“Was there anything in there to tell us what happened to Harry?” she asked, leaning slightly forward.
“Not exactly, but a patient here, Captain Cooper Ravenel, and I stumbled upon some information quite by accident. We discovered that after Olive married my grandfather, Harry changed his name to Augustus Ravenel.”
Her eyes brightened with recognition. “Augustus. My father’s middle name was August, you know. And my brother—the eldest of the twins—was called Gus.”
“What happened to him?” I asked, immediately wishing I hadn’t when I saw the color slip from her face.
“He died. In a barroom brawl.” She shook her head in distaste. “He died right before Harry left. It was all quite . . . unsavory.” She pressed her handkerchief to her lips as if wiping away a stain. “Do you know what happened after Harry left New York?”
“Just the basics, really. After a stint in Cuba, he moved to Charleston, where he became a renowned painter. He even had a few exhibits here in New York that my mother brought me to as a child, although at the time I never realized that Harry and Augustus were the same man.” I paused, watching as Prunella clenched and unclenched her fist on top of her cane. “Captain Ravenel is Harry’s grandson.”
Her eyes glowed with a dim light. “Is Captain Ravenel still here? I would like to meet him. The last remaining Pratt.”
I swallowed, pressing back the tears that threatened every time I thought of him. “No. He was discharged last month and went back home to Charleston. He’s getting married in November.”
She watched me closely, as if I’d given too much away, then relaxed back against the sofa, her face softening. “So Harry married and had children after all.”
“Yes. But he never forgot about Olive, nor she him.” I pulled the ruby necklace from inside my blouse. “That’s how I came to own this. And the small miniature that Harry painted of Olive wearing this necklace was passed down from Harry to his son John and then to Cooper. Cooper showed it to me.”
Prunella examined the necklace carefully, then raised her eyes to meet mine. “You look so much like her, you know. And so did your mother. I saw it when Philip brought Lucy to meet me that first time. That’s how I knew that Olive hadn’t disappeared, too.”
She was silent for a moment as I digested her words, understanding that she’d known all along the connection between Lucy and Olive. She continued. “I never could determine how your mother managed to snare my stepson, although I was quite sure it had been deliberate. But I could never say anything because there was you. You were like the daughter I never had, so sweet and full of joy. I know I never showed it, but I always looked forward to your visits. It was the one bright spot in my rather bleak life.” Her lips curled up in a semblance of a smile.
“Olive didn’t steal the necklace, did she?”
She looked down at her hands, well tended and soft. “No. I was upset. Vengeful, I suppose. You see, I imagined myself in love with her father.”
Her gaze bore into me, but I didn’t flinch. I knew she would tell me more if I showed her that I wasn’t appalled by her confession. That I wasn’t there to judge her.
“But he rejected me for another. Not that I could blame him. I was a spoiled girl, who knew nothing of love. Of course he rejected me. But I was angry, unused to anybody telling me no. And when I saw that necklace on Olive, I couldn’t believe that my brother would have given a maid, a maid, something so valuable, regardless of where it had come from.”
“What do you mean?”
“You don’t know that part of the story?”
I shook my head.
“I might not have won the affections of Olive’s father, but someone else had. You see, the necklace had been a gift from my mother’s lover.” She paused. “Olive’s father.”
I stood, too stunned to continue sitting still. “But why did Olive come to the mansion to work? I assumed she was educated, being an architect’s daughter. Surely she had other options than being a maid in the mansion her father had designed and working for his lover.”
“Revenge, dear. Simple revenge. She wanted to ruin my father. But I was onto her and her plans. She would never be one of us. Her father was an elevated tradesman, after all.”
I began pacing the small room, wishing Cooper were here so I could tell him everything. But he wasn’t. He was back in Charleston, planning for his wedding to Caroline in less than two months.
“So you figured out who Olive was and you must have threatened to tell Harry if she didn’t leave. That’s what you meant when you told me that you wished to see Harry again, to apologize for something awful you’d done to him.”