Page 15 of The Unforgiven
The table was already set for breakfast, so Madeline took her usual seat and spread a napkin in her lap.
“Coffee, Miss Madeline?” Mammy asked. While Tess helped Madeline dress, Mammy always prepared breakfast and waited in the dining room with a freshly brewed pot of coffee. Madeline hadn’t liked the coffee at first, but her father drank cups of it every morning, so she’d learned to enjoy it and held up her cup for a refill whenever he did.
“Yes, please, Mammy. Has Daddy been down?” Madeline asked.
“Not yet.”
“I’ll wait for him, then.”
“Yes, miss.”
Madeline replaced her napkin on the table and got up to stand by the window. It was open to catch any movement of air, but already the day was oppressively hot and humid. Brilliant sunlight bathed everything in its merciless glare and the fragrance of flowers and sunbaked earth wafted into the dining room. Madeline didn’t much like the brutal heat of August, but it beat the damp, foggy months of autumn and winter when life seemed to slow down and the world outside the door lay blanketed in mist so thick it was hard to even see the boats on the river.
The clock struck the hour and Madeline started. Daddy was usually down by this time, no matter how late he’d come in the night before. Her stomach growled. She had been feeling unwell last night due to her monthly visitor and hadn’t eaten much at suppertime.
“Mammy, can I have a beignet while I wait?” she called toward the kitchen.
“Sho thing, Miss Madeline.”
Madeline accepted a warm beignet and took a small bite. She felt guilty eating without her father, but she was starving. She’d just pretend she hadn’t eaten by the time he finally made an appearance. She was almost finished with the beignet when there was a knock at the door. It was too early in the morning for anyone to call, and tradesmen usually used the back door when making deliveries, so Madeline remained where she was. She heard Tess’s hurried footsteps as she went to answer the door and then muffled voices, one belonging to a man.
“Mr. Larson is here to see you, miss,” Tess said as she peeked into the dining room.
“Did you tell him Daddy is not up yet?”
“It’s you he wishes to see.”
“Me?”
“Yes.”
“All right. I’ll see him in the parlor, unless he’d like some breakfast,” Madeline replied. She knew Mr. Larson well. He was her father’s close friend as well as his lawyer. He dined with them often, and had recently introduced them to his future wife, Lucille Heston. She was an attractive widow of middle years, and Madeline had felt instantly drawn to her. She reminded her of her own mother, who’d been kind and sweet-natured, although Corinne Besson had been dark of coloring, like Madeline, while Mrs. Heston was fair and blue-eyed.
“Good morning, Mr. Larson. I’m afraid Daddy is still abed. Would you care for some breakfast?” Madeline asked. She’d never had to play hostess before, but she liked it. She turned in a way that made the silk of her skirt swish, and smiled with satisfaction.
“No, thank you, Madeline. Would you be so kind as to ask Miss Cole to join us?”
Madeline looked at the lawyer in confusion. Why would he wish to see her governess? “Miss Cole is still in her room.”
“I’m here,” Miss Cole said from the doorway. She looked unusually solemn. Miss Cole had a sunny disposition, especially of late, and always counseled Madeline that charm and good manners were the most valuable currency. She looked at Mr. Larson with apprehension, then took a seat without a word of greeting to either of them.
“I must speak with you both,” Mr. Larson began.
Madeline sat down and spread her skirts, showing off yards of green silk to its best advantage. She wished she had a fan, since she was perspiring, but it was up in her room and it would be rude to keep Mr. Larson waiting.
“What can we do for you, Mr. Larson?” Madeline asked, imitating the tone of a great lady.
“Madeline, I have some rather awful news. Your father attended a card game last night, where he suffered heavy losses.”
“Is Daddy in debt?” she asked. She didn’t fully understand what being in debt entailed, but she knew it was something to be avoided.
“I’ll get to that,” Mr. Larson replied softly. “He’d been drinking heavily and was quite inebriated by the time he left the game.”
Madeline ignored the look of shock on Miss Cole’s face. Daddy liked his drink, but he rarely went overboard. “Well, that explains why he’s still sleeping. Doesn’t it?”
“In his confused state, your father stepped in front of an oncoming carriage. He was badly hurt.” Madeline opened hermouth to reply, but Mr. Larson cut her off. “Madeline, he died of his injuries an hour ago. I was with him till the last. I’m so sorry.”
Madeline felt as if a horse had just kicked her in the stomach. All breath was driven from her body, leaving her gasping for air and shaking with shock. Her father was dead. He’d stepped in front of a carriage because he was drunk. Both her parents were now dead and she was completely alone in the world, with no one but Mr. Larson to turn to for advice.
