The Happiest Day (7 page)

“Leonard, leave
us,” Norris ordered sharply.  “Give me five minutes with Rachel.”  Leonard
obeyed and Norris squeezed Rachel’s hands tightly, staring at her intently. 
“We only have a few minutes, so listen to me.  I told Leonard that we were
having an affair.”

She tried to pull
away from him, but he held tight.  “Why…why would you say something like that?”

“It’s the only way
out of this.  The police know that I was lying about staying at the club the
night of the murders.  I had to come up with a reason why I would have lied. 
All I could think of is that I was protecting someone from scandal.  It
couldn’t just be any woman.  Why would I lie about sleeping with my secretary
or one of my friends’ wives?  That sort of stuff happens all the time in my
circle and everyone knows my reputation.  It had to be someone innocent,
someone scandalous.  It has to be you.  So I told Leonard that I was protecting
you, that you and I have been having an affair and we were together, in your
bed all night.  We discovered the bodies around seven and called the police. 
He’ll suggest to the court that there was an intruder in the house.  Frederick
had many enemies; it could have been anyone seeking revenge.”

“Norris, I wasn’t
home all night.  I was at Peter’s until five o’clock.”

He couldn’t have
looked more shocked.  “What?”

“I’m sorry I lied
to you.  I was embarrassed…I had gotten drunk after what Frederick tried to do
to me on the terrace and Peter let me sleep there.  He woke me up and took me
home…I had only been asleep for a couple of hours when you came to get me.”

“Shit,” he
muttered, rubbing his hand on his forehead.  “This could ruin everything.”

“I’m sorry.  I
didn’t want to lie to the police, but they separated us and I didn’t want to go
against what you may have told them upstairs.”

“It’s O.K., it’s
O.K.,” he said, thinking.  “Listen, did anyone see you at Peter’s?”

“No, I don’t think
so.  It was late, we didn’t see anyone.”

“So, if we can get
you to tell the court that you and I were together most of the night, at least
for those crucial hours, only Peter can dispute your word.”

She nodded.  “I
guess so.”

“But there’s no
way he can prove that you were with him, right?”

“No, I wouldn’t
think so.”

“The court will
have no choice but to believe you.  Why would a young woman risk her reputation
by admitting to an affair with her guardian?  Only if it’s the truth and she
needs to save him from false accusations.”  He sat back and smiled.  “This will
work, Rachel, if we’re willing to stick by our story.”

“What will the
family say?   They’ll hate me.”

“They’ll be
shocked,” he admitted, “but eventually they’ll only be happy that I’m free and
things can return back to normal.  Rachel, will you do this for me?  Will you
save me the way I saved you so many years ago?”

Put that way,
there was no way she could refuse.  She nodded dazedly.  He smiled triumphantly
and squeezed her hands.  “
And we
know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those
who are called according to his purpose
.
  We’ve done God’s work here today,
Rachel.”  He
called his attorney back into the room.

Leonard requested
a special hearing with the judge and the prosecutor’s office the next day. 
Norris’ intentions were to let his happen quietly, without the family being
present, but Peter and Bert heard about it through the grapevine and were
present in the courtroom.  Beside them sat Maryanne, Geoff, and Laurie.  When
Rachel entered the courtroom and saw them, she felt a rush of panic.  Leonard
held her firmly by the elbow.

“It’s all right,”
he said in a voice only she could hear.  “They’ll learn to accept it.”

He led her to the
where they sat and Maryanne looked over with a scared smile.  “I don’t know
what this is about, do you?”

“There…there’s
some new evidence,” she stammered.

Maryanne grabbed
Rachel’s hand tightly in her own.  “You mean Daddy might be released?”

Peter leaned
forward and looked down the row at Rachel.  “What evidence?” he demanded. 
“What’s going on?”

Leonard turned
from where he sat in front of them.  “Here comes your father.”

They led Norris
into the courtroom, in handcuffs.  His eyes scanned his family, stopping on
Rachel and smiling crookedly.  He pursed his lips slightly towards her,
mimicking a small kiss.  Rachel felt the blood drain from her face as Maryanne
looked at her again.  “What was that about?” she asked, a tiny frown between
her eyebrows.  “Rachel…”

“Quiet,” Leonard
hissed.  “Here comes the judge.”

After the judge
was seated, he looked sternly at Leonard.  “Mr. Winston, I’ve been informed
that you requested this special pre-trial hearing due to new evidence.  I’m
warning you, this had better be good.”

“It is, Your
Honor.”  Leonard stood.  “Mr. Thornton admits that he lied about his
whereabouts the night of the murders but stated that he was protecting an
unnamed person from scandal.  The lady in question has decided, on her own, to
come forward and vouch for Mr. Thornton’s presence the entire night.”

The judge shrugged
a little.  “So, it’s just her word?  Why should we believe her?  It seems to me
that we should leave that up to a jury.”

“Under normal
circumstances, sir, I would agree with you.  If you will allow me, however, to
let the young lady speak, I think you will see why her story is so believable.”

“All right then,”
the judge said.  “Call her to the stand.”

Leonard’s chest
puffed a little as he celebrated his win.  “We call Miss Rachel Warner to the
stand.”

“
Shit
,”
Rachel heard Bert hiss.  She closed her eyes briefly, trying to gather
courage.  She pulled her hand from Maryanne’s, knowing that her friend may
never speak to her again.

She looked at
Maryanne and mouthed, “I’m sorry.”

Maryanne stared at
her in confusion.  “What’s happening?” she asked, her voice perplexed.

Rachel walked to
the stand, her legs trembling so badly they could hardly hold her.  She was
sworn in and sat down nervously on the witness stand, sick to her stomach over
what she had to do to save Norris.  Leonard gave her an encouraging nod and
began his line of questioning.

“Miss Warner, can
you tell the court what time you arrived home the night of murders?”

“About midnight, I
believe.”

“And then what
happened?”

“I had a
headache.  So I took an aspirin and went to bed.”

“Was anyone else
home when you arrived?”

“No, sir.  The
staff had been given the entire night off.”

“Did you hear Mrs.
Thornton arrive home?”

“No, sir.”

Leonard took a
step closer to the stand and leaned casually against the banister.

“Miss Warner, how
would you describe your relationship with the defendant?”

Rachel felt another
moment of panic, and then pushed it down.  This had to be done.  “We’re very
close.  He rescued my brother and me on the night my parents were murdered.  He
brought us back to his house and has treated us like his own.  I’m very
grateful to him.” At Leonard’s prompting look, she repeated, “We’re very
close.”

“Miss Warner, is it
true that you can verify the whereabouts of the defendant from two a.m. until
you both discovered the crime scene?”

Another glance at
Peter.  He was shaking his head slowly as if in disbelief that she would sit on
a stand and lie.  Maryanne, next to him, still not fully understanding, or
maybe just accepting, the line of questioning.  Geoff’s eyes had grown suddenly
wider as if the possibility of what she was about to say had just hit him. 
Only Bert and Laurie seemed to understand where this all was leading.  They
both looked uncomfortably apprehensive.  There was a pregnant silence
throughout the room.

“Miss Warner?”
Leonard prompted.

“Yes, it’s true. 
He was in bed with me.”

The court room
exploded and Peter stood, shouting, “That’s a lie!”

Maryanne cried
out, “No!”

Rachel felt tears
press the backs of her eyes as she looked from face to face of her family. 
Their expressions ranged from disgust to disbelief.  She buried her head in her
hands, trying to block out the noises.

“There will be
order in this courtroom!” the judge bellowed.  “Mr. MacGregor, you above all
others should know better.  Sit down and be quiet or I’ll have you removed.  As
for the rest of you, if I hear one more word, I’ll clear this courtroom.  Is
that understood?”

The buzz died down
instantly.

“Mr. Winston, do
you have further questions for this witness?”

“Yes, your honor,
I do.  Miss Warner, why did you take so long to come forward with an alibi for
the defendant?”

Rachel raised her
head slowly, tears streaming down her face.  “Before the police came, Norris
and I decided that we would lie about his whereabouts to protect our secret. 
We decided to say that I had been alone all night, and he had fallen asleep at
the club.  We thought that it would never matter.  We truly felt that this was
a murder-suicide and…no one would ever have to know about us.  But when his
alibi fell apart and he was arrested, I wanted to come forward.  Norris
wouldn’t let me.  He didn’t want anyone to know about us.  Finally, yesterday,
I convinced him to let me testify.  I just didn’t want him to go through any
more of this torture.

“No further
questions, your honor,” Leonard said smugly.

Within an hour,
after Leonard and the prosecutor met with the judge, Norris was freed.

Rachel waited in
the courtroom hallway, sitting alone on a bench.  The rest of the family stood
huddled away from her, talking fiercely.  Finally, Laurie came over and sat
down next to her.  She thought she would break down in sobs when he placed his
arms around her.

“Why did you lie?”
he whispered in her ear.

She turned her
mouth so that she could whisper, “I had to.  He saved us once. It was my turn
to return the favor.”

Just then, Laurie
was pulled away by Norris, who then enveloped them both in a bear hug.  “I love
you both so much,” he said, squeezing them tightly to him.  He turned and
extended one arm to the others, who still held back.  Bert approached him
first.

Bert slapped
Norris on the back.  “Congratulations, old man.”  There was no excitement in
his voice, however.  He looked at Rachel with questioning eyes.

Geoff also offered
his congratulations to them, although subdued.  Maryanne, however, stood there,
angry tears brimming in her eyes.  “How could you?” she demanded of Rachel and
her father.  “You’ve disgraced this family.”

“Please, Maryanne,”
Rachel began but Maryanne interrupted her.

“And you,” she
spat out.  “All those times we talked about what the first time would be like
and you were…
fornicating
…with my father!  I don’t ever want to speak to
you again.”  The tears spilled over and she turned into Bert’s arms.  “I hate
you, Rachel.  I honestly do.”

“Please, you’re my
best friend,” Rachel whispered, her chin trembling.  “Please don’t hate me.”

Maryanne looked at
her one last time.  “After today, you don’t have any friends.  I’ll make sure
of that.”

“Maryanne,” Norris
said angrily, “don’t talk to her like that.  She saved our family today.”

Maryanne looked at
him with hatred.  “You’re a filthy old man.  You took the gratitude she felt
for you and twisted it until she felt like she owed you something she didn’t. 
I can’t imagine why else she would have allowed something like this to happen. 
You should be ashamed of yourself.  Bert, let’s go home.”

Silence fell on
the remaining group.  Peter had still been standing slightly off, silent.

Norris looked at
him and said, “Well, Peter, do you hate us, too?”

“I don’t know what
you did to convince her to lie on the stand, but I’ll find out.”  He turned icy
eyes on Rachel.  “I’ve never been more ashamed of anyone in my life.”

It was like a
physical blow to Rachel and she cried out.  Norris wrapped his arms around her,
pulling her against his body.  “You have no right to talk to her like that,”
Norris bit out.  “You’ll either accept our relationship or you have no place in
our lives.”

Peter’s lips
turned up in a sneer.  “I have no place in your lives, then.  Good-bye.”  He
turned on his heel and strode down the hallway after his sister and Bert. 
Norris turned to his youngest son.  “Geoffrey?”

“Dad, I support
you…and Rachel…no matter what,” Geoff said staunchly.  “I don’t understand
what’s happened, but I stand behind both of you.”

Pride filled
Norris’ eyes.  “You…all three of you…are my pride and joy.  Never forget that. 
I will protect you until my dying breath.”  He heaved a relieved sigh.  “Let’s
go home.”

The next few weeks
passed quietly as if everyone was afraid to discuss what had happened.  Norris
returned to work immediately, focusing on repairing the damage to his
reputation by putting out a quality newspaper.  Geoff and Laurie amused
themselves with normal summer activities although they did not invite any of
their friends out to the estate.  Rachel confronted her brother.

“Are you ashamed
of me?” she asked.

“Why should I be?”
he countered.  “I know you didn’t do what you said you did.”

“But everyone
believes I did, so you have to go along with it.  Are you worried about what
people think of me?”

“No,” he said, his
cheeks reddening a bit.  “I just don’t want anyone out here.  I don’t want
people to be mean to you.”

Rachel sighed. 
“I’m sorry.  I don’t want to ruin your summer.”

“Rae, in case you
haven’t noticed, the summer was pretty much ruined when Geoff’s mother was
murdered.”

Rachel felt
immediately contrite.  “That was unfeeling of me,” she said in apology.  “Where
is he today?”

“He went into the
city to have lunch with Maryanne.”

Rachel’s heart
fell.  Her best friend had not talked to her since the day at the courthouse. 
“Have you seen her?”

“A couple of
times,” he admitted.  “She’s sad.  It’s hard to spend time with her.”

“Well, do your
best.  She needs family right now.”

“So do you.”

Rachel’s eyes
filled with tears.  “You are my family.  You’re all I have left.”

Laurie moved
restlessly from where he sat in a wingback chair.  “Why can’t we tell everyone
the truth, Rachel?”

“Because I made a
promise to Norris.  Nothing will ever get me to break that promise, Laurie.  We
owe this to him.”  She sat down next to him on the neighboring chair.  “I feel
so lost, Laurie.  I feel as alone as the night Mama and Papa died.”

“You always have
God with you.”

She arched her
eyebrows and looked at him.  “You sound like Norris now.”

He chuckled a
little.  “Is it so bad to have faith?”

“No, I guess not. 
I just seem to be falling short on faith right now.”

“I’ve been
spending a lot of time in the chapel.  It gives me time to think and reflect. 
It’s peaceful.”

“I’m glad you are
able to find some peace,” she said sincerely.  “I don’t think I’ll ever feel
that way again.”

“Have you talked
to Peter?” he asked tentatively.

“No,” she said, her
heart dropping even further.  “He hates me.”

“He doesn’t hate
you.  He’s just hurt.  He’ll come around.  You’re too important to him.”

“When did you get
so smart?” Rachel asked, reaching out with her foot and kicking him gently. 
“I’m going to go for a ride.  Want to come?”

“Always,” he
responded with a grin.  “Let’s go.”

She adored her
brother.  He was sweet and giving and always easy to be with.  Her relationship
with Norris was much more complicated.  She was uncomfortable and withdrawn
around him and he gave her space.  The weeks went by slowly and before she was
ready, it was time for Geoff and Laurie to return to school.  She would be
alone with Norris.

They saw the boys
off at the train station and she clung to her brother tearfully.  “I’ll miss
you.”

“I’ll miss you,
too,” he answered, squeezing her tightly.  “Rachel, don’t let anyone make you
feel less than who you are.  Promise me?”

Again, she was startled
at the maturity of her little brother.  He seemed to have found a way to deal
with tragedies that had befallen them.  She wished she could experience just
one small portion of what he had found.

“I promise.  Have
a good semester.  We’ll see you at the holidays.”

Geoff gave her a
brief hug and the two young men headed to board the train.  They were talking
and laughing as they walked and Rachel was glad that they were happy and
excited to return to school.  At the platform, they turned and gave an
identical wave to her and Norris.  Rachel inhaled a little in surprise.  She
had never realized how much like each other they looked.  Both were tall for
their age and lean, shining blond hair, and matching smiles below their
same-shade blue eyes.  They looked enough alike to be brothers.

“Norris…” she
began, but didn’t know what else to say.

He looked at her
and saw the look on her face.  He looked uncomfortable suddenly and gently
touched her elbow.  “Let’s go get some lunch.”

“I don’t want to
go out in public,” she demurred.  “I’m afraid we might see someone we know.”

His eyes filled
with sympathy.  “I’m sorry, Rachel.”

“It’s all right. 
I did what I had to do.”

“Let’s go home
then.  We’ll have a fine lunch there.  There’s something I want to discuss with
you.”

They talked
lightly during the meal about general topics and Rachel felt some of her
discomfort with him dissipate.  This was the man she had known her whole life,
her protector and white knight. She couldn’t regret anything she had done, not
if it protected him as he had protected her.

Lunch finished, he
sipped his coffee.  His bright blue eyes studied her over the rim of his cup.

“I want you to go
pack a suitcase.”

Rachel drew back
in shock.  “A suitcase?  For what?  Are you kicking me out?”

Norris laughed and
came to squat in front of the chair where she sat.  “Never.  I’m taking you on
a trip.  How would you like to go to Europe?”

“Norris, you can’t
mean it.”

“I do mean it.  We
need to get away from all of this.  Let’s book a cruise liner to Europe.  The
paper is back on its feet, so we’ll stay as long as we want.  Tour the continent.”

“What will people
say?”

“What can they
say?  When we come back, you’ll be Mrs. Norris Thornton and that will shut
everyone’s mouths for good.”

He couldn’t have
shocked her more.  “You…you want to marry me?”

He looked just as
surprised in return.  “Rachel, of course we’ll be married.  Did you expect I
was going to let you sit on that stand and scandalize yourself without making
an honest woman of you?”

“But…but you
haven’t mentioned this before.”

“I needed to get
things smoothed out at work before we could leave.  I’m sorry, I thought you
understood my intentions when I asked you to testify for me.  You must marry
me.”

She thought of
Peter then immediately dismissed the thought.  He would probably never speak to
her again.  No other reputable man would be seen with her now.  To marry Norris
would ensure her security and safety and may go a long way to repairing the
damage to her reputation.  To marry Norris, on the other hand, was a
frightening prospect.  To go from girlhood crush, to guardian and protector, to
husband would take some getting used to.

“You’re thinking
too much,” he teased, brushing her honey-colored bangs away from her eyes.  “Is
the thought of being my wife so very hard to accept?  I love you, I know you
love me…nothing has to change.”

Her eyes flew to
his.  “Some things will change.”  A blush colored her face.

He stilled for a
moment, the smile leaving his face.  Then he took her hand in his and said in a
low voice, “Does that frighten you?  The thought of being with me?  I wouldn’t
rush you, we could grow into it…if you’re willing to try.”

He was so very
handsome and sophisticated.  Women were always chasing after Norris.  She
remembered back to the days when she thought he was a handsome prince and someday
she would marry him.  She had been a child, though…now she was an adult and
knew at least some of what happened between men and women.  She leaned forward
and pressed her lips against his.  It was an experiment.  She wanted to see if
the feeling was repulsive, almost incestuous.  She heard his quick intake of
breath and he leaned in to return the kiss.  The lips continued to move
together in a gentle, exploratory mating.  It felt good, warm and loving.  It
was  not the way she had felt that night at Peter’s apartment, with hot blood
coursing through her veins, feeling wild and out of control, but kissing Norris
was comforting and…nice.

She pulled away
and whispered, “I think I would be willing to try.”

He gave a small
laugh and pulled her to her feet, leading her into his study.

He let go of her
hand and strode over to the wall safe.  After opening it, he rummaged through
it and pulled out a velvet box.  He brought it back to her and knelt on one
knee.  He opened the box and pulled out a stunning emerald cut diamond.

“Rachel...”

“Norris, that
didn’t belong to Helen, did it?”

He laughed in
surprise.  “God no!  This belonged to my grandmother.  She hated Helen.  Made
me promise on her deathbed that I would never give her this ring.  I fully
intended to give it to Maryanne as a present but you see how crazy everything
got. I’m glad I still have it, because now it’s yours.”  He slid it on her
finger and started again, “Rachel, will you do me the extreme honor of becoming
my wife?”

She looked from
the stunning ring to the dazzling blue of Norris’ eyes.  “I will,” she said
with quiet conviction and for the first time in over ten years, felt utterly safe. 
No one could ever hurt her again.

Across town, the
next afternoon found Peter and Bert working quietly in their law office. 
Suddenly, Peter let out a frustrated groan and Bert looked up in question.

“I just don’t get
it,” Peter said, pounding his fist on the desk.  “Why would she lie?”

Bert’s eyebrows
flew up in surprise.  Peter had refused to speak of what had happened.  Three
months had gone by and Bert was glad to see that his best friend was finally
willing to open up and admit his frustration and hurt.  He leaned back in the
chair.  “What makes you so sure she’s lying?”

“I know she wasn’t
with him from two until five because she was with me.”

The legs of Bert’s
chair came down with a loud thud.  “What did you just say?”

“She was with me. 
We left the reception that night and went back to my apartment.”

“And?” Bert
prompted, his jaw tight.

“And what?  You’re
afraid I slept with her, aren’t you?” Peter asked angrily.

“I just need to
hear you say you didn’t.”

“She offered and I
turned her down.  Surprised?”

“No.  You’re not
as much as a bastard as you like to pretend you are, especially when it comes
to Rachel.  So what happened next?”

“I woke her up
around four-thirty and drove her home.”

“Did you go in?”

“No, she had me
drop her at the kitchen door.  She didn’t want to wake anyone.”

“So you have no
idea what happened when she got inside?”

“No.”

“So it’s possible
that she and Norris slept together.”

“No!” Peter rejected
the idea.

“Peter, we know
she was trying to initiate an affair with the stable hand.  You just told me
that she propositioned you.  The girl was determined to lose her virginity to
someone of her choosing before marrying Stern.  We can’t say that it’s not a
possibility that she left you, after you rejected her, and went right to
Norris’ bed.”

 “She didn’t feel
that way about him.  I just can’t believe that she willingly ended up in his
bed.  All I can think is that she’s helping cover—that Norris really did murder
them.  If he did…God, if he did and she knows it…she’s an accessory to murder. 
Why would she do this to herself?”

“She has always
felt that she owed an enormous debt to Norris.  Their relationship has never
been the healthiest.  Even before all of this, you ever see the way he stares
at her?  There’s no love lost for your mother, but honestly I could see how
that must have driven her crazy.” Bert shook his head.  “Let’s focus on
something else. Give me the timeline of what happened that night.”

“Before midnight,
I found Rachel on the terrace and Frederick was attempting to rape her.  He had
his hand up her dress and she was struggling…I felt like my head was going to
explode when I saw them.  He told me that there was nothing I could do to stop
him, that he would take her virginity right there in front of me.  He and I
began fighting and Norris came out and stopped us, telling me to take Rachel
home.  I had trouble getting her away, she kept saying that Frederick knew a
secret about Norris, one that would ruin the whole family.  I finally got her
to leave with me, we went back to my apartment, talked for a while, and then I
put her to bed.  I woke her and had her home by five.  The police were called before
eight.  They estimate time of death of Helen and Stern to be between four and
seven.”

Bert was staring
at Peter with his eyebrows nearly to his hairline.  “Well, you certainly know
how to condense a story, Mac.” He cleared his throat.  “Were there any lights
on in the house?”

“None that I saw. 
No cars in the drive either.  I assumed they were all in the garages.  She
asked me to drop her in the back so we wouldn’t wake anyone.”  He stood,
agitation showing in every line of his body.  “They are both lying and I need
to know why.  I have to go out there and confront them.”

“Do you want me to
go with you?”

“No.  I’ll see you
tomorrow and let you know what happened.”

Peter was met at
the door, however, but the new butler, Smythe, who informed him that Mr.
Thornton and Miss Warner had left on a trip together without an expected return
date.