“Mrs. Llewellyn,” I whispered.
“Ah, yes. She was particularly helpful and quite effusive in her praise of you. She told Mr. Haveleck a very interesting story about a certain young man.”
I couldn’t stop the mortified flush that rose up every time I thought of Randall. How could Mrs. Llewellyn have betrayed my trust? Was anyone immune to the Lemonts’ money? The muscles of my stomach tightened, and I took quick, shallow breaths, trying to present Hannah with a blank, unconcerned expression.
“Kate, Kate,” Hannah murmured. “I don’t care what happened; I truly don’t. What struck me was how you handled yourself. What might have been a disastrous incident was hushed up with no damage to anyone’s reputation, thanks to your quick thinking. Not many girls your age would have known what to do. I was quite impressed.
“The boy’s name was Bigelow, wasn’t it? It’s a curious thing—I found out not long after that his father had mortgaged their hotels to the hilt. Made a terrible mess of the family’s finances. It’s shocking, the mistakes people make when they get greedy. I had a word with the Palmers about it—they didn’t make the Palmer House into one of the world’s finest hotels without knowing the business inside and out—and wouldn’t you know? They decided to branch out to Ohio. They say Mr. Bigelow was so desperate he sold at a loss. Shipped his son off to South America. He’d become a bit of an embarrassment, it seems.”
For years, I’d wondered what I’d do if I ran into Randall, whether I’d be able to look into his arrogant eyes and pretend I didn’t care what happened. Now, thanks to Hannah, I wouldn’t have to.
“I can make things happen, you see,” Hannah said. “I could have stopped your marriage to Matthew by telling him any one of your lies. But I didn’t, because I came to believe you were exactly the sort of wife Matthew needed. Oh, I knew you were after his money, but you weren’t coldhearted. You had some affection for him. That was clear. You were simply determined to better yourself, and who could blame you, after the way you’d been raised? Would it surprise you to know that I rather admired your spirit? That I hoped some of it might rub off on Matthew?
“You’ll soon know what it’s like to fret over your child’s future. I’ve always known Matthew was more fragile than other boys. Not physically, of course. With his looks, no one guessed a thing. I was the only one who knew how much he questioned himself. Hated himself, at times. Cecily saw it, too. Encouraged him to wallow in it, just as she did.”
“Cecily . . . ,” I said.
“Yes, yes, we’ll get to her. But I must make you understand about Matthew first. I did everything I could for him—encouraged him to make friends with the right sort of people at Choate and join the best fraternity at Yale. I was surprised when he decided to study medicine, but to be honest, I didn’t think he’d last through the training. I didn’t understand how desperate he was to prove himself.”
Hannah sighed, steeling herself. “The war didn’t make Matthew a man,” she said. “It wrecked him, as surely as if he’d been shelled in a trench. Kate, whatever he’s told you about his time afterward . . . it was worse than you can imagine. He acted like a madman, mumbling about ghosts and blood and all sorts of horrible things. He nearly threw himself out the bedroom window because it was the only way to make the visions stop! I cried when I first saw him in that cellar, tied down to the bed. I was forced to do it, out of love. It was the only way to protect Matthew from himself.
“In time, his terrors eased. I was the only one who knew he’d never truly be well. That’s why I couldn’t let him marry anyone in our social set. It’s one thing for people to gossip about an eccentric aunt, but quite another for Matthew’s mental instability to be common knowledge throughout Chicago. I hoped a new setting and new people might lure Matthew out of his gloom, so we spent a few years abroad. It worked for a time, but never for long. I nearly gave up on the idea of him marrying.
“And then Matthew met you. The very unexpected answer to my prayers. Someone who wouldn’t run back to her family when her new husband started raving about his visions. No protective father to challenge Matthew about his odd behavior. Whatever your motives were for marrying my son, I knew you wouldn’t be cruel to him. You’d stick it out, keep your mouth shut, and do everything you could to prove yourself a good wife.”
And so I had. More or less.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t able to tell you any of this at the time. I had to be an absolute terror to test your resolve. Would you abandon Matthew for the right price? But you didn’t. You made your grand stand, and I admired you for it.
“You were just the wife I hoped you’d be. So wonderful at calming Matthew’s moods. He’d never have been able to run Lemont Medical otherwise. Oh, I make the hard decisions to spare him the worry, and someday you’ll do the same. What’s important is that he believes he’s in charge. It’s such a boost to his confidence.”
Hannah’s voice was so hypnotic that it soothed my fear of the impending childbirth. What a relief it was to no longer run. To surrender to Hannah’s story.
“I’ve never been your enemy, Kate. It wasn’t until tonight that I realized how deeply you misunderstood me. How much Cecily has stood between us, even all these years after her death. The problem is that women like Cecily craft fantasies out of their own lives. How could you possibly understand her from the bits and pieces you’ve heard? She actually saw herself as a character from one of her stories. A tragic heroine! The Lemonts excel at many things, Kate, but I believe their greatest talent is for self-invention.
“You remember that book, with its nonsense about Henri de Le Mont fleeing the French Revolution? A pampered nobleman wouldn’t have the first idea how to survive in the wilderness! Oh no, if he was tracking and skinning animals better than any other white man of his day, his origins must have been far . . . let us say, earthier. He’s the one they credit with the motto Factum est. So bold, isn’t it? Like the Lemonts themselves! I don’t believe there was any romance with an Indian princess. Henri simply took the woman he wanted, as he would any other animal caught in one of his traps.”