Leander, his hands on her waist, gave her a blank look for a moment, then began to smile. After a lusty look up and down, he said, “Blair, I don’t think you have anything to worry about. It looks to me like all your brains are going to the right places.”
Blair sat in the carriage, listening to Leander’s chuckling, and thought that surely no other sister had endured what she was going through for hers.
As they were leaving town, two big, beefy men, driving a wagon that was so dilapidated that no respectable farmer would have had it, yelled at Leander to halt. The dark man, a fearsome, bearded, dirty-looking brute, addressed Houston in an aggressive way that Blair had never seen her allow in a man before. If there was one thing that Houston knew how to do, it was to stop men who were too forward.
Houston nodded politely to him and he bellowed at the horses and left in a cloud of dust.
“What in the world was that about?” Leander asked. “I didn’t know you knew Taggert.”
Before Houston could answer, Blair said, “That was the man who built that house? No wonder he doesn’t ask anyone to it. He knows they’d turn him down. By the way, how could he tell us apart?”
“Our clothes,” Houston answered quickly. “I saw him in the mercantile store.”
“As for no one accepting his invitation,” Lee said, “I think that Houston might risk plague or anything else for that matter to see that house.”
Blair leaned forward, across her sister. “Did you receive letters about that house?”
“If I could sell the words by the pound, I’d be a millionaire.”
“Like him,” Blair answered, looking up at the house that dominated the west end of town. “He can keep his millions, and he can keep his dinosaur of a house.”
“I think we’ve agreed again,” Lee said, acting surprised. “Do you think this’ll become a habit?”
“I doubt it,” Blair snapped, but her heart wasn’t in the remark. Maybe she’d been wrong about him.
But twenty minutes later, she was just as worried about her sister’s future as ever. She’d left Lee and Houston in her mother’s garden alone, then remembered that her journal was still in Lee’s buggy. Hurrying downstairs to catch Lee before he left, she was a witness to a little drama between the couple.
Leander, reaching behind Houston’s head to shoo a bee away, made her stiffen. Even from where Blair stood, she could see the way her sister drew away from being touched by Lee.
“You don’t have to worry,” he said in a deadly voice. “I won’t touch you.”
“It’s just until after we’re married,” she whispered, but Lee didn’t reply before he stormed past Blair and drove away very fast in the carriage.
Leander stormed into his father’s house and slammed the door behind him, rattling the stained glass. He took the stairs two at a time and at the landing turned left and headed for his room, the room that he was to give up as soon as he married Houston and moved into the house he’d bought for her.
He nearly ran over his father, but didn’t apologize or slow down.
Reed Westfield, glancing up at his son as he passed, saw the look of anger on his face and followed him to his room. Leander was already throwing clothes into a valise when Reed arrived.
Reed stood in the doorway for a moment and watched his son. Even though they looked nothing alike, Reed being short, stocky, and having a face with all the delicacy of a bulldog, they had much the same temperament. It took a great deal to rouse the Westfield ire.
“Is it an emergency patient that needs your attention?” Reed asked, as he watched his son throw clothes at the case on the bed, and, in his rage, miss half the time.
“No, it’s women,” Lee managed to say through clenched teeth.
Reed tried to hide a smile, coughed to cover it. In his legal practice, he’d learned to hide his own reaction to whatever his clients said. “Have a spat with Houston?”
Leander turned to his father with a face full of fury. “I’ve never had a spat or a fight or an argument or any disagreement whatsoever with Houston. Houston is utterly, totally perfect, without flaw.”
“Ah, then it’s that sister of hers. Someone mentioned that she was badgering you today. You won’t have to live with your sister-in-law, you know.”
Lee paused in his packing. “Blair? What’s she got to do with anything? She’s the most enjoyment I’ve had with a woman since I got engaged. It’s Houston who’s driving me to drink. Or, more correctly, she’s the one forcing me to leave Chandler.”
“Hold on just a minute,” Reed said, taking his son’s wrist. “Before you jump on a train and leave all your patients to die, why don’t you sit down and talk to me and tell me what’s made you so mad?”
Lee sat in a chair as if he weighed a ton, and it was several minutes before he could speak. “Do you remember why I asked Houston to marry me in the first place? Right now, I can’t seem to remember a single reason that made me do it.”
Reed took a seat across from his son. “Let me see—if I remember correctly, it was pure, clean, old-fashioned lust. When you returned from Vienna and the last of your medical studies, you joined the legion of men, young and old, following the luscious Miss Houston Chandler around town, begging her to attend whatever you could think of, anything, just so you could be near her. I believe I remember your rhapsodizing about her beauty and telling me how every man in Chandler had asked her to marry him. And I also remember the night you asked her yourself and she accepted you. I think you walked around in a daze for a week.”
He paused for a moment. “Does that answer your question? Have you decided now that you aren’t lusting after the lovely Miss Houston?”
Leander gave his father a serious look. “I’ve decided now that that shape of hers, that walk of hers that has grown men fainting in her wake, is all show. The woman is a block of ice. She is completely frigid, without any emotion at all. I cannot marry someone like her and spend the rest of my life trying to live with a woman who has no feelings at all.”
“Is that all that’s wrong?” Reed asked, obviously relieved.
“Good women are supposed to be like that. You wait, after you’re married, she’ll warm up. Your mother was very cool to me before we were married. She broke her parasol over my head one evening when I got too fresh. But later, after we were married…well, things got better—much better. You take the word of someone who’s more experienced in these matters. Houston is a good girl and she’s had to live with that bigot Gates all these years. Of course she’s nervous and frightened.”
Leander listened to his father’s words carefully. He’d never planned to spend his life in Chandler. Instead, he’d planned to intern in a big city, work on the staff of a big hospital and eventually have his own practice and make a lot of money. He had lasted but six months before he decided to come home where he was needed, where he would have more important cases than a rich woman’s hysteria.
All the time he’d been away from Chandler, Houston had written him letters, gossipy letters about what went on in the town and later about her finishing school. He’d always looked forward to the letters and looked forward to once again seeing the little girl who’d written them.
The night he’d returned home, his father threw a party of welcome and the “little girl” walked into the room. Houston had grown into a woman with a figure that made Lee’s palms sweat, and as he was gaping, an old friend had punched him on the arm.
“It’s no use trying. There isn’t a single man in town who hasn’t asked for her hand in marriage—or for anything else she’ll part with—but she’ll have none of us. I think she’s waiting for a prince or a president.”,
Lee had grinned smugly. “Maybe you boys don’t know how to ask. I learned a few tricks while I was in Paris.”
And so he had become a contestant in the local race to see who could get Miss Chandler to marry him. He still didn’t understand what had happened. He had taken her out to a few parties, and at about the third one, he??
?d asked her to marry him, saying something to the effect of, “I don’t imagine you’d want to marry me, would you?” He had expected her to refuse; then he could laugh with the men at his club, saying that he’d tried, too, but alas, he also had failed.
He had been shocked when Houston had accepted his proposal immediately and asked if the twentieth of May would be a date that suited him, all in the same breath. The next morning, he had seen his picture in the paper as being engaged to Houston, and the article further stated that the happy couple was choosing her ring that morning. After that, he’d never had a moment to think about what he’d done when he’d proposed. If he wasn’t at the hospital, he was at a tailor’s shop or agreeing with Houston about what color the draperies should be in the house he’d suddenly found himself buying.
And now, just weeks before the wedding, he was having second thoughts. Every time he touched Houston, she moved away from him as if he were repulsive. Of course he knew Duncan Gates, knew how the man never missed an opportunity to put a woman in her “place.” His father had written a few years ago that Gates had tried to bar women from the new ice-cream parlor that had opened in town. His reasoning was that it would encourage women to be lazy, to gossip, and to flirt. All of which, Reed had written, had proven true—and the men were delighted.
Leander took a long, thin cigar from his pocket and lit it. “I’ve not had much experience with ‘good’ girls. Before you married Mother, did you worry that she might not change?”
“Worried about it night and day. I even told my father that I refused to marry her, that I wouldn’t spend my life with a woman made of stone.”
“But you changed your mind. Why?”
Reed made an apologetic little smile. “Well, I…I mean I…” He turned his head away, in what looked to be embarrassment. “If she were here today, I think she’d want me to tell you. The truth is, son, I seduced her. I gave her too much champagne and sweet-talked her for hours and seduced her.”
He turned back abruptly. “But I’m not advising you to do that. I’m advising you to learn from what I did. You can get into an awful lot of trouble that way. To this day, I think you came about two weeks earlier than was proper.”
Leander was studying the tip of his cigar. “I like your advice and I think I’ll take it.”
“I’m not sure I should have told you this. Houston is a lovely girl and…” He stopped and studied his son for a moment. “I trust your judgment. You do what you think is best. Will you be here for dinner?”
“No,” Lee said softly, as if in deep thought. “I’m taking Houston to the governor’s reception tonight.”
Reed started to say something but closed his mouth and left the room. He might have reconsidered saying what he thought if he’d known that later his son called a saloon to order four bottles of French champagne to be sent to his new house, then asked the housekeeper to prepare a dinner that began with oysters and ended with chocolate.
Chapter 3
Blair sat in her room on the top floor of the Chandler house and tried to concentrate on an article about peritonitis, but, instead, her eyes kept moving to the window where she could see her sister cutting roses in the garden below. Blair could see that Houston was humming, smelling the roses and, in general, enjoying herself.
For the life of her, Blair couldn’t understand Houston. She’d just had an argument with her fiancé, he’d stormed away in anger, yet Houston wasn’t in the least upset.
And then there was that episode in town with that man Taggert. Blair had never seen Houston so responsive to a man to whom she hadn’t been formally introduced. Houston was a stickler for rules and etiquette, yet she’d greeted that ill-clad, hairy man as if they were old friends.
Blair put her journal down and went to the garden.
“All right,” Blair said as soon as she reached her sister. “I want to know what’s going on.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Houston looked as innocent as a baby.
“Kane Taggert,” Blair answered, trying to read her sister’s face.
“I saw him in Wilson’s Mercantile and later he said good morning to us.”
Blair studied Houston and saw that there was an unnatural flush in her cheeks, as if she were very excited about something. “You’re not telling me everything.”
“I probably shouldn’t have involved myself, but Mr. Taggert looked as if he were getting angry and I wanted to prevent a quarrel. Unfortunately, it was at Mary Alice’s expense.” Houston then told a story about Mary Alice Pendergast’s baiting of Taggert, of referring to him as a coal miner, of turning her nose up at him. And Houston had taken Taggert’s side.
Blair was stunned that Houston would involve herself in something that wasn’t any of her business, but worse, Blair didn’t like the look of Taggert. He looked capable of doing anything to anybody. And, too, she’d heard many references to the man and his cronies, men like Vanderbilt, Jay Gould, Rockefeller. “I don’t like your getting mixed up with him.”
“You sound like Leander.”
“For once, he’s right!” Blair snapped.
“Perhaps we should mark this day in the family Bible. Blair, after tonight, I swear I’ll never even mention Mr. Taggert’s name.”
“Tonight?” Blair had a feeling that what she should do right now was run, not walk, to the nearest place of safety. When they were children, Houston had been able to involve her in several projects with unhappy endings—all of which Blair had been blamed for. No one could believe that sweet, demure Houston was capable of disobedience.
“Look at this. A messenger brought it. He’s invited me to dinner at his house.” Houston pulled a note from inside her sleeve and handed it to Blair.
“So? You’re supposed to go somewhere with Leander tonight, aren’t you?”
“Blair, you don’t seem to realize what a stir that house has caused in this town. Everyone has tried to get an invitation to see the inside of it. People have come from all over the state to see it, but no one has ever been invited in. Once, it was even put to Mr. Taggert that an English duke who was passing through should be allowed to stay in the house, but Mr. Taggert wouldn’t even listen to the committee. And now I’ve been invited.”
“But you have to go somewhere else,” Blair persisted. “The governor will be there. Surely he’s more important than the inside of any old house.”
Houston got an odd look on her face, the same one she’d had that morning when she’d gazed up at that hulking house. “You couldn’t understand what it was like. Year after year we watched the train unload its goods. Mr. Gates said the owner didn’t build a spur line to the house site because he wanted everyone to see everything going all the way through town. There were crates of goods from all over the world. Oh, Blair, I know they must have been filled with furniture. And tapestries! Tapestries from Brussels.”
“Houston, you cannot be in two places at once. You promised to go to the reception and you must go,” she said flatly, hoping to end the matter. Of the two men, Leander was definitely the lesser evil.
“When we were children, we could be in two places at once,” Houston said, as if it were the simplest statement in the world.
Blair was sure her breath stopped. “You want us to trade places? You want me to spend an evening with Leander, pretending I like him, while you go see some lecherous man’s house?”
“What do you know about Kane to call him lecherous?”
“Kane, is it? I thought you didn’t now him?”
“Don’t change the subject. Blair, please trade places with me. Just for one night. I’d go another night but I’m afraid Mr. Gates would forbid it, and I’m not sure Leander would want me to go either, and I’ll never get another opportunity like this. Just one last fling before I get married.”
“You make marriage sound like death. Besides, Leander would know I wasn’t you in a minute.”
“Not if you behaved yourself. You know that we’re both good actresses. Look at ho
w I pretend to be an old woman every Wednesday. All you have to do is be quiet and not start an argument with Lee, and refrain from talking about medicine and walk like a lady instead of looking like you’re running to a fire.”
Blair’s mind was reeling. Ever since she’d returned to Chandler she had been frantically worried about her sister, afraid that all her spirit had been suppressed. This was the first sign of life Houston’d shown in a week. It was like when they were children, getting into scrapes, pretending to be each other, and laughing hilariously together later.
But what about Leander? All he had to do was start teasing Blair about being a lady doctor and…
Her head came up. Leander never teased Houston, and for one night she’d be Houston. And, too, this would be her chance to reassure herself that Leander really was the wonderful man both Opal and Houston said he was. She would be able to satisfy herself that, when they were alone, Lee and Houston were right for each other, that they were in love.
“Please, please, Blair. I hardly ever ask you for anything.”
“Except to spend weeks in the house of our stepfather whom you know I detest. To spend weeks in the company of that self-congratulating man I think you intend to marry. To—,” Blair said, but she was smiling. She could return to Pennsylvania in peace if she were sure her sister was going to be happy.
“Oh, Blair, please. I really do want to see this house.”
“It’s just his house you’re interested in, not Taggert?”
“For Heaven’s sake! I’ve been to hundreds of dinner parties and I haven’t yet been swept off my feet by the host. Besides, there’ll be other people there.”
“After the wedding, would you mind if I told Leander he spent an evening with me? Just to see the look on his face would be worth everything.”
“Of course you may. Lee has a very good sense of humor, and I’m sure he’ll enjoy the joke.”
“I somehow doubt that, but at least I’ll enjoy it.”
“Let’s go get ready. I want to wear something befitting that house, and you’ll get to wear the blue satin Worth gown.”