Anything Goes

should have inherited instead of us?“
    “No.“
    “What do you mean, no?“ Lily asked.
    “It wasn’t true, Miss Lily. When my ma was dying, I asked her if she wanted me to ask Miss Flora to let Mr. Horatio know. And she said, ‘Why would I want that?’ And I said because he’s my father.”
    Mimi blew her nose again and went on. “Ma started crying and crying and said what an awful thing she’d done. Michael O’Hare was my real father. But she knew he was a bum. Good-looking and flashy, but a bum. So she up and lied to Miss Flora, thinking that Mr. Horatio might marry her if Miss Flora made him to, but mainly that Miss Flora would keep her on instead of throwing her out of the house for being a loose woman. And Miss Flora did keep her on, just like Ma wanted. Ma felt awful about it and took real, real good care of Miss Flora because she’d done such an awful thing to her. But once she’d told the story and driven Mr. Horatio away—Miss Flora really loved him—Ma couldn’t tell the truth.”
    Lily unclenched her hands, which had become whitened claws. “But you’d already told Billy the story.”
    Mimi nodded. “I wanted to believe I was a rich man’s daughter. But when Ma finally told me the truth, she said she’d only told me the lie to keep me from marrying Billy, see? She knew he was like my real father—a bum. She wanted me to have some hope of doing better, she said. But she was dying and couldn’t stand to go to her reward with the lie in her heart—and mine, and Miss Flora’s.“
    “Did you tell Billy the real truth?”
    Mimi nodded again. “But he wouldn’t believe it. He thought I was trying to get rid of him so I could keep the house and the money that I’d get when Mr. Horatio died. I told him and told him that I was really Michael O’Hare’s daughter, but he never would believe it.“
    “Did you tell Miss Flora the truth, too?“
    “I did. She said she’d figured it out as I’d grown up to look so much like my real father, but she was too ashamed to tell Mr. Horatio. But she didn’t hold it against me, Miss Lily. She was a good lady.”
    Lily couldn’t force herself to take much interest in Miss Flora’s qualities. “But Billy still believes the first story?“
    “Yes, miss. He keeps saying I should talk to Mr. Prinney about it. And I won’t do that. Mr. Prinney’s father before him was Miss Flora’s lawyer and Mr. Prinney took care of Miss Flora’s affairs when she was old. I’m sure she told him. No point in me talking to him about it at all.“
    “You do see what this all means, don’t you?“ Lily said.
    “No,“ Mimi responded frankly.
    “It means Billy had an excellent reason to get rid of our Uncle Horatio.“
    “Get rid of Mr. Horatio? Kill him, you mean?“ Mimi exclaimed. “Oh, no, miss. Billy’s mean as sin and he steals and he talks big and ugly, but he wouldn’t do that. He wouldn’t kill nobody. At least, not on purpose,“ she added.
    “What makes you think that?“ Lily asked. “He beats you. He has no sense of morality. He’s probably learned a lot in jail about killing people from men who have done it.”
    Mimi’s eyes opened very wide. “You think—?“
    “I think you’re in danger,“ Lily said, getting up and looking out the window. The sun was starting to set behind the hills across the river and the river itself looked murky and ominous. “And I think Robert and I are in even more danger.”
     

Chapter 15
     
    The two women were silent for a few minutes, neither looking at the other. Finally, Lily sighed and said, “Let’s settle the rest of this. I guess you know that our uncle was murdered.”
    Mimi nodded. “I heard folks say that.“
    “What did Billy mean by saying he’d seen what happened?“
    “He didn’t mean anything, Miss Lily. He was just talking through his hat. Acting like he knew important things when he don’t know nothing.“
    “But what did he tell you he knew?“
    “That he saw someone go down in the cabin after Mr. Horatio did.“
    “Who?“
    “He wouldn’t say who. That’s how I know he’s making it up.“
    “Why would he do that? He was proposing to blackmail someone.“
    “He only acted that way to make me do what he wanted.“
    “Are you sure of that, or is it just what you’d like to think?”
    Mimi didn’t answer right away. Lily sensed that she was still concealing something. “Mimi, you really must tell me all you know.”
    Mimi lowered her head and mumbled something.