In Good Company (10 page)

K
eeping a firm grip on Thaddeus with one hand, while pushing strands of hair soaked with sea mist away from her face with the other, Millie couldn’t help but wish she’d brought a spare cap with her. The one and only cap she’d thought would be sufficient for her trip to Newport had been whipped straight off her head minutes after she’d stepped foot on Everett’s yacht. That sad state of affairs was responsible for her being forced to drag unruly curls out of her eyes every other second, which was making it somewhat difficult to keep the children in constant view. Even though all of them were wearing oversized coats made out of cork, she certainly wasn’t going to relax her guard, especially since there’d been so much talk of late of her allowing children to drown.

It truly was unfortunate that Everett had abandoned the deck almost as soon as they’d pulled away from shore. From what she’d been able to tell, he was in possession of a very fine set of what she’d been told were “sea legs,” those legs being something that would have come in remarkably handy at the moment, given the slightly turbulent nature of the sea. But since Everett
had been doing his utmost best to keep his distance from her, and keep a safe distance from Abigail as well, it was now left to Millie to keep the children firmly out of the sea. That was why she currently had a death grip on Thaddeus, who was turning out to be quite the typical little boy—even while wearing a frock of brightest purple—and a little boy who certainly didn’t enjoy the notion of doing anything as dull as actually standing still.

“Look starboard, children. It’s a whale,” Abigail called out.

Having no idea what direction starboard was, Millie glanced to where Abigail was now pointing, smiling at the sight of the older woman holding Rosetta’s hand and laughing at something the little girl was saying. Abigail’s cheeks were red from the breeze, and her eyes were sparkling, and for once, not sparkling with speculation.

Although Abigail had mortified Millie to the very tips of her toes the day before with her less-than-subtle matchmaking attempt, Millie really didn’t have the heart to stay annoyed with the woman for any great length of time. And even though the whole matchmaking debacle had been exactly that—a debacle—it had at least given Millie an honest glimpse into Everett’s true character.

By being so quick to agree with her assessment concerning their different stations in life, he had allowed her to understand that even though he was certainly handsome and debonair, and charming upon occasion, he was at heart . . . a snob.

Generations of Mulberrys increasing the family coffers at every turn had obviously been responsible for giving Everett his not uncommon sense of entitlement. And even though she’d witnessed snobbery from almost all of the society families she’d worked for, she’d found herself surprisingly disappointed with Everett for being exactly what society expected him to be, a man with—

“Look, there’s another whale,” Thaddeus yelled as he tugged his arm out of her grip right as the yacht caught a swell, rose into the air, and then dropped.

Millie lost her balance and plummeted toward the deck even as she tried to keep a grip on Thaddeus’s cork jacket. The sea mist had made it slippery, and she felt her fingers clutching nothing but air right as she hit the hard surface. The yacht rose again, and Thaddeus began sliding straight for the railing, but then Elizabeth was right next to him, pulling him to safety.

Lurching to her feet, Millie stumbled as quickly as she could to Elizabeth’s side. “Forgive me, Elizabeth. I fear my wobbly legs got the best of me, but thank goodness you were able to react so swiftly.”

“I would have watched over Thaddeus from the very beginning if you’d told me you weren’t steady on your feet.”

“If I’d known you were so comfortable on a boat, I probably would have asked you to do just that.”

Elizabeth’s lips thinned before she marched Thaddeus over to where Abigail and Rosetta were now sitting on some chairs and made sure her brother was safely situated next to Abigail before she marched back to Millie. “My father owned a yacht, and since he and my mother enjoyed traveling, I spent a lot of time on it, and that’s . . .” Elizabeth stopped speaking, as if she’d just realized she’d broached a subject she didn’t care to talk about.

Resisting the urge to scoop Elizabeth into a hug, Millie forced a smile instead. “I think after we get settled in Newport, we should have your Uncle Everett send for your father’s yacht. That way, you and your siblings can enjoy the use of it over the summer.”

“My father’s yacht is gone.”

“What do you mean . . . gone?”

“It disappeared.”

“I’m not sure I understand how an entire yacht can disappear,” Millie said slowly.

Elizabeth shrugged. “I don’t understand either, but it wasn’t where it was supposed to be after the . . . funeral.” One lone tear began trailing down Elizabeth’s cheek, a tear she quickly dashed away. “I went all the way down to the docks just to look at it because . . .” She stopped talking again, drew in a ragged breath, and squared her small shoulders. “It wasn’t anchored in its usual place, so I checked every dock, but it wasn’t anchored at any of them either. I think Mr. Mulberry might have sold it.”

Millie narrowed her eyes. “I highly doubt Everett would have sold your father’s yacht, especially during that particular time, but . . . let us move on to a more disturbing matter. What do you mean, you went down to the docks, and with whom did you go down there?”

“I don’t think my pony can be considered a
whom
, Miss Longfellow.”

Millie stiffened. “Are you telling me that you, a girl of eight, rode your pony all by yourself down to the New York City docks so that you could look for your father’s yacht?”

“Of course not. I went to the Boston docks, since that’s where we lived before Mr. Mulberry made us move to New York.”

A million questions flooded Millie’s mind. “Where was your
Uncle Everett
or your nanny when you made this little jaunt to the docks?”

“
Mr
.
Mulberry
was off trying to track down Daddy’s attorney, and my nanny, Miss Oglestein, was packing her bags to go off with another family who’d swooped in right before the funeral and stole her away from us.” Another tear dribbled down Elizabeth’s cheek, but this one she ignored. “Miss Oglestein didn’t want to leave Boston, and she didn’t even
care
that
we were going to be all on our own, with a new house and no one to love us.”

The sight of Elizabeth’s lip, now trembling ever so slightly, had Millie longing to reassure the child that
she’d
never abandon them, but she knew Elizabeth would hardly be receptive to that promise at the moment. “It was not acceptable in the least for this Miss Oglestein to abandon you and your siblings, Elizabeth. Although that certainly explains why you’re so opposed to nannies.”

“Does that mean you’re going to go away now?”

“Well, no. But getting back to Everett—why was he out searching for your father’s attorney?”

Elizabeth shrugged. “All I know is that Mr. Victor, my father’s attorney, was not in Boston at the time of my parents’ accident. I think Mr. Mulberry was trying to find out where Mr. Victor had gone so that he could see if it was possible to get someone else to take over our care.”

“I’m sure that’s not true, but is that one of the reasons you don’t want to call Everett ‘Uncle’?”

“Maybe.”

Millie blew out a breath as she came to the immediate, and rather troubling, conclusion that there were many different problems swirling around this family, all at the same time. “I don’t claim to know much about attorneys, Elizabeth, but I’m going to hazard a guess and say Everett was trying to locate this Mr. Victor because he needed assistance sorting out your father’s affairs, unless your father had an estate manager to look after those affairs.”

“I don’t know what an estate manager is, but Mr. Victor was Daddy’s good friend and business partner, that’s why he always looked after everything—even the investments I heard Daddy talk about all the time.”

“Your father had a lot of stocks and bonds?”

“Daddy invested in inventors and was always being sent new inventions to look at. We even had a large barn that was set clear back from our house that was filled with all kinds of interesting gadgets.” Elizabeth smiled a genuine smile. “My mother was forever getting annoyed about all the things exploding out there, but if Daddy found an invention he believed in, he’d give the inventor money.” Her lip began trembling again. “He shouldn’t have given the inventor of a peculiar-looking buggy any money, though, since the wheels weren’t stable on that invention, and that’s what . . .”

As Elizabeth’s lips pressed firmly together, Millie didn’t need her to finish what she’d been about to say. Fred Burkhart, along with his wife, had seemingly been killed while trying out some new invention, but before she could question Elizabeth further, Rosetta appeared by Millie’s side and gave her skirt a sharp tug.

“Miss Abigail told me she’s not going to be staying with us now.”

“Should I assume you think that’s my fault?” Millie asked.

Rosetta nodded. “She’s probably scared you’ll tie her up like you did to us.”

“Abigail knows I would never tie her up. And even if I did, I’m sure you and your siblings would use those new untying skills you acquired just yesterday to set her free.”

Rosetta crossed her arms over her little chest, looking just a bit smug. “You sure did seem surprised to find us untied when you walked into the nursery.”

“I certainly was surprised, and curious beyond belief to learn how you were able to manage such a great feat. You should know that I’m still waiting with bated breath to learn how you got untied, and also know that I was very impressed by your
perseverance to get yourselves untied, and
perseverance
means
determination
, by the way.”

Rosetta wrinkled her nose, leaving Millie with the distinct impression the little girl was not exactly in the right frame of mind for a vocabulary lesson. Fighting back a smile, Millie leaned closer to the child. “I’m sorry you’re disappointed about Miss Abigail no longer staying at Seaview Cottage with us, but I’m sure we’ll see her often.”

“Why did she change her mind?” Rosetta pressed.

Not wanting to tell the little girl that she thought Abigail was repairing to her own cottage so that she’d have peace and quiet in order to formulate a new plotting strategy, Millie settled for a shrug and a smile. “Sometimes, when a person reaches a rather advanced age, they prefer a calm atmosphere, something Abigail probably realized she wouldn’t find at Seaview.”

“I do believe you just called me old,” Abigail said as she joined them, holding firmly onto Thaddeus’s hand. “But since Mr. Andrews, our charming steward, is standing right behind you, we’ll put the discussion of my ancient age aside for now.”

Turning, Millie caught sight of the steward in question, a very nice gentleman who was dressed in a smart suit of navy, and a gentleman who seemed to be smiling very brightly her way. Glancing out of the corner of her eye, Millie couldn’t help notice the fact that Abigail was suddenly looking far too interested in Mr. Andrews.

“I’ve come to tell you, Miss Longfellow, that the chef is almost finished preparing a most delicious lunch for you, Mrs. Hart, and the children.” Mr. Andrews extended his arm. “It would be my honor to escort you to the dining room.”

Before Millie could do more than blink in Mr. Andrews’s direction, Thaddeus, to her relief, drew everyone’s attention.

“I don’t want lunch,” he said. “I might miss seeing more whales.”

Stepping around Mr. Andrews, Millie moved right up to Thaddeus and knelt beside him. “While I agree that watching whales is great fun, you must know that you can’t stay on deck by yourself. Since I’m not exactly steady on my feet, someone will need to stay out here with us, and I’m afraid that someone will have to be Elizabeth since she’s very good at keeping you safe.” Millie lowered her voice. “She won’t tell you this because she’s a wonderful big sister, and as such, doesn’t like to disappoint you, but I think she might be hungry.”

Thaddeus looked at Elizabeth, who for once wasn’t saying anything, then back to Millie as his forehead creased. “Do you think there’ll be cake?”

“Chef made a chocolate cake,” Mr. Andrews answered before Millie could. “And he also made ice cream to go with that cake.”

Giving the ocean one last longing look, Thaddeus let out a pathetic sigh before he walked over to Mr. Andrews, obviously taking the man by surprise when he grabbed hold of the arm that had only recently been offered to Millie. Then, with Rosetta and Elizabeth joining him, he proceeded to tug the steward across the deck before vanishing through the doorway.

“That Mr. Andrews is just a lovely gentleman, and he seems to have a great liking for children,” Abigail said, her tone practically oozing with satisfaction.

“He seems very pleasant, but I’m no more in the market for a steward than I am for an annoying society gentleman.”

“Have I mentioned to you how remarkably pleased I am with the progress you’re making with the children?”

Millie blinked. “That’s a fairly rapid change of topics, even for you, but since it’s apparent we’re now on the subject of the
children, you must know that they’re in the midst of planning some type of mutiny.”

Abigail reached out and took hold of Millie’s arm. “Oh, undoubtedly, but you just got Thaddeus to agree to what you wanted him to do. That’s progress.” She smiled. “And speaking of annoying society gentlemen, you are going to ask Everett to join us for lunch, aren’t you?”

Millie blinked again. “I don’t believe we
were
speaking of annoying society gentlemen, and no, I don’t think it’s my place to ask Everett to join us for lunch. If you’ve forgotten, although
he
certainly hasn’t, I’m just the nanny.”

“And as such, it’s your duty to let him know when he’s being negligent in regard to his responsibilities. It has not escaped my notice that he spends relatively little time with the children. Those children need a guiding influence in their little lives, and since Everett has been given the privilege of raising them, that guiding influence needs to come from him.”