Us and Uncle Fraud Read Free Page A

Purchase, 1803, a date from history. Or it could be the name of a museum. Do you know that outside of Copenhagen there is a museum called the Louisiana? The man who built it named it for his wives. He married only people named Louise. He married one Louise after another.
    "It's at the edge of the Baltic Sea," he went on, and picked up his glass and sipped. A bottle of Father's whiskey was on the table beside him.
    "Have you been there? At the edge of the Baltic Sea?" I asked him.
    He nodded. He refilled his glass from Father's
whiskey. "Yes," he said, "I've been there. Once I told him that he should name his museum Louisamanda. But he became belligerent, and said I should build my own museum. He was right, of course. You can't put names to other people's things. I apologized to him for my suggestion and slunk away, duly chastened." He sipped again.
    I sat down on the couch, opposite Father's chair. "How did you know my middle name?" I asked again.
    "Thomas Frederick Cunningham," Claude said, "your ubiquitous older brother, was named for his great-grandfather, Thomas Frederick Newbold, who served without distinction in the army during World War I.
    "That was my grandfather," Claude explained, taking another drink, "and therefore your brother's—and your—great-grandfather."
    He refilled the glass again.
    "Louise Amanda. Your great-grandmother. She was born Louise Amanda Taggart; she married Thomas Frederick Newbold, who served without distinction in the army; and she died at the age of forty-two, having given birth to six children, four of whom survived, one of whom was Marcus Newbold, who was your mother's father, and therefore mine. And so your very brash and freckled brother is named—"
    He looked at me and waited for the answer.
    "Marcus Newbold Cunningham," I said, and he nodded and sipped.
    "But then there's Stephie," I pointed out. "Who had Stephie's name?"
    "Stephanie Ann Cunningham," Claude sighed. "Who knows? Your parents had lost their sense of heritage by then. Your sister received a name with no history. She will survive it, I expect. I have."
    "Doesn't your name have a history?"
    "I am attempting to create one for it," Claude said gloomily. "What time is it, Louisamanda?" He looked at his wrist and squinted, but couldn't seem to focus on his watch.
    I could see the hall clock from where I sat. "Almost eleven," I told him.
    "The night is young," Claude muttered. "If you were twenty-eight years old, I would invite you to join me at the opera."
    I laughed aloud. "There's no opera in this town," I pointed out.
    "We would go to London," he said, and picked up the whiskey bottle. He held it against the light and shook it from side to side. It was empty. "If only you were twenty-eight years old, I would take you to London in the morning."
    Suddenly I was sleepy. I yawned.
    "Uncle Claude," I asked shyly, "what's in the box?"
    He stared blankly at me.
    "The priceless, fragile secret in the box I took upstairs," I reminded him.
    "Go to bed, Louisamanda," Uncle Claude said. "I thought you were a creature of the dark, but
suddenly your pupils have diminished in size. They've turned to sinister slits."
    I rose immediately, embarrassed, and headed for the stairs. "I'm sorry," I said. "I shouldn't have asked."
    He squinted at me. "Are you duly chastened?"
    I wasn't certain what he meant, but I nodded. "Yes," I said.
    "Good. I'll tell you in the morning what's in the box. I'll tell you and your freckled brother—Marcus Newbold Cunningham—but no one else. Now then: Do you know how to say good night in three different languages?"
    "No."
    "One.
Bonne nuit.
That's French. Say it."
    "
Bonne nuit,
" I said.
    "
God natt.
Swedish."
    "
God natt,
" I repeated.
    "
Gute Nacht.
German." He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.
    "
Gute Nacht,
" I said, but he didn't hear me. "
Bonne nuit. God natt. Gute Nacht,
" I murmured, memorizing as I went up the stairs and back to Marcus's room.

    "I want you and Marcus to