Love on the Line - Deeanne Gist [82]
Luke and Nussbaum hadn’t been gone for more than thirty minutes when Kathy Patrick arrived. She swept into the cottage and wrapped Georgie in a bear hug. “The sheriff came by and had Jay wake me up. He thought you might not want to be alone.”
Having grown up in a home where every ounce of her mother’s energy had been used to survive, Georgie was nearly brought to her knees by the unexpected comfort and support of Mrs. Patrick. The two of them clung together, strength from the Plumage League Float Chairwoman funneling into Georgie.
“Did they hurt you?” Mrs. Patrick cushioned Georgie against her breadth, providing an unflappable refuge.
“No,” she said, her voice muffled in the folds of Mrs. Patrick’s embrace. “The skin on my wrists is broken, but that was mostly from me struggling against the bindings.” Georgie pulled away, her lip trembling. “I’m ruined, though. I can’t stay here anymore.”
Mrs. Patrick sucked in her breath. “I thought you said they didn’t hurt you.”
“They didn’t. But that doesn’t change the fact three men were here, in the dead of night, and me in nothing but my nightclothes.”
Mrs. Patrick’s face hardened. “I don’t know what the women were like where you come from, Georgie, but the women of Brenham will not pass judgment over you for something that was not your doing. You have my word on it.”
Georgie had seen that look before and knew it meant business. She swallowed. “They burnt the hats.” She choked. “All of them.”
“A rather small sacrifice, all things considered.”
Georgie swiped her eyes. “But the women spent hours making them. And what about all the money we were to have raised for Audubon? What will the Maifest Queen be crowned with?”
Mrs. Patrick slipped her hand into Georgie’s and squeezed. “You let me worry about that. Did they do anything to the float?”
“I don’t think so. I hid it behind Langkwitz’s house. Luke went to check on it when he left here. He said if anything had happened, he’d come back and tell me. Since he hasn’t returned, I’m assuming all’s well.”
She let out a soft sigh. “Well, that’s a piece of good news, anyway. Did you recognize the men who broke in?”
She nodded. “One of them was Frank Comer.”
“Frank Comer?” Mrs. Patrick pulled in her chin. “Why, he’d never be involved with something of this sort. What makes you think it was him?”
“I spoke with him while my train was robbed in February. Remember?”
She tilted her head. “I remember you saying you thought it was him, but you can’t be sure.”
“Who else would it have been? And one of the men tonight had his eyes. I’m sure of it.”
“But what possible reason would Comer have for burning the hats? Because clearly that’s what they came to do. If it was you they were after, things would have gone much differently.”
“That’s what the sheriff said, too.” In an attempt to relieve her headache, Georgie rubbed her temples. “I told him the only person I knew of who would benefit from destroying the hats was Mr. Ottfried.”
Mrs. Patrick herded her toward the kitchen. “Well, I wouldn’t rush to any conclusions. Let’s wait and see what Nussbaum says once he’s had a chance to look into things. For now, I want to make a poultice for those wrists of yours.”
“I can do it.”
“Nonsense. You sit and let me pamper you.”
Georgie pointed to the cupboard where she kept her powdered resin and clean rags.
Mrs. Patrick retrieved them, then sifted the resin onto Georgie’s wrists. “I saw someone brought you a nice big Mai tree.”
“It’s big? I haven’t been out there yet.”
“Plenty big. And filled with streamers.”
She bit her lip. “It was Luke. He made a terrible racket when he delivered it. As soon as I realized it was him, I called out. He’s the one who found me.”
“I think it’s probably best if you keep as much of the particulars to yourself as you can.” Setting the resin aside, Mrs. Patrick blew on the raw skin.
Tenderness for her welled up within Georgie. “Thank you.”
“Don’t you worry another minute.” Finished, she sat back in her chair. “Have you had any sleep at all?”
“A few snatches here