Read Online Carolina Mist by Mariah Stewart - Free Book Online Page B

head, his glasses swaying slightly with the motion. “Belle was, as you say, quite younger than Granger, though, of course, they’d always known each other. Belle was friends with Granger’s sister, Josephine—she died young, Josephine did, not long out of school. Drowned out in the Sound. Guess that was when Belle first came to Granger’s attention as something more than his little sister’s friend. Wasn’t too long after that, it seems to me, that Belle and Granger were married, and order was restored to Primrose.” His eyes flashed a twinkle of mischief, as if relating some long-hidden family secret. “Belle being the daughter of one of our finer families, you know, her marrying Granger set the social order right again. All the old biddies breathed a sigh of relief, and life went on as it was meant to. All that business with Annie was promptly forgotten. Not too much longer after that, Tom Cassidy brought his bride home from someplace out west.”
    “Montana,” Abby told him.
    “Exactly.” He nodded more vigorously, his index finger catching the nosepiece of his spectacles to push them back at the precise second they were about to dive toward his lap. “Belle and Leila were inseparable, even in those days. Belle was the first to extend the hand of friendship to Tom’s new wife, made sure she met the right people, that sort of thing. Made it easier for Leila to fit in.”
    “I doubt Aunt Leila would have difficulty fitting in anyplace.”
    “Well, now, keep in mind that more than one lady in this town had her heart set on being the one to corral Tom Cassidy, Miz McKenna. Not everyone in Primrose was happy when he showed up with a bride.” He refilled her cup. “But Belle smoothed the way for Leila, gave a big party for the newlyweds, invited all the right people, that sort of thing. Those days, Belle held a pretty lofty position in Primrose, you know, bein’ the wife of the local banker and all. If Belle Matthews included Leila Cassidy in her close circle, you can be sure the other ladies followed suit.”
    “I see.” Abby pondered this bit of information.
    “Yes, their friendship goes back more years than either you or I have seen on this earth.”
    “What happened to the baby?” she asked.
    “What baby?”
    “Granger’s child, the one his first wife took with her when she left him.”
    “Best I know, he just disappeared along with his mother.” Tillman shrugged his shoulders. “Of course, Granger hired a private detective to track them down, aiming to bring the baby back, but he never did find a trace of them. My daddy said it was a terrible blow to Granger, losing that boy.”
    “I imagine it was.” Abby could almost hear the buzz that must have set off in Primrose.
    The lawyer tapped all ten fingers unconsciously on the desktop.
    “He burned the house down.” Tillman spoke the words softly, almost as if recalling a long-forgotten secret.
    “What?” Abby leaned forward, certain she had not heard correctly.
    “Granger. Burned down the house he’d lived in with Annie. Not more than a week before he married Belle. At least, everyone suspected it was Granger who did it. Far as I know, no one ever asked him. He and Belle moved in with Granger’s mother—his father had already passed on, by then. Started their married life in that big house on Cove Road, right across from the old Cassidy place—your place now.”
    “What a fascinating story.”
    “And speaking of the Cassidy house, I guess we might as well get down to business here,” he told her, pushing aside local lore along with his coffee cup.
    Tillman opened a fat brown file and removed a thick packet of legal-sized papers.
    “This here’s Miz Cassidy’s will.” He handed it to her as if it were some fragile figurine. “Take a few minutes to look through it. Let me know if you have any questions.” Again, Abby skimmed through the legalese, searching for her name. She reread the bequest —all my worldly goods to my