A Groom wirh a View

proceedings, they kept asking, “What should we be doing now?”
    Jane had half a dozen possible sarcastic replies to this query, but restrained herself and kept telling them they were to just sit still and enjoy themselves.
    The groom, best man, and groomsmen came in from the side room in good order. Kitty, Layla, and Eden came down the stairs gracefully. If any of them were thinking about Mrs. Crossthwait’s deadly descent, they didn’t show it. Kitty had made Livvy a really spectacular practice bouquet out of the ribbons and bows from the bridal shower. Livvy, in a pale blue suit she was wearing to dinner, would have made a lovely bride just as she was, ribbon bouquet and all. Jack, escorting her, even looked pleasant and pleased.
    The practice only took a few moments to run through. A minibus Jack had hired was waiting at the front door to take the bridal party and families to a very nice restaurant in Chicago, which was why Mr. Willis, as well as Jane and Shelley, were getting a well-deserved break and also the reason they were leaving so early. The travel time plus the dinner would give Jane, Shelley, and Mr. Willis a good five or six hours of blessed quiet.
    As the guests started boarding the bus, Jane caught a glimpse of Uncle Joe in a fairly decent suit and tie. “Is he going along?“ she whispered to Shelley.
    “I can’t imagine why he’d be invited,“ Shelley replied. “He’s hired help like us, only of longer duration.”
    But Uncle Joe got on the bus.
    As Eden went back in the lodge for something she’d forgotten, Jane waylaid her. “Eden, why’s Uncle Joe included?“ she asked bluntly.
    Eden looked a bit confused. “Why, because he’s part of the family. Didn’t you know that?”
    “What part, exactly?“ Jane asked.
    “He’s Jack’s brother. Illegitimate, of course. Older half-brother, actually, to Jack, Iva, and Marguerite. I thought you knew. That’s why he gets to live here for free without doing much work. Have you seen my beaded purse?“
    “On the long brown sofa,“ Jane said, and looked at Shelley with a stunned expression that matched her friend’s.
    They didn’t speak until all the guests were on board and the bus pulled out. Even then, they headed silently for the kitchen. Jane poured them each a cup of coffee and they sat down at the big table in the center of the room.
    “Who’d have guessed?“ Shelley finally said. “I thought ‘Uncle’ was just an honorific title. For long service to the family.“
    “I can’t quite get a grip on this,“ Jane said, peering into her coffee cup as if a revelation might appear there. “Older half-brother, Eden said. So he was born, or at least conceived, before old O. W. even married.“
    “Eden said the old boy was quite a womanizer.“
    “Do you suppose his wife knew before she married him?“ Jane asked.
    “We’ll never know, but apparently the rest of the family knows if Eden does,“ Shelley said. “Uncle Joe really is Livvy’s uncle.“
    “It sure accounts for why the aunts are so haughty and cold to him. I thought it was just general snobbiness, but it’s very specific snobbiness. The disreputable old guy is their half-brother.”
    Shelley smiled. “That can’t be much fun for them.“
    “No wonder that nobody makes a point of identifying him as a relative,“ Jane said. “I wouldn’t claim him either.“
    “But they took him along to dinner as a family member. Wonder if anybody’s told the Hesslings?“
    “I don’t imagine they’d much care.“
    “Dwayne might,“ Shelley speculated. “Uncle Joe might come in for some of the family money.”
    Jane looked up, her eyes widening. “You don’t suppose—?“
    “That Uncle Joe got the missing money? If there was missing money? Maybe so. But why would he stick around here all these years if he had?“
    “Rent free, not much work. The perfect situation for a lazy old man,“ Jane said. “I wonder if he’s always lived here or whether he had a real job and a real life in his younger days and this is just his retirement position.“
    “I had the impression he’d been a fixture here forever,“ Shelley said. “But it was only an impression.”
    They sat quietly for a few minutes, trying to absorb and process this new information about the Thatcher family. Then Shelley brought up Dwayne’s room. “Who could have done that to his things, and why?“ she asked.
    “I suppose it could have been meant as a tacky practical joke. But it seems out of