My Enchanted Enemy by Tracy Fobes

Author:Tracy Fobes
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Published: 2002-07-15T00:00:00+00:00

AFTER HIS DISASTROUS MEETING WITH MRS. Howe, the town gossip, George brought Lila back to her home at Buckland House and immediately sought out Mrs. Wood, with whom Mrs. Howe had apparently made friends. He couldn’t understand why Mrs. Wood had been so foolish as to cultivate a dangerous woman like Mrs. Howe; but the damage was already done, and now they simply had to figure out how to salvage the situation.

He surreptitiously followed Mrs. Wood to her bedchamber, where she went to rest before dinner. All the while he worried about Mrs. Howe and wondered how tenacious the woman was. Usually the gossipy types were beyond compare when it came to ferreting out scandal. If Mrs. Howe sensed something unusual about himself and his cousin Zelda, would she pursue it, or let it drop?

His gut roiling, George knocked on the door.

Dressed in a lace cap which hid her gray hair and simple white gown, Mrs. Wood opened the door, grabbed him by the arm, and whisked him inside. “Mr. George,” she whispered, “whatever is the matter? I’ve been sensing a thundercloud on the horizon ever since you and Mrs. Whitham returned from town.”

“Thundercloud is an apt description.” He moved past her into the sitting room and began to pace, his hands fastened together behind his back. “Did you know that Mrs. Howe is perhaps the largest gossip in all of Buckland Village? What were you thinking when you agreed to visit the woman?”

“Visit? Mrs. Howe? I don’t believe I’ve met her.”

“You must have. She claimed that you had promised to visit with her, and when I told her you were staying with the Pritchards, she demanded you come for an afternoon visit at the very least.”

Mrs. Wood pressed her fingers against her lips in a thoughtful manner. “What does she look like?”

Quickly George described her long nose and sharp gaze.

“I’m sorry, Mr. George, but I don’t recognize her,” she said once he’d finished his description. “I’ve been very careful to limit my exposure to Mr. Pritchard and his daughter, just as you asked me to. I’ve never driven to Buckland Village, and I certainly never promised to visit Mrs. Howe.”

George eyed the older woman, assessing both her manner and the ring of sincerity in her voice. At length, he nodded, satisfied that Mrs. Wood was telling the truth. And while he was glad she’d followed his instructions, her compliance made the problem more knotty. The roiling in his gut grew more nauseating.

“How, then, does Mrs. Howe know Zelda Strangford?” he asked.

Mrs. Wood’s eyes became very wide. “Heaven help us, Mr. George, could they be acquainted in some way?”

He began to pace again. “I don’t know. It’s possible, although I can’t believe the investigation on the Strangfords could have missed a fact like this. Our research on the family is long and detailed.”

“What exactly did Mrs. Howe say about her so-called friend Zelda Strangford?”

“Mrs. Howe explained she’d been expecting a lengthy visit from Zelda. She seemed disappointed over the fact

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