Chapter 16 #3
A muscle clenched in Luke’s jaw. “Was his name Archer?”
She shook her head. “He said his name was Hugh. He was keen to know where the aviary was. Thankfully, Danielle was out visiting the hummers when he stopped by.”
Was Archer now giving a false name to hide who he was? Elsa didn’t know what to think. “Whoever he was, he had no right and no business bothering you. Did he leave when you asked him to?”
“He did. But he saw the provenance for the aviary. I’d been looking at it this morning at the kitchen table, and it was still lying there when I opened the door and he pushed his way in.
He spotted it right away and was convinced it was proof I must have the aviary, too.
I denied it, but I have a feeling we may not have seen the last of him. ”
Oh no. The last thing Elsa had wanted to do was give anyone a reason to search Tatiana’s house. But she could immediately see how they’d want to do just that, now that they knew she had the provenance document.
“I’ll see what I can do about that,” Luke said.
“In fact, I’d like to go to your cottage now, if that’s all right.
I can deliver that box of magazines for you.
If anyone else is there, I’ll chase him off.
” He didn’t mention checking the structure’s integrity, but Elsa figured he didn’t want to raise any false hope about being able to move the cottage elsewhere.
Tatiana sent him with her blessing. “I should be getting back soon, too,” she added.
Piano music drifted out from the parlor, a sound much more welcome than the sibling spat of a few moments ago. “Can you spare another minute?” Elsa asked. “I just remembered something I wanted to show you, too.”
When she agreed to wait, Elsa slipped back inside the mansion and retrieved five framed watercolors Birdie had painted of some of her favorite, if common, birds.
As she passed back through the parlor, she paused to show them to Jane and Wesley.
It smelled like smoke in there again, but she saw no cigarettes or ashtrays.
Maybe Wesley had continued sprinkling ash into the carpet.
Maybe he enjoyed angering his father that way.
Surely there were other methods, but Elsa wasn’t there to give tips.
Near the fireplace, where he wrapped a crystal vase in linen, Crawford greeted Elsa with a polite nod.
“You’re rather chummy with the gardener and her imbecile girl, aren’t you?” Wesley spoke over the piano at her.
Crawford kept his head down, moving on to wrap a clock.
“She’s no imbecile,” Elsa said. “And they’re about to go, anyway. Look, these were painted by your great-aunt. Do either of you want them? Do you think your father or grandmother would?” she asked.
“Pish!” Jane waved a hand. “We’ve all seen those, and no, we don’t want them. Get rid of them and those people in the courtyard, please, and then you must come back and tell me all your news. I’m dying for distraction.”
“I’ve got to get back to work, Jane, but thank you for these. I’ll see if the Petrovics would like them first.”
Wesley stopped playing. “How curious. I cannot imagine what spell they’ve cast over you for you to moon over them so. Really, Elsa, I can’t say it’s dignified.”
Nostrils flaring, Jane stood with fists trembling at her sides. “Those aren’t supposed to go to them!”
“You said you didn’t want them.”
“I don’t, but I’d rather they get destroyed when the county tears this old house down. Our family things are not to end up in the hands of servants—”
Uninterested in hearing the rest, Elsa ducked out and closed the door on Jane’s tirade. With her back to the drama she hoped would not breach the house, she showed Tatiana and Danielle the paintings.
“Would you like to have these?” She spread them out flat on a bench.
Tatiana pressed a hand to her chest. “My, but aren’t they beautiful.”
“Please take your favorites,” Elsa urged. “Take all of them, if you like.”
“Yes.” Danielle twirled her hair around one finger. “All of them.”
Tatiana touched Elsa’s elbow. “You’re sure?”
“Of course. Here, you can use your basket to take them home with you.” Elsa stacked the jars of honey in one elbow and a fresh loaf of bread wrapped in paper in the other. While Danielle carefully nested the watercolors in the basket, Elsa motioned Tatiana aside.
“Before you go, do you have any updates from those inquiries you’ve made seeking employment elsewhere?” she asked quietly.
“I wish I did.”
“My parents know a lot of brownstone owners in Manhattan. Perhaps one of them needs a gardener. Would it be all right if I ask?”
A sad smile pinched Tatiana’s eyes. “Bless you for offering, dear. Brownstones don’t usually have gardeners’ cottages on site, do they? So we’d have to find a home off the property. Even if we could find something affordable, Danielle and I aren’t meant for city living.”
Perhaps the New York Botanical Garden was hiring. But that was still in New York City. Even if Luke found that their cottage could be moved, any available lot near the Botanical Garden would be a far cry from the sprawling landscapes here on the Hudson River.
Elsa would have to keep thinking.