Donners Bend (4 page)

“Yes
. 
I just moved here less than a week ago
. 
My name’s
Eliana
Mae Henderson
but most people just call me
Ellie
. 
I’d like to thank you very much for this opportunity,
Mrs. Rhodes
.”

As they shook hands,
Ellie
took a quick moment to observe
Mrs.
Rhodes
spotless appearance
. 
She appeared to be the perfect wife and mother with a kind, warm-hearted, and loving personality and she released an easing and carefree
atmosphere
. 
The top half of her dark blond hair was pulled back with a pearl embedded barrette, and the rest barely reached past her small shoulders
. 
She had a very natural beautiful face, though it had obviously begun to age a little
. 
Her warm brown eyes comforted
Ellie
, as did her gracious smile
. 
Dressed in a powder blue print mus
lin
dress with pearl detail on the bodice and an expensive lace collar, she obviously wasn’t poor, but yet she didn’t show off her wealth either
. 

“Well, I’m very happy to have you here and I know the children will love you too
. 
I can tell already
. 
Now, I would invite you to take a seat and chat awhile, but you see I really don’t have the time,” said
Louise
Rhodes
in a quick voice, “Forgive me for this horrible surprise, but I have a huge favor to ask,
Ellie
.”   

“Of course, what is it, ma’am?”

“Well, I own a little florist shop over in Rutherford and it’s not much, but it means a lot to me
. 
I just received news this morning that a huge, rush order was just placed by a very esteemed man in Rutherford
. 
His daughter is getting married in two days and he’s wil
ling
to pay a large sum if we can provide all the flowers for the ceremony
. 
I know I’m not exactly desperate for money or anything, but we never get orders as big as this
. 
I’m dying to get back to the shop and help for I know the workers can’t do it all on their own though they try their best, bless their dear hearts
. 
Do you follow what I’m saying, dear?”

“Yes, ma’am
. 
I understand.”

“So, I was wondering if you’d be wil
ling
to start today, right now
. 
You could watch the children for the day, you wouldn’t have to begin teaching them or anything, and when I come home at around five o’clock we can see how you did and continue on from there
. 
Would you be wil
ling
to pay me that huge favor, Miss
Henderson
?”

“Yes, ma’am
. 
I’d love to.”

“Really?”
Louise
gushed
. 
She gave
Ellie
a quick hug and said, “I’m sure you’ll do a fine job
. 
Don’t worry about a thing
. 
The children will be angels, I promise you.”

Ellie
smiled, “I’m sure they will.”

“I need to leave right away, but Juliet can show you to the children’s playroom,”
Louise
called as she ran to a closet in the hall and grabbed her jacket, hat, and purse, “Is that alright?”

“Of course.”

“Thank you so much,
Ellie
dear,”
Louise
said as she walked out the door, “I never can thank you enough
. 
Goodbye
and good luck!”

“
Goodbye
,
Mrs. Rhodes
!”
Ellie
called back
. 
And in an instant
Louise
hopped into the carriage and rode away
. 
The whole meeting had taken place in less than ten minutes
. 

“Miss
Henderson
?” the maid Juliet, with the long red braid asked softly, “Shall I show you to the children now?”

“Yes, that would be wonderful.”

U
p the large flight of stairs they went;
Ellie
looking around her at the majestic house in awe, and Juliet smi
led
slightly as she saw
Ellie
’s amazement.

They walked through a few corridors before ending up at the door to the playroom
. 

“Good luck, Miss
Henderson
,” Juliet said before disappearing again, and leaving
Ellie
alone
. 
She could hear the laughs of the children and opened the door anxiously.

It was a fairly large room, painted a soft yellow and filled with toys of all sorts: trains, teddy bears, building blocks, coloring books, crayons, playhouses, toy soldiers, paint sets, picture books, and many, many dolls
. 

“Who are you?” asked a young girl in the corner as she set down her crayons and stood up.

“My name’s
Eliana
Mae Henderson
. 
I’m going to be watching you today while your mother’s at her florist shop
. 
You can call me
Ellie
.”

“Are you our new nanny,
Ellie
?”

“Not yet, exactly
, but
hopefully I will be soon.”

Ellie
glanced around and saw that the other three children had stopped playing and we
re
looking up at her with confused
expressions
. 
Finally, a girl who appeared to be the oldest walked over, straightened her dress, and told her sib
lings
, “Come on, we’ve gotta introduce ourselves.”

She wore a cute, pink cotton dress with burgundy details that reached to her knees, and underneath were white stockings with no shoes present
. 
Her curly blond hair was long and reached to her mid-back, and her bright blue eyes looked up at
Ellie
happily.

“My name’s Grace
Rhodes
and I’m nine years old,” she said, “You can call me Gracie.”

As she spoke her sib
lings
came to stand in a
line
beside her, and in turn they each introduced themselves.

A jumpy, excited little girl exclaimed, “My name’s Demi
Louise
Rhodes
. 
I’m named after mother
. 
Her name’s
Louise
, you know
. 
You can call me Demi.”

Ellie
smiled, “How old are you, Demi?”

“Six.”

Her navy dress had a white sailor collar and it was wrinkled, not smooth and clean like Gracie’s
. 
Fairly short, thin dark hair was pulled back into a ponytail with a white ribbon, but stray hairs fell out and a few
wisps
fell into her eyes
. 
A splash of freckles sprinkled across her nose and cheeks
. 

Next came a girl with the same
kind of
hair and eyes as Gracie except she was slightly smaller and wore a green dress instead of a pink one
. 

“I’m Leah
Rhodes and
I’m seven,” said she.

F
inally, the last came forward: a little boy with thick, curly ringlets of dark hair and warm brown eyes
. 
Dressed in tan pants, a white shirt, red striped tie and burgundy sweater, he appeared
quite the little gentleman
, but
of course she couldn’t expect that his appearance would stay this spotless till the end of the day, for he was but a wild and exploring little boy as she would soon find out.

“Hello,”
Ellie
said, knee
ling
down to his height, “What might your name be?”

“His name’s
...
” began Leah, but Gracie cut her off:

“Let him introduce himself!”

“I’m Wesley,” said the boy.

“Say your full name, Wes,” Gracie urged.

Wesley smiled as he proudly stated from memory, “My name’s Wesley Raymond
Rhodes
and I’m four years old.”

“Show her how many,” Leah suggested.

“This many,” Wesley said surely, holding up three fingers.

“No, no, no,” Leah said, coming over to help him and lifting up one more of his fingers
. 

“This many,” Wesley repeated, now holding up the correct number
. 

“Good job,”
Ellie
commented, and in an instant she felt someone pul
ling
on her skirt.

“Come see my picture,
Ellie
,” Leah said, pu
lling
her to it.

“It’s wonderful,” said
Ellie
when she saw the drawing of a rainbow, “Very well done.”

“Come see my Teddy,” Wesley pleaded, grabbing her hand and taking her to it
. 
She’d only gazed at it a moment when Gracie
came over and said, “Would you like to hear me play a song on the piano
?
 
I just started lessons a year ago.”

“I’d love to.”

And so the day began
. 
Each of the children took to
Ellie
instantly, for she was young, not at all like the many older governesses they had had in the past
. 
They hoped she’d stay for a long time and
Ellie
hoped the same thing
. 
Although
at the end of the day she returned home exhausted, she’d had fun playing with the children and they’d obviously had fun too
. 
When
Louise
came home they told her how much they’d enjoyed their day and how they believed with time,
Ellie
would become a fine nanny
. 
Louise
took their advice and hired
Ellie
before sending her home
. 
That was the first of many, many days
Ellie
would soon spend with the
Rhodes
.

Friday night soon rolled around, and with it came
Marcelle
. 
She hopped out of the hack she’d rented, paid her driver, and ran up the front porch through the rain, knocking impatiently on the front door
. 
When
Ellie
answered,
Marcelle
grabbed her in a huge hug and exclaimed, “I’m back!”

The hack driver lifted
Marcelle’s
luggage
out and set them on the steps of the porch before driving off again.