Jane Carter Investigates: Episode Seventy-One
My first thought was to call for
assistance, but then I realized calling for help would result in awkward
questions. I felt certain Miss Furstenberg had only fainted and would soon
revive.
I stretched the young woman full
length on the sofa, then ran to the washroom for a glass of water. I dampened a
towel and folded it across Miss Furstenberg’s forehead, at the same time
rubbing her limp hands and trying to restore circulation. I noticed that the
white gold ring had fallen to the floor, so I picked it up and put it back into
my handbag.
Miss Furstenberg must have
fainted because of what I told her about the lily pond, I decided. I regretted
that I had not been more tactful in breaking the details of how I’d come into
possession of the wedding ring.
I watched the young woman
anxiously, fearing that what I had assumed to be an ordinary faint might be a
heart attack. A wave of relief surged over me as Miss Furstenberg stirred
slightly. Her long dark eyelashes fluttered open, and she stared blankly about
her.
“Where am I?” she asked,
moistening her dry lips.
“Here, drink this,” I urged,
offering the glass of water. “You’ll feel much better in a few minutes.”
“Now I remember,” Miss
Furstenberg murmured. “You were saying—”
“Don’t think about that now. Just
lie still and relax.”
Miss Furstenberg did not try to
speak again for some little time. Then, despite my protests, she raised herself
to a sitting position.
“I feel quite all right now,” she
insisted. “How stupid of me to faint.”
“I am afraid I was very
tactless.”
“On the contrary, our
conversation had nothing to do with it.”
“I thought—”
“It was the heat,” Miss
Furstenberg insisted. “I had a sunstroke once, and since then I can’t bear an
overheated room.”
“But it isn’t very warm in here,”
I said. “I don’t notice it at all.”
“You might not, but I am very
sensitive to it.”
“Well, I’m glad your faint wasn’t
caused by anything I said. I thought you seemed shocked by what I told you
about the ring.”
“You were saying that you picked
it up near the lily pond?”
“Yes.”
“I wish I knew the exact place.”
“If we could go to your estate
together, I could show you,” I suggested.
Miss Furstenberg hesitated,
obviously still prejudiced against me because of my connection with the Greenville
Examiner.
“Very well,” she agreed. “Will
you please ask that my car be sent to the door?”
“Gladly,” I said.
Leaving Miss Furstenberg in the
powder room, I returned to the main hall. Florence separated from the crowd and
hurried to meet me.
“Oh, Jane, I saw you go off with
Miss Furstenberg,” she began. “Would she talk with you?”
“She did, and now I’m going with
her to the estate.”
“But Mother expects to start home
in a few minutes,” protested Florence. “How long will you be gone?”
“I haven’t the slightest idea. If
I’m not back here by the time you are ready to leave, don’t wait for me.”
“But how will you get home?”
“Oh, I’ll find a way. The
important thing now is to learn everything I can from Miss Furstenberg. She’s
in the mood to talk.”
“I’d love to visit the estate,”
Florence said wistfully.
“I wish I could take you, but I
don’t see how I can this time.”
“Of course not, Jane. It would be
very foolish of you to try. You might lose your chance to go there yourself.”
“Will you explain to your mother
about my sudden disappearance?”
“Yes, she’ll understand,”
Florence replied. “We’ll wait at least an hour for you before we return to
Greenville.”
I left a call for Miss
Furstenberg’s car and then went back to the powder room to retrieve Miss
Furstenberg. The young woman walked a bit unsteadily even with aid. However, no
one paid attention to us as we crossed the main hall and climbed into the
waiting automobile.
The big limousine rolled away
from the clubhouse and sped toward Sunnydale. During the ride, Miss Furstenberg
scarcely spoke. She sat with her head against the cushion, eyes half closed. As
we came within view of the drawbridge, she roused herself.
“I see you have visitors at the
estate,” I said as we approached several cars parked near the river’s edge.
“Reporters, always reporters,”
Miss Furstenberg said. “They may try to board as we pass.”
I wondered how the limousine
would be taken across the river. The old watchman had noted our approach.
Before the car reached the end of the road, he had lowered the creaking
drawbridge into position.
“Is the bridge safe?” I couldn’t
resist asking.
“For light traffic only,” Miss
Furstenberg answered.
The arrival of the car had created a stir amongst the group of men gathered near the bridge. I caught sight of Jack Bancroft and could not resist rolling down the side window, so he would be sure to see me. It was delightful to see him stare as if he could not believe his eyes.
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