The Crescent Spy by Wallace Michael

Author:Wallace, Michael [Wallace, Michael]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
ISBN: 9781503949454
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Published: 2015-11-10T08:00:00+00:00

Mrs. Henry J. Dubreuil, neé Margaret O’Reilly, was a statuesque beauty, her hair still black and lustrous even though she appeared to be over fifty. She had one of those interesting faces that made Josephine wish she had studied portraiture so she could paint it, with a strong chin, high cheekbones, and hazel eyes flecked with green.

The woman seemed momentarily surprised when the doorman admitted Josephine, but quickly recovered. She said she had another guest in the back parlor, but if Josephine could wait in the music room, she would return shortly. Meanwhile, she would send in tea for Josephine while she waited.

Mrs. Dubreuil lived in a handsome two-story brownstone with wrought-iron fencing protecting its sumptuous gardens. The fireplace was marble, the furniture of black walnut, upholstered in damask. Thick burgundy carpets covered the floors. A beautiful green-lacquered grand piano sat in one corner. The tea arrived served in fine china, with silver teaspoons imported from England. Josephine ate the cucumber sandwiches, wishing she’d taken the time to return to the hotel to change and clean up before rushing over.

She was hungry, however, and after two weeks living with sailors and soldiers, seemed to have lost her manners. She’d devoured the entire plate of sandwiches before she caught herself. What was keeping that woman? It must have been forty minutes.

Unbidden, Josephine’s thoughts turned to that night in Congo Square at the end of September, when she’d spied the Colonel and Francesca arm in arm. They’d spotted her, too. Josephine had studiously avoided thinking about them, but now she couldn’t help it as she considered who Mrs. Dubreuil might be meeting with.

The first shock had been seeing the Colonel with her mother’s former dancing companion. Josephine couldn’t remember anything more than friendly, cordial behavior between the two women during the time on Crescent Queen, but of course Josephine had been thirteen years old at the time. Maybe the Colonel and Francesca had been lovers all along. They must have found some way to connect after the Colonel was caught cheating at cards. He’d been persona non grata on Crescent Queen.

Never mind that. How and when they’d ended up together wasn’t as important as figuring out why they were in New Orleans. Francesca must have recognized Josephine during the crossing on the blockade-runner. Probably not at first, or she wouldn’t have changed her story to claim she was French, and not Spanish. But eventually she had recognized her, maybe during that dinner at the Paris Hotel. Francesca then traveled upriver to Memphis to tell her husband, the so-called “great patriot.”

After that, the two of them must have come to New Orleans with the express purpose of searching for Josephine. But why? To look for the gemstones the Colonel had hidden in the lacquered box? Or did he mean to worm his way into her affections again? Hah. Josephine could not, would not forgive him for what he’d done. And if Francesca was his wife or mistress, that made her an enemy, too.

Josephine was starting to think about that horrible night of her mother’s death.

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