She turned around but was daunted by the sight of her four large trunks. She’d dismissed the hired carriage and had no idea how long it would take to find another. Was she supposed to sit on her trunks all day waiting for her family to come home? If they were coming home. Again she wondered why no servant had answered the door.
“Will we need to break into the house, Miss Violet?” Jane asked.
Such a pragmatic solution! “Let’s hope not.”
Violet glanced to the side at the windows. She didn’t relish crawling through one in her fancy traveling ensemble, but if they were open that would at least indicate someone was in the house. But the windows were shut, too. The drapes on the other side of the glass were utterly still.
“Is it an American holiday then, and everyone’s gone off to celebrate?”
Violet didn’t know what to think, except that someone, even if not the butler, should be manning the door.
Looking worried, Jane added, “Shall I go to the corner and hail a carriage? We can go to a hotel and wait there for your family to return.”
Violet was about to agree when she heard the door open. She turned back to it, but it had opened barely a crack, and all she could see was an eye peering out at her; then: “Violet?”
She let out a relieved sigh. “Of course!”
The door opened wide to admit her. Both brothers were standing there, and while she used to have no trouble telling the twins apart, today she couldn’t. Dark-blond hair like hers, sapphire-blue eyes, strapping instead of slim like their father, very handsome, they looked nothing like the boys she’d last seen five years ago. They were men now, twenty years old, and as tall as their father, which was a half foot taller than she! She leapt forward exuberantly to hug them, only to be grabbed by the one on the left who said, “I’m Daniel.” He lifted her high in the air, then passed her to Evan, who swung her around in a full circle. By the time her feet were on the floor again she was laughing, and finally managed to put her arms around their waists and hug them both at the same time.
She’d missed so much these last five years. She’d asked them to have portraits done when she’d sat for hers, and to send them to her so she could see how they’d turned out, but they hadn’t done it. They’d turned out splendidly indeed. And she felt something like motherly pride as she looked them up and down. It was hard to imagine she’d ever bossed and scolded these two, or that they’d let her!
But they had much to account for, and recalling that, she stepped back to say, “One of you let Father know I’ve arrived, then have someone bring in my trunks. We’ll talk in the parlor. You’ve much to explain, Brothers.”
They both walked past her to bring in her luggage themselves, Daniel only saying, “Father isn’t home.”
“Twin brothers?” Jane whispered as she joined Violet in the hallway. “And no butler?”
Violet sighed. “I will have a private word with my brothers. Wait here in the hall. I shouldn’t be long.”
“I’ll find the kitchen, miss, and order you some tea.”
“Thank you.”
Violet headed to the parlor, the first room on the left of the long hallway. She intended to open a few windows. The house smelled more than a little musty. But she stopped short just inside the parlor and didn’t take another step. This had been such a beautifully appointed room the last time she was in it, but nothing remained except the sofa. All the other furniture was gone. All the paintings that had been on the walls were gone. Were the boys waiting for her here so they could take her to their new home?
At the sound of footsteps behind her, she said, “I hope you didn’t make me cross an ocean just to tell me Father has sold this house and moved to a bigger one.”
“No,” one of them answered. “You might want to sit down, Vi.”
Without turning, she snapped, “No,yousit down, Evan on the right, Daniel on the left. I want to know who I’m shouting at.”
She was glaring at their backs as they moved past her. She saw them wincing as they turned to sit down on the sofa.
Abashed, Daniel said, “It’s as bad as it looks.”
“Really?” Her tone was sarcastic, but the added screech wasn’t. “If you haven’t moved, where’s all the bloody furniture?!”
“We had to sell it to make payments on Father’s loan and to keep up appearances,” Daniel explained. “The paintings sold well, but the furniture didn’t. A nasty amount of money is due every month.”
Her eyes were wide by then. “Why would he—whereis Father?”
“Not here. He left seven months ago to make a new fortune,” Evan said. “He didn’t want us to tell you he was broke, so we didn’t. But if we can’t pay the loan, Mr. Perry, the banker, is going to take the house.”
“Broke? How is that possible?”
“Three bad investments in as many months,” Evan went on. “Father didn’t even realize his funds had gotten so low until he went to the bank to withdraw for the monthly household account and the clerk warned him he couldn’t do that for much longer. He came home and dismissed some of the staff but not all, because he didn’t want our neighbors and friends to know he’s fallen on hard times. Then he got drunk for a week. Perfectly understandable, now that we know why, but we didn’t find out until after he sobered up.”
“When he did, he went to the bank and got a loan, using the house as collateral,” Daniel put in.
