Page 54 of The Bride Wore White

“She is under the care of a doctor, Dr.Flood,” Ella said. Her mouth tightened. “Supposedly he has some new methods for treating conditions of the nerves, but we fear he may be doing Clara more harm than good. In the past few weeks she has become convinced that she is having visions. Since Gilbert’s death, she hasbegun insisting that he is visiting her from the Other Side. We fear she is hallucinating.”

“Unfortunately, she insists that Dr.Flood is the only medical expert who understands her,” Rollins said.

“What do you know of Flood?” Jack asked.

Rollins grimaced. “Not much, to be honest. He showed up in Clara’s life a few weeks ago, and almost immediately she hired him as her private doctor. My personal opinion is that he’s a quack and a fraud, but my mother has decided that he’s brilliant. I can tell you from long experience that once she sets her mind on something, there’s no changing it.”

“Why is your mother convinced that Flood is an excellent doctor?” Jack asked.

“To understand her interest in Flood, you have to know a few things about my mother,” Rollins said. “It’s no secret that she is a believer in the paranormal. Just ask Miss Ryland. She’ll vouch for that.”

“It’s true,” Prudence said.

“Clara is also convinced that she herself possesses a powerful psychic talent,” Rollins said.

“To be honest,” Ella said with a wry smile, “given her success as a woman in the business world, one could make a case for that belief.”

“Mother believes my brother possessed a similar talent,” Rollins continued, “although I certainly never saw any indications of it.” He grimaced. “Unfortunately for me, she thinks the gift, whatever it is, skipped me entirely.”

“Clara also mentioned to me that she was certain Gilbert had some psychic ability,” Prudence said.

Rollins snorted softly. “You mean when she tried to convince you to marry Gilbert. She was very keen on stabilizing his so-called paranormal talent. Thought marriage would do the trick.”

“In my opinion you had a narrow escape, Miss Ryland,” Ella said quietly. “I knew Gilbert for only a few months, but that was long enough to realize he had a brutal temper.”

“And absolutely no interest in managing Dover Industries,” Rollins added.

Jack stirred a little. Everyone looked at him.

“What sort of talent did Mrs.Dover believe her eldest son possessed?” he asked.

“Some version of her own intuition for matters of business, I believe,” Rollins said.

Ella smiled at Rollins. “My husband is the one who possesses the common sense and the talent for business it takes to run a firm the size of Dover. Clara does not realize how fortunate she is to have him as her son and heir.”

“To be quite frank, the incident at the spa today has convinced me that my mother needs more medical expertise than her private quack can provide,” Rollins said. “We are looking into the option of having her sent away for a rest cure at a very discreet clinic. But we naturally want to handle things in a manner that does not hurt Dover Industries.”

“I understand,” Prudence said.

“As I said, I’m sure Flood is a quack, but Mother insists he’s the only one who can treat her,” Rollins said. “In hindsight, Miss Ryland, Clara was far more calm and reasonable when she was seeing you for those dream readings.”

Prudence gave him a sharp smile. “But you think I’m a fraud, don’t you?”

Rollins winced. “I don’t mean to offend you. You’re nothing like Flood. But I admit I’m not a believer in the paranormal. I don’t think there is such a thing as a psychic talent.”

“You are certainly not the first person to conclude that I’m a fake psychic,” Prudence said. She gave him one of her shiniestsmiles. “There are a number of people who do not give any credence to the various theories of the paranormal. As has been pointed out to me, it’s hard to accept the reality of a form of energy that science is not yet equipped to measure and record.”

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Jack’s expression harden. She kept the smile in place and pretended not to notice.

“Thank you for your understanding,” Rollins said. “I apologize if I sounded rude. I have always felt that Clara’s interest in consulting psychics was a harmless pastime. It never interfered with her ability to steer Dover Industries from one success to another. But things are different now that Flood is living in the same house with her. He’s giving her some sort of medication. We have no idea what it is.”

“I’m afraid Clara trusts her housekeeper more than she does Rollins,” Ella said. “Maud Hollister approves of Dr.Flood. She encourages Clara to depend on him for treatment.”

“That is true,” Rollins said. “Hollister claims Flood is the only one who truly understands my mother’s condition.” He glanced at his watch and got to his feet. “We have intruded long enough. We should be on our way. Once again, we apologize for my mother’s erratic behavior this afternoon. We hope you understand the position we are in.”

Rollins was right-handed. He wore his signet ring on the little finger of his left hand. His watch was on his left wrist. When he checked the time, Prudence got another quick look at the ring. She still wasn’t close enough to make out the engraving.

Ella rose and gave Prudence another gracious smile infused with remorse and regret. “This is an extremely delicate time for Dover Industries. Rollins tells me an important government contract will soon be negotiated. Naturally we are hoping to avoid a scandal.”

---