Authors: Heaven
Bobbi Smith (14 page)
“You’re welcome, Bobby. Good luck, and Bobby?”
“Yes, sir?”
“Pray. Always pray. When things look bad, rely on God to get you through.”
“God was the one who told me to talk to you. He’s pretty smart huh?”
“He’s very smart.”
“I gotta go get my stuff. Will I see you again before I go?”
“If our train doesn’t come, you will.”
“I’ll hurry.”
They parted company then, and Winn watched the boy hurry away.
“You’re wonderful.” Alex’s voice cut through Winn’s thoughts as he waved to the boy.
Winn flushed at her praise. “How long have you been listening?”
“Long enough. He sounds like a good boy.”
“He is, and with any luck at all, he’ll make it. It’s not going to be easy, but I think he’s smart enough and determined enough to do it.”
“With you praying for him, how can he lose? Matt thought we should get something to eat, so I came to get you. There’s a small restaurant just down the street.”
As Alex walked by Winn’s side to where Matt was waiting for them, she thought of how safe and secure she felt in his presence. There was something about him, a deep, abiding strength, that inspired trust and confidence. She wondered why the men she met never made her feel this way. She smiled at Matt. He was a handsome man, too, and brilliant, but there was something special about Father Winn that touched her heart.
“So you’re going to join us?” Matt asked Winn as they walked up.
“Yes, let’s get something to eat. At the rate we’re going, we could be here for quite some time.”
Winn watched in helpless frustration as Matt took Alex’s arm and guided her ahead of him toward the restaurant a short walk away. He struggled to keep his expression calm as he watched the gentle sway of her hips and listened to the sound of her laughter in response to something clever that Matt had said.
Winn wanted to be the one walking beside Alex, making small talk with her. He resented the fact that Matt could do it so easily, while he had to hold himself at bay. As he began to wallow in his resentment, he thought of his uncle. What he really wanted to do was find the crown for his uncle’s sake and see it properly handled. As soon as that was done, he could go back to his old life with his old friends and the gambling and the drinking.
It surprised him that the thought of his old life now held no appeal. It wasn’t women and drink he wanted, it was Alex. He stifled a sigh of exasperation and told himself he was just feeling this way because he’d been behaving himself for so long. It was good for him to lead a moral life. He just hoped when this was all over Alex would speak to him.
St. Louis was one of the country’s biggest ports with over 170 steamboats lined up along the riverfront.
They’d arrived early in the morning and had taken rooms at the Planter’s House Hotel. They’d all suffered during their days on the trains and were eager to relax for a while. Winn and Matt shared a room that connected to Alex’s.
Alex felt as if she were in seventh heaven as she took full advantage of the lush accommodations. She enjoyed a hot bath and washed her hair, then napped on the soft comfort of the bed and its clean sheets. She hadn’t realized how exhausted she was until she’d lain down. The minute her head hit the pillow, she was lost. Only the noise of knocking on the connecting door several hours later saved her from sleeping straight through into the night.
“Alex?” a muffled voice called through the door.
“I’ll be right there,” she answered sleepily as she got up. She’d been napping in her chemise and she quickly threw on her wrapper before opening the door. “Sorry it took me so long, I must have been more tired than I realized.”
Alex looked up, expecting Matt. To her surprise, Winn was the one waiting at the door, and she felt suddenly very self-conscious about her state of near undress, suddenly completely aware of herself as a woman and of him as a man. His shoulders so broad, his waist lean. His smile . . . oh, that smile, and his eyes seemed darker somehow as if at that moment, they held the secrets of eternity. She clutched her dressing gown more closely about her. “Oh . . . Father . . . I’m sorry . . .”
Alex’s state of dress caught Winn off-guard, and before he could stop himself, his gaze had raked boldly over her. Sensual awareness throbbed to life within him. She looked absolutely beautiful with her sleep-flushed cheeks and her burnished tumble of curls. Though the wrapper covered her sedately, the fabric clung sweetly to the soft curves of her breasts and hips. He wanted to strip it from her and taste her charms. Instead, Winn hauled himself up short and repeated the oft-told lie to himself that denying his baser instincts was good for him. He told himself discipline was good for his soul and built character. He also told himself that if Alex had been the woman in his bed that last night at Merryfield, he might still be there. Winn took stern control of his less-than-honorable thoughts.
“Matt and I agree that we need to go over the book one more time,” he managed to speak in a calm voice that betrayed nothing of his inner turmoil.
“Of course. Just give me a minute to put on something suitable.” She was stumbling over her words, though she wasn’t sure why. Heaven knows they’d been together almost constantly since they left Boston. She rationalized that her thoughts were a bit muddled because she’d been so sound asleep.
Alex closed the door and quickly pulled on a gown, stockings and shoes. She ran her brush through her hair and then opened the door to let the two of them in. They brought the chairs from the other room and gathered around a small table.
“Winn and I both agree that the whole clue has something to do with the church.” Matt reread the poem. “With both saints and Heaven’s gate mentioned there must be a connection. But what?”
“Why don’t you and I split up and make some inquiries around town? We can meet back here this afternoon and see what we’ve found.”
“Fine. I’ll start with the churches,” Matt said. “Alex, do you want to go with me?”
“I’ll take Alex with me,” Winn said quickly, almost possessively. “We’ll check out cemeteries, and convents and whatever else there might be.”
“I’ll see you later then.” Matt left the room.
“All set?” Winn asked Alex when they were alone.
“Yes. I’m so excited. This is our first real step toward finding the crown. With any amount of luck at all, we could get what we need and be on our way to the second clue today.”
“You’re definitely an optimist.”
“I suppose I am. And knowing Lawrence as I did, I’m sure this isn’t going to be easy. His riddles are sure to mean more than just what they say on paper. There’s something hidden in this that we haven’t yet figured out. It’s Lawrence’s way. He always wanted to see the unseeable and understand the inscrutable.”
“You knew Lawrence well?” Winn asked as they made their way from the hotel.
“He and my father were very close. I’m sure Papa’s going to be sorry he missed this trip.” She knew that was true. Especially since she knew where he was.
“You look sad all of a sudden, are you all right? Is there something troubling you?”
“I’m fine. I was just thinking of how much Papa would have enjoyed being with us.”
“He’ll be proud of you for holding up his end of the bargain.”
“I hope so. I hope when all this is over we’ll all believe we did the right thing.”
“I’m sure we will. It’s what Lawrence wanted.”
Alex fell silent as she thought again of Philip and Robert. She suppressed a shiver as she imagined them here, somewhere close by, watching her now with Father Winn. She wished there were some way she could thwart them, but as long as her father’s life was in their hands, she would have to play their game.
Winn and Alex hired a carriage and directed the driver to take them around town to see the sights. They’d been driving for over an hour when they rode past a tall, wrought-iron fence that surrounded a churchlike building.
“Wait. Driver, what is this place?”
“This is the Convent of the Sacred Heart,” he explained, reining in before the open double gate that was the entrance to the grounds.
“Winn, look!” Alex gripped his arm in excitement as she stared up at the building. Carved in stone over the main entrance was the symbol of the Sacred Heart. “This must be it!”
“You could be right,” Winn agreed as he surveyed the grounds, the three-story brick building that looked a bit rundown, and the graveyard located a short distance beyond the building. The place looked almost deserted except for one lone, black-clad woman making her way through the cemetery. The convent seemed to match Lawrence’s clues, but if what Alex had said about the collector’s love for difficult riddles proved true, there might very well be another place even more appropriate to their quest.
Winn directed the driver back to their hotel, and they returned to their rooms to await Matt. It was near dark when Matt finally came back from his own explorations of the town.
“Any luck?” Winn asked.
“No. I had no luck at all. What about you?”
“We think we found it, Matt!” Alex quickly told him about the convent.
“So, what do we do now?”
“We’ll have to make an appointment to speak with the mother superior. If we’re on the right track, she should be the one who’s able to help us.”
“There’s still one thing bothering me, though,” Matt said.
“What’s that?”
“The line in the clue ‘two hearts should join together—one in name and purpose—till all is done . . .’ What does that mean?”
“I wish Lawrence were here now so he could explain it. He wouldn’t have put it in there for no reason. Everything he wrote pertains to claiming the crown. He wasn’t a man who wasted words or effort. Everything in the poem is relevant, one way or another,” Alex said.
Winn had been dreading this moment. Since he’d first read the line in Boston, he’d been trying to figure out exactly what Lawrence had meant, and in all that time he’d come up with only one viable solution. He didn’t like it, but it seemed the only way to satisfy the riddle. “Before we go to the convent to speak to the mother superior, I think we’re going to have to make a few changes.”
“You have an idea of what he meant?” Alex asked quickly.
“What did you have in mind?” Matt asked, frowning as he tried to imagine what was on Winn’s mind.
“There seems to be only one way to satisfy the riddle. The only logical thing is for the two of you to marry.”
“What?!” Alex and Matt both reacted in shock.
“Two hearts should join together—one in name . . .” Winn quoted.
“But that’s ridiculous!” Matt protested.
“It may be, but there’s no way I can marry Alex, Matt,” Winn pointed out logically. “So, if you want to find the crown, it has to be you.”
“Marriage?” Alex put in, still reeling from the logic of Winn’s conclusion.
“It’s the only way, unless you’ve got another idea. I’m more than willing to listen.”
Both Matt and Alex remained silent.
“I can perform the ceremony today, and . . .”
Matt and Alex exchanged looks. “Today?”
“If I marry you tonight, then I’ll be able to introduce you as man and wife at the convent.
Two hearts should join together—one in name and purpose—till all is done . . .
As soon as we find the crown, we can have the union annulled. It will be a marriage in name only, you realize.” He added quickly, suddenly perturbed by the thought of Matt having Alex all to himself—as his wife. There were lines that had to be drawn here, and he was determined to draw them.
Two hearts should join together—one in name and purpose—till all is done . . .
As soon as we find the crown, we can have the union annulled. It will be a marriage in name only, you realize.” He added quickly, suddenly perturbed by the thought of Matt having Alex all to himself—as his wife. There were lines that had to be drawn here, and he was determined to draw them.
“A marriage in name only . . . and then an annulment? It sounds so complicated.”
“But we want the crown, don’t we?” Matt asked, warming to the idea. Alex was a lovely woman, and he might just enjoy a ‘marriage’ to her.
“All right,” Alex agreed as she cast a glance at Matt. “But, Father Winn, do you really think this is necessary?”
“You knew Lawrence.”
“We’ll do it,” she capitulated without further argument. “When do you want to perform the ceremony?”
“The sooner the better,” Matt urged.
“We can do it right here. All we’ll need are witnesses.”
“Let me check the hall.” Matt opened the door just in time to see a maid coming out of a room farther down the hall.
He called to her and told her to get one of the other maids and come back to their room as soon as she could.
“They’ll be here in five minutes,” Matt assured Winn, before glancing over at Alex, the woman who very shortly would be his bride. “I never thought I’d be marrying on such short notice,” he told her with a grin.
“I was hoping to wear my mother’s bridal gown . . .” She smiled slightly. “But the crown’s worth it.”
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