In Good Company (15 page)

Abigail smiled. “My dear, surely you must realize that members of society only call their summer residences by such a ridiculous name to ascertain their superiority over the common folk, don’t you?”

“Haven’t I heard
you
refer to your summer home as a cottage?”

“My summer home is a true cottage, purchased years and
years ago before society began deciding ostentatious was the new fashion. That ostentation, I’m afraid, is something we’re going to see much more of in the future, what with fortunes being made at a drop of the hat these days. Why, since Mrs. Astor recently acquired Beechwood Cottage here in Newport, I’m sure we’ll soon be inundated with even larger cottages, everyone trying to outdo one another to prove their worth.”

Millie eyed Seaview Cottage again. “There can be no denying that it’s overly . . . impressive, but . . . the sheer size of the cottage does explain a few questions I had about the ball Everett’s hosting here this summer.”

“Everett’s hosting a ball?” Abigail eyes began sparkling. “I love organizing balls, and I do hope he’ll seek out my advice as he goes about planning it.”

“From what I understand, Miss Dixon is organizing the event. And, I don’t know if you noticed this or not, but she was not regarding you in a very friendly manner after the whole ball bouncing off her head incident.”

“Hmm . . . you might have a point, but I have to tell you, there aren’t many young society ladies who have the nerve to refuse me.” Abigail smiled before she turned to the driver. “I’m just going to make certain Miss Longfellow gets introduced to the staff, and then I’ll need you to drive me over to my cottage. It’s not far from here.”

“Very good, ma’am,” the driver said, tipping his hat to Abigail.

Taking Millie’s arm, Abigail began strolling toward the children, who’d stopped by the fountain and were dipping their hands into it. “This really is very lovely, but . . . I’m not sure those peacocks are a good idea.” Abigail nodded to the birds in question. “From what little I know of them, they’re not supposed to be pleasant creatures.”

Elizabeth withdrew her hand from the fountain, and to Millie’s relief, she was actually smiling a little now. “The peacocks were a present from Miss Dixon for Uncle Everett’s birthday a few months back.”

“Everett wanted peacocks for his birthday?” Millie asked slowly.

Elizabeth shook her head. “He wanted a dog, but Miss Dixon decided dogs were out of fashion. She got him peacocks instead because she believes they’re soon going to be all the rage.” She grinned. “Uncle Everett was a little upset about the birds, especially when it turned out they like to shriek every morning really early. Since their shrieking sounds like someone’s being murdered, the police kept showing up on our doorstep. That’s why he sent the birds here, that and the fact his neighbors on Fifth Avenue were beginning to leave him nasty notes.”

“I wonder if he realized the peacocks would soon begin multiplying, because if I’m not much mistaken, I see a few babies poking their heads out of the shrubbery,” Abigail said.

“Baby peacocks?” Rosetta took off toward the shrubbery before anyone could stop her. A shrill screech split the air right as an entire flock of peacocks came charging out of the shrubbery and directly toward Rosetta. Dropping Abigail’s arm, Millie broke into a run, dodging peacock after peacock as she tried to get to the child. By the time she finally reached her, Millie had been pecked numerous times. Scooping Rosetta up into her arms, she hugged the little girl tightly to herself before she looked over the child’s curls, discovering, much to her dismay, that they were now completely surrounded by the birds.

“Shoo,” she shouted, but all that managed to do was set off additional screeching. A small hand on her cheek had her looking down. Rosetta, much to Millie’s surprise, wasn’t looking frightened in the least. In fact, she was smiling.

“Aren’t they beautiful?” Rosetta asked before she tucked her small head into the crook of Millie’s neck. She then let out the smallest of sighs as her other hand reached up and closed around the fabric of Millie’s blouse.

Right there and then, Millie lost her heart. Leaning closer to the little girl nestled against her, she breathed in the sweet scent of Rosetta’s hair, but then remembered she was right in the midst of a flock of mad peacocks. Lifting her head, she eyed the birds that were closing in on her.

“They’re not going to hurt you,” Elizabeth called over the screeching. “Animals adore Rose. You’ll be fine walking through them.”

Millie’s first thought, since the numerous pecks the peacocks had given her were beginning to sting, was that Elizabeth was up to no good, but then she remembered she was carrying Rosetta. It had been clear from the start that Elizabeth took her role as older sibling very seriously. Taking a steadying breath, Millie tightened her hold on Rosetta and began moving ever so slowly forward. To her relief, the peacocks stopped screeching and then filed, one after another, into a straight line behind her. Hoping she was not setting herself up for an attack, Millie headed for the house, wanting to put a solid wall between her and the birds.

“I can take my sister,” Elizabeth said, hurrying over to join them.

Rosetta snuggled closer to Millie and tucked her head back into the crook of Millie’s neck. “I don’t want you to carry me, Elizabeth.”

“Rosetta probably just thinks she’s too heavy for you,” Millie said softly when Elizabeth stopped in her tracks and looked as if someone had smacked her.

Not bothering to respond, Elizabeth sent Millie a glare before she marched over to her brother, who was trailing beside the
peacocks, eyeing them in a rather strange sort of way. Grabbing hold of Thaddeus’s hand, she began tugging him toward the house.

Thaddeus immediately dug in his heels. “Stop pulling me, Elizabeth. I want to pet the peacocks, or . . . try riding them.”

“You can’t ride the peacocks, Thaddeus,” Millie said. “They’re really not friendly in the least, and if you need proof of that, just look at all the pecks on my arm.” She shifted Rosetta and held out an arm for Thaddeus to inspect, although he seemed less than impressed with the abuse she’d suffered. Fighting a smile, she tried again. “And although Miss Dixon is hoping peacocks become all the rage, after seeing the birds in action, I have numerous doubts that will ever happen.”

“If I rode one of them into that reading place, I bet everyone would start wanting them as pets,” Thaddeus argued.

“And that right there is exactly why I’ll be speaking with Everett when he returns to Seaview about what he can and can’t talk about when the three of you are within listening distance,” Millie said as she began walking again, Elizabeth and Thaddeus falling into step beside her. When they reached the veranda, the door burst open and what seemed like the entire staff streamed out. Surprisingly enough, every member of that staff was beaming back at her as if they were truly delighted to see her.

It was not a sight she was accustomed to seeing.

“You must be Miss Longfellow,” a heavy-set woman wearing an apron said as she hurried down the steps. “I’m Mrs. O’Conner, the housekeeper at Seaview. May I just say all of us are thrilled beyond belief you’ve agreed to look after the children.”

“I wouldn’t count on her being here long,” Elizabeth said before she nodded to her sister. “Come on, Rose, we should go see what our rooms look like.”

Rose lifted her head from the crook of Millie’s neck and let out a sigh. “You can put me down, Miss Longfellow.”

As she set the little girl on her feet, Millie leaned over and brushed a strand of hair away from Rosetta’s face. “I’ve noticed that your sister calls you Rose. Do you prefer that over Rosetta?”

Rosetta nodded.

Straightening, Millie caught Elizabeth’s eye. “Why doesn’t everyone call her Rose if it’s what she likes to be called?”

“No one ever asked.”

A touch of temper shot through Millie at that telling remark. “I’m asking now. May I assume you prefer a different name as well, such as Lizzie or Beth?”

“Do I
look
like a Lizzie or a Beth?”

Millie fought a smile before she nodded to Thaddeus. “What about you, Thaddeus? Do you prefer to be called Thad?”

Thaddeus scratched his nose. “I think Thaddeus is a nice name, but . . . Chip . . . That’s a great name.”

Millie grinned right as Elizabeth let out a huff.

“We’re not calling you Chip,” Elizabeth said. “Mother named you after our late grandfather, so Thaddeus you’re going to stay.”

Thaddeus’s jaw turned stubborn. “Why are you always so bossy?”

For a second, Elizabeth simply stood there, but then she rounded on Millie. “This is your fault.” With that, she pushed her way through everyone gathered on the veranda and disappeared from sight.

“Oh . . . dear,” Abigail said, moving up to join Millie. “And here I’d been thinking we were beginning to make some progress.”

“She wasn’t always so . . . mean,” Rose whispered as Thaddeus nodded in agreement.

Millie forced a smile. “I think the events of the day have simply caught up with Elizabeth. I’m sure she’ll feel better after everyone gets settled.”

Thaddeus shook his head. “I bet she won’t, since she’s really mad about Uncle Everett telling her she has to spend the afternoon in her room because of trying to do Miss Dixon in with a croquet ball.” His little shoulders slumped. “We’d better go after her, Rose.”

“I’ll come with you as well,” Millie said, right as a young woman stepped out of the crowd and moved to stand in front of Millie.

“You need to meet the staff, Miss Longfellow, so I’ll take Thaddeus and Rose up to speak with their sister.” She smiled. “I’m Miss Ann Quigley, one of the upstairs maids here at Seaview, and an upstairs maid back in Mr. Mulberry’s residence on Fifth Avenue. I’ve been given the pleasure of watching the children over the past few months, when we’ve been short a nanny or two.”

“While that’s a generous offer, Miss Quigley, and one I truly appreciate,” Millie began, “I fear Elizabeth might be a little tricky at the moment. Since I am paid to look after her, I wouldn’t be comfortable accepting your offer.”

“Elizabeth likes Miss Ann,” Rose said as she actually took hold of Ann’s hand and smiled. “Me and Thaddeus like her too.”

Glancing to Thaddeus, who sent her a nod, Millie smiled and looked back at Ann. “If you’re sure, it would be nice to meet the staff, and I promise I won’t be long.”

With a returning smile, Ann took hold of Thaddeus’s hand, and with the children chatting about everything under the sun, she led them into the house.

“What a lovely young woman,” Abigail said. “And since it
does seem as if you’re going to be well taken care of here, I’ll be on my way.” She nodded to Mrs. O’Connor. “I’m Mrs. Hart, by the way, and do know, if anything of a troubling nature occurs, my cottage is just down the road.”

Mrs. O’Connor dipped a curtsy Abigail’s way. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Hart. Since Mr. Mulberry gave instructions for us to send your trunks on ahead, I have your address and will certainly send for you if something of a troubling nature happens.” Mrs. O’Connor turned to Millie. “And speaking of trunks, your trunks, along with a black bag, have been delivered to the room you’ll be using on the second floor.”

“I only brought the black bag,” Millie said slowly.

Mrs. O’Connor’s brow furrowed. “Then why were there four trunks with your name stamped on them?”

An image of a dinner dress suddenly sprang to mind, along with Miss Bertha Miller’s remark about Abigail ordering an entirely new wardrobe for Millie. Shaking her head, Millie turned to tell Abigail exactly what she thought about the older woman’s latest shenanigans but found that Abigail was already halfway across the lawn, moving at a remarkably fast clip for a woman of her age. “Should I ask what’s in the trunks, Abigail?” she called.

“You’ll see,” Abigail tossed over her shoulder as she reached the hansom cab. A moment later, with a cheery wave sent out the window, Abigail got on her way.

Watching until the hansom cab disappeared down the road, Millie turned to the staff still waiting to meet her. “I don’t care to be an alarmist, but I get the distinct impression we’re going to be experiencing a very disturbing summer.”

She was not reassured in the least when not a single one of them bothered to dispute her statement.

Less than ten minutes later, Millie came to the conclusion she’d been exactly right about the disturbing summer business.

After being introduced to the entire staff, she’d followed Mrs. O’Connor through the well-appointed cottage, up a curving staircase lined with red carpeting, then down a long hallway that had gilded papered walls, and into the nanny’s room. She’d been taken aback by the drabness of the room, especially considering how nice the rest of the cottage had been decorated. However, once she spotted the incredibly large trunks that did, indeed, have her name stamped on them, all thoughts of decorations had immediately evaporated from her mind.

Mrs. O’Connor, obviously being a very astute woman, had beaten a remarkably hasty retreat, leaving Millie all alone to consider the trunks in front of her. Deciding after a few minutes that she wasn’t brave enough to delve into the deep depths of the trunks quite yet, Millie walked over to the black bag she’d personally packed and picked it up, plopping it right back down on the small bed the room afforded.