Free Death in Salem by Eleanor Kuhns Page B

smiled. “Xenobia told me of your suggestion. But he was probably planning a visit to his mistress. She does not dwell very near the docks. Father simply used the tunnel to escape the house, no doubt exiting at his counting house.” Rees stared at her, surprised and, yes, a little shocked by her calm acceptance of her father’s illicit connection.
    â€œI am not surprised you know,” he said, “but you discuss her so, so…” He couldn’t think of an appropriate word. Gently bred young women were not supposed to reveal their knowledge of such things, especially so matter-of-factly.
    â€œOh please, Mr. Rees,” she said. “I did not expect you to be as condescending as my brother. Frankly, he can be so maddening. Do you have sisters?”
    â€œYes,” Rees said. “Two sisters.”
    â€œWell, I hope you don’t treat them as though they are empty-headed ninnies.”
    â€œI think Caroline would say I do,” Rees said. And, he admitted to himself, he probably did. Oh, not so much with Phoebe. She was only two years younger than Rees and had a much more easy-going personality than their sister. But Caroline was the baby and spoiled, at least in Rees’s opinion. He’d gotten in the habit of lording it over her. Shamed by that realization, he promised himself he would do better in the future.
    â€œOh dear. I expected more from your good sense. Of course my father had a mistress. William, well, he expects his sisters to strive for a certain level of behavior. I have no patience for it. And, since he has spent almost a year in Baltimore, he has forgotten my many flaws.” She offered Rees an impish grin. “He’s become a dry stick, wouldn’t you agree?”
    â€œBaltimore?” Rees refused to express an opinion on William, although he agreed with Peggy’s assessment.
    â€œMr. Joshua Humphreys is the acknowledged master of shipbuilding. And since Congress is now demonstrating some interest in re-establishing the Navy, my father sent William to Baltimore to learn from the best. Personally, I think Salem’s own Enos Briggs would have been as excellent a teacher.”
    Rees nodded in understanding. At the close of the War for Independence, Congress had disbanded the Navy because of the expense. But now, with Britain continuing to capture American ships and impress American seamen into the British Navy, the increasing hostilities with France, and the pirates from the Barbary Coast who attacked American merchantmen, Congress was rethinking their over-hasty decision. “And this Georgianne? Do you know her full name and her direction?”
    A frown marred Peggy’s white brow. “Her last name is Foster. I don’t know exactly where she lives, although I believe it is close to Turner Street. Or was it Beckett? No matter,” she said with a shake of her head. “I learned of my father’s connection recently.” She smiled again, but Rees thought he detected hurt underneath her flippant worldly manner. “He seemed genuinely attached and I wondered if he might marry her, when my mother passed on.” Her blunt assessment once again disconcerted Rees, and he felt his mouth twitch.
    â€œI hope you don’t think me callous. You must understand, Mr. Rees, that my mother was ill for many years. Recently she became quite frail. And at only forty-two. Yet none of us were surprised.” She stopped abruptly. Rees recalled his sighting of Jacob Boothe after the funeral and nodded in understanding. Boothe had been in his fifties and, although his fair hair glittered with silver, he had been robust.
    â€œAnd how did you feel about this connection?” Rees asked, leaning forward. Peggy gazed down at her hands. He watched her expression shift and shift again. She wanted to lie, he could see that, but her innate honesty wouldn’t allow it.
    â€œI would rather he waited until he was a widower,” she