Murder on Astor Place by Victoria Thompson

Author:Victoria Thompson
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Penguin USA, Inc.
Published: 2011-03-01T14:27:59.412000+00:00

8

Now IT WAS SARAH’S TURN TO BE STUNNED. SYLVESTER Mattingly! A vision of the man she had seen on the VanDamm’s doorstep such a short time ago flickered before her mind’s eye. Then she tried to picture that elderly gentleman with dewy, young Alicia VanDamm, but even her usually vivid imagination rebelled at such a blasphemy.

“Good heavens,” she murmured.

“Exactly,” her mother said. “I take it you are acquainted with Mr. Mattingly.”

“I’ve... seen him.”

“He’s old enough to be Alicia’s grandfather,” her mother said, confirming Sarah’s impression. “No one could believe her family was seriously considering a marriage between them, which is why no one did believe it. Someone must have started the rumor as some sort of joke. At least that’s what we decided. And when there was no engagement announced, we were sure of it.”

Sarah’s mind was reeling. She could hardly think what to ask next. “Was there ... ? Did anyone know Alicia had disappeared?”

“I hadn’t heard anything, and I doubt anyone else had, either. She wasn’t out yet, so she would hardly be missed from society. Many families send their young daughters away for months at a time, to school and such. No one would even notice her absence. Oh, Sarah, this business with Alicia is all so horrible,” she said, taking Sarah’s hand in hers. “But I don’t care how awful the tragedy was if it brought you back to us. Does that make me evil?”

Sarah smiled and squeezed her mother’s hand. “I don’t think so. Bringing us back together again might be the one good thing to come from Alicia’s death.”

Her mother stared at her for a long moment, giving Sarah the opportunity to notice subtle changes that she’d been too preoccupied to observe before. Her mother had always been plump, as women of her class were expected to be, but she seemed thinner now, as if time had chiseled off the outer layer of softness. Her eyes were still blue but not as bright as Sarah remembered, and the gold of her hair was now mixed with a generous amount of silver. While she had been blessed with good skin and had taken great pains all of her life to preserve her complexion, time had scratched her a bit. The creases from her nose to her mouth were deeper than Sarah remembered, and the firm line of her jaw had blurred. Sarah couldn’t help wondering how much of this was just the normal ravages of time and how much of it might have been caused by the loss of both her daughters. At least Sarah still had it within her power to give one of them back to her.

“I haven’t even asked how you are,” Sarah said. “You look very well.”

“I look older,” she corrected primly. “How could I not? But you’re right, I’m well. Your father will be so sorry he missed you. He’s in Albany, you know.”

Sarah did know. She’d read it in the Times. He was addressing the legislature about something or

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