Marblestone Mansion, Book 7 Read online

  Hannish nodded. “She will do and say anythin’ to get what she wants.”

  Prescot again added, “Once she does, she disappears, only to come back again when she is short of funds.”

  “Oh, my,” Bernie muttered. Tiny beads of sweat were beginning to form on his brow. “She says she is a widow.”

  “That much is true,” said Hannish. “Her real name is Mrs. Gormilia Graham. Her husband died last year in London.”

  Bernie slowly ran his fingers through his hair. “She belongs in a lunatic asylum. Is that what you mean to do with her?”

  Hannish sighed. “I can see no other way. Can you not imagine what ‘tis like, for a lass to hear she is not her husband’s only wife?”

  “I can indeed imagine it.”

  “Mrs. Graham has ruined more than one happy home,” said Prescot.

  “Has she ruined your happy home, Mr. Prescot?” Bernie asked.

  Prescot was not ready for that question and glanced at Hannish. “Not yet, but I dare not let her try.”

  “It is I,” said Hannish. “I have paid more to get her out of our lives than I care to admit. Now, I only wish to find her and put her away, where she cannae hurt anyone else. She once was in prison for shooting a lad on a train, I am told.”

  Bernie’s eyes widened. “She is a murderer?”

  “Nay, the lad lived, but she can be quite dangerous, and who knows what she might do next.”

  “Good heavens, she truly does belong in an asylum.”

  “Can you tell us how to find her?” Prescot asked.

  Bernie thoughtfully strummed his fingers on his desk. “Gentlemen, I have a reputation to uphold. If I tell you where to find her, will you not say how you learned of it?”

  “We shall not breathe a word,” Hannish assure him.

  Bernie once more shook his head in disbelief. “I thought her a bit strange, but I never thought her a lunatic.”

  “We are not well acquainted with asylums. Will they harm her?” Hannish asked.

  “You are a good man to care, Mr. MacGreagor. The asylums are quite modern here. It was once a place for families to dispose of unwanted relatives, and furthermore to keep society from acknowledging the problem of vagrancy, but now, that is no longer the case. The lunatics are treated well and kept safe from harm. The facilities are clean, well ventilated, and the one I am familiar with has a very nice garden.”

  “You have seen one?”

  “Unfortunately, my wife is in one. She no longer knows who I am, but I go occasionally just to satisfy myself that she does not suffer. I love that woman to this day, but…”

  Hannish bowed his head and waited for Mr. Hathaway to recover his emotions. “How did you come to put her there? We are not aware of the regulations.”

  “Well, it helps if a family member declares her impossible, but it can be done without.” Bernie reached for a piece of paper and a fountain pen, dipped the pen in ink, and wrote down the name and telephone number. “This is my wife’s doctor, and I am certain he can help…for a fee, naturally.”

  Hannish accepted the paper and nodded. “Any fee shall be less than what it has cost me to find her.”

  *

  The next day, Hannish and Prescot when to Doctor Morris’ office, explained what was wrong with the duchess, and the plans were made. Since she lived in a women only hotel, the hard part was waiting for her to come out. Without explaining how he knew, Bernie said she would come out of the hotel early on Wednesday afternoon. So while they waited for Wednesday, Hannish and Prescot went to see Mother O’Connell.

  Mrs. O’Connell lived in a flat on New York City’s Lower East Side where many of the Scots and Irish lived. It was a jerry-built tenement that was clearly meant to be a temporary structure. The building had four floors of railroad flats where the apartments were linked together like a train. The windows were small, if the tenant was fortunate enough to have a window at all, and Hannish had heard of buildings of that sort collapsing without warning.

  The expensive rented carriage Hannish and Prescot arrived in looked completely out of place, and drew the attention of many on the street. As the people gawked, Hannish got out, entered the building, and warily climbed three flights of stairs he was not convinced would hold his weight. After that, he was forced to walk through two cluttered and dirty apartments to find Mother O’Connell’s. He lightly knocked on the door and waited.

  “Who is it?” asked a man on the other side.

  “Hannish MacGreagor,” he answered. Slowly, the door opened and a young man stepped back to let him in. At least this apartment was clean, crowded but as clean as anyone could expect. There were cracks in the walls that he thought were cause for alarm, but he said nothing about them. Another young man stood when he entered, and a young woman remained seated on a davenport that had seen better days.

  “Mr. MacGreagor,” a delighted Mrs. O’Connell asked as she came out of the tiny kitchen, “You are here?”

  “Forgive me for not callin’ first, but your line is constantly busy.”

  Mother O’Connell smiled and let him hug her. “We have no phone of our own; we share with three other families. Normally, we have no one to call anyway.”

  “I see.”

  “These are Leesil and Cathleen’s half-brothers, Samuel and Ben.” She waited as he shook hands with each, and then motioned to her daughter-in-law. “This is Francis, Samuel’s wife.”

  Hannish nodded to the pretty girl with blonde hair and hazel eyes. “I am pleased to make your acquaintance. You mother speaks fondly of you all.”

  “Of you as well, Mr. MacGreagor,” said Samuel. “Would you like to sit down?”

  “I was hopin’ you would let me take you to dinner.”

  “All of us, Mother O’Connell asked.”

  He jiggled the coins in his pocket and grinned, “I believe I can manage it. Where would you like to go?”

  “Anywhere but here?” Samuel answered. He was of average height, looked somewhat like his mother with the same auburn hair as Leesil’s, and had a friendly air about him. He was eighteen, Hannish already knew, and Ben was sixteen. Both wore clothing that had been repeatedly patched, and Francis had on a plain but presentable dress, as did Mother O’Connell.

  “Shall we go then? Prescot is waitin’ downstairs.”

  “You brought the butler with you?” Francis asked. “I have never seen a real butler.” She excitedly rose up off the davenport, and grabbed her purse.

  Hannish opened the door, waited for Mrs. O’Connell and her family to go out, and then followed them. “Prescot is a prize fighter and I brought him for protection.”

  “You might need it in this neighborhood,” Samuel said, as they descended the creaky stairs.

  Hannish couldn’t help but shudder at the thought that the stairs might cave in at any moment, and as soon as they were out, he welcomed the solid earth and the fresh air. A crowd had gathered around the carriage, and the moment Prescot saw them, he hopped out and held the door for their guests, just as good butler should. Instead of getting in, Ben walked all the way around the exterior, examined every inch, stopped, and then put a finger to his chin, “Aye, this will do, Mr. Prescot.”

  Some in the crowd laughed. Hannish smiled and decided he was going to like this brother-in-law very much. “Where to?” he asked as soon as Ben and Prescot got in.

  “How do you feel about chili and corn bread?” Samuel asked.

  “I could do with a bowl or two,” Hannish answered.

  Samuel gave directions and the driver took them to a restaurant not far away, where all they served was chili and cornbread. When they were finished with their first bowl, he offered a second round and none of them turned it down. He wondered if it had been a while since they’d had eaten their fill. The young couple seemed too young to be married, but he reminded himself he wasn’t much other when he married the duchess. Most of the people in the restaurant spoke with either an Irish or a Scottish accent, and once, he even detected a few words in
Gaelic. He let his guests eat in peace and because it was later than the normal dinner time, the restaurant soon began to empty.

  “Do you all live together?” Hannish asked.

  “No,” Samuel answered, “my wife and I have a room of our own.”

  “In the same building?” Prescot asked.

  “We do not care to leave mother and Ben there alone,” Francis said, “and it is near to impossible to find another place.”

  “Do you like livin’ in New York?” Hannish asked.

  “We know no other place?” Samuel answered. He took another spoonful of chili and put it in his mouth.

  Hannish set his empty bowl aside and folded his arms. At the other end of the table, Prescot was enjoying his third bowl. “Tell me about the factory you work in.”

  “It is just an ordinary factory,” Samuel answered. “Ben makes collars and I make cuffs for readymade shirts. My wife sews the shirt seams together.”

  “Do you?” said Prescot. “I have yet to see a readymade shirt.”

  Francis nodded. “Soon, they shall be in all the shops. We’ve enough work ahead, they tell us, to last the year complete.”

  Hannish addressed his next question to Samuel. “Would you care to learn how to build?”

  “Build what?” Samuel asked.

  “Houses. I own…”

  “Mr. MacGreagor,” Mother O’Connell interrupted, “say what you mean.”

  “Very well.” He directed his remarks to her, “my parents have long since passed and my wife wants her children to have a grandmother.”

  “They have that already,” said Mother O’Connell.

  “Aye, but you are thousands of miles away. She wants…I mean we all hope you might like Colorado. We have empty houses for you to live in, I offer employment to your sons, and…”

  “And you offer all that just to give your children a grandmother?” Mrs. O’Connell asked.

  Before he asked, Hannish was pretty sure he was going to have a hard time convincing her. Most people do not like change, and moving to Colorado would be a big change indeed. He quickly exchanged worried glances with Prescot, and then continued, “Nay, ‘tis not all. You see, we left the clan in Scotland, and now that the castle is no more, we are pressing them to come. When they do, they shall need other Scots to teach them how to live in America.”

  “Wait,” and astonished Ben said, “do you mean to say you are a laird?”

  “Aye, I am Laird MacGreagor,” Hannish admitted.

  Samuel whistled his astonishment and then asked, “And you want us to join your clan?”

  “I do. Of course, you must take an oath of allegiance and obey my commands. You must be willin’ to fight to protect the clan, and you must trust me to know what is best.”

  Ben wrinkled his brow. “Where must we go to take this oath?”

  Hannish glanced around and was relieved that most of the customers were gone. “We can do it now if you like.”

  Ben studied the look of concern on his mother’s face. “Mother?”

  “I…” she muttered.

  Hannish reached across the table and put his hand over hers. “Miss Abigail needs another in her sewin’ circle.”

  At last, Mother O’Connell smiled. “In that case, I see no reason not be become part of your clan. I have seen how vast this country is, how beautiful the stars are in Colorado, and I have greatly missed my daughters since I came home. Above all that, I cannae wait to see what Abigail will do next.”

  Ben leaned over and kissed his mother on the cheek. Then he stood up. “I am ready to take the oath.”

  “So am I,” said Samuel.

  Hannish stood up as well and faced them. He had never given the oath before and hoped he remembered it. He cleared his throat and began. “‘Tis a great honor to be in the MacGreagor Clan and I do not give my permission lightly. A lad must pledge to obey me, even when he thinks I have gone daft. He must fight if I say fight, he must lay down his arms when I command it, even in the face of an enemy – and he must obey the MacGreagor edict.”

  “What edict?” Ben asked.

  Hannish took a deep breath. “We know not from where the edict came, but we have lived by it for many generations. It says, that a lad who forces a lass, or hurts a lass or a child out of anger, shall be put to death.”

  Samuel scoffed, “You need not fret over that. If you did not kill us, Mother would.”

  Hannish smiled, nodded his approval to Mother O’Connell, and turned again to her sons. “Do I have your pledge?”

  “Aye,” said Samuel and Ben at the same time.

  “Now you are a member of the MacGreagor clan and I give you my first command. You shall leave all you own, save your clothin’ and that which you cherish, and come with me to Colorado.”

  Francis listened to it all and then shook her head. “I am not leaving my family.”

  Samuel quickly went to her, took her hand and helped her stand up. “You took an oath to obey me, do not forget. I say we are going to Colorado.”

  She was hesitant, but at last, she nodded. “Promise we can come back if we are unhappy there.”

  “I promise,” said Samuel. “A house, Francis, think of it, neither of us has ever lived in a house.”

  As she stood up to leave, Mrs. O’Connell took hold of Hannish’s arm and made him wait until the others were outside. “I’ve a confession to make. My sons and I had already decided to save our money and move to Colorado.”

  Hannish laughed and walked her out to the waiting carriage. “I should have guessed that. You are more like your daughters than you know. How soon can you be ready?”

  “Tomorrow, if you please,” Mother O’Connell answered. “We do not have much to take.”

  “We have business here until Thursday,” said Hannish, “but Prescot shall see that we all have tickets on the train come Friday.”

  It was a short ride back to the tenement building, and when Prescot opened the door and started to help the women out of the carriage, Hannish put up his hand. “I cannae let you live there another day.”

  “We could get them rooms at the hotel,” Prescot suggested.

  “Indeed we could.”

  “A hotel?” Ben whispered. “Is it up town or down?”

  Hannish had a blank look on his face, “I dinna know. ‘Tis the Waldorf Astoria.”

  “The Waldorf Astoria,” an astonished Samuel asked.

  “I knew a lass who worked there once,” said Francis. “She got sacked.”

  “What say you?” Hannish asked. “Must I command you to stay this night in a hotel?”

  “I would rather you did not,” Mother O’Connell said. “We have things to sell and to give away, people to say goodbye too, and I wish to pack my own clothes.”

  He was disappointed, but Hannish let her have her way. “Very well, but you know how to reach me if you are in need.”

  “At the Waldorf Astoria?” Ben teased.

  “Aye.” Hannish watched them enter the building, got back in the carriage and ordered the driver to take them to the hotel. “How I detest leaving them there.”

  “So do I, but they need time to adjust,” said Prescot. “You mean to take them from poverty to splendor in a matter of days, sooner if you wish the best accommodations on the train. At Marblestone, Mrs. O’Connell had difficulties accepting our help. She said it made her feel guilty, for she was quite able to do for herself.”

  “You are right, I suppose, and I do want them to have the best accommodations on the trains, if they are available. They are our family now, and I want them to have all that they need from this day forward.”

  Prescot put his hand on his slightly extended stomach. “If the chili does not kill us all off first.”

  *

  As soon as they got back to the hotel, Hannish placed a call to Marblestone and asked to speak to Leesil.

  “Was I right?” she asked first thing. She took a seat next to the telephone table in the parlor while both Cathleen and Cameron came in from the
dining room.

  “‘Tis worse than you thought. They live in a deplorable building not fit for swine.”

  “Are they comin’?” she asked.

  “Aye. Mrs. O’Connell is truly your mother. She let me talk them into it and then admitted they had already decided to go.” He paused while she laughed, and then while she repeated what he said to Cameron and Cathleen.

  “When?” she asked.

  “Prescot is tryin’ to get tickets for us all on Friday. Leesil, you shall adore your brothers, particularly Ben. I like him very much. Francis leaves behind her family, so she shall need a bit of mollycoddlin’.”

  “I know just how to do it. Hold on.” She listened to her brother-in-law for a moment and then returned to the call. “Hannish, Cameron wants to know if he can tell Claymore to put a sold sign on one of the houses.”

  “Tell him two houses, until we see if your mother wishes to stay with us or live in a house with Ben.” Again, he paused while Leesil passed it on. “Leesil?”

  “Aye?”

  “I miss you more than words can say.”

  “I miss you too. Have you found the duchess yet?”

  “We are hopin’ to discover her tomorrow. Everythin’ is arranged and I shall call when ‘tis done.”

  “Please do, we wait with bated breath.”

  “I love you,” he said.

  “Not as much as I love you.” Leesil softly hung up the telephone and then turned to face her sister. “Tomorrow, if all goes well, we shall have that worrisome duchess out of our lives forever.”

  *

  On Wednesday, Bernie arrived early at the Martha Washington Hotel, so he could watch what was happening across the street through his carriage window. Prescot pretended to be reading a newspaper on one side of the front door, while Hannish leaned against the wall on the other side. He crossed his feet at the ankles, tipped his top hat forward to cover the top of his eyes and then folded his arms. Just as they hoped she would, the duchess opened the front door of the hotel and stepped out.

  Suddenly, Prescot had ahold of one of her arms and Hannish had the other. “Hello, Olivia, you are lookin’ well,” said Hannish.