Chapter 8 #4
‘To what do I owe the pleasure?’ Stephens asks and Shade winces.
‘I’m sorry I didn’t come before. It’s just been… Daisy’s gone.’
Stephens frowns. ‘Gone?’
‘She escaped from Joe’s bodyguard yesterday morning. We haven’t heard anything from her since.’
Stephens closes his eyes and leans back. ‘You don’t know where she is?’
Shade shakes his head. ‘But they’re trying to find her.’
‘I’m sure they are, sir,’ he looks angry.
‘Look, Stephens, I’m sorry to bother you now, but we have some questions. We’re hoping you have some answers—’
‘If it’s about Miss Marguerite’s whereabouts, then I’m afraid I can’t help you. If she had a plan, she didn’t confide in me. I also have no idea who put me in this hospital bed. I never saw the car that hit me.’
‘It’s not about that or Daisy,’ I say.
Shade leans forward. ‘You know everything that goes on in that house, Stephens.’
‘I did, sir. That is true, but I should inform you that my reach was severely obstructed when that crass woman under the employ of the Bandervilles came to the house. She ensured that my own staff kept their distance from me, no longer spoke confidences to me, and stopped taking my orders seriously. She quickly turned the Novelle estate into her own private kingdom. I was unable to thwart her with your father being absent, I’m afraid. ’
‘I’m sorry to hear that,’ Shade replies, sounding sincere. ‘I know how much the smooth running of the house means to you. What we came here to ask is, did you know that April was actually called Evelyn Carmichael before she married Daisy’s father?
Stephens looks surprised by the question. ‘Of course. Her name was Evelyn April Carmichael. She told me once that she had grown up in Richmond and later attended school with Mister Novelle. Was it a secret?’
‘It’s just that she never mentioned it to me,’ Shade says. ‘I… We were close I thought and she never… It seemed like maybe it was a secret.’
Stephens considers for a moment. ‘She didn’t talk about the past much, Master Jack. I got the impression that there were reasons for it. As to what they might have been, well to speculate would merely be conjecture on my part and I assume you require facts.’
Shade nods. ‘What about the name Winters? Did she ever say anything about it? We think that might have been April’s last name when she was growing up and that she changed it to Carmichael for some reason.’
He thinks for a moment and then shakes his head. ‘She never mentioned that name to me, sir, but it’s not as if I was privy to all of the lady’s secrets.’
I sigh. He’s been able to tell us a little, but this has kind of been a wasted trip so far.
‘One last thing,’ Shade says. ‘The Bandervilles. The marriage contract was in the works for a long time. Years. Do you know why they’re so interested in Daisy?’
‘I don’t, sir,’ Stephens begins, and then frowns a little as if deep in thought. ‘But I can tell you that I took the post…the mail to Mr. Novelle every afternoon. Over the past few years, there was considerable correspondence with two solicitors. One was Anders and Co—’
‘Yes, those are our family’s lawyers. Always have been.’
‘Just so, sir. But the other was Fussell & Meyer.’
‘Haven’t heard of them,’ Shade murmurs.
‘They’re based in New York. I, of course, have no idea what the correspondence was regarding, but their letters started about seven years ago.
They were addressed to your father. However, unlike the other letters, which he allowed your stepmother to peruse at her leisure, I noticed that he was very careful to keep her from seeing those particular papers. ’
‘You think they were about Daisy?’ I ask, wondering what John could possibly be talking to lawyers about regarding our girl.
Stephens regards me. ‘I couldn’t say with certainty, sir.’
‘Do you think that was when he became her legal guardian?’ I ask Shade, but Stephens is the one who answers.
‘No, sir. That isn’t possible. Mr. Novelle became Miss Marguerite’s guardian long before. I overheard him and Mrs. Novelle talking about it within weeks of their nuptials.’
‘April let him have it?’ Shade asks incredulously. ‘No way. She loved Daisy. She wouldn’t have—’
‘It was my understanding, sir, that, having lost her first husband, she sought to ensure that Miss Marguerite’s best interests were always taken into consideration should something happen to her as well. She believed that your father would look after her daughter.’
Stephens looks away.
‘I believe she came to regret her decision when it later became evident that your father did not hold any affection for Miss Marguerite, but it was too late. Once your father was the legal guardian, he had complete authority. He used it to send Miss Marguerite to England after the trouble with that boy, and to stop your stepmother from seeing her.’
‘But Daisy didn’t even kill Larson!’ I explode. ‘Someone else did and made it look like she’d done it.’
Stephens’ lips turn upward at my outburst. ‘I’m glad to hear it. I had my suspicions that her involvement was minimal at the time. But, of course, that didn’t matter to your father.’ He gives Shade an apologetic look. ‘He was looking for a reason to be rid of her, Master Jack, and he got one.’
‘Why?’ I ask angrily. ‘She was just a kid. Why did he hate her so much?’
‘In a word, jealousy, Master Shaw. I’m afraid Mr. Novelle was always covetous of Mrs. Novelle’s attention.
Perhaps because he’d been denied it for so many years before they…
reconnected. When she was a child, Miss Marguerite took up a great deal of her mother’s attention that Mr. Novelle thought would be better spent on him and his two motherless sons. ’
Shade sits back in his chair, looking shellshocked.
‘We already knew most of this,’ I tell him. ‘John as much as admitted it himself the night of the Gala, remember?’
Shade nods faintly. ‘I know. It’s just…it’s so fucked.’
Stephens reaches out with his uninjured arm and pats Shade’s shoulder. ‘It is indeed fucked, Master Jack. But it is in the past now. Presently, you and Miss Marguerite have more pressing matters that demand your attention.’
‘You’re right, Stephens.’ Shade takes his hand and shakes it. ‘Thank you.’
‘Yes, well.’ Stephens’ cheeks color a little. ‘I’ve always quite fancied myself the Alfred to your Bruce Wayne, sir. Unfortunately, your father didn’t die in a chance shooting in an alleyway, and you didn’t fall into a cave full of winged vermin. However, we must all make do.’
Shade chuckles a little dolefully. ‘You always get me laughing when I’m at my worst.’
The butler nods seriously. ‘I suggest you do everything in your power to find Miss Marguerite. Her days and nights under that vile nurse’s thumb were taking their toll when last I saw her.’
My brows knit together. ‘What happened to Daisy, Stephens?’ I ask.
‘In truth, sir, I don’t know. But I believe Miss Marguerite was treated most cruelly by that woman and her employer. If she’s out there alone, I’d hazard a guess that she doesn’t really want to be, regardless of what she might have said to you.’
‘Okay,’ I breathe, taking out my phone.
‘What are you doing?’ Shade asks.
‘I’m calling Lu Garrett. I’m her favorite, remember? Maybe she’ll tell me something, but she definitely knows more than she said.’
The phone rings a couple of times before it’s picked up.
I walk out of the hospital room with a nod to the butler.
‘Yeah?’
‘It’s Mav.’
‘Hey, Daisy’s Simp One, or are you number two?’
Has her tone softened or am I imagining it?
‘Uh… It’s about Daisy.’
‘I told you, babe, I don’t know anything and, even if I did, I wouldn’t say a word.’
‘Look, Lu. Please. How did she look when you saw her yesterday?’
‘Like shit,’ Lu says after a moment’s hesitation.
‘She’s out there alone. She needs us as much as we need her. Please help us find her.’
Lu lets out a long sigh followed by a, ‘fuck you for being such a goddamned motherfucking teddy bear, Shaw. FUCK! Fine! I’ll tell you what I know, but only because she told me that she was your first time, and it hit me right in the feels. But don’t fucking tell anyone I said—’
‘She told you about that?’ I gasp in a very unmanly tone.
‘Of course she did. She’s my bestie! My cousin, Sark, picked her up. He…told me where he dropped her off. But you have to promise that if she doesn’t want you near her, you leave her alone.’
‘Promise,’ I say immediately, knowing that I’m lying through my teeth.
‘He dropped her at the club.’
‘The club? Our club?’ I yell as I exit the building on the street with Shade behind me.
‘Yeah. That’s all I got.’
She hangs up.
‘What did she say?’ Shade asks.
‘Sark dropped her at Wrath yesterday.’
Shade looks excited. ‘Are the new cameras working yet?’
‘I think so! Blake was testing them a couple of days ago!’
We practically run to the parking lot and jump into Shade’s car, speeding back toward the KIP House. I call Blake and tell him to look at the footage from yesterday morning. He sounds just as excited as we do at first, but then he lets out a low cry of anger and upset.
‘What?’ I scream into the phone. ‘What is it? Use words!’
‘Fucking Sauvage,’ Blake bites out. ‘He has her!’