The Nearly Notorious Nun Read online

  As I knocked on Aunt Emily’s front door, I idly wondered who he might be, but I didn’t much care. It had nothing to do with me. Quick footsteps sounded behind the portal, and it was flung open.

  “Miss Jo! We weren’t expecting you today.”

  “I’m sorry to intrude, Vanessa, but I must go visit a convent orphanage, and I’ve nothing suitable to wear. May I look through Lavinia’s things once more?”

  The serving girl shook her head with a sigh.

  “I should have known it was something like that. Come inside. Of course, you may. Mrs. Emily said any time you needed. But be quick, she’s entertaining today.”

  “Really?” I was curious as to what sort of friends Aunt Emily might have…but it really was no business of mine.

  Vanessa’s mouth twitched up into a smile.

  “Indeed.” She seemed to consider and reach a conclusion. “You should come and say hello.”

  I glanced down at my serviceable, but extremely plain, seersucker.

  “I’m not really dressed for fine company.”

  “This company won’t notice in the least.” Vanessa stepped away from the door, gesturing me into the house.

  I will confess my curiosity quite got the better of me, and I followed her to the dining room.

  The room had become quite familiar to me. It was beautifully furnished in dark oak, with creamy silk damask covering the walls. Over the fireplace at one end hung a portrait of a distinguished looking gentleman with a twinkling eye and the hint of a smile playing about his lips. I still felt my heart lift every time I saw the painting, and wished I could have known Alistair’s uncle, who had passed away some time before.

  I had spent many hours around this table, laughing, eating, and plotting with Alistair and his aunt in the weeks since meeting my employer—and dearest friend.

  It was occupied now by Aunt Emily and a woman several years younger than she, in a beautiful traveling costume of sea-foam green and lavender. Her attire went well with the auburn curls artfully piled atop her head. She was turned away from me, talking to Aunt Emily who, when she saw me in the doorway, laid a hand upon her visitor’s arm.

  “Why, here she is now, Leonora. Here is the young person I was telling you about—Miss Mann herself.”

  The visitor turned in her chair, and I gasped aloud, hand flying to my mouth, unable to help myself. She was the embodiment of Alistair in feminine form, down to the wire-rim pince-nez perched on her nose.

  Aunt Emily rose to her feet, holding out a hand to me.

  “Come in—don’t be shy, dear. Don’t you look charming today?” She smiled at me, and then turned to her guest. “Leonora Conn, may I present Miss Josephine Mann, Alistair’s new assistant. Jo, this is my sister Leonora, Alistair’s mother.”

  Instinct rescued me, and I sketched a curtsy.

  “Pleased to meet you, ma’am,” I mumbled.

  Mrs. Conn laughed; it was a deep-throated sound of sincere amusement.

  “Oh, my stars! If you could see your face, child. Do come sit down before you faint. Vanessa, bring another plate and a cup of tea, you wicked girl. You shouldn’t have teased Miss Mann so.” Despite the censure of her words, her eyes sparkled merrily.

  I staggered forward to the table, indeed feeling it not inconceivable that I would lose my senses. I pulled out a chair across from Mrs. Conn and sank into it. Closer to, I could see fine lines about her eyes and throat, artfully concealed with powder and paint. She was older than I had initially thought, but still a very lovely lady.

  I felt a bit tongue-tied. I knew very little about my employer’s mother except that she liked to travel and had the wealth to do so. The last time Alistair had spoken of her, it had seemed apparent that she was on a Continental visit; and I had gotten the impression he did not expect her home any time soon.

  As Alistair’s mother, she had a right to know that he was potentially in danger, but I was fairly sure he wouldn’t want me to reveal that—particularly in Aunt Emily’s presence. She would worry herself sick, and her health was fragile enough these days. I would keep that information to myself.

  “What brings you to us today, Jo?” asked Aunt Emily kindly. She was always good at putting me at ease.

  I felt my face heating. My original intention seemed mean and presumptuous, under the circumstances. She was visiting with her sister; I should leave them to talk.

  Still, she had asked, and I really needed the dress…

  “I…I hoped to borrow another of Lavinia’s gowns, ma’am. I have been summoned to Our Lady the Star of the Sea…to the orphanage—and I have nothing suitable to wear.”

  Leonora Conn’s eyes raked me from head to toe.

  “I can see where that costume—charming as it might be—would be unsuitable for such a visit. But, tell me true, child, does my son not pay you enough for a decent wardrobe?”

  I had no doubt my face was now entirely crimson.

  “I-it isn’t that, ma’am. I just received the letter this morning. The summons was urgent, and I have had no opportunity to have something appropriate made. There was a bit of excitement some weeks ago, and I lost much of my wardrobe. I’ve been concentrating on replacing the work things, not expecting such a summons. It isn’t Ali—Professor Conn’s fault. He is most generous in all concerns.”

  Her eyebrow crooked, and she removed her spectacles, tapping them against the table.

  “I see…all concerns, is it? Imagine that.”

  I wanted to melt into the floor. What would the woman think of me? This was not a very promising initial meeting. If I had known she was back in New York…well, I might not have chosen to come visit today, that was for certain!

  “I didn’t mean—”

  Her laughter rang out again.

  “Of course not, my dear. I can see you are a good, respectable girl. Please forgive me. I am an inveterate tease. Come.” She rose to her feet and put out her hand. “I would be happy to help you find something suitable. If you can spare me for a few moments?” she continued, turning to her sister.

  “Of course, Leonora,” answered Aunt Emily, winking at me. “Your taste in the matter is far more likely to be current than mine.”

  I rose shakily to my feet, just as Vanessa brought in a full plate of sandwiches and a steaming cup of tea. I looked longingly at the fortification, but Aunt Emily shook her head.

  “It will still be there when you return, Jo. I promise.”

  There was nothing for it but to follow Mrs. Conn’s neat bustle up the stairs to Lavinia’s room. I had no idea what to say to the woman. Hello, my name is Josephine Mann and I think I am falling in love with your son? That didn’t seem practical or politic, so I decided to say nothing unless it proved impossible. I wished my friend Winifred Bond had arrived in town already. She would know what to do, but she and Herbert hadn’t come back to the city yet. They were due any day now, but that didn’t help me in the current situation.

  “Tell me, Miss Mann—or, may I call you Jo? Such a delightful name. It suits you.”

  “Of course, Mrs. Conn. Whatever you’d like.”

  “Oh, please…Mrs. Conn makes me feel ancient. Call me Leonora. We will be good friends, you and I, and friends have no need for formality.”

  “As you wish, Leonora.” I felt a bit uncomfortable acceding to her request, but not to do so might prove even more uncomfortable. I needed to be on her good side…

  “Now,” she ordered, throwing open the door to Lavinia’s room with a flourish, “tell me more about this summons. Do you get called to the convent often?”

  “No, ma’am. I haven’t been back there in almost a decade.” I sighed, drinking in the atmosphere of lemon and lavender that told me Vanessa had been in to clean the room since my last visit. Today, the air also held traces of rose-water and lilac that must be Leonora’s perfume. It was lovely.

  “I see. You grew up there, you said?”

  “From the time I was a young girl until I was sixteen. At that point, I decided to m
ake my own way in the world.”

  “A self-sufficient young lady. Very good.”

  She swept across to the large wardrobe and began pulling out garments, looking them over, and tossing them onto the bed. There were soon two large mounds of discarded choices on the counterpane—one pinks, yellows, and reds, the other blues, greens, and browns.

  “Ah! This should do nicely,” she said at last. She spun around, holding a dress before her. It was a dark green brocade with a hint of lace at collar and cuff, simple, yet elegant.

  I loved it.

  “This will complement your lovely red hair and green eyes without looking too flash for the circumstances. Here, try it on.” She held out the dress.

  I took it from her, glancing uneasily around the room. It was well appointed, but lacked a changing screen or any other privacy for changing one’s clothing. This had never proved a problem before, but now I found myself at a bit of a loss.

  Mrs. Conn must have sensed my distress. She giggled like a much younger woman, hiding her mouth with her hand.

  “Oh, my dear…I’ll just wait for you in the hall, shall I?”

  I nodded gratefully, and she slipped out of the room.

  Alistair’s mother was proving to be a most interesting woman, not at all what I had conjured in my head. She must have been younger than the departed Lavinia when she bore her first child, and Lavinia had been nineteen. Mrs. Conn—Leonora—could be as young as fifty to fifty-five years old, quite young to be grandmother to Catherine Caswell’s teenage boys.

  I pulled the dress over my head and did up the buttons in the front, as always thanking my stars that Lavinia Estes had been a practical girl who liked to dress herself. I never had to worry about the lack of a maid with her things. Smoothing the sturdy fabric about my waist, I twirled in front of the pier glass.

  The color did suit me quite well, and the design was subdued enough for the purpose but still fashionable enough to make me feel pretty. I needed that ego stroke before bearding Mother Superior in her den. Nuns have always had a way of reducing me to a five-year-old orphan again.

  I stepped into the hall, and Leonora cocked her head this way and that.

  “It will do. Quite lovely. Now, come and have your tea and tell me all about Alistair’s latest escapades.”

  Well, not all of the latest escapades…

  I was still resolved not to share the information about the current threat.

  She took my arm.

  “I hear there was a warrant for his arrest?”

  This would be a most interesting teatime.

  Of course, it was out of the question that a young woman of good breeding could simply put it about that she was going into business delving into the underbelly of society. She had to be circumspect—finding a lost locket here, reuniting a dog and its owner there—but, before too long, women in need of advice or aid in recovering lost property were beginning to seek her out as an individual who could take care of the problem.

  She did refuse the more distasteful projects, like shadowing a philandering husband, or eaves-dropping to obtain secrets, but she had enough “clients” to feel both useful and daring.

  -- Garrett Goldthwaite

  Analytical Amy and the Case of the Covetous Cad

  Chapter 3

  Mrs. Conn’s choice of frock proved soft and comfortable. It swirled about me in pleasing arcs as we made our way back to the dining room.

  “I really am curious about the arrest warrant, my dear. Alistair has always been such a straight-laced fellow. It was delightfully wicked of him to do something arrestable.”

  “It wasn’t really his fault. He should never have been served with the warrant in the first place. You see—”

  “Good. Start at the beginning. It’s the best way to sort these things.”

  “Well, Alistair created a marvelous automaton—he’s nine-feet-tall, and quite wonderful. I’m sure you will see it when they arrive back in town if you are still in New York. Will you be staying long?” She fascinated me, and I hoped to spend more time in her company.

  Mrs. Conn smiled. “That depends. I haven’t quite made up my mind, my dear.”

  “Phaeton—that’s its…his…name—was stolen by a horrible man named Paul Blessant. Blessant assaulted me, but he told the police it was the other way around when Alistair hit him back. He swore out warrants for our arrest, but they were dropped as soon as he was arrested in Ohio.”

  “My! What an interesting life my son has these days. Due in no small part to your influence, I would guess.”

  I felt my face heating.

  “Mrs. Conn, I—”

  “Oh, my dear! You should see your face.” Her eyes twinkled in merriment once more. “I’m not accusing you of corrupting my son. Quite the opposite. Emily says he’s become another person since he met you—and in a good way. Much more open and happy than he was before you met.”

  I didn’t know what to say to that.

  “And what did I tell you? Call me Leonora.”

  “Yes, ma’am…”

  “Alistair’s always been such a serious boy. Nose in a book, head in the clouds. Emily says you ground him. Keep him practical.”

  “He does forget to eat sometimes…”

  “Exactly what I am talking about.”

  We had arrived at the dining room by this time, and she led me to my chair.

  “Now, sit, have some of this lovely tea, and tell me more.”

  I was glad to comply. Vanessa was a wonderful cook, even if the fare was simply sandwiches and teacakes.

  “I’m sure you have questions for me as well, my dear,” Mrs. Conn said as she snapped out her napkin and placed it on her lap. “You’ve only seen the adult side of him. You should have seen him as a little boy. Always fiddling about with chemicals, or mechanical bits. I never did see what he wanted with all those dirty things.”

  “What sort of trouble did he get into as a child?” I asked curiously.

  “Oh, nothing too important. As I say, he was a bit of a stodgy child…but he did burn down my father’s barn when he was ten.”

  I paused with a bit of cake halfway to my mouth.

  “Seriously?” I squeaked. It didn’t fit into my picture of Alistair in any way.

  “Not on purpose, of course,” she hastened to add. “He was apparently trying to replicate some experiment in one of his books, and it backfired on him.”

  “Backfired?”

  “It’s a term I heard on the Continent—something to do with combustion engines, I think. I believe it means that something didn’t go as planned, in this context.”

  “What else can you tell me?” I prompted. Now that I had this source of information, I wanted to mine it for all it was worth.

  “Well, there was the time he decided to make Catherine a mechanical cradle for her doll, and wound up catapulting the ‘baby’ through the window. Katie was in tears for days.”

  Fascinating! He’d apparently been tinkering for decades. No wonder he was so good at it.

  ~*~

  After half an hour of hot tea and enlightening conversation, during which I learned many interesting things about my employer, I reluctantly pushed back my chair.

  “I must be going if I intend to make my call on the convent this evening, and I really feel I must. Aunt Emily, I hate to impose further, but it’s getting late, and I don’t think I can walk all the way there before dark. Might I beg the loan of your coachman, Roderick, and the carriage?”

  “Of course, my dear. I’ll have him bring it around to the street. Why don’t you head across to the boarding house and tell Mrs. Stark where you are going? I’m sure she’ll be wondering where you have gotten to, given we have detained you so long.”

  “I spoke to her before I came across the street, but I really must hurry uptown. Thank you for the lovely afternoon.” I turned to Mrs. Conn. “I am very pleased to have made your acquaintance, ma’am.”

  “The pleasure is mutual, my dear. I look forward to many s
uch conversations.”

  I didn’t know if I would go that far, but I nodded anyway. It seemed only polite.

  I stepped into the kitchen to thank Vanessa for the lovely tea, and by the time I had done so, Roderick was waiting with the carriage.

  “I appreciate your help, Roderick. My errand is important, or I would never presume to take you away from your more pressing duties.”

  “Don’t you worry your head none, Miss Jo. I’m at your disposal,” he answered with a slight bow. “Mrs. Estes told me to treat your orders like her own.”

  I was flattered.

  “It shouldn’t take you away for too long.”

  “Where do you need to go, Miss?”

  “I have business at the convent of Our Lady the Star of the Sea across town,” I replied, climbing into the carriage.

  “The orphanage?”

  “Yes. I’d prefer not to elaborate.”

  “As you wish, Miss.” He clucked to the horses, and we were off.

  As the vehicle rolled through the streets, I fought to organize my thoughts. Why would the mother superior need to see me? I hadn’t been anywhere near the convent since the day I left. I couldn’t have done anything wrong…could I? Even if I had, would I still be liable for whatever it was after a decade had passed? My head was spinning. I didn’t know what to think.

  I gave up trying and leaned back against the plush cushions, idly staring out the window. The City unrolled around me. There had been a building boom lately; structures five, six, as much as ten stories tall were rising above the tenements and brownstones. There were rumors that even taller edifices would soon dominate the skyline. It was hard to fathom the concept. Why would anyone need a building twenty-five or more stories tall?

  Men couldn’t help but try to dominate their landscapes, I supposed. I certainly didn’t plan on visiting any of those buildings if I could help it. I had learned on the ill-fated Pearl that I was not fond of heights. Even though a building is more stable than an airship, I would still be taking no risks.