While Andrew walked Alexander Lowell out, Evelyn sat still on the sofa, staring blankly into the fire. The smell of the wood soothed her, as did the dance of the crackling flames as the logs burned, but everything else inside her felt as thought it had been blasted into a million tiny pieces. Pieces she had no hope at all of reassembling.
Of course Alexander Lowell would know. How many times had she heard Andrew say it? That Lowell wasn’t the best lawyer in town because he was better at lawyering than anyone else, but because he had eyes and ears everywhere. With an eidetic memory, every piece of information he ever acquired was readily available the instant he needed or wanted it. She had no reason to doubt that what he'd told them was true.
Besides that the lawyer had already been in Russell James’ debt, long before there was any demand for secret identities. What benefit to him would it be to lie now?
“Do you want something to drink?” Andrew asked softly,
“Are you feeling alright, darling?” Andrew asked when Evelyn wandered into the bathroom as he was finishing shaving.Rubbing tired eyes, she started the shower warming and pulled the curtain around the tub. “Yes,” she replied around a yawn. “I didn’t sleep well though.”“That much I knew.” He rinsed his razor in the sink, then wiped the shaving soap off one side of his face with a towel. Approving of his handiwork, he wiped the other side, then turned to her for a final confirmation. “You were thrashing around most of the night.”She rested her hands along his clean-shaven jaw, her fingertips making a little wavy pattern as she drew them together towards his chin, then nodded her approval. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to keep you up too.”“I didn’t say I was sleeping.” Rehanging the towel, he drained and rinsed the sink, then pivoted to face her again.
Andrew looked up from the accounts he was reviewing at a rap on his office door. His mutable blue-green eyes flicked to the pink Federal glass coffee mug standing empty on his desk. In as much as he didn’t want her working, and especially working at the Trust, he missed having Evelyn here with him. She’d made the minutes bearable, put the petty nuisances of his day into perspective. Prepared him the perfect cup of coffee. The rap came again at the door, along with the tentative, female voice. “Mr. James?” Evelyn knew to rap once, then to come in without him telling her to, and he'd never had to tell her to do that. Not that it mattered—he wasn’t going through the hassle of training another secretary for a few weeks' worth of work. He would simply swallow his annoyance and make do. “What is it, Carole?” he called. “May I come in, sir?” she asked, and Andrew tipped his head against the back of his executive chair, rolling his eyes heavenward.
“Would you care to have a seat, Detective?” Andrew offered, gesturing to the chairs arranged with the sofa before the great room's fireplace. “This might be a lengthy process.”Detective Kelly inhaled deeply, looking somewhat disappointed. “I thought you were going to be cooperative, Mr. James,” he said, taking the seat offered to him opposite the sofa where Evelyn sat.“In as much as I can be, I have. Most of what we’ve learned has been since we last spoke to you.”“You had my card.”With the detective seated, Andrew sat beside Evelyn, wrapping a protective arm about her shoulders and drawing her into the shelter of his body. He studied her face, peering into the depths of her mystical silvery-gray eyes, dancing with flecks of golden firelight.It never ceased to amaze him how spectacularly pretty she was, or how irrationally he loved her. The mere sight of her caused everything els
“Andrew, why did you tell him all that?” a still shell-shocked Evelyn asked when he returned from seeing Detective Kelly out. "After all this time. After all the private investigators and the personal researching, now you'll tell him? Why?"Picking up his brandy snifter, Andrew drained it. “Because all this intrigue has gotten personal.” He walked to the bar and refilled his glass. “And now I’m worried about protecting my family.”“’Now’?” she quoted. “It wasn’t personal before? When your brother died? When Miranda Stiles was going to let him take me with him? When that man, Aldrich, tried to kidnap me? When Edward Montero died and the police came looking for you? All the things you’ve learned over the course of time from Charlotte? Now? Now is when it’s become personal?”Inhaling deeply, he prepared to defend himself. “Darling, it’s clear that you disagre
At the excited squeals emanating from the vicinity of the apartment door, Evelyn set aside her sewing gratefully. Only something wasn’t right about the sounds she was hearing. “Peter. Sarah. Please. I need you to settle down.” As she emerged from the great room, Andrew was kneeling in the ornate foyer on one knee, hugging each child, then setting them back from him. “I’m so grateful for your cheery little faces as soon as I get home every day. You know that. But today I need a little bit of time to talk to your mother first, please.” Stealing quietly along the runner in the hall, she came up behind him as he got to his feet. “Why don’t you two go back to playing. Your father and I will be there shortly.” She let Andrew steer her into the library, pivoting to wait as he closed the door quietly behind them. “What’s happened?” she demanded immediately. “Detective Kelly was by my office this morning.” Evelyn’s breath caught in her throat, her slender fingers covering her lips. If her
The Great Depression had been one of the defining moments for anyone old enough to remember what it had been like before the stock market crash of October 1929. With both his father and brother and many family friends in banking and finance, Andrew had known that the problems that led to the Crash for industrialized world economies had been brewing on the horizon several years before that. During the early 1930s, the devastating effects became widespread in the United States as banking institutions fell and manufacturing and business suffered in every industry. Cities were particularly hard hit, and New York City had been especially susceptible. Professionals, skilled workers and others used to enjoying good income found their salaries disastrously cut. Those who depended on savings, pensions or investment income for a living fared far worse. In the world of banking and finance, interest from bonds or savings deposits soon depreciated to where they had no real value. Stocks paid meag
“Sarah,” Evelyn said, in as firm of tone as she could muster, “while I’m exceedingly happy you’re pleased with your costume, it’ll be far too cold later this evening at the Fair. You must wear a jacket.” “Mother, please. Please don’t make me. No one will be able to see it! Please!” Evelyn watched the tears gathering in the girl’s eyes and knew she wouldn’t be able to stay firm if they began to fall. “No one will see it if you’re too cold to leave the car either, Sarah. I’ll hold it for you while—.” “Darling? Sarah?” Andrew stopped stock still in the doorway of the great room, quickly taking in the situation and recognizing his wife’s waffling. “What’s the difficulty here?” Rising, Evelyn let her breath out slowly. “It’s too cold to wear the costume without a jacket—.” “No it’s not!” Sarah shouted. “She’s just saying that because she’s mean!” Immediately, Andrew sprang into action. Releasing the startled Peter’s hand, he strode past Eve
“What are you thinking about, darling?” With her eyes following a young family with three children, the eldest about Peter’s age and the rest younger, she smiled as she answered, “All the people here in costume. The children I expected, but so many adults are costumed too. It adds a great deal to the carnival atmosphere on the last day.” Among the children, the cowboys and cops, princesses and angels were always popular. But many children had drawn inspiration from events of the year and Elecktro-style robots giggled with Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion. Frank Buck-style jungle explorers jitterbugged with giant jungle cats, and clowns with comic book heroes. Her silvery-blue eyes lingered on an obviously well-to-do couple dressed in bright and wildly colored, sequined and feathered Venetian style costumes with oddly grotesque and appealing masks—his a black and gold, curly-horned, laughing skull, and hers a magnificently plumed, long