“You didn’t think it was relevant for me to know that yourtwin brother is currently imprisoned and confessed to treason against the United States?”
“He’s not guilty,” she defended. “I don’t know why he confessed, but maybe he was tortured. That’s the only explanation I can think of. I know Luke is loyal to this country, but frankly, his legal situation is none of your business.”
“That’s a lie and you know it. You and your family may be the biggest security risk in the entire White House. I intend to tell President McKinley everything.”
“He already knows,” she snapped. “I told him the moment I learned of it, and he refused to take my resignation.”
Nathaniel’s jaw dropped in disbelief. “Why would he want you here?”
It hurt. Ida had become almost like a mother to her, which was ridiculous but true. Her own mother had died when Caroline was four, and Ida lost her only two daughters when they were children. Maybe that was why she and Ida had bonded so easily. Their relationship was unconventional, but it was nobody else’s business.
Caroline pointed to the embroidered silk vest she wore. “Do you see this vest?” she challenged. “It’s Mrs. McKinley’s. She asked me to wear it because she thinks the blue complements my eyes. And look at the shawl she’s wearing today. It’s mine! We trade clothes. We plan meals and parties and floral arrangements. When she falls ill, I play the mandolin for her, sometimes all night long. We bicker and fight, but in the end, I always deliver exactly what the president needs. He needs someone his wife can’t trample but who can still calm her down, steer her in the right direction, and make her happy. Ican’tbe fired.”
She prayed that was true, for Nathaniel looked ready to combust. She’d never seen him angry before, and she instinctively took a step back as he drew closer to her.
“I’ll be watching you,” he said in a cold voice. “If you placeone foot wrong, I’ll find out about it and see you escorted out of here.”
She remained frozen in place, unable to draw a breath as he strode toward the exit. When he finally left, her knees felt like water, but she would not collapse. She would take this in stride and never falter, even if this journey took years.
“Oh, Luke, hang on,” she whispered, fearing his position was more precarious than ever.
Eleven
Nathaniel seethed. It was the day after his blowup with Caroline, and she was the last person he wanted to see, but there was no escaping her. He was providing security for the first lady today, which meant he was required to be trapped only inches from Caroline in the close confines of a carriage. As they rolled along Eleventh Street, Caroline sat on the bench opposite him, glancing through a fashion magazine as though she didn’t have a care in the world.
They were traveling to the Naval Hospital, where Mrs. McKinley would unveil a plaque commemorating sailors injured during the recent war. It would be an indoor ceremony, so Nathaniel was the only guard, but they’d brought along a photographer to memorialize the event. His name was James Remberton, but everyone called him Rembrandt in deference to his artistic bent.
The normally spacious carriage felt cramped from all the photographer’s equipment along with the two huge bouquets Caroline had brought to deliver to the sickrooms. Nathaniel wanted to tell her she shouldn’t have bothered—injured soldiers didn’t care a fig about flowers—but she insisted they beplaced inside the carriage to ensure they were protected from the breeze. The cloying scent of tuberose made his head ache.
“Look!” Caroline said as she paged through the magazine. “The Countess of Windover wore scarlet opera gloves to a performance in Rome. Shall we order you a pair?”
Mrs. McKinley looked intrigued. “Do you think I could get away with something so daring?”
“You’re the first lady. You can dare whatever you wish.” Caroline laughed.
Nathaniel fought to keep his expression blank, but this was the sort of nonchalant disregard for the rules that always irked him. Caroline and Ida McKinley could flout decorum while their minions were bound by rules and ordered to serve.
But it wasn’t flowers or opera gloves that really angered him, it was the fact that he’d ignored so many warning signs about Caroline Delacroix. She had flat out told him she had no respect for rules the first day they met. She had a criminal attorney. She flouted one rule after another inside the White House, and yet he’d overlooked those clues because she was charming and flirted with him.
He’d spoken to George Cortelyou about terminating Caroline’s access to the White House, but George claimed the first lady depended on Caroline. Nathaniel privately thought it was all the more reason to remove a woman with undue influence, but he’d made no progress in plugging the security breach.
And here she sat, side by side with the first lady, gossiping about fashion.
“Scarlet is increasingly worn in high society,” Rembrandt said. “It doesn’t photograph well, but if the correct shade is selected, it can look both daring and stately.”
Mrs. McKinley did not welcome commentary from an underling like the photographer. She pursed her lips while frowning at Rembrandt’s vest. “Couldn’t you have found clothing thatfit? You are representing the White House today, and that vest looks like it belongs to a man half your size.”
It was true that Rembrandt’s vest was too small, but didn’t Mrs. McKinley realize how little a photographer earned? Rembrandt flushed but made no comment. Nathaniel glanced at Caroline, wondering if she would intervene, but she kept perusing the fashion magazine.
“It says here that Madam Zane’s shop in Richmond is now selling scarlet gloves.”
Mrs. McKinley sniffed. “I wonder if Madam Zane can tailor a gentleman’s vest to make it fit.”
Rembrandt wilted even further, and Nathaniel had to bite his tongue. It didn’t matter how much he disliked Mrs. McKinley, it was his job to protect her.
“We’re here,” he said tersely as the carriage came to a halt outside a three-story brick building. A small crowd had gathered, for it had been announced that the president would be dedicating the plaque, but he’d been called away by a crisis with the budget, and Mrs. McKinley had taken his place.
Nathaniel hopped down from the carriage and greeted the officer who’d been waiting for them in the hospital yard. Captain Dorset was the hospital’s administrator and the man who’d organized the ceremony today.
