"My Aunt Ethel has given strict instructions for Nick and me to bring both of you to dinner this evening," Owen said.
"We are to meet the rest of your family?" Charlotte asked, startled.
"Some of them." Owen made a face. "They won't all be there this evening, but there will more than enough, believe me."
Nick opened a cupboard and took out a package of tea biscuits. "It will be relatively painless, I assure you," he said. "Everyone is very excited to meet both of you. They had almost given up on Owen, and they were starting to fret about me. They will all be overjoyed to make your acquaintance."
"No need to be concerned," Owen said. "Talent aside, Sweetwaters are actually a very ordinary family."
"Right," Nick said. "Ordinary to the point of being rather dull." He came back to the table with the biscuits and sat down. "Is there any tea left?"
Virginia and Charlotte exchanged glances, and then they looked at Owen and Nick. Both men munched on biscuits, oblivious.
"Ordinary," Charlotte repeated.
"Dull," Virginia said.
Owen smiled, his eyes heating.
"Don't worry," he said. "You'll both fit right in."
Chapter 47
What was Papa like?" Elizabeth asked.
Virginia put her teacup gently down on the delicate china saucer. She thought for a moment. "While you do not remember Papa at all, my own memories of him amount to little more than fragments of a photograph. The only reason I can recall what he actually looked like is because I do have a photograph that was taken the year that he and my mother died."
Virginia had arrived at the Mansfield house a short time earlier. She had sent around a note declining Helen's offer of the Mansfield carriage. Instead, Owen had escorted her in a Sweetwater carriage. He was now waiting for her in the park across the street.
When she had been ushered into the elegant drawing room, Helen and Elizabeth greeted her. Virginia had not been surprised to discover that Helen did not really want to consult about a mirror reading.
"Elizabeth wants to talk to you," she had said. "I hope you will be kind enough to answer her questions."
Virginia had expected Elizabeth to ask questions about her talent. Instead, the girl wanted to know about their father.
"I have a photograph, too," Elizabeth said. "It was taken on my parents' wedding day. Papa looks quite handsome."
Virginia thought about her own precious photo. "Yes, he was a fine-looking man. But what I remember is the energy around him. When he walked into a room, people were immediately aware of him. They greeted him warmly. Everyone wanted to be his friend. For his part he was gracious to one and all, high and low."
Helen paused her teacup in midair. A wistful smile fluttered around her lips. "That's true. Robert always treated those who served him with respect. They, in turn, would have done anything for him."
Elizabeth sat forward eagerly. "What else do you remember about him, Miss Dean?"
Virginia smiled. "Please call me Virginia."
Elizabeth brightened. "Thank you. And you must call me Elizabeth. Everyone else does, and you are, after all, my sister."
Virginia waited for Helen to dispute the relationship, but she said nothing. She took another sip of tea instead, and waited for Virginia to continue.
"Very well, then, Elizabeth," Virginia said. She thought for a moment. "Your father-"
"Ourfather," Elizabeth insisted.
"Yes," Virginia said. "Papa was always cheerful. I do not recall him ever losing his temper. When he came to see us he brought me presents."
There was no need to explain that the small gifts were intended as silent apologies for all the broken promises and all the times that he had failed to visit.
"Did he take you to fairs and museums?" Elizabeth asked.
A forgotten memory flitted through Virginia's head. "I remember a trip to a museum when I was your age. Papa wanted to show me some artifacts that he believed were infused with paranormal energy."
"That must have been exciting," Elizabeth said.
"It was. That was the day he told me that I had a baby sister. He said that he looked forward to showing you the artifacts when you were old enough to sense the energy in them. He said the paranormal was part of our heritage and that we should understand it."
"He talked about me?" Elizabeth asked.
"Oh, yes," Virginia said. "He was very fond of you." She looked at Helen. "And of your mother, too. He was proud of you both."
Helen raised her brows at that.
Virginia smiled at her. "It's true. As my mother once told me, in his own way, Papa loved both of his families."
Virginia took her leave a half hour later. Helen saw her to the door.
"I hope you will come back to visit Elizabeth again soon, Miss Dean," she said. "Please know that you are welcome in this house at any time."
"That is very kind of you, madam."
"Call me Helen," she said.
"You must call me Virginia, as Elizabeth does."
The butler opened the front door. Virginia was surprised when Helen followed her onto the front step and out of earshot of the servant.
"He was not a bad or evil man, was he?" Helen said quietly.
"No," Virginia said. "Papa enjoyed life."
"Perhaps to excess," Helen said dryly. "But in his boundless enthusiasm for it, he was careless of the happiness of others."
"Yes."
"He never wanted to consider the consequence of his actions, and he never was called upon to do so. He got away with that attitude because he could charm the birds out of the trees as well as every woman in range of his smile." Helen shook her head ruefully. "I swear, that was his true psychical talent."
"You may be right," Virginia said.
Helen fixed her with an intent look. "But I will say this much for him, he fathered two fine daughters, of whom he would have been proud. Thank you, again, for your kindness to Elizabeth."
"She is my sister."
"And we are forever linked as family," Helen said. "Do not forget that."
Virginia looked across the street and saw Owen lounging, arms crossed, against the side of the gleaming black Sweetwater carriage.
"As it happens, I am to be married soon," Virginia said.
Surprise flashed across Helen's face, but she recovered quickly and smiled. "Congratulations." She glanced across the street at Owen and the sleek carriage. "Dare I ask if that is your fiance?"
"Yes. Mr. Sweetwater." Virginia raised a hand to signal Owen. "I will introduce you."
Helen watched Owen straighten away from the carriage and start toward them across the street. "Sweetwater. I think I have heard of the family. It's an old one, I believe. But I know nothing about them."
"The Sweetwaters rarely go into society," Virginia said.
Owen smiled at her. He was halfway across the street.
"Can I ask you a personal question, Helen?" Virginia said.
"My daughter asked you a great many personal questions today. The least I can do is answer one for you."
"Knowing what we both know about my father, it has occurred to me from time to time that while I'm sure he always intended to provide for me, it is unlikely that Papa actually got around to doing so in his will."
Helen did not look away from Owen. "I don't know what you mean, Virginia."
"Even if he did remember me in his will, I cannot imagine that he went to the trouble of ensuring that I would attend Miss Peabody's School for Young Ladies in the event of his death. He would have assumed that my mother would be around to take care of me. I'm sure it never occurred to him that there was a possibility that I would be orphaned."
Helen sighed. "It was not in Robert's nature to plan for the future, nor did he like to contemplate the prospect of his own death. He lived too much in the moment."