl.”
Virginia had coaxed her stepmother to do her best to show none of her nervousness or worry while entertaining her relatives.
To smile and act as if she were happy to see them, even if she was terrified, to remember there was nothing any of them could do to her.
She had the protection and love of Alistair Wiest, not a small thing.
The door opened as two maids carried in trays filled with treats, both sweet and savory, and the distinctive Minton tea service that was rarely used except for special occasions and when Virginia wished to make a point to her guests.
Her father and Nancy followed, her arm around his, both with bright smiles.
“Hello, Mother, Father. Morris, Bernard,” Nancy said in her soft way. “This is my husband, Alistair Wiest. Won’t you sit down? I’ll pour the tea.”
The couple walked to the small sofa Virginia had just risen from, guaranteeing they were seated side by side and presenting a united front.
“I’ll be happy to pass for you, Nancy,” Virginia said.
Mrs. Alcott was stone-faced, glaring at her daughter.
Virginia moved so that she was between Nancy and her mother’s anger.
She turned to the cousin, Bernard, with a plate of cakes and a cup of tea.
He was probably in his early forties, a good-looking man, who well knew it.
He stared at her while he accepted the plate, managing to touch her hand with his thumb as he did.
She could feel his stare on her even with her back turned.
“It’s Miss Wiest?” Bernard said into the otherwise quiet room.
Virginia turned from delivering tea to a visibly uncomfortable Mr. Alcott. “It is,” she said and took a seat in a chair beside Nancy, with her own tea in hand.
“I don’t see you at social events often, although there was the one time last year at Mrs. Bernard’s,” he smirked. “Quite the talk of the town that evening.”
“Yes. I was drugged because I was attempting to retrieve a child who’d been kidnapped,” she said and stopped for a moment. “But as far as social events are concerned, I generally limit my time to charity work and serving on several boards in our great city. And what do you do, sir?”
“I’m a vice president at the Baltimore National Bank. Just purchased a home on Moreton Street, near the monument.”
“How nice for you, Bernard,” Nancy said. “You’ve done well for yourself.”
“Of course he has, sister,” Morris said. “What did you think? That he would be a failure like the Shugars? That husband of yours couldn’t manage to keep a roof over your head.”
“She is no longer married to Mr. Shugars,” Wiest said. “She is married to me. But regardless, we will not speak ill of him or his passing. He was her husband and the children’s father.”
Morris blinked, as most men did when confronted with a stern Alistair Wiest; however, Bernard just lifted one dark eyebrow.
“Now that you have cleaned yourself up and managed to snare another husband, Nancy, it is time you did your duty to your family,” Nancy’s mother said.
“I expect you to begin attending when I’m entertaining, and I suppose you could invite our families’ friends and colleagues of your father’s here on occasion.
The neighborhood is not quite the thing, but the house isn’t gaudy, I will admit. ”
Virginia could feel the anger emanating from her father, and she placed a soft hand on his arm. Nancy cringed and closed her eyes.
“I am just becoming comfortable managing this house and staff and settling the children, Mother. I don’t think I’ll have time to socialize much.”
“Oh, fiddle,” the woman said, her bosom heaving.
“Is there not an appropriate butler or housekeeper? If not, then find new. The man at the door looks ready to retire anyway. People have asked about you. About where you’ve been since Shugars died.
You will find our society willing to include you again. ”
Virginia could not stop herself. She glanced at Nancy’s pale and embarrassed face and her father’s worried one.
“What were you telling your society friends, Mrs. Alcott, when Nancy was sleeping in a doorway at the docks with her children? When she was making her way as a cook to feed her children? What did you say? I’m sure your friends would love to hear about your behavior toward her after her husband died.
When is your next ‘at home’ day? I’ll be sure to explain where she’d been and what she’d been doing as you were unwilling to feed and house your grandchildren. ”
“Are you threatening me?” Mrs. Alcott sputtered.
“The truth is never a threat.”
Mr. Alcott cleared his throat. “Where are the children, Nancy? I’d like to see them.”
“They are at school right now but will be home soon. I would like you to see them too, Papa. They have grown!”
“Then there were no . . . ill effects from your . . . situation?”
“Mark was sick. Very sick. And I was not allowed to keep them with me where I worked as a cook. I’d been able to afford a small room for us to at least be together at night,” she said.
“But his medicine was expensive, and I was unable to pay the rent. That is when we took to sleeping on the street or in parks.”
Mr. Alcott pulled a handkerchief from his back pocket and wiped his eyes. “Well, daughter. That will never happen again now that you are married. But if you ever are in poor circumstances again, I will make sure you have you everything you need. Come to me at my offices if necessary.”
Nancy was wiping her eyes, her lip trembling. “Thank you, Papa.”
“She will never have to worry again, Mr. Alcott,” Wiest said. “I have placed ample funds in her name alone for her use now, and she will be left additional funds when I die. Both children have accounts for their education or setting up a household. They are overseen by Nancy.”
“What does she know about finances?” Morris Alcott said. “Put my name on the accounts to ensure she doesn’t fritter it away.”
Wiest laughed. “Never. You will never have control of her finances or the children’s.
I’ve seen to that in my will. If she needs advice, she has access to my man of business and a law firm I use for financial matters.
” He leaned forward and stared at Morris.
“Never. You’ll never get your hands on her fortune. ”
Morris jumped up and tapped his cousin. “Come. Let us go. What a boring lot. Inhospitable, if you ask me.”
“But no one asked you, Morris,” Nancy whispered.
Mrs. Alcott stood, as did the rest in the room.
Virginia was hoping they would leave shortly as she’d had quite enough of Bernard Alcott staring at her in his oily way.
Mr. Smith was on time to open the doors and hand the gentlemen their hats and help Mrs. Alcott with her wrap.
Mr. Alcott stayed behind a moment. He reached for Nancy, and she went into his arms with sob.
“Oh, Papa. I will send a note to your office for you to come and visit with Mark and Beth. They are healthy and happy here.”
“Yes. Do that soon, daughter. I am anxious to reacquaint myself with them.”
Phillip waited outside Station Five until Hendricks came out the door.
“Danny? Do you have a minute?”
Hendricks looked around and nodded and waved for Phillip to follow him along the side of the building. “Come on back to the stables. I’ve got an assignment.”
“Won’t keep you. Have you found out the women’s name? The dead woman?”
Hendricks pulled a notebook from his jacket pocket and flipped it open. “Josephine Button. She has a set of rooms up on Madison near the hospital.”
“Near the hospital? What was she doing all the way down here on Washington Street? Do you know who owns the building they were found in?”
“No. And I don’t have enough time to check on it in my off hours. The captain has me running all over the city. He says Bender will be thorough and doesn’t want me anywhere near it.”
“Do you have the house number for her rooms on Madison?”
“Yes: 221. See what you can find out.”
“I’ll let you know.”
Phillip took the trolley to the hospital and jumped off.
He wanted to walk the rest of the way and see what kind of neighborhood Josephine Button lived in.
He found 221, walked slowly past it, and kept walking to the end of the block.
He turned the corner and started up the alley that ran behind the house.
There was a set of steps running up to the second floor on the outside of the house.
Phillip opened the latch on the back gate and slipped into the muddy yard, edging around the fence, staying clear of the lone window on the lower floor.
But he saw movement then in the window and heard voices.
He quickly made his way back to the alley, and then onto the side street, eventually stopping in front of the house.
He straightened his jacket and knocked on the door, still unsure of what he would say when it opened.
The door opened a few inches, and Phillip could see a young man’s face and his long unkempt hair. “What do you want?” he said.
“Is this where Josephine Button lives?”
“Yeah. What’s it to you?”
Then the door was opened wider by an older woman. “Can I help you?” she said and wiped her hands on a voluminous apron.
“I’m hoping you can,” Phillip said. “Is this the correct address for Josephine Button?”