Миранда Джеймс - Digging Up The Dirt

Nearly a minute passed before An’gel heard Hadley’s voice on the other end. “An’gel, my dear, how are you and Dickce? I must apologize for disappearing on you like I did. I have to tell you, I was pretty unsettled by what we found this morning. I guess my manners went completely by the wayside as a result.”

“No need to apologize,” An’gel said. “We completely understand. It was quite a shock.”

“Yes, it was,” Hadley said. “I’m praying that who we found isn’t Callie.”

“We are, too,” An’gel replied. “I know things are still unsettled there, and Dickce and I would love to see you. Why don’t you come to dinner here tonight? Around seven?”

“Thank you, I’d like that very much,” Hadley said with what sounded like true gratitude. “I think it will do me good to be out of this house for a few hours.”

“I’m sure it will,” An’gel said. “We’ll see you at seven, then.” She ended the call and replaced the handset.

“I heard most of it,” Dickce said. “His voice came through clearly. I’m glad he’s coming. I hope we can get him to open up about why he really left Athena.”

“We can but try.” An’gel shrugged. “Lunch should be about ready. I’d better tell Clementine that we’ll be four for dinner tonight.”

Hadley rang the bell at seven that evening, and An’gel, who had been waiting nearby, admitted him. Hadley gave her a swift kiss on the cheek, and An’gel greeted him and took his jacket.

“Would you like something to drink before we go in to dinner?” An’gel laid the jacket across the back of the sofa in the parlor where Dickce greeted him and received her own brief kiss.

Hadley grinned. “I wouldn’t say no to a whisky and soda.”

“Coming right up.” An’gel moved to the liquor cabinet in the corner and prepared his drink. “Dickce, what would you like?”

“The same,” Dickce said.

“I’ll make it three.” An’gel smiled. Moments later the drinks were ready, and she handed her sister and Hadley theirs and then took up her own.

“May I propose a toast?” Hadley asked. “I know it’s usually the hostess’s prerogative.”

“Go right ahead,” An’gel said.

Hadley raised his glass. “To homecomings and good friends.”

An’gel and Dickce raised their glasses to his. “To homecomings and good friends,” they said in unison.

All three sipped their whisky. Hadley smiled appreciatively. “Let me guess,” he said. “Laphroaig.”

An’gel nodded. “Our favorite.”

“Mine, too.” Hadley drained his glass. “Thank you. That went down a treat, as my friends in England would say.”

“It always does.” Dickce giggled before she too drained hers.

“How about another one?” An’gel asked.

Hadley refused with a smile. “I have too great a fondness for it, so I try to limit myself.”

An’gel nodded. “That’s smart.” She set her glass on the tray on the liquor cabinet and did the same with the other two. “Let’s go in to dinner then.”

Hadley escorted An’gel into the dining room and pulled out her chair for her. Then he pulled out Dickce’s chair before he took his own seat at An’gel’s right hand.

“What a beautiful table,” Hadley said. “I feel honored.”

Clementine had set the table with exquisite taste, as always, An’gel thought. The housekeeper had used linens belonging to the sisters’ grandmother Ducote, and the silver was the wedding set their parents received. The table sported the best Wedgwood china and Waterford crystal they had. Clementine had obviously been determined to impress Hadley Partridge, and it seemed she had succeeded.

Benjy hurried into the dining room with a smiled apology and took his seat next to Dickce. “Good evening, Mr. Partridge. How are you?” he said after greeting the sisters. He exchanged pleasantries with Hadley, and then An’gel said grace.

When she finished the brief prayer, An’gel stood. “Everything is here on the sideboard. Hadley, please go first. Clementine has prepared a traditional Southern meal for us. Fried chicken, rice, homemade biscuits, cream gravy, sweet tea, and green beans.”

Hadley grinned. “I’ll enjoy every bite of it, I’m sure, although I’ll have to jog to Memphis and back tomorrow to make up for it.” He rose from the table with his plate and began to load it from the sideboard.

Soon all four diners returned to the table with full plates, and eating commenced. An’gel kept the conversation general, though she had plans a little later to hone in on Hadley’s life during his forty-year absence from Athena. She waited until Hadley was nearly finished with his second helping of biscuits and gravy before she introduced the subject.

“I’m glad to see that forty years away hasn’t affected your appetite for Southern food. I thought perhaps you had become too sophisticated for plain, down-home cooking.” She smiled to remove any sting from the words.

“I’ll admit that I did develop tastes for a wide range of different cuisines,” Hadley said after a sip of tea. He set down the glass and smiled at his hostess. “The South is in my blood, in my DNA, as it is in yours and Dickce’s. No matter how far I strayed or how long I was gone, I never forgot my roots.” He paused, and his expression turned serious. “I never lost the desire to return home. It simply wasn’t possible as long as Hamish was alive.”

“Why ever not?” Dickce asked.

“He swore he’d kill me if I ever came home,” Hadley said.

CHAPTER 12

An’gel nearly choked on her tea. She set the glass down on the table. “He left you Ashton Hall. Surely that meant he was no longer angry with you.”

Hadley shrugged. “I’m the last male in the direct line. Hamish probably hated the thought of anyone other than a Partridge laying claim to Ashton Hall more than he hated me. The irony is that I have no son to inherit it after me. Hamish had no idea, of course, but the end result is that the direct line will go kaput after all when I’m gone.”

“What will you do about the property?” Dickce asked, then blushed when she caught the irritated glance An’gel shot her. “Sorry, that isn’t any of our business.”

“I don’t mind,” Hadley said. “It’s a good question, and although I’ve thought about it, I haven’t come to any decision yet. I’m open to suggestions.”

An’gel didn’t want to discuss this particular subject at the moment, interesting as it was. She and Dickce faced a similar situation, but with Benjy now in their lives, they did have more options. Right now she wanted to steer the conversation back to Hadley’s long absence and the reason for it.

“I’m going to be blunt, Hadley.” An’gel regarded him with a determined expression. “You can refuse to answer, but frankly, I think you owe us all an explanation for why you disappeared from Athena. We were all your friends—good friends, we thought—and you walked away from all of us. That was painful. We are glad you’re back, but we can’t help but wonder why you left.”

“Ah, yes.” Hadley picked up his tea glass and stared into it. He drained the contents and set the glass down again. “Yes, I suppose I do.”

“Well, aren’t you going to tell us?” Dickce said, her tone sharp, after Hadley failed to continue right away.

Hadley took a deep breath and looked at each of them in turn. “I loved Callie. She was my very dear friend, and I loved her. I wasn’t in love with her, however. She was more like a sister to me. She was in an unhappy marriage. Hamish became more and more jealous of any attention she paid me, and he took it out on her. He threatened me, as I’ve already said, and I was afraid that if I didn’t go, he would kill me, and possibly Callie, too. I tried arguing with him, but he had lost his reasonableness, if you understand what I mean. So I left.” He shrugged. “I thought that if I were out of the picture, Hamish would no longer have a reason to be jealous. That he might treat Callie better, and she could find some kind of happiness with him.”