The Charles Vanguard Affair: A Novel

By Andrea Reynolds

In 1980, Sunny von Blow fell into a persistent vegetative state, never to awaken. Her husband, Claus von Blow, was convicted of giving his wife an insulin overdose that caused her condition. Eventually, his conviction was reversed, and he was found not guilty of all charges.

Now, Andra Reynolds, the real-life former mistress of Mr. von Blow, presents a satire on the true events of the suspected murder and the famousor infamousfigures involved. Theres the wealthy, alcoholic heiress; the dashing but neglectful husband who may or may not be a murderer; and the passionate and lonely Hungarian aristocrat who, before she knows it, is swept off her feet and up to her ears in trouble.

Did Charles Vanguard murder his wife? Only Alexa Rosen can discover the truthbut first, she must navigate her way through the oh-so-scandalous high society. Despite death and deception, love blooms in the least expected places. The truth reveals itself in the strangest of circumstance, and no evil man is safe from the lawno matter how rich he is.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Jan 29, 2014
• ISBN: 9781475979459

Andrea Reynolds

Andrea Reynolds has always had an incredible imagination. She is the author of over ten books. Her love of children’s stories has brought her more joy than any other genre. She just wishes she could draw a stick figure. She is the mother of two beautiful children, and one rescue dog. When not writing, her head will be found stuck in a book.

Book preview

THE CHARLES

VANGUARD

AFFAIR

large%20wasp.psd

A Novel

by Andréa Reynolds

iUniverse LLC.

Bloomington

THE CHARLES VANGUARD AFFAIR

A NOVEL

Copyright © 2014 Andréa Reynolds

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

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Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

ISBN: 978-1-4759-7944-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4759-7946-6 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4759-7945-9 (e)

iUniverse rev. date: 4/15/2013

Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

Epilogue

Chapter 1

A lexa Rosen is an attractive woman in her late thirties, of medium height, with an agreeably curvaceous figure, gorgeous arms, and long shapely legs. She has shiny and naturally wavy shoulder-length brown hair, large light brown eyes, and long black lashes. Alexa practices pediatrics in Livingston Manor, a picturesque village located in the New York Catskills, which is two hours from Manhattan. That little village had such a pretentious name because Lewis Livingston, a very wealthy man, had fallen in love with the place and built a magnificent manor house. He later encouraged businesses to open there and helped them financially.

It’s modest but pretty. Main Street is only sixteen hundred feet long, but it has everything one needs to be happy and content. A gasoline station at each end, a very efficient Food Emporium, an efficient and friendly post office, a bank, a Chinese takeout, a pizzeria, a pub-grub bar, a beauty parlor, and a barbershop. All this is coupled with two gift shops and one of the best book stores ever called Hamish and Henry. The school is a surprisingly grand edifice. It was constructed during the aegis of President Teddy Roosevelt, who ordered the construction of many beautiful public buildings to help workless people during the Great Depression.

As trout fishing is prevalent in the area, the village organizes a lively and very amusing trout parade every year. A twenty-foot-long trout carried by the villagers is the main focus. Sullivan County also has a number of really good musical events. The closest is Shandelee Music Festival, where the community invites the best international young performers to study and play every summer. The small concert hall where they perform is situated in the middle of a lush forest out of cedar wood. The acoustics are marvelous. The other place, Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, is huge and grand. It was erected on Max Yasgur’s farm, where the hysterical but now historical Woodstock event took place in 1969.

Sullivan County has a self-made millionaire by the name of Alan Gerry. From a small TV repair business, he had become the king of cable TV, which he sold to Time Warner for close to $900 million. Much of this money was used to improve the county. He invested over $70 million to buy the land where Woodstock took place and build a spectacular concert hall. Today, it is a place of tranquil beauty and inspiration. A world-class museum of items from the 1960s is open all year. In the summer, over twelve thousand people can sit outdoors under the stars and enjoy live concerts ranging from classic to rock, while almost five thousand people can attend in an amphitheater protected by a huge roof. Sitting under the stars is better and cheaper!

Alexa lives in a truly spectacular house that’s a mile away from the village, a house she inherited from her family’s black sheep. He was a bachelor uncle who used to run a gin mill in his backyard during Prohibition. The house is situated on the banks of a famous trout-fishing river called the Willowemoc. In the early 1920s, people built the house out of rounded and smooth river stones. Surprisingly, modern picture windows overlook the ever-changing flowing water and beautiful trees. But the difficulty it takes to reach it is what makes the house even more extraordinary. Other than crossing miles of dense forests and climbing down a steep cliff, the only access is a narrow, 150-feet-long wooden suspension bridge. One day, Alexa found her uncle’s diary, and in it, she read that her uncle had rigged the bridge with dynamite, ready to explode in case of a police raid. The first thing she did when she moved in was to deactivate the dynamite.

She moved to this amazing forty-acre property shortly after her first marriage to a man named Luigi, the son of Italian immigrants. The marriage ended tragically. She found out that Luigi was one of those typical closet alcoholics. One afternoon, Alexa left him in charge of their six-month-old daughter, Caroline, out in their isolated little farmhouse, while she went about her house calls. When she came home late that evening, she saw dark smoke coming out of the house and found her husband lying unconscious near the fireplace. The room was filled with acrid smoke caused by embers from the fireplace that had fallen on the carpet nearby. The door she opened flooded the room with oxygen and accelerated the fire. The room was suddenly ablaze. She heard her baby scream in the next room, and instead of first dragging her husband into the open, she leaped through the smoke toward her child. The baby was unhurt, and Alexa wrapped her in a blanket, opened the window, and jumped out to safety. By that time, the front of the small cottage was engulfed in flames. Tears of grief and guilt streamed down her face as she helplessly watched as her husband and her home were reduced to ashes.

She never forgave herself for not trying to save him. After her husband’s death, in spite of modest resources, her new home became the rallying point during beautiful but harsh winter months for over a dozen deer. Now she feeds the hungry deer that come near by pouring sweet corn and apples or carrots over the snow and ice. She regularly accepts patients without money or health insurance. Her friends affectionately call her The Ambulance Chaser.

Chapter 2

E ight years after the death of her husband, while she is working as a volunteer in a neighboring drug rehabilitation clinic, Alexa meets a very attractive man in the process of trying to get over a serious morphine addiction. They become friends. When Martin Rosen threatens to leave the clinic before the end of his treatment, she offers him shelter as a paying guest. She then takes on his treatment personally, and after six months of devoted ministering, he seems free of his addiction. At that point, his life is in shambles. Though he was once a famous and successful journalist, his bank account is now empty, and his reputation is destroyed. When they decide to marry, it is more out of convenience and loneliness than for love. Not surprisingly, they are not very happy. But they do have one thing in common: they both adore dogs. After a visit to the local pound, they adopt a pregnant golden retriever, and they name her Josephine. Within a month, they have another five adorable puppies. Martin turns out to be an excellent dog father.

He also tries his luck at writing a book about his problems with drug addiction, but his self-indulgences fail to interest a publisher. Several years later, a job offer from a tabloid in London comes as a godsend. The employer offers only a modest salary, but Martin has all his old cronies in Europe. Without drama, he and Alexa decide to separate. If either of them ever wants a divorce, they agree, the other will not object.

Alexa continues to lead a hardworking, decent, and tranquil life. Her only relaxation is the company of her very intelligent, sweet, and loving daughter, Caroline, her animals, and the books she reads voraciously. She also listens to classical and sometimes modern music as she reads. When the time approaches for her daughter to leave for Pennsylvania University, where she has been accepted to Veterinary school, Alexa prays for a miracle to raise the necessary funds for the tuition. She is not aware that there is a miracle already in the making and that her tranquil life is about to be completely upheaved. Nor does she know that a miracle, even in disguise, is not always a blessing.

Chapter 3

T he phone rings late one summer evening. A distinguished British baritone says, Dr. Rosen, this is Charles Vanguard. Could you please come to the manor as soon as possible? My wife and I are very worried about our youngest daughter, Camilla.

What seems to be the problem? Alexa asks.

She is coughing violently and having trouble breathing.

Alexa jumps into her car and races toward the manor up De Bruce Road, where a number of millionaires spend summer holidays in mansions they had built, which they modestly call Cottages.

She enters the manor, only vaguely conscious of the opulent splendor of her surroundings, while she follows a solemn butler up a majestic stairway. After a series of landings and passages, the butler finally ushers her into a fairy-tale bedroom. There, surrounded by her tall and attractive father, beautiful blonde mother, and a forbidding, elderly, German-speaking governess called Miss Schrill, lays a very pretty little girl under a frilly canopied bed. In no time at all, Alexa diagnoses a case of mild whooping cough. Alexa examines Camilla thoroughly for quite a long time, and they instantly develop an affectionate and long-lasting relationship.

Here is a prescription for erythromycin, Alexa says. Please follow the directions and make sure she takes all the pills, even if you think she is cured. At her age, there should be no danger of it developing into pneumonia, and anyway, I will come to check her progress every couple of days.

The faces of Claire and Charles light up with relief, and they each hug the doctor.

May I take you back to your car, says Charles, taking her by the arm. As they reach the courtyard, the grateful father reaches into his pocket and hands $300 to Alexa.

That is three time what I charge for a house call.

"In Manhattan, most GPs refuse to make house calls. When they do, they charge