Aeronaut Gone Read online

  She spun and found Hettie across the room with a woman their age. Hettie and the blonde were kissing cheeks and holding hands as if they were separated companions. Hettie, however, stepped back and put her hand on Truman’s arm. Ro lifted a brow and met Hettie’s gaze. Her dearest friend flushed in the way only a redhead can, and Ro immediately knew Hettie was up to something.

  Hettie took a cocktail from the passing waiter and made her way through the crowd of their guests, nodding and smiling, but moving in a way that declared she had a destination in mind. She linked arms with Hettie on the other side of Truman and glanced about brightly.

  “How fun to find old friends,” Ro declared.

  “Yes, very much so,” the blonde replied. “How fun to run into an old friend and then to be invited on such a trip.”

  Ro’s fingers pressed into Hettie’s arms.

  “Isn’t it fun, Ro?” Hettie said in that bright voice she attempted to use to sound innocent. “This is Jade. Her grandfather-in-law is quite ill and they’ve been planning their own trip to Costa Rica. He lived there for some time as a young man. He wants to go back and when I said we were taking an airship to see the jungle and travel around the country, she realized how great it would be for them as well.”

  Hettie ignored the pressure of Ro’s fingers and made a ‘silly me’ face before introducing them all to Jade Longmont and Will Longmont.

  "Oh my,” Ro said, with only her sideways glance at Hettie, “they’ve decided to bring him with us to Costa Rica. Won’t that be lovely? It’ll be good to have a fellow there who can give us history and a bit of an idea about things. It would be awful to make fools of ourselves due to cultural idiocies.”

  “Well, we do have that guide, Hettie,” Ro said, despite all of the expectant gazes that demanded she comply. Ro tried, however, to mask her surprise but was not very confident that she had fooled anyone. “How wonderful.”

  “Isn’t it just though?” Hettie asked brightly and then shot a look towards Ro that prepared her to brace for something completely unexpected. “And Truman can come too. Since he’s on that mandatory break from the Yard. It’ll be such an exciting trip with so many reliable friends.”

  If Ro could have murdered Hettie right there in front of everyone, she might have done it. First an aged, dying man, now Detective Truman. Their adventure was turning into a circus. Before Ro could find her voice and object politely to all of it, much to her relief, Detective Truman was shaking his head.

  “I wouldn’t want to intrude.”

  “Nonsense,” Hettie said, giving him a stern look that even Ro winced over. “It wouldn’t be an intrusion at all. Think of our safety.” Hettie’s head, however, tilted toward Ro and she could feel his gaze move over her. “Did you know there are poisonous frogs? Let alone those big cats that hunt the hunter. Ro and I need someone to help us from being murdered by the wildlife.”

  It was the right combination of words to get Truman to cave, and his expression both softened and firmed. Clever of Hettie to point out a distinct danger. Ro had little doubt that the change on his face was directly related to that call for a knight errant.

  Will Longmont, the fellow next to Hettie’s blonde, rubbed his nails on his chest. “A Yard man, you say? By Jove! That would be useful to have a ready set of eyes. Detective, I wonder if I might persuade you to come? You would be compensated of course.”

  Hettie’s eyes closed in frustration and Ro could see her friend breathing in before Ro snapped, “He’s our friend not a servant.” Ro glanced at Truman and then muttered, “Not that I speak for him.”

  “I wasn’t thinking that, you know. Of course a friend. One of the party. Perhaps you’d lend me your weather eye and your arm as necessary for my grandfather and in return, for the great favor, I would be allowed to take care of the voyage and the hotel. For all of us, of course. We are crashing your party, aren’t we? Better to do our part. Truthfully when Grandfather said he wanted to return to Costa Rica, I thought it was impossible until I heard Hettie referring to the airship. Just what I needed. We needed. Please.”

  “Of course,” Hettie said, barely hiding her triumph. “Seems fair enough. We’ve already paid for the airship and reserved our guide. You can pay for the steamship and the hotel when we aren’t aboard, and Truman will be in charge of security. I know I’ll sleep better with him there. We’re fixed. How fun.”

  That clever minx! Ro bit down on her bottom lip. Finances were eased for the detective without bruising his pride, and now he’d look like a real beast to back out on the old man’s dying dream to return to Costa Rica.

  “Please say yes,” Jade pled. “Grandfather is a good old gent and it is his final dream.”

  Truman looked at Hettie and Ro then back to Hettie who nodded enthusiastically with her big green eyes and, like every other man, he couldn’t resist her pleas. He might have been unbothered by the blonde, but anyone who knew Hettie for a while was fond of her.

  “I suppose if it is to ensure your safety, I could manage it. I have always wanted to visit Costa Rica if you can believe it. They are famed for their beautiful beaches and wild sea turtles. They even have sloths, did you know that?”

  “I did!” Hettie said, excitedly. “I feel certain that the sketch I saw of them is inaccurate, and I must see them for myself. I am thinking we should get a camera, don’t you think, Ro?”

  Before she could answer, Jade Longmont clapped her hands in a way that annoyed Ro and said, “Now we just need to find a nurse who can come along and help us tend to grandfather.”

  Ro grinned an evil smirk. Now Hettie was really going to pay. Two could play at this game.

  “I think, for perhaps the right fee, we could offer better than a nurse. How would you feel about a physician tagging along?”

  Ro looked at Hettie with a challenging look complete with firmed lips and a steely gaze. If she had to have Truman and his big, strong shoulders tempting her from her resolution to not fall for another man, then Hettie’s weakness was going to be there as well.

  Dr. Nevi wasn’t as bulky as Truman, but he had the kind of corded muscles and slender strength that disguised his capacity until he lifted someone easily.

  Hettie paled at Ro’s suggestion and Ro suddenly felt better. “Hettie, did you invite Dr. Neville tonight? I don’t believe I’ve seen him yet.”

  It was only their very great friendship that kept Ro from referring to him as Nevi in front of Truman and the Longmont hangers-on.

  “Neville was here,” Hettie said evenly, only the blush on her cheeks revealing her thoughts. “I think he’s gone already though. How unfortunate. Perhaps a nurse will have to suffice for your grandfather, Jade.”

  Hettie turned to her old friend, but not before shooting a stony glare to Ro. Perfect, Ro thought. This will teach her to mind her own business. She knew she was completely ignoring their pact to dig into each other’s businesses.

  “Oh, no,” Jade said, mouth twisted with thought. “Now that you have mentioned it, I think we must bring a physician with us. I’m sure we can find someone who would be willing.”

  Just then, Ro spotted Dr. Hale through the crowd. “I see Dr. Hale. Let’s go and ask him. He’s a very great friend of Hettie, did you know? He patches her up after nearly every misadventure we have.”

  Instead of turning to look at Doctor Hale, Ro watched Hettie nibble her bottom lip and mumble something under her breath. If Ro had to guess, she imagined that Hettie had just cursed Ro to a slow and painful death. There was, however, the chance that Hettie expected just this reaction to the Truman invitation. In fact, Ro’s gaze narrowed on Hettie with her conspiring mind. If they were dueling with each other, Ro thought, this trip was going to be the adventure of a lifetime.

  Chapter 3

  “Hettie, did you know your Longmont friend had such handsome twin cousins?” Ro fanned herself as though she’d combust just thinking about their attractiveness.

  Hettie had to wonder what Ro was up to given she was snuggled n
ext to Truman. The romance of transatlantic travel seemed to have lowered Ro’s inhibitions relating to her feelings about the detective. Why was she so interested in the Longmont twins? They were very handsome, Hettie had to admit, and not all that much younger than her and Ro. They were, however, very much married. Ro had always limited her crushes to single men as they’d both been on the other side of a philandering husband. Ro and Hettie both were adamant that married men were off limits, even in jest.

  Ro had a glimmer in her eyes that told Hettie she was up to something more and Truman’s frown at Ro’s comment was just as telling. Hettie shook her head at Ro, giving her a look that said, “Why, yes. I did know that Jade’s married cousins were rather handsome. I have eyes, don’t I? Why do you ask?”

  Nevi put his hand on Hettie’s back, and she glanced quickly at him. He wasn’t nearly as handsome as the twins, and perhaps there was something in his look. The key difference, of course, was that Hettie had experienced pretty eyes and pretty words from her first husband. She found the strong arm, steady attention, and kind eyes of Neville Hale far more attractive than any pretty face.

  Ro hmmmed and caught Hettie’s attention again. Her friend was unfazed by her dig which made Hettie even more suspicious. “Oh, nothing. They are just distractingly lovely to look at. I wasn’t at all certain it was a good idea for the Longmonts to join us, but I do believe I’ve had a change of heart.”

  By now, Truman’s frown had deepened and he’d become near stone still. Hettie didn’t believe for a second that Ro was attracted to the Longmont men. Why was she tormenting the poor detective? He was a good man. Was she trying to drive him away? If not, she needed a good talking to when they were alone. Her adamant refusal to get attached to Truman was causing her to forget herself. Half curled into his side and then pretending to want the married men.

  Hettie rolled her eyes. “I doubt it has much at all to do with your heart. Maybe your inner devil?”

  Truman stood. “If you’ll excuse me, I think I see someone I’d like to dance with.” He stood abruptly and was gone, leaving a surprised Ro sitting by herself—her mouth agape as she watched him walk away.

  Hettie nudged Neville, and he followed their friend. Hettie leaned down and whispered, “It serves you right, Ro.”

  Ro scowled at Hettie.

  “Don’t pretend to be dumb. My goodness, talking about other men—married men—so shamelessly while you’re wrapped in the arms of one who so obviously cares about you. Besides making an ass of yourself, it’s rude.” Hettie forced some tenderness into her voice. “He’s not Leonard, you know.”

  Ro opened her mouth, presumably to argue or deny, but then promptly closed it again at Hettie’s stern look. Ro wrung her hands in her lap. “Oh, I know you’re right. It’s like I can’t help myself.”

  “You can,” Hettie said softly. “You should. Leonard is dead. He’s been punished. It’s not fair to add a punishment for Truman simply because he dares to be around you.”

  Ro flinched remorsefully, and Hettie relaxed a bit.

  “It’s just that I like him entirely too much, Hettie.” Ro’s voice changed back to petulant in the blink of an eye. “This is all your fault. Remember that we had a pact to protect each other from men. From ourselves. We are terrible judges of character when it comes to our love life. If I like a man, it must mean that he’s a terrible choice. Find me someone hideous and cruel. If I marry someone I never loved to begin with, he won’t be able to break my heart.”

  “Oh Ro.” Hettie rubbed her hand over her heart. It wasn’t as if she didn’t understand. By heaven, she did. She’d been half-destroyed by her husband just as Ro had been. The feelings that were growing for Neville Hale were enough to leave her shaking in her t-strap heels.

  Once more, Ro’s voice softened. “I like Truman entirely too much, Hettie. I know what will come of that. Heartbreak and then eventually we’ll be fishing his philandering body out of the river. Just like Leonard.”

  “Truman is nothing like Leonard.” Hettie wanted to sound more loving and empathetic, but Ro was sabotaging a relationship with an actually decent fellow. “Do you think Truman would be on this ship with us if I thought he was going to hurt you? As far as men go, he’s a good one.”

  “You’re bad,” Ro said, laughing. “We both know he’s just a good person. Just like Dr. Nevi.”

  Their gazes met and they burst into laughter. As far as men go…Hettie shook her head. “It’s possible we’ve become a little calloused and cold-hearted. Truman is a good man, and he deserves an apology, Ro.”

  Ro winced.

  “And maybe the truth.”

  Ro rubbed her nose, panic in her gaze.

  “If I had learned differently, I’d throw him overboard. You can count on that. You must stop trying to push him away unless you want him to go?”

  Ro looked contrite, so Hettie let it go at that, but she suspected it wouldn’t be the last time she had to remind Ro who she was actually angry with. Leonard was dead. It made it all the worse. There was no way to lash out at the man who deserved her anger. For either of them, Hettie knew. The best that could be said of Hettie was that she didn’t aim her anger at Nevi.

  Instead, she paced and tossed sleeplessly and ate too much chocolate and drank too much coffee and had too many cocktails. It was time for her to move on. Hettie’s thoughts turned to Dr. Neville Hale.

  She’d danced the evenings away with Nevi since leaving London. Every night a glorious dinner followed by a ballroom and live music, and traveling the seas felt like a vacation instead of travel.

  Ro teased her endlessly about Neville, but somehow she still saw approval in Ro’s eyes. Where Ro’s New Year’s resolutions seemed to be carrying her out to sea, leaving all semblance of anything but fun in London, Hettie was being especially judicious in her habits and behaviors.

  Perhaps she was being too polite in allowing Neville to get and stay close. But he was such a wonderful dancer and she hadn’t been disappointed when she’d let him steal a kiss or three. Mostly, however, it was the bedamned kind eyes. They made her feel like she could trust him.

  It galled Hettie but she asked anyway, “Ro, you’d say if you thought Nevi was a bad idea for me, wouldn’t you? You would.”

  All the contrition fell from Ro’s features and she assumed the posture of a school marm. “Why, Hettie, do you doubt me?”

  Hettie lifted a brow. “Doubt you?”

  “I’d just as soon throw both of our gents overboard than have either of us be taken for another ride.”

  “Is that what we’re calling them now? Rides instead of disastrous marriages?”

  “Yes.” Ro shook off Hettie’s interruption. “They’re both quite lovely. Dr. Nevi is clearly head over heels for you.”

  Hettie blushed and fidgeted, both wanting it to be true and terrified at the same time.

  “I’ve seen nothing alarming or to be even a touch nervous about with the doctor. As long as he’s not hiding a secret family somewhere, I think you’ve hit the jackpot.”

  Hettie saw Truman approaching and quickly changed the subject. “Truman, hello. Isn’t the band wonderful tonight? Ro was just confessing to teasing me about those Longmont men. Have you noticed how vain they are? Ro and I make our own cosmetics and have personalized enameled powder cases and yet I see them checking their faces more often than Ro and I put together.” The look Hettie gave Ro insisted upon an apology.

  He eyed Hettie with an expression that doubted her lies.

  “I—er—” He shook his head. “The Longmont grandfather has gathered our party together and is regaling them with tales of his days in Costa Rica. Shall we join them? I’d like to hear of his experiences so I know precisely what danger I’ll need to keep the pair of you from.”

  Ro laughed and hooked her arm through Truman’s as she pressed up on her toes and said something into his ear.

  Truman seemed entirely unbothered by what happened before and whatever Ro was whispering—Hettie was sure it
was an apology—she had to admit his acting skills were outstanding.

  Hettie winked at him when he glanced her way. She had little doubt that he knew she was behind the apology. She and the detective had a playful, but slightly competitive dynamic, both somehow feeling secure in their connection to Ro and simultaneously needing to mark their territory. It’s good he was willing to fight for Ro. It was also promising that he seemed to understand that Hettie held a bit of power here. Hettie nodded at him. Any power she had would be used to keep Ro safe and happy.

  “That would be lovely, Truman.” Ro hooked her arm through Hettie and Truman’s arms, and the three walked toward the gathering crowd. “You know, Detective Inspector, that you are a far sight more handsome than those Longmont boys.”

  His gaze glinted at her, and Ro said something else low and smoky, then Truman glanced down at her, shaking his head. It was possible that the detective in him saw the truth. It was possible they were circling coming together as a couple and both of them had large reservations. Ro (Hettie as well) was out and out afraid of what being a couple would mean.

  If nothing else, Ro could course correct as well as any sea captain when she wanted to. Maybe she’d start referring to her as Captain Ro. Except that would go to her head and Hettie would never hear the end of it.

  Grandfather Longmont was enchanting the crowd with the tales of his time in the Costa Rican jungle and Hettie shifted her attention between him and the small circle of family gathered at his feet.

  Hettie couldn’t argue that the Longmont twins were indeed handsome, with equally lovely wives. Frederick sat next to his wife Daisy, a dark-haired, pale-skinned slip of a girl with wide blue eyes. She appeared to be utterly enthralled with Grandfather’s description of a typical morning waking up in the jungle. Their cousin Will and his wife, Hettie’s friend, Jade were sitting side-by-side. Despite being the granddaughter-in-law, Jade was more attentive than the rest.