She continued to sit, and despite nearly eight full decades of wear and tear, her back was straight as a spear. “You teach?”
“I have done. At the moment, I’m fully occupied with my research and writing of family histories and biographies. Our ancestry is our foundation.”
“Certainly.” Her gaze shifted when Jane came in with the flowers. “No, not there,” she snapped. “There, and be careful. See to the refreshments now. Our guest can’t be expected to sit here without being offered basic hospitality.”
She turned her attention back to Mitch. “You’re interested in the Harper family.”
“Very much.”
“Then you’re aware that the Harpers are not only my foundation, but a vital part of the foundation of Shelby County, and indeed the state of Tennessee.”
“I am, very keenly aware, and hope to do justice to their contributions. Which is why I’ve come to you, for your help, for your memories. And in the hope that you’ll come to trust me with any letters or books, any written documentation that will help me to write a thorough and detailed account of the Harper family history.”
He glanced up as Jane came out carrying a teapot and cups on a large tray. “Let me help you with that.”
As he crossed to her, he saw the woman’s eyes shoot over to her aunt. Obviously flustered, she allowed him to take the tray. “Thank you.”
“Pour the tea, girl.”
“Miss Paulson would be your great-niece on your father’s side,” Mitch began easily, and took his seat again. “It must be comforting to have some of your family so close.”
Clarise angled her head, regally. “Duty to family is paramount. I would assume, then, you’ve done considerable research to date.”
“I have. If you’ll permit me.” He opened his briefcase and took out the folder he’d prepared for her. “I thought you might enjoy having this. The genealogy—a family tree—I’ve done.”
She accepted the folder, wagged her fingers in the air. On command, Jane produced a pair of reading glasses on a gold chain.
While she looked over the papers, Mitch did his best to swallow down the weak herbal tea.
“How much do you charge?”
“This is a gift, Miss Harper, as you’ve not requested my services. It’s I who request your help in a project I’m very eager to explore.”
“We’ll be clear, Dr. Carnegie, that I won’t tolerate being asked for funds down the road.”
“Absolutely clear.”
“I see you’ve gone back to the eighteenth century, when the first of my family immigrated from Ireland. Do you intend to go back further?”
“I do, though my plan is to focus more on the family here, in Tennessee, what they built after they came to America. The industry, the culture, their leading roles in both, as well as society. And most important, for my purposes, the family itself. The marriages, births, deaths.”
Through the lenses of her reading glasses, her eyes were hawklike. Predatory. “Why are household staff and servants included here?”
He’d debated that one, but had gone with his instincts. “Simply because they were part of the household, part of the texture. In fact, I’m in contact with a descendant of one of the housekeepers of Harper House—during your mother, Victoria Harper’s, childhood. The day-to-day life, as well as the entertaining the Harpers have been known for are essential elements of my book.”
“And the dirty linen?” She gave a regal sniff. “The sort servants are privy to?”
“I assure you, it’s not my intention to write a roman a clef, but a detailed, factual, and thorough family history. A family such as yours, Miss Harper,” he said, gesturing toward the file, “certainly has had its triumphs and tragedies, its virtues and its scandals. I can’t and won’t exclude any that my research uncovers. But I believe your family’s history, and its legacy, certainly stands above any of its very human failings.”
“And failings and scandal add spice—spice sells.”
“I won’t argue with that. But certainly, with your input, the book would have a stronger weight on the plus side, we could say.”
“We could.” She set the folder aside, sipped her tea. “By now you’ve certainly been in contact with Rosalind Harper.”
“Yes.”
“And . . . she’s cooperating?”
“Ms. Harper has been very helpful. I’ve spent some time in Harper House. It’s simply stunning. A tribute to what your family built since coming to Shelby County, and a tribute to charm and grace as well as continuity.”
“It was my great-great-grandfather who built Harper House, and his son who preserved it during the War of Northern Aggression. My grandfather who expanded and modernized the house, while preserving its history and its traditions.”
He waited a moment for her to continue, to speak of her uncle’s contribution to the estate. But when she stopped there, he only nodded. “Harper House is a testament to your family, and a treasure of Shelby County.”
“It is the oldest home of its kind consistently lived in by one family in this country. The fact is, there is nothing to compare with it, to my mind, in Tennessee, or anywhere else. It is only a pity my cousin was unable to produce a son in order to carry the family name.”
“Ms. Harper uses the family name.”
“And runs a flower shop on the property.” She dismissed this with another sniff and a flick of her ring-spangled fingers. “One hopes that her eldest son, when he inherits, will have more sense and dignity, though I see no indication of it.”
“Your family has always been involved in commerce, in industry, in business.”
“Not at home. I may decide to give you my cooperation, Dr. Carnegie, as my cousin Rosalind is hardly the best source for our family history. You may deduce we are not on terms.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“It could hardly be otherwise. I’m told that even now she has outsiders, and one of them a Yankee, living in Harper House.”
Mitch waited a beat, saw that he was expected to verify. “I believe there are houseguests, and one is also a distant relation, through Ms. Harper’s first husband.”
“With a baby out of wedlock.” Those brightly painted lips folded thin. “Disgraceful.”
“A . . . delicate situation, but one that happens, very often in any family history. As it happens, one of the legends I’ve heard regarding the house, the family, deals with a ghost, that of a young woman who may have found herself in this same delicate situation.”
“Balderdash.”
He nearly blinked. He didn’t believe he’d ever heard anyone use that term in actual conversation.
“Ghosts. I would think a man with your education would be more sensible.”
“Like scandal, Miss Harper, ghosts add spice. And the legend of the Harper Bride is common in the area. Certainly it has to be mentioned in any detailed family history. It would be more surprising if a house as old and rich in history as Harper House didn’t have some whisper of hauntings. You must have grown up hearing the story.”
“I know the story, and even as a child had more sense than to believe such nonsense. Some find such things romantic; I do not. If you’re skilled or experienced at your work, you’ll certainly find that there was no Harper bride who died in that house as a young woman—which this ghost is reputed to be. Not since the story began buzzing about.”
“Which would have been?”
“In my grandfather’s time, from all accounts. Your own papers here,” she said as she tapped the folder, “debunk any such foolishness. My grandmother lived to a ripe age, as did my mother. My aunts were not young women when they passed. My great-grandmother, and all of her children who survived their first five years, lived well past their forties.”
“I’ve heard theories that this ghost is a more distant relation, even a guest or a servant.”
“Each nonsensical.”
