“Seela?”
They heard footsteps in the hallway. “Hello?”
Agnes looked at Polly. “The plot thickens. In here, cousin,” she called out.
He entered, spruce as always, and rushed straight to Seela. She sobbed when she saw him in a way that touched Polly in spite of herself. Marriage was the weirdest thing that people did. Even these two had a marriage.
Agnes noticed the softening of her expression. “Polly!”
“Yes, yes, I’m here.”
“What happened?” Archie asked, turning to look at Agnes for an explanation. There she was, dangling the belt. The image of little Nan dangling the garter snake came into Polly’s mind.
“You tell me first,” Agnes said. “What’s this doing here?”
Archie hardened visibly. “It’s not the same—”
“Archie!” Agnes stomped her foot. “Don’t kid a kidder!”
“Don’t yell at him,” Seela said. “We found it.”
“Where?” Polly asked.
“It slipped behind the case.”
Agnes pulled it out horizontally between her hands and held it up to Polly. For a sec they appreciated the fine work. Then Agnes laid it back in the case.
“You mean to tell me that the police and your fancy New York detectives were on a wild goose chase, and it was here all along?” Agnes asked.
“Get out of my house,” Seela said.
Archie touched her shoulder; he’d take it from here. “No,” he said. “We really did lose it. But we found it again.”
“When?”
“Agnes—”
He looked like a boy, Polly thought. Like James when he was a teenager, and trying to get away with something by means of a lie. Why had she put up with it?
“When?” Agnes repeated.
Archie touched his neck, as if to protect it. “Last summer.”
“While Robert was still in prison. Good Lord.” Polly shook her head. Yet she felt an electric jolt of clarity unlike any she’d ever felt before. It gave her a voice. “Archie Lee, admit that you knew that Robert didn’t steal anything.”
Agnes buttressed her demand. “You’re a Lee,” Agnes said. “You know better.”
“That’s everything to you, isn’t it?” Archie said. “Being a Lee. Your history, your ancestor worship. How did the mighty Lees welcome my wife? You all sneered. Could I change that by helping you dissolve the Fellowship to save your precious birds? No. You wouldn’t be any more accepting no matter what we do. I’m better off being tacky myself and building a marina.”
“You could go to prison for this, you know.”
“I doubt it,” Archie said.
“You let Robert go to prison, lose his house and his reputation—for what?” Polly asked.
Archie glanced over at Seela, and Polly instantly understood. Sudden tears pricked at her eyes. “Well, I feel sorry for you,” she managed to say, her voice quavering. To understand was not to forgive.
“Are you going to tell?” He was subdued now.
“Well, Pol?” Agnes said. “Are we going to tell?”
“Good question.” Polly turned to Archie. “Here’s the alternative to us telling, as you put it. You’re going to clear Robert’s name. Call the judge, and call the papers. Admit publically that you and Seela were wrong. Robert didn’t steal the necklace or the belt. And you’re going to join in with us in dissolving the Fellowship agreement.” Polly spoke with calm authority. She had no doubt in her, none at all.
“Yes,” Agnes said. “You’re going to do these things, and then we won’t report you.”
“No,” he said. “I’m not. You can’t have everything.”
“Then we’ll go to the police.”
“And I’ll stick to our story. Robert did knock Seela over, after all. He never denied that.”
“It was an accident, and you know it.” Agnes shook her fists. “To think I adored you,” she said.
Archie ignored her and instead looked over at Seela, who was sprawled across a beige chair, her feet up on an ottoman. She had a washcloth on her forehead and a pained expression in her eyes. “I will tell you what I’ll do,” Archie said, “so as not to prolong this. I will do one of the things you say. Either I will exonerate Robert or I will go along with your plan to dissolve the Fellowship now. You choose.”
“You unmitigated, arrogant ass,” Agnes said. “You are completely in the wrong, and you want to make a deal? You’ve been caught!”
He was back in control. “Maybe so. But I have time on my side. I can wait you out.”
Polly stepped between them and faced Archie. “Robert,” she said. “We choose Robert.”
“Polly—” Agnes tried to interrupt.
“Shh!” Polly held up a forbidding hand. “Archie, you will call whoever you need to call, and you’ll do it today. Otherwise I’m calling the police. Who have they been closer to over the years, us or you?”
Agnes took Polly’s hand and squeezed it.
“You can call Eleanor Kendall at the Portland paper,” Agnes said. “She’ll be interested. And John Holmes at the Gazette.”
“I will,” Archie said. “I promise. Now it’s time for you to get out of my house.”
“Way past time,” Agnes said. “Toodaloo, cousins.”
They headed for the car. “Do you think he’ll call?” Polly asked.
“Yes.”
Polly was certain Agnes was also remembering Dick’s failure to call the police about Hope. They knew; it didn’t have to be mentioned. Now she thought she should have made the call herself, instead of wanting him to save the day. She could have been in charge of her life.
Well. It wasn’t over.
“Wait—I need to pee,” Agnes said.
“You want to go back in?”
Agnes looked around. “This will do.” She pointed at a topiary bush.
CHAPTER 39 Maud, Fellowship Point, August 2002
MAUD LEFT THE CITY AFTER dinner, so Clemmie would sleep for a lot of the drive, and six hours later checked into a motel near the Portland airport to sleep herself. They had a fun breakfast in the lobby, then headed back into the car for the remaining hours. Agnes had advised she take Route 3, which was more scenic than the interstate but not as slow as Route 1. Maud chose Route 1. They stopped for ice cream, and to walk around a pretty town. As the hours went by, Maud let go of the tension she carried in the city. It had gotten especially bad since Heidi had become depressed again, and Moses repossessed the house on Charles Street. She and Clemmie were still there but Maud was looking for a place of their own. Work was busy, too, and she always felt torn about leaving at five to go home to Clemmie. There was never enough time for everything; the garden had been sadly neglected this year without Heidi to snip the plants and shrubs in the right spots. Miles had been calling. She never answered, but he had inserted himself back in her thoughts. What did he want? Had he gotten a divorce? Did he want to apologize?
The farther she drove the more all that receded. What would it be like if she never went back? What if she rented an apartment in Deel Town and sent Clemmie to the local school? She could become a freelance editor or do something else entirely. Maybe she could be a librarian or open a used bookstore. She could go around Maine to garage sales and buy books for her shop. It could be specifically dedicated to books for women and girls.