With trembling fingers I opened my purse to show him. “I just found this in Lady Amelia’s jewelry box.”
What had been nestled among jewelry now lay atop my comb, extra hair pins, the key to my house, and a fresh linen handkerchief: a sprig of dried pink wildflowers with golden centers, the petals gone dusky from having been deprived of water and sunlight.
Rugosa roses.
Chapter 14
Brady stared down into my purse. “She might have found this the same way you did—blown into the gardens from the cliffs.”
“Maybe . . . maybe not.”
“What are you suggesting? That she went scrambling down the cliff face and picked these flowers herself?”
“No, I’m suggesting there is another, much more convenient source of these roses, and that whoever tracked them into the pavilion also presented Lady Amelia with this little spray. A woman doesn’t keep flowers she picked herself in her jewelry box.”
Brady frowned. “Where does she keep them?”
“Oh, Brady, don’t be obtuse.” I resisted the urge to shake him.
“Don’t you see, she secreted these roses away like a clandestine memento. I’d say this represents the affections of a man.”
“Aah.”
“Come on, we need to find her.” I craned my neck and scanned the gardens directly behind the house, but no golden curls caught the sunlight. I took Brady’s arm and randomly headed to the south side of the house. It didn’t take long to comb the tree-shaded area. The estates along Bellevue sat on relatively little land, most of which stretched in front of and behind the houses. It took only moments to conclude that Lady Amelia wasn’t strolling on the south side of the house.
We circled the rear veranda and this time set out to the north garden. As we neared the sheds, I saw Mr. Delgado, the head gardener, and hurried over to him.
He removed his cap and showed me a smile. “Good morning, Senhorita Cross, Senhor Gale.”
We bid him good morning and then I said, “My brother and I are on our way home, but I’d hoped to say good-bye to Lady Amelia first. Have you seen her?” At his puzzled look, I clarified, “Mrs. Vanderbilt’s guest, the very attractive lady with the blond hair. Apparently she enjoys a morning walk each day.”
His puzzlement didn’t appear to abate, and he shrugged. “I have seen no one this morning, Senhorita. Sorry.”
“This is very odd,” I murmured to Brady once the older man had left us to continue his morning tasks.
“Not necessarily. She’s probably walking along Bellevue. And can you blame her if she needed time away from Alva the Anaconda?”
“Brady, really!” I landed a blow to his shoulder, which he took in stride.
“Sorry, but I find the analogy rather apt. Anacondas are known for suffocating their prey before they eat them.”
“Come on, then. Maybe we can catch up with Lady Amelia.”
Once back in my rig, we saw no trace of her along Bellevue Avenue, not as far as the eye could see in either direction. We headed north and rode a little ways, peering down side streets as we went.
“She’s a fast walker, unless she hailed a cab or met an acquaintance with a carriage. We could try turning down the side streets,” Brady suggested, but I shook my head.
“She might have taken any of them, or none of them. She could be in town by now. Or for all we know, while we searched the gardens she returned to the house.” I thought a moment, then brightened. “It’s all right. Lady Amelia isn’t going anywhere any time soon. I’ll simply wait until my next trip to Marble House, either later today or tomorrow. I’ll have my answers from the woman, make no mistake.”
“Say, isn’t that Jamie Reilly? Where’s he going in the middle of a workday?” Brady raised his arm to point toward Bath Road, which intersected Bellevue as it ran from town down the big hill to Easton’s Beach.
Sure enough, the familiar golden red hair shone clearly from beneath a tweed cap. I did my best to hurry Barney along, and within a couple of minutes we caught up with the young Irishman. He greeted us with a friendly grin when we hailed.
“Miss Cross, what a lovely pleasure.” He removed his cap and made a little bow. “Mr . . . ah . . . Gale, I believe ’tis?”
Brady gave a cordial nod.
I switched Barney’s reins into one hand and leaned the other on the side panel. “Whatever are you doing here, Jamie?”
“Ah, Mr. Delgado let me go early today, and I thought I’d ride the trolley into town.”
“Early? Why is that?”
“Well, with summer waning, miss, there’s less work to be done. I gather Mrs. Vanderbilt doesn’t wish to pay out wages if it isn’t necessary. Can hardly blame her, now can I?”