CHAPTER THIRTEEN
DRESSED IN ONEof Lillie’s lush lavender satin gowns, and elbow-length white gloves, Grace jumped as the carriage wheels jolted over a pothole that night. Her chandelier earrings jangled against her throat.
“Are you all right?” Lillie asked.
“Just a little on edge tonight,” Grace said. She stole a look at Earnest, who was seated across from her. He gave her an unassuming smile that she tried to return.
But her mind was flush with questions.
She tried not to flinch when he offered his hand to help her down from the carriage, his palm brushing the small of her back. She had promised Lillie no more secrets.
But she needed Earnest to get her inside the Ball, first.
And she couldn’t very well say anything to Lillie about Oliver’s claims right in front of him, now could she?
Earnest flashed an invitation and ushered them inside before the guard could question them. Grace’s breath caught in her chest like a trapped bird as they stepped into the magnificent Sculpture Hall in the Palace of Fine Arts. It was the only structure built to last beyond the fair. Everything else would be turned to dust, but the marble floors and the dramatic, soaring ceilings, modeled after the grand public baths in Rome, would remain. To house the world’s most precious treasures, it had to be fireproof.
Grace paused in front of the museum’s facade, reading the words etched into it:ART STILL HAS TRUTH. TAKE REFUGE THERE.
She followed the sound of rushing water and the train of Lillie’s emerald dress as it swept across the gleaming floors. Inside the museum, Roman arches and white walls were framed with blood-red roses and burgundy leaves. One of the walls was covered with plush moss, and in the center of the hall was a stone fountain filled entirely with floating peonies and lilies. There were sculptures by Rodin and works of art hung in gilded frames by artists like Winslow Homer, Hokusai, and Juan Luna de San Pedro y Novicio Ancheta—not to mention a seventeen-foot portrait of the Empress Dowager of China.
It felt as though gold dust glittered through the air.
The crowd parted to let them through. Earnest led the way, but once he had passed, the glances became decidedly sour. Women in satin and tulle turned their backs to snub Lillie, whispering as she walked by. Grace was used to it, but she felt proud to see the way that Lillie’s head remained high.
Lillie’s parents stood at the far end of the room, apart from the crowd. Aunt Clove was sipping a drink as though she didn’t have a care in the world, but her mouth was tight.
As Lillie went to greet her parents, Grace dropped away.
And to Grace’s surprise, Earnest came with her.
She stiffened, instinctively searching the room for Theodore. But all she saw were unfamiliar faces, many of them frowning back at her. Her heart sank a little.
“I know we all spoke to the police that night, but it wouldn’t hurt to hear what happened from other people’s perspectives,” Earnest said, surveying the room.
Grace eyed him. “It’s a good idea.”
Her pulse skipped a beat, and she pondered asking him about Oliver’s revelation, but at the last minute she said, “I’ll start with the Gatewoods.”
“Their daughter had quite an advantageous proposal,” Earnest whispered covertly in her ear. “From someone close to the fair’s head, David R. Francis. That’s why they are back on the map, like chess pieces.”
Grace ordered herself a flute of sparkling lemonade from the bar and made her way through the labyrinthine galleries, trailing Mr. Gatewood at a distance.
She watched him, sipping her drink, until he stopped in front of a Caravaggio painting.
She bit the inside of her cheek.
She would do this for Oliver.
Gathering her courage like it was the dress in her hand, she approached, joining him to admire the artwork side by side.
For a moment she stayed quiet. She thought he hadn’t noticed her. A small bead of sweat began to slide down the curve of her back. Until, without deigning to look at her, he drawled in the direction of the painting, “Did you have something you wished to say to me, Miss Covington?”
“Perhaps,” she said. “I’ve heard my family may have something to apologize for.”
He seemed surprised.
“You’d be the first of them to admit it,” he said.
