Halfway to Hayward, LeAnn called Matt as she had promised. As soon as she was in the town of Hayward, she found a little flower shop and bought a beautiful rose arrangement.
She followed the GPS directions to the far side of the town in the residential area. She passed a beautiful park and wondered if it was the park where Amelia and Jonathan had come to.
Just ahead was the most beautiful Victorian three-story house she had ever seen. The house was large, and it even had a steeple on the right side. It was like a home out of an old movie. She guessed it was built in the late 1800s or early 1900s. The house was grey with white trim. It had a wraparound porch with a white railing. The windows were made of gorgeous beveled glass, and there was a large stained-glass window over the door and in the third floor window. The house was incredible, and it was huge. She parked and sat looking at the house for awhile. It was like going back to a time when women wore long dresses and men had thick mustaches and wore starched collars.
She glanced at her watch and saw it was five minutes to two. She gathered her purse and floral arrangement and walked up to the large mahogany door. LeAnn took a deep breath before ringing the doorbell.
A dark-haired woman wearing black pants with what looked like a nurse’s smock answered the door.
“Hello, I’m LeAnn Klein.”
“Yes, Miss Klein, come in. Mrs. Armstrong is expecting you.” The woman stepped aside to allow LeAnn in.
“Are you Mrs. Thomas?” LeAnn asked cautiously.
“Yes, I am,” she responded coldly, her body ridged. Virginia Thomas was approximately fifty years old, short, and a little stocky. Her hair was pulled into a bun at the base of her neck. Her look was stern, and her eyes were piercing.
“You’ll have to visit with Mrs. Armstrong in her bedroom. She has been bedridden for many years now.” Virginia Thomas said curtly. “Follow me.”
LeAnn could not believe her eyes when she looked around the entry. To the right was an enormous living room. The furnishings would make any antique dealer drool. The grand staircase in front of them was all carved mahogany with a cherub on the newel post. LeAnn wished someone would ask her if she wanted a tour of the house. She was dying to see the whole house. There were crystal chandeliers and table lamps with crystals hanging from them; paintings and Persian rugs. There was the largest marble fireplace she had ever seen; she swore you could walk right into it! LeAnn thought that this was what palaces must look like inside.
Mrs. Thomas started up the wide spiral staircase; LeAnn followed her. She didn’t want to be rude by gawking at everything, but she had a hard time controlling herself.
They reached the top of the stairs, where LeAnn could see there were several rooms. She followed Mrs. Thomas to the right, and they stopped in front of a grand double door. The doors were carved; Leann gasped when she saw them. They had the same carvings as those on the door that led to the ballroom and on the floor mirror that was now in her bedroom.
“Is there a problem?” Virginia Thomas asked, furrowing her eyebrows.
“No. Not all.” LeAnn answered, slightly embarrassed.
“Hmmph. Wait here,” Virginia ordered. She lightly knocked on the doors and peeked in. “Phoebe? Are you awake? Miss Klein is here.”
“Oh, please, show her in!”
LeAnn could hear a sweet elderly voice coming from behind the door.
Virginia Thomas held the door open so that LeAnn could go in.
The room was huge with heavy velvet drapes, royal blue with gold cording. An enormous crystal chandelier hung from the high ceiling. These are even more beautiful than the ones hanging in the ballroom, LeAnn thought. There was a vanity that made LeAnn’s look like a medicine cabinet. On it were several beautiful crystal bottles of every shape and color. To the right was a large marble fireplace and to the left was the biggest carved four-poster bed that LeAnn had ever seen. In the middle of the bed was a tiny little woman propped up by several satin pillows. Phoebe Armstrong couldn’t have weighed more than eighty-five pounds. She wore a nightgown of soft blue satin. Her hair was white and hung straight down to her shoulders.
“Come in dear, don’t be afraid,” Phoebe said with a soft, sweet smile.
“Mrs. Armstrong, it is such a pleasure to meet you,” LeAnn said shyly.
“Please, call me Phoebe. I don’t like people to be so formal. It makes me feel old.” She laughed at her little joke.
LeAnn walked over and shook the thin outstretched hand. It was so tiny and frail.
“Oh, the roses are beautiful. Thank you dear. Just put them here next to the bed so that I can admire them.”
LeAnn walked to the other side of the bed to put the flowers on the bedside table. She noticed the wheelchair tucked in the corner. Sadness tugged at LeAnn’s heart.
“Now, come sit here next to me. Virginia, will you please be so kind as to bring up the tea for Miss….Oh, dear, I’ve forgotten your name already. I’m sorry.”
“It’s LeAnn. Please don’t apologize.” LeAnn smiled at the gracious lady and was starting to wonder how Jonathan could have ever betrayed this lovely woman.
“Virginia, tea please, for LeAnn and myself.”
When Virginia had left the room, Phoebe turned to LeAnn and said, “Now, why did you want to come visit me? Virginia said you were quite persistent.”
“I’m so sorry if I was out of line by calling, but I just bought Tabor Island.” LeAnn didn’t finish what she was going to say because of the look on Phoebe’s face.
Phoebe had a faraway look, almost as though she were mentally somewhere else. Then, almost in a whisper, not talking to anyone, she said, “Tabor Island. Oh, the balls they had. The beautiful, beautiful balls. I remember my first ball there. My father bought my dress in New York. I was eighteen, and he came home with the invitation and the dress. I’ll never forget that dress. It was white and came down to my ankles. The bottom was like petals of a flower, and the dress was covered with pearls, sequins, and crystals. It was sleeveless and had a scooped neckline. My mother bought me gloves that came to my elbows, and my father gave me a diamond necklace to wear with the dress. I was so proud to be on my fathers arm that night. He was an extremely handsome man. I miss my father.” Phoebe looked at LeAnn and said, “My father owned several banks, you know. We were very wealthy.”
LeAnn nodded her head, acknowledging that she knew this.
There was a soft knock on the door, and Virginia came in with a silver tray holding a silver teapot. She served the tea in delicate bone china cups and saucers. As she turned to leave the room, she glared at LeAnn before closing the door.
“I loved him, you know. I loved him with all my being,” Phoebe said out of nowhere.
“Your father?” LeAnn asked.
“Jonathan.”
LeAnn almost dropped her cup and saucer. “Excuse me?”
“I wish I knew why he couldn’t love me like he loved her.” Phoebe was staring towards the fireplace, holding her cup and saucer.
LeAnn took a chance. “Phoebe,” she asked, “can you tell me what happened the night your husband died?”
“No,” she said slowly, still staring at the fireplace. “I wasn’t there. The balls were so beautiful. The candles, the flowers, the food, the chandeliers. The dancing, oh, how wonderful the dancing was. I wish the Tabors would have the balls again. I haven’t danced since….” Her voice trailed off. She looked at her wheelchair in the corner.
LeAnn saw that this woman was living in the time of her life, mentally, when everything was perfect. At a time when she had her legs, her parents, and her youth.
Suddenly, Phoebe reacted as if coming out of a dream. “My goodness, dear, you must think I’m a very rude hostess. I haven’t asked about you.”
LeAnn stuttered, shocked at the sudden mood change, “Oh, well, not much to tell except I used to come here when I was growing up and fell in love with Tabor Island. I lost my parents a couple of years ago, and with my heritance I was able to fulfill my dream of owning the island and living in the Tabor house.”
Phoebe’s mood changed again. “She tried to take him away from me, you know. She can’t have him. He’s mine. He married me! You tell her to leave him alone! He’s my husband, not hers!” Phoebe dropped her cup and saucer and pounded her little frail hands on her bed. “He’s my husband not hers! You tell her!”
Just then the door swung open, and an angry Virginia came rushing in. “I knew your coming here wasn’t a good idea. Just the mention of the Tabor name sets her into a frenzy. You have to go now!” Virginia was preparing a hypodermic to give Phoebe to calm her down. She turned and glared at LeAnn, “Go!” Then she turned to the screaming little woman, “Phoebe, it’s me, Virginia. I’m going to give you your medicine now. Calm down, Phoebe.” She reached for the thin arm.
“He’s my husband, and she needs to leave him alone! She can’t have him! Do you hear me, Amelia? You can’t have him, EVER, NOT EVER!”
LeAnn ran down the large staircase, fumbling to find her car keys. Phoebe was still screaming as LeAnn ran out of the house. She unlocked the car door and started the engine. She drove off fast until she had gone about five blocks. She pulled the car over, put it in park and burst into tears. “Oh my God, what have I done? Forgive me, Phoebe, forgive me!” After awhile, she composed herself and tried to call Matt. The call went straight into his voice mail. LeAnn ended the call without leaving a message.
She started the car and drove back to Cable. All she wanted was to get to Ridgewood’s and find Matt.
She drove back reliving her visit with Phoebe Armstrong. Maybe she was never going to find out what was going on out at the island. Maybe she should just sell it. Then she thought she wouldn’t sell it; she’d just let it go. She couldn’t let another family endure what she had. That thing was going to continue to stay there until it got what it wanted. The question was, what did it want?
As she came into Cable, she drove slowly, wondering which house was Amelia’s. Was Amelia a home wrecker? LeAnn had read the journal, and in the beginning when Amelia had met Jonathan, she didn’t know about Phoebe. Jonathan was the louse in all of this. Maybe the creep played both girls.
Driving through a couple of neighborhoods, LeAnn recognized the street name from the note Mrs. Weston had given her. She turned on Lake Drive. It was a well-kept neighborhood. The houses looked like they had been built in the 1920’s. Back then you got a lot of property with your house. Her Dad you to say that. The houses looked like they were built on a half of an acre and each was well groomed.
She looked for the address of Amelia Tabor. She found it and stopped across the street from the pretty little cottage. In the center of fence was an arbor with roses. Other various flowers grew around the large yard, but most of the flowers were fading now, due to the fact it was the end of fall. LeAnn noticed there was a large beautiful rose garden on either side of the walkway.
Probably has her mother’s green thumb for roses, LeAnn thought. Her thoughts were interrupted by a petite woman coming out of the front door. LeAnn slowly drove off. She had upset one woman today; she didn’t need to upset another one.
LeAnn continued her trip back to Ridgewood’s. She parked in her space and turned off the engine. Resting her head on the steering wheel, she closed her eyes. What in heavens name had happened? This was not what she had expected. Shaking her head in disbelief.
A couple of minutes later, LeAnn got out of the car and went to the condo. She threw her purse on the dining room table and poured herself a glass of wine. Her watched showed it was three-thirty. Remembering the guys had planned to play golf, she walked over and sat in the chair by the patio door. It was too chilly to sit outside, so she decided not to go out. She stared at the island—the island she owned but couldn’t live on, because whatever was there terrified her, threatened her.
Her visit to Phoebe had not helped at all. All it did was confirm that there was a lot of sadness associated with that island.
Deep in thought, the ringing of the phone startled her.
“Miss Klein?” the female voice on the other line asked.
“Yes,” LeAnn said cautiously.
“I heard you paid a visit to Phoebe Armstrong today.”
“Who is this?”.
“You upset her greatly. At least, that’s what I heard,” the female voice continued.
“I’m going to hang up unless you tell me who you are,” LeAnn demanded.
“It’s Amelia Tabor.” She paused and then continued. “I would like to see what you have found and what you desperately think I need to have.”
“Okay,” LeAnn said. “When?”
“Come to my home tomorrow morning around eleven.” Amelia hung up.
“Whoa! She’s not too rude!” LeAnn said out loud, shocked by Amelia’s actions.
LeAnn looked at her watch and tried Matt’s phone again. It was almost five, and they surely had to be done with golf by now.
Matt answered on the fourth ring. “Hey, babe! Where are you?”
“I’m at your place. Are you guys done?”
“Just finished and are headed to the lounge. Do you want to join us?”
“Yeah, I guess.” She wasn’t sure she wanted to be in public the way she was feeling, but she wanted to see Matt.
“Are you okay? You sound funny. How did it go in Hayward?” He didn’t like the way she sounded.
“Not so good on both questions. I’ll meet you guys in a few minutes. I want to change.”
“LeAnn, I can come home if you don’t want to come to the lounge.”
“No, it’s all right. If I can’t stand it we’ll leave. Okay?”
“Sure. Hurry, I can’t wait to see you.”
“Me neither. I love you!”
“I love you, too, honey.” They hung up.
LeAnn went into the bathroom to check her hair and make up. She looked awful. After fixing herself up, she grabbed her jacket and walked to the resort lounge. The temperature had dropped, and she was glad when she reached the resort doors. She found her brother and Matt sitting at the bar. When Matt saw her come in, he quickly went to her and gave her a much needed hug. They kissed and joined her brother at the bar.
“Hey, sis, what are you drinking?” Adam asked as she sat on the barstool next to him.
“Chardonnay, please.”
“Coming right up, LeAnn.” She looked up at the familiar voice, and saw Nick behind the bar.
“Nick, hi! I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you were the bartender,” She said apologizing.
Nick laughed. “No problem. Be right back with your wine.”
Matt put his arm around her back. “Start talking. What happened?”
“What makes you think anything happened?”
“Your face and red eyes. You’ve been crying. Plus, your voice on the phone; dead give away.”
LeAnn shook her head in wonderment, “She’s so tiny and frail. She really seemed sweet. I felt so sorry for her. She totally lives in the past back to when she was a young girl and going to the Tabor’s balls. She talked about her dresses and dancing. Her mom and dad. Then she just flipped out! Out of nowhere, she started to talk about how no one was going to have her husband especially Amelia. She looked straight at me and told me to tell Amelia to leave her husband alone. It was awful. She actually was yelling at me.
Her nurse came in and told me she knew it was a mistake my coming there. She told me to leave. The nurse basically threw me out!” LeAnn looked at the two stunned men. “It was awful and all my fault. Phoebe was so upset. I should not have asked her what happened the night Jonathan died.” LeAnn started to cry. Through her tears, she said, “The nurse had to give her a shot of something to calm Phoebe down.”
Adam spoke before Matt could. “Please tell me you didn’t really ask her about that night.”
LeAnn nodded without saying anything.
Adam rolled his eyes. “How did you expect her to react? You asked about the night her husband was murdered!”
“LeAnn,” Matt said softly, “you didn’t do anything wrong.” He gave Adam a disapproving look then continued, “She’s an old woman. Of course she lives in the past. She’s lived her whole life in a bed and wheelchair. Come on, honey, don’t cry. Take a sip of your wine.” Matt handed her the wine glass Nick had placed in front of her.
She took the glass from him, sipped, and continued. “That’s not all. I got a call from Amelia Tabor when I got back to the condo. Don’t ask me how, but she had heard about my visit with Phoebe and wants me to come see her tomorrow at eleven, and bring whatever it is I have for her. Then, she hung up on me.”
“You’re not going!” Matt exclaimed. It wasn’t a question; he was telling her she wasn’t going.
LeAnn shot him a quick look. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me. You are not going.”
Adam thought it was time to go to the men’s room. He knew better than to tell LeAnn she couldn’t do something. The fireworks were about to go off, and he didn’t want to be there when she exploded at Matt.
“Listen here, Mr. Weston.” She turned to face him. “No one, and I mean no one, tells me what I can and cannot do. If I want to go see Amelia Tabor tomorrow, I will go! Do you understand me?”
Matt was stunned by her reaction. This was a side of LeAnn he had never seen before and was hoping he’d never see again.
“Calm down, LeAnn! Why in the world are you reacting this way? You went through crap today with that Armstrong woman. You come in here all sad and crying. I’m just trying to save you from the same thing happening tomorrow. Excuse me for caring!” Matt got up and walked out of the lounge.
Nick came over sheepishly. “Another wine?”
Without looking at Nick, LeAnn said, “Vodka martini.”
Adam came back to the bar. “Is it over?”
She looked at him with a scowl. “Is what over?”
“The fireworks. When Matt said you couldn’t go tomorrow, I knew you’d explode. So, is it over?”
She stared at her brother with distaste then turned away, saying, “Smart ass.” Nick brought the martini, set it in front of her, and turned away quickly.
Neither one said anything for a while, and then LeAnn slid off the barstool and went to sit at a table by the window overlooking the lake. Adam stayed where he was talking to Nick. Adam knew that when his sister was in a mood like this, the best thing was to let her cool down.
LeAnn was looking out toward the island when she heard a voice say, “Hi, girlfriend! Can I join you?” It was Hannah.
LeAnn turned toward her, and Hannah saw that she was crying.
“Oh, LeAnn, honey, what’s wrong? Why in the world are you crying?” Hannah sat down next to her friend and put her arm around her.
“Hannah, I’m making a mess of everything. All I want is to go back to my house, to my island, but I can’t! Something very threatening is there and doesn’t want me—or anyone for that matter—there. I needed to do something, but when I did try, it backfired.”
“Slow down. What in the world are you talking about? What backfired?” Hannah asked, concerned.
“I went to see Phoebe Armstrong today, and it didn’t go very well. It started out fine, but ended with the nurse basically throwing me out. And she had to sedate Phoebe Armstrong because of me!” The tears started again.
Hannah choked on her Bloody Mary and started coughing. “You did what? LeAnn, you didn’t,” she said, not believing what she was hearing.
“I did, and I don’t need a lecture from you too!” LeAnn said through her tears. Trying hard to control her crying, she gave Hannah a general synopsis of what had happened at Phoebe Armstrong’s house earlier that day.
“Oh, LeAnn, honey, she’s an old woman and probably has dementia. You can’t take this so personally.” Hannah tried to convince LeAnn that what happened was not her fault.
“I know, I know, but that’s not the worst of it. Amelia Tabor called me, and I’m to go over to her house tomorrow morning. Now I’m not so sure it’s a good idea.”
“Why in the world are you going to visit her?”
LeAnn paused before admitting to her friend that she had called Amelia first. “Well,” she said, “I called her to tell her I had some of her things to return. Remember we found the bracelet and letters?” Hannah nodded. “Well, I told her I found some things that I thought she should have. I don’t think it’s right for me to keep them. Besides, she doesn’t know that Jonathan wrote her letters. Hannah, there are twenty-three letters! Can you imagine this man wrote twenty-three letters to the woman he loved so passionately even while he was married to someone else? What man does that?” LeAnn paused as she thought about the intense love Jonathan had for Amelia. Then she continued. “Unfortunately, Amelia wasn’t very receptive to my asking to see her. Then she heard I had visited Phoebe, and she called me.”
“She heard you had visited Phoebe?”
“Yeah, and I had only been home an hour. News travels fast in these parts. She even knew that the visit hadn’t ended well. Anyway, she said for me to be at her house at eleven tomorrow morning.”
“Do you want me to go with you?” Hannah asked sincerely.
LeAnn smiled at her friend, “No, but you are sweet to volunteer.”
“So why the tears? Two old women shouldn’t upset you so much.”
LeAnn looked out the window before answering then turned back to Hannah. “I took it all out on Matt. I was pretty ruthless.”
“I’ll say you were!” Both girls jumped at the sound of the male voice. It was Matt. “Lucky for you I have a very forgiving heart for the woman I’m in love with.” He was smiling.
“Well, then, that’s my cue to go visit my love interest behind the bar. Good luck, you two.” Hannah stood up, grabbed what was left of her Bloody Mary, and headed toward the bar and Nick.
Matt sat where Hannah had been. “Do you still love me?” he asked her.
“Do I still love you? I should ask if you still love me! I am so sorry I took the day out on you. Forgive me?” LeAnn couldn’t have been more sincere. She loved Matt so much and was worried she would lose him.
He kissed her and said, “Consider yourself forgiven.” They hugged, then he asked, “Are you hungry?”
She shook her head. “No, not really.”
“Well, then, we’ll just sit here and enjoy each other’s company.”
“Great idea.”
After they had been sitting quietly for awhile, Matt spoke up. “LeAnn, honey, we are going to figure out what’s happening on your island, I promise. You need to know that I am here for you. I support you and any decisions you make. That’s what love is, continuing to love someone no matter how bad things are. It’s easy to love when things are good, but the true test is when things are their darkest.”
She looked into his eyes, amazed. She loved him so much. ‘Thank you,” She leaned her head on his shoulder, and they looked out the window over the darkening night.
“You two look cozy.” It was Adam. “Is this a private moment, or can your only brother join?”
They laughed and told him to sit down. “I’m starved. I ordered a cheeseburger. You two want anything?”
“No,” LeAnn responded. “I’m not hungry.”
Matt decided he was and ordered the same as Adam.
After the guys finished eating, the three decided it was time to leave. They said good bye to Nick and Hannah. LeAnn gave Hannah a hug and told her she would call her after her visit with Amelia Tabor.
Matt took LeAnn’s hand and headed for their condo, Adam in tow.