Beyond a Doubt

chapter Thirty-Five




The twins plied Bryce with tea and scones until he thought he would burst from fullness. He offered to help them with some outside work and they instantly became his best friends.

Their strange antics kept him distracted. They told stories, made jokes, and kept him talking. By the time they stopped, the sun was descending.

“What a day,” Winifred said. “I dare say we’ve never had such fun.”

“Ah, if we have, I don’t remember it,” replied Winnie, a smile covering her lean face.

“We will have to do this more often,” said Winifred.

“Indeed, we will.”

Back and forth the words volleyed. At the end of their conversation, Bryce’s neck ached.

“Would you enjoy that, lad?” asked Winifred with a shy wink.

“I believe I would,” he answered, having missed the initial question.

Their two sets of hands clapped. Winifred continued, “Delightful. Next time we must invite Lucille to join us. She will be upset about missing our visit. The child always did love a good tea party. She was so young when her mother passed, why, was it just minutes?”

“You are correct, dear Winifred. She passed only minutes after birthing the lass. Never seen a man so distraught as Louis. Refused to touch his own daughter for weeks, he did. Why, if it hadn’t been for the nurse I don’t know what would have happened to the poor child.”

“But do you remember how he doted on her as she aged? Guilt-ridden, he was. After he neglected her and came to his senses, he never went back.”

“You are right, dear sister. Lavished the child, he did, with every conceivable convenience. Imagine hiring an inventor to run a hose from the tub to an outside drain! The entire neighborhood thought him crazy or at least unstable, but it worked.”

“And her pony!”

“Oh, she had the finest pony. They say it was of a royal bloodline.”

“We must be making her sound terrible.” One sister slapped the other on the arm.

“You must understand she never asked for those things, oh no. In fact, she gave so much to the children's home, it was unbelievable. Her father Louis, God rest his soul, just bought it anyway. He was an odd bird.”

“Odd bird, indeed.”

Bryce had trouble keeping up with who said what. However, the words they spoke challenged his mind. He couldn’t visualize the person they spoke of. A woman with a silver spoon in her mouth. Albeit she’d avoided this lifestyle to some extent, she’d still been raised as a privileged person. Raised to live in high society, she held the ability to fit in with every person she came in contact with. The lass was an enigma.

“Oh, look at the time.”

Bryce jumped from his seat as one of the women mentioned the time. The lateness of the hour and his absence from the house next door had surely worried Lucy. As he looked out the window and tried to think of a way to extricate himself from the women without hurting their feelings, one of the twins placed a delicious smelling treat in front of his face.

“Please take this pie,” said Winnie.

“Blackberry pie is Lucy’s favorite,” added Winifred.

“What? I thought it was apple pie?” asked Winnie.

“Apple, you say? Are you sure? I’m still thinking blackberry,” said Winifred.

Bryce left the two old women arguing. If they wanted Lucy to have the thing, they could bring it by later. The yard opened onto the street and Bryce walked in front of the two houses to reach Lucy’s home. Lights blazed through the curtained windows.

Slipping up the walk and through the door, Bryce heard a racket. The sound came from the study. Still filthy from earlier in the day, Bryce avoided the carpet as he walked toward the noise.