“Make yourselves at home,” Georgette said as she gestured to a stone fireplace. “If anyone is feeling chilly, feel free to build up a fire. I’ll be right back. I just need to fetch the coffee and cake.” She turned to Judith. “Would you care to assist me?”
Given the expression on Judith’s face, it seemed as if Christmas had come early.
“Georgette never struck me as the farmhouse type,” Ivan said, walking around the room, his gaze traveling over the paintings on the wall. “But the eclectic grouping of artwork certainly suits her.” He frowned. “I don’t remember seeing a lot of paintings hanging on the walls at Mason Manor.”
“That’s because Grandfather only allowed Mother to hang a few of her paintings around the house, not wanting any guests to get the impression Georgette wasted her time on frivolous pursuits.”
“Your grandfather was such a charming man,” Georgette said, pushing a teacart into the room. “Heaven forbid he would have ever used any of his vast fortune to promote the arts in Butte, something that would have lent our small place in the world a touch of sophistication.” She tucked a stray strand of blond hair behind her ear. “He never balked at spending his fortune on things I found unnecessary, though, such as the boxing ring he built after he decided you would benefit from learning that rather uncommon sport for a woman.”
“I know it’s an unusual sport for the feminine set,” Eunice began, “but boxing has served me well over the years. Case in point, I was able to hold my own against a few nurses in an insane asylum.”
Georgette’s eyes filled with what almost seemed to be horror. “And here I’ve always held fast to the notion that Father would never turn against you, but I was wrong about that, wasn’t I? He sent you off to an asylum for some infraction you probably didn’teven know you committed, and then, if I’m not mistaken, allowed everyone to believe you’d been off taking a nice European tour.”
A sliver of dread began weaving its way through Eunice as she took a step closer to her mother. “Grandfather never had me committed, but given the look of terror in your eyes, I now fear he may have very well done something dastardly like that to you.”
CHAPTER
Nineteen
As a hundred questions whirled through Eunice’s mind, Georgette released a sigh of what sounded like relief. “Thank the good Lord your grandfather didn’t have you committed,” she began. “For a moment, I was worried I’m destined to win the Most Horrible Mother on the Planet Award because I never came back to rescue you. I need to state here and now, though, that the reason for not coming back has nothing to do with the selfish attitude you know I possess.” She bit her lip. “Not that I’ve made great strides with my selfishness, but that particular trait was not the reason I never returned to Montana or why I went away in the first place. However, before I get into my disturbing story, we’re going to need coffee—and lots of it.”
Once everyone had settled around the room with a cup of coffee and a piece of cake, Eunice took a seat beside her mother on a faded settee that sported bright red and purple pillows. “Are you ready to tell me what happened?”
Georgette set aside her cup. “I’d prefer to never revisit those dark days again, but you deserve to hear the truth.” She began tapping her toe against the carpet, quite like she’d often done in Eunice’s youth when she was gathering her thoughts. “I didn’tvoluntarily leave you ten years ago, although I’m sure your grandfather made up a whopper of a story to explain where I’d gone.”
“He said you were in a huff after the argument I heard you having with him about taking me into the mines.”
“You heard that?”
“Not all of it because Aunt Hazel caught me eavesdropping and whisked me out of the house. When I returned, you were gone.” Unexpected tears suddenly stung Eunice’s eyes. “I was certain you’d return within a week at the most, but you never came back, nor did you send me a letter telling me where you were.”
“I sent you letters, but I knewthey’d never reach you.” Georgette reached for her coffee,took a sip, then set aside the cup again, probablybecause her hand had taken to trembling. “I was lividwith your grandfather for taking you into the mines. Iknew without your even telling me the vile things youoverheard those miners saying about you that they were dangerous.Your grandfather, however, wouldn’t listen to reason. He toldme you were tough enough to handle what he saidwas ‘men being men’talk, and that he knew they’d do nothing more than talk because they valued their jobs. I argued that his confidence in his miners was misplaced and said I wasn’t willing to take the risk of having one of those men harm you simply because he was being obtuse about the matter.”
“I imagine Grandfather didn’t appreciate being called obtuse.”
“That’s putting it mildly.” Georgette blew out a breath. “I eventually told him enough was enough. That even though I’d allowed him to raise you with little input from me, I wasn’t going to stand aside and watch him put you in direct danger. You were only seventeen. You should not have been expected to take on the responsibility of learning everything about Mason Mines, nor should your grandfather have contemplated putting you in charge of those mines in the first place.”
“So Grandfatherwasintending on having me take over for him?”
“He was, but we’ll revisit what happened with you in regard to the mines after I finish my troubling tale.” Georgette reachedfor her cup again, took a sip, and frowned. “I’ve come to realize that the mistake I made that day was telling your grandfather I was going to take you away and never return. I should have simply done it—taken you away without a word in the middle of the night. He, of course, flew into a rage, telling me I had no right to take you away, that you were his heir apparent. He grew more enraged when I pointed out you were an heiress, not an heir, and besides that, you were my daughter, which meant I had every right to take you away from his madness, because that’s what I decided it was... sheer madness.
“I left him standing in the middle of his office, raging against me with words I’m glad you didn’t overhear. I went to my room and pulled a traveling trunk from my wardrobe, throwing my clothes into it as fast as I could. I then went to your room, but before I could get a single thing of yours packed, your grandfather was in the room with me, in the company of three of his hired men. Those men tied me up, gagged me, then hauled me to a waiting carriage. They threw me in that carriage, along with my one trunk, and off we went to the train station.”
Eunice’s stomach lurched. “What happened next?”
“He gave his men instructions to get me out of the country, promising to pay them handsomely if they kept me out of Montana until he summoned me home. Those men became my keepers, one of them always with me as we made our way to England. Your grandfather paid every expense, apparently doing so to alleviate the small bit of guilt he might have felt for having me abducted and taken away from you. I began purchasing pieces of jewelry, intending on pawning it to aid my escape someday.”
“I take it you were successful escaping your guards at some point?”
Georgette shook her head. “I didn’t need to escape them because your grandfather suddenly stopped sending money. Turns out those guards weren’t as loyal to him after their funds dried up. I woke up one morning while we were in Spain, and they were gone. I immediately sold some jewelry for a pittance of what itwas worth, but it was enough to buy a ticket on a steamer ship bound for New York. After three long years of being guarded every moment, I was finally free. Once I reached shore, I booked a room at the Fifth Avenue Hotel and dashed off that telegram to Aunt Hazel, although Uncle Raymond somehow got it instead.”
Judith raised her hand, quite like she was in a classroom. “Why wouldn’t you have sent a telegram to Eunice?”
“Because I knew she’d been lied to about why I left. There was every chance she wouldn’t respond to my telegram, so I decided it would be more productive to go through Aunt Hazel. Hazel, out of all my relatives, was always the most sensible as well as the only relative who seemed to care about me. It was unfortunate that Uncle Raymond received my telegram instead, although how that happened is a mystery to me.”
“Hazel and Raymond moved out of their respective homes and moved into Mason Manor not long after your father died,” Arthur said, sitting forward. “Your telegram probably got forwarded from Hazel’s house to the main house and then landed in Raymond’s hands. He enjoys maintaining control over family matters these days.”
Georgette’s nose wrinkled. “It’s curious that Father would have left Uncle Raymond the big house because he never cared for his younger brother much.”
