Fortune's rocks_ a novel - Anita Shreve [141]
“Yes.”
Tucker sits back in his chair and folds his hands in front of his chin. “I cannot tell you today whether or not it is possible to pursue this case,” he says.
“I understand.”
“I will need to investigate certain matters.”
She nods.
“To do this, I will have to hire a private investigator. This is usual in these cases. . . .”
“Yes,” says Olympia.
“I am sorry to have to broach the subject of fees, but I fear — ”
“I have money,” Olympia says quickly. “Money is not a difficulty.”
“Very well then,” he says, standing, and she takes this as her cue to stand as well.
“May I call your carriage?” he asks. “Or do you have a motorcar?”
“Mr. Tucker, I live alone,” Olympia says. “I have neither carriage nor motorcar, and I believe I have missed the last trolley to Ely. If you would be so kind as to call me a cab. . . .”
Tucker takes the gold watch from his vest pocket and consults it. “Yes, yes, of course,” he says. He turns and appears to be looking for something on his desk. “Can you be reached on the telephone?”
“No.”
“I shall need your address then.”
“Yes, of course.”
“I may have to visit you in Fortune’s Rocks from time to time to discuss this case,” Tucker says casually. He turns back to her with an address book in his hand. And she is surprised to see, in his face, that Payson Tucker finds her interesting, or intriguing, or possibly even attractive. And that because of this, he will take her case. For a moment, Olympia ponders the uneasy question of whether or not to use this attraction to gain what she wants.
And then she thinks about the boy, her son, in his cracked leather shoes.
“I will look forward to your visits,” she says.
• • •
When Olympia returns to Fortune’s Rocks, she writes to Rufus Philbrick to tell him that she has hired a lawyer to look into the matter of the boy. She also writes to her father to ask him for money, neglecting to explain the reason. While she awaits a reply from each, she contemplates possible ways in which she might earn extra funds to pay for an eventual custody suit; but she can see no immediate manner in which to secure a living, apart from hiring herself out again as a governess, which she most sincerely does not want to do. To pass the time, she reads books and newspapers, but the outside world seems to her more and more remote, particularly as the summerfolk desert Fortune’s Rocks. The days grow colder still, and she wonders if she will, after all, be able to remain in her cottage.
On the twenty-eighth of September, Olympia receives a letter — but not from Rufus Philbrick or her father.
27 September 1903
Dear Miss Biddeford,
I shall be staying at the Highland Hotel on 2 October and would be pleased if you would dine with me there. I understand that this may be awkward for you, and if you prefer, I will be happy to suggest an alternative venue. In either event, may I call for you at six o’clock on the evening of the second? I have some information regarding your custody suit that I think you will want to hear.
Respectfully yours,
Payson Tucker, Esq.
Olympia sits down at her kitchen table with the letter in her hand and reads it through once more. The Highland Hotel. She can see its high ceilings, its cavernous lobby, its long mahogany desks. She has not thought she would ever again be able to enter the Highland, but it seems cowardly now to have to say to Payson Tucker that she cannot do that, particularly so if she wishes to impress him with her courage and resolve. She takes her pen and ink from the drawer in the kitchen table and begins to write.
29 September 1903
Dear Mr. Tucker,
I should be pleased to dine with you at the Highland Hotel on the evening of the second of October. I shall expect you to call for me at six o’clock. I look forward most sincerely to hearing your information.
In anticipation of your arrival, I remain,
Olympia Biddeford
She blots the letter, puts it into an envelope, and seals it with wax. She glances about her kitchen.
So it is beginning, she thinks.
• • •
Olympia dresses for the evening of October 2 in an emerald velvet