Fedora swallowed hard. Tears came to her eyes, but she made no move to dash them away. When Lily pushed a handkerchief toward her, she crumbled it in her fist. “I didn’t know it was Clay. I didn’t know it was a child. I thought Mr. Shepard had George Hotchkiss with him.”
Roen sputtered and then caught himself. “I can see why you could have thought it was George. He’s wiry and about Clay’s height.”
“You pushed him aside. That’s why my shot caught you. If you hadn’t moved...”
“No,” said Roen. “I have no fault in what you did.”
“I know,” she said, sniffing. “The fault is mine.” Fedora pressed the handkerchief to her nose. “Are you sure you don’t want to take me to jail?”
“I am not even tempted, Fedora, so put it out of your mind. Why didn’t you try again?”
Fedora stared at him, astonished by the question. “Ishotyou. I will never try that again.”
“Good to know,” he said wryly. “I take it this means that Mr. Cabot is also safe.”
“Don’t tease her,” said Lily.
“I don’t know that I was teasing exactly.”
Fedora looked from Lily to Roen and back to Lily again. “Ellie said I could have my job back at the hotel if I wanted it. I’ll tell her you weren’t satisfied with my work. Will that be all right?”
“No,” said Lily. “If you leave, it will be because you want to, not because we’re asking you to. Roen and I discussed this last night. We decided that if you took responsibility, we would want you to stay. You have and we do.”
Fedora looked down at her hands. “I am ashamed.”
There was nothing either Lily or Roen could say to that. They sat with silence for a while. Roen eventually excused himself and went to his study. Lily got up and began washing the dishes that were still in the sink. Fedora stayed where she was, head bowed, occasionally pressing Lily’s handkerchief to her eyes. It was only after Lily had left the room, touching her lightly on the shoulder as she passed, that Fedora finally wept in earnest.
•••
Victorine was annoyed. That Roen continued to avoid her was like a splinter in her thumb. She could ignore it for only so long before she had to pick at it again. It occurred to her that she should force a second confrontation but was uncertain where she should do it. Would he accept an invitation to her suite, where they would have privacy, or would he agree to see her only in public? Perhaps a location where there would be only a few witnesses would be better. He might be agreeable to that, and she required but a single person to overhear their conversation.
She considered the proper venue. Her familiarity with the town was sufficient for her to have choices. The majority of the shops, as she ticked them off on her fingers, were not right for her purposes, although the drugstore with its soda fountain bar was a possibility. She kept that in mind as she considered other places that might work. Her face brightened considerably when she hit upon the perfect setting.
Victorine gestured to Ellie Butterworth to attend to her at her table. She smiled warmly, with no hint of guile, when the older woman came over with a teapot in hand.
“More tea?” asked Ellie, raising the pot to pouring height.
“No, thank you. A favor if you will. Could you send that child around? The one I see here from time to time?”
“You mean Frankie Fuller?”
“If he’s the one who has performed small tasks for me before, then yes.”
“He’s not here at the moment. He’s in school, but he’ll stop by afterward. It won’t be long now. The school day is about over. Shall I send him up to your suite?”
“Yes. Do that.”
“Is there anything else?”
“No. That will be sufficient.” Victorine was aware that the teapot was still hovering above her cup. “Is there something you wish to ask, Mrs. Butterworth?”
“As a matter of fact,” said Ellie, withdrawing the teapot, “my husband and I were wondering if you intend to extend your stay for another week. We’ve had requests for the suite and need to know how to respond to them. We thought you might want to return to New York for Christmas.”
“Yes. Christmas. I’d forgotten. When is it? Three weeks away?”
“A bit less than that.”
Victorine nodded, pretending to consider. “I’m afraid I can’t give you a firm answer. I simply don’t know. I will pay for at least one more week, and I will let you know if I require another after that. Will that be all right?”
