Dangerous Expectations: A Gothic Mystery in the Tradition of Holt and Whitney

By B. J. Conner

For Reece Hensley, the extraordinary Barclay Manor was somewhere she would never be welcomed. However for her sister Olivia, it was a fantasy kingdom, where their beautiful Aunt Norah had married her prince, Garrett Barclay, and went there to live only to disappear.

Reece accepted their fathers explanation, that Norah had taken money from Garretts account and ran away with a lover. Olivia was not so easily persuaded. The narcissistic Norah had wanted nothing more than to become a Barclay and Olivia would not believe she would ever deviate from that dream.

Norah had not contacted her family for four years after she married Garrett even though they lived only few miles from Barclay. It was no surprise to the Hensleys because Norahs expectations did not included her brother or her nieces.

When Reece and Olivia happen to meet Garretts dashing brother, Nicolas, in the valley between their homes, the sisters become involved with the Barclay family, only to be drawn into love, intrigue, deceit and danger.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Aug 4, 2014
• ISBN: 9781491736739

B. J. Conner

B.J. Conner lives in Southern Indiana, high atop a hill overlooking the Ohio River. She enjoys combining her love of local history with a fictional mystery sure to please her readers. When she is not writing, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends.

Book preview

Prologue

Standing at the window of my sister Olivia’s room, I look out across the valley towards Barclay, which stands haughtily atop of a hill as if to remind the small city, Langsport, below of its grandeur. The cool crisp wind of autumn has taken the place of the sweltering days of summer. The sweeping change of the season reminds me of how quickly simple things can alter our lives forever, reminiscent of when I met Nick Barclay and the events that followed changed my life and the lives of those whom I love. I wish I could forget some of last spring, for the memories bring with them considerable pain. It is humbling to recall the naiveté and recklessness that I unwittingly displayed a mistake which almost cost Olivia and me our lives.

Looking at the mansion across the valley separating our home from Barclay manor, I realize it is not only the valley which separates us, but also the ever-present division of middle class and upper class. We certainly are not considered poor, my father is the administrator of bookkeeping at the bank owned by the Barclays and in his own right was left an adequate trust from his father. The Barclays however, are the equivalent of royalty in our small city.

When my father married my mother, a farmer’s daughter, the marriage was regarded as beneath his family’s position. He was consequently removed from certain social circles and eventually dropped altogether from that culture. Papa, being of a strong-minded disposition, didn’t care about social status. He loved our mother dearly. After she died giving birth to my stillborn baby brother, he raised us girls, my sister Olivia, my aunt Norah and me, Clarice, with the same love and respect that he had for Mother. When Liv was small, her pronunciation of my name was Reece and that soon became my name. While I referred to Olivia, as Liv, Papa never did out of respect for my mother since Mother’s middle name was Olivia.

A sigh always seems to escape my lips when I gaze at the Barclay mansion, I noticed that some of the trees surrounding the estate have already begun to lose their leaves for we had a very dry summer, while others are just beginning to turn a multitude of wonderful colors. For an early fall evening, it is unusually cool, I can hear the last of the locusts begin in low choirs of buzzing and slowly bring the ear-piercing din to a crescendo. It awakens awareness in me of how nature gives us warning of the changing season. Had I been less naive and more in tune to the warning signs, I could have avoided getting my heart broken and putting Liv and me through a horrifying ordeal. At times I feel as if I have moved beyond the regrets of the past year and at other times my heart aches for what could have been.

I can barely see the red gabled roof of the Barclay mansion and I wonder if those who remain there ever think of us for I always seem to be thinking of them.

To tell how it all began, I have to start with when Liv and I were children.

Chapter One

I remember my sister and me watching our Aunt Norah with rapt attention— we were mesmerized by the way she held herself in such high regard. Liv is younger than me by almost three years and is notorious for her dramatic behavior. She described our aunt thus, ‘Norah’s voice and the way she moves so gracefully is like the sound of a violin softly playing.’ Our papa, Victor Hensley, has always said that Olivia has her head in the clouds. There is no doubt that Norah was the most graceful woman I had ever laid eyes on. Everything about Norah was lovely. Her eyes were the color of the sky at night and her dark hair had sheen like a silk gown in the lamplight, another description given by our romantic Liv, nevertheless so very true.

Norah was everything that Liv and I were not. I have to admit there was a time that I envied her appearance right down to the lovely cream color of her complexion however I did not envy her temperament. Even as child I could see that she was shallow, cared very little for anyone save herself, and her only true concern was her image. Norah was our Papa’s much younger sister and although she was my aunt, she was only five years my senior. She came to live with my parents when I was five and Liv was just barely three. Norah came to us because our grandmother, her mother, passed away and she had no other living relatives. Mama died just a few months after Norah’s arrival.

Our housekeeper, Bess, was hired to help my father raise us after Mother passed away. Bess, although kind could be stern as well; she never allowed us to forget who was in charge of running the house and who cooked the family meals. She also did whatever she could to help Papa with our daily needs.

From the very beginning, Norah was different from Liv and me. She was always aloof and although Liv and I followed her around as often as possible, she barely acknowledged our existence. Even at the tender age of ten, she was determined to reach her dream of becoming part of the privileged Barclay family. After all, she and our departed grandmother were still considered as upper class.

Grandmother doted on Norah and she never ceased praising Norah’s beauty. Papa said that Grandmother was obsessed with the idea that Norah, when she came of age to be presented into society, would become the most sought woman in Langsport. It was no great wonder Norah thought that she was better than the rest of us. Grandmother told Norah from the very beginning that she would enjoy a brilliant marriage and, in Norah’s mind, that meant she would marry a Barclay. She never strayed from that purpose.

Liv and I were simply content to be with Papa and to follow Norah around adoringly. As time passed Norah did her best to separate herself from the two little girls she found quite bothersome. We began to spend less and less time with her. She continued to dream of becoming a Barclay and no one doubted that she would achieve exactly what she wanted. The only time she spent in our company was when we attended church and when we would go to the park on Sundays— that was the one rule Papa always insisted upon.

Grandmother had left instructions in her will that Norah was to have tutors and also an instructor in deportment. Liv and I never shared lessons with Norah. Instead, an elderly lady who lived in a small house on our property taught us. She had been a teacher in her youth and had insisted on repaying Papa for allowed her to live on our property without charge, by teaching us reading, writing and arithmetic.

Norah was not exactly unkind to us— she was simply indifferent to two little girls with masses of curls the color of honey. She lived in the same house with us, but it was as if she was not a part of our family. It was her choice, not ours. Bess would lovingly comb Norah’s darks locks and would frown every time she had to do the same for Liv and me. It was not Bess’ fault that our hair was difficult to keep under control. Both Liv and I had large green eyes and wayward curls. Bess told us that we had hair like our mother.

Because I still had vague memories of mother’s soft voice and tender touch, those words instilled pride in me that did not extend to Liv who didn’t remember her. Liv felt disappointed. She desperately wanted to be like Norah whom she adored. Norah and my father look amazingly alike and everyone thought she was his daughter, also.

As we grew older, we came to understand that we were not unattractive, but in the shadow of Norah’s flawless beauty, we were often overlooked. I always knew Liv was quite pretty, much prettier than I— but there was never a competition between us. It was Norah’s exceptional appearance that drew so much attention whenever we were all together.

I found it difficult to believe that Papa and Norah came from the same parents, Norah with her reserve, almost cold emotion, and Papa the essence of warm loving kindness; it was like night and day. How could siblings be so different?

Papa worked long hours at the bank and even though he did not arrive home until eight o’clock in the evening, he never failed to come to our rooms to kiss each of us goodnight. Liv and I lived for Saturday afternoon because Papa only worked until 3 o’clock and we would have him home until Monday morning. In our younger days, we had a ritual of waiting on Saturday afternoon at the top of the stairs. As Papa entered the door, he would call, Reece and Olivia, I’m home. We’d bound down the steps and into his waiting arms. He would swoop each one up laughing, and then if weather permitted we would spend the afternoon horseback riding. Sometimes, Norah would join us, but not often. She did not enjoy doing the same things as we did. When we were out running and playing games, she would practice deportment with her private tutor.

Papa, Norah, Liv and I lived in a huge two-story wood frame house with a large front porch and small one in the back. Our house sat on ten acres of the forty acres known as Coal Miners Hill. It was called that because there was an old coal mine under most of the hill, although it didn’t reach as far as our home. There were numerous abandoned coalmines in the area.

By the time Norah was seventeen, she was already invited to all of the most important functions in the city. Her expectations were coming true, she never wanted for new gowns to wear because of the trust our grandmother left to her. Grandmother would have been proud to know that her dreams for Norah had been achieved. Norah was deemed one of the most desirable catches in the marriage market, not only because of her beauty but also her large inheritance. When Grandfather died, he left papa a portion of his money and, of course, Grandmother received the bulk of his estate. When she passed, she left everything to Norah. Grandmother stipulated in her will that Norah would obtain the fortune upon her marriage or on her twenty-first birthday, whichever came first.

At the age of nineteen, Norah became betrothed to Garrett Barclay III and a year later they were married. I was almost fifteen and Liv was twelve when the wedding took place. I remember that there were so many flowers in the church that the fragrance was quite overwhelming. It was an exceptional memory for us, especially for Liv. It was an elaborate affair with all the elite of the city invited, including the Mayor and our state Senator. A magnificent reception followed at the Barclay estate that included a dinner and dance. Liv and I were only allowed to attend the wedding since we were not yet old enough to enjoy late night revelry. To our disappointment, we were sent home to be with Bess for the rest of the evening. Naturally, we talked of nothing else for months. Liv was mesmerized by the wedding and indulged in a daydream of describing Norah as the most beautiful bride ever. Liv thought of Norah as a princess and her handsome groom, Garrett Barclay, as a prince who would live happily ever after in a castle, which was Barclay Manor. If I heard her account of the wedding once, I heard it a hundred times. Liv told Papa that their wedding was like a fairy tale. Papa said, I doubt it would be so if it were not for the very handsome trust left to Norah by my parents.

I was too young to consider the full meaning of his words until much later. I came to understand that having money could lift you up in social standing.

Norah moved to the Barclay estate, which sat like a prized gem atop the vast hill north of us. Since we also lived on a hill, we could see the impressive gray stone of the mansion in the winter when the trees were bare; however, in the summer when the foliage was thick, only the gables where visible from Liv’s bedroom window.

There had only been one occasion when we were invited to Barclay Manor after Norah’s marriage. All that I remember of the occasion was staring at Garrett, he seemed larger than life to me with his finely sculpted features. He reminded me of the bust of David, which I had once saw in a book. I recall that we had entered the house through a magnificent hall with vaulted ceilings and gleaming marble floors. Everything else was just a vague impression in my mind. We had tea and Liv and I sat quietly while the adults conversed. After that, we were never invited back to Barclay again, nor did Norah ever come to visit us. When I look back now, I realize that should have been enough warning to me to keep my distance. However, in Liv’s lively imagination Norah and Garrett were royalty, and Norah would be too busy as mistress of Barclay to spare time for her brother and nieces. I suppose I heard Liv’s ramblings so often that I had the impression imbedded in mind of Norah as a princess and Garrett as her prince.

Then came the day when we heard that Norah was gone. It was a great shock to discover after Norah and Garrett had been married for almost four years, she simply disappeared. She completely vanished as if she had never existed. I was nineteen and was eager to believe that some tragedy had befallen Norah, although I didn’t know what. But Liv, not quite sixteen, had compiled a sinister plot. Some unsavory character had abducted Norah and kept her from returning to Garrett who was brooding for his lost love.

Papa had declined to share all of the information about her disappearance with us. I do not know if it was because of his embarrassment, or that he felt we were too young to understand the implications. His silence on the subject only served to heighten our curiosity. Liv thought about it frequently to the point of being obsessed with what happened to Norah. She was infatuated with the stories that she invented of Garrett, the handsome husband, being in great despair by Norah’s disappearance. I must admit that I was caught up in Liv’s fantasy for a while, however as life proceeded I became less interested in Norah’s disappearance. Not so for Liv. She continued to daydream.

By the time Liv reached the age of eighteen, she had asked so many questions about Norah that Papa decided we should know the truth.

I was sitting with Liv at her bedroom window looking out at the gables of Barclay Manor, as Liv did every evening since Norah’s disappearance, when Papa tapped at the door.

He entered and said, Olivia, I wish you would not waste your time thinking about Norah. I am surprised, Reece, that you would help foster Olivia’s obsession. After all, Norah has been gone over two years now, and she was out of our lives for many years before her disappearance.

I moved away from the window as Liv asked. Papa, are you not the least bit curious as to where she may have gone?

Norah was not an easy person to get to know, or understand, Papa sighed. My parents, your grandparents, doted on her from the first moment she came into this world. Frankly, they did not expect to have a child that late in life and Norah was a beautiful child. Papa frowned before continuing. My mother decided from the beginning that Norah was destined to marry into the upper classes, and put every effort into making that come about. He shook his head. Poor Norah did not have a chance to ever think of anything else, and fortunately for Mother, Norah was easily persuaded to do exactly what Mother wanted her to do. She had the best instructors; she knew how to dress as well as to be poised, and to converse easily when in the company of adults. So by the time she came to us she already had her mind set to achieve a position of privilege— a position where the three of us would not be accepted… nor do I want that for you girls.

Papa, we already know all of this, Liv stated. What has that to do with her disappearance?

He sighed, I suppose it is time to explain all of the circumstances surrounding Norah’s behavior, He moved to a chair and sat down before continuing, When the police investigated her disappearance, they discovered that Norah was dreadfully unhappy in her marriage to Garrett Barclay. One day, she simply packed up some of her things and left. She traveled to New York. Her name was found on a ship’s ledger as a passenger destined for England. The authorities tracked her to London and from there she simply vanished and I am certain that is exactly what she wanted.

Do you mean to say she just went away on her own? I said with disbelief. How could she exist on her own without money?

There was a large sum of money taken from the bank before she left, he said with a sigh. If it had not been for that, I would have had difficulty believing she would leave Barclay of her own accord. I have gone over the records myself so I know that she took the money.

Even though Liv could not dispute anything Papa told us. She still could not believe Norah, beautiful, graceful Norah, who had gotten exactly what she wanted in life, would in reality be dissatisfied living her dream at Barclay Manor with her handsome husband. I, on the other hand, accepted Papa’s explanation. Liv continued to fantasize about what she thought actually happened to Norah. One of her fantasies consisted of the brooding Garrett Barclay, as an insanely jealous husband, who locked his lovely wife away somewhere on the estate, preferable a dungeon. If not him, then someone who was envious of Norah had lured her away from Barclay. Of course, Liv had no explanation for the missing funds and the fact that Norah had booked passage on a ship to England.

Liv and I knew very little about Garrett Barclay’s family. We were aware that he had a younger sister and brother, Beatrice and Nicholas, both of them older than us. Liv even created a scenario for each of them to be responsible for Norah’s disappearance.

She told Papa about her thoughts and he laughed. I know for a fact that Norah ran away with the money and perhaps she was not alone.

Who else could she possibly want to be with? She was married to Garrett Barclay of Barclay Manor. Liv could not imagine anyone who could compare, unless it was a Duke or an Earl. Liv refused to believe Norah would leave Barclay estate for less.

Papa did not answer quickly. He frowned. This is the reason I did not want to discuss Norah’s folly with you. Olivia, you have a vigorous imagination to say the least. But, it is high time you forget about this nonsense and realize the evidence simple doesn’t support your position. He looked towards me. Reece, I believe that you understand what has happened in this situation and I enlist your help in convincing your sister.

I nodded. I certainly was more aware of the ways of the world than Liv, although I was not as worldly as I thought myself to be.

A few months later, Garrett Barclay filed for a divorce from the truant Norah and very soon after there were rumors of an engagement between Garrett and another young socialite, Merriam Prichard. Liv was so disappointed that Garrett Barclay was no longer grieving the loss of his lovely wife that she created a new scenario where he was solely responsible for Norah’s disappearance.

Once while Liv sat at her window gazing at Barclay Manor day dreaming and I sat in a chair reading, Liv asked. Why do you suppose we were not invited to Barclay when Norah lived there?

I put down my book. Papa has already explained to us that it was because we are not of the same position in society as they are.

How can that be? Norah is Papa’s sister and he practically raised her. We are her nieces, she blurted out.

Papa has said, that Norah became a Barclay when she married Garrett and that is all that matters, I said firmly.

Perhaps it is all that matters to Papa, Liv responded. "But