The Mandie Collection (58 page)

Mandie checked the basket of food Charles had just brought. “Don't you think we could just run out there and back without being seen right now?” she asked Celia.

Celia sat on the settee, playing with Snowball. “I wouldn't be able to say, Mandie,” she replied. “This whole episode has me worried. We could really get into trouble with your grandmother, and also with the captain.”

Mandie sat down beside her and put the basket on the floor. “Celia, I don't think Charles would go tell the captain about the food, would he?” she said thoughtfully. “Besides, I think Charles actually believes we eat the food.”

“You're forgetting something, Mandie,” Celia reminded her. “Do you remember hearing Charles say we could have all the fruit we want
because it is all charged to this cabin? So someone is keeping a record of everything for each cabin.”

Mandie gasped and said, “Oh, my goodness, I had forgotten he said that. Maybe I could let Charles in on our secret so he wouldn't tell about the food.”

“But he owes his loyalty to the captain, not to us. Therefore, he'd probably go straight to Captain Montrose,” Celia replied, as Snowball jumped down to the floor.

Mandie sighed and exclaimed, “Oh, well, I'll just keep on giving that boy food until someone does catch up with me. I can't let him starve to death.”

But that very day something happened. The girls had looked outside through the glass in the door as they always did before going out on the deck, but they had not seen anyone. Mandie, who always carried the basket under her heavy cloak, pushed open the door and led the way toward the lifeboat. About halfway there the handle on the basket suddenly came off and the basket crashed to the floor, scattering food everywhere.

Mandie quickly stooped down to pick it all up with Celia's help.

“Oh, Celia, I've got to get this cleaned up,” Mandie exclaimed.

As she reached for a boiled egg that had survived the splatter, a dark skirt moved in front of her. She looked up to see the strange woman walking past them. But she suddenly stopped to view the mess.

“I . . . I . . . just spilled my lunch,” Mandie mumbled, hurriedly picking up the last of the mess.

The woman didn't say a word but walked on down the deck.

Celia remarked, “She's headed toward the front of the ship.”

“You mean the bow, Celia,” Mandie reminded her. “Remember our lessons about ship language? Now we're going to the stern, which is the rear, to go back inside.” She glanced around quickly to be sure she had gotten everything.

“Are we not taking the food on to that boy?” Celia asked.

Mandie paused. “Well, I didn't know whether he'd want it after it's been on the floor. But this is all we can get for him today, so I guess I'll just go on and give it to him.”

“Some of it was wrapped and wasn't damaged,” Celia said. “He can give the squashed stuff to the fish.”

As they returned in the direction of the lifeboat, Mandie kept a watch out again for the strange woman in black. “I just can't figure out what that woman is up to,” she said. “She's always hurrying here and there. She did see all that food, and she may just tell my grandmother, if she knows who she is.”

“And if she does that, you can guess what will happen next.” Celia looked worried.

Mandie shrugged.

When they reached the lifeboat, the boy came out from under the tarpaulin as usual, and climbed down to take the basket from the girls.

Mandie turned to Celia. “I wish I knew how to speak his language so I could tell him what happened to the food,” she said. Looking at the boy, she raised the cloth a bit and pointed to the basket handle. “Sorry, but I dropped it. See, the handle fell off,” she tried to explain with motions.

The boy just smiled, took the food, and jumped back into the lifeboat as he always did. He pulled the tarpaulin over and was out of sight.

The girls hurried back toward their room. “He could surely see the condition the food was in, but I suppose he was hungry enough to eat it anyway.” Mandie made a face.

Once inside the cabin they spotted a handwritten note propped on the dressing table and rushed over to see what it said.

Mandie began to read, “Amanda and Celia, Mrs. Taft and I were given some delicious sweets at a meeting we attended this afternoon. I saved mine for you girls. You may go into my room and get it. I didn't think it was safe from Snowball in your cabin.”

“Senator Morton thought of us. How nice!” She smiled.

“Let's get it now,” Celia suggested. “I feel like something sweet.”

They knocked on the senator's door to be sure he wasn't in his room, then slowly opened it and peeked inside.

“That must be it on the dressing table.” Mandie pointed, crossing the room. A dainty little handmade paper basket was filled with bonbons. “Here, Celia, have some. I'll eat mine later.”

As she turned around, her eye caught sight of the newspapers on the table nearby. “These must be the papers Mr. Holtzclaw gave the senator before we sailed,” she said. She eagerly paged through them, fascinated as she was with news accounts.

Suddenly a headline caught Mandie's attention. She held it up to get a closer look, and gasped. “Celia, look at this!” she cried, pointing to a photo of a young boy. “Who
is
that?” Her hands were shaking.

Celia put down the candy. “Oh no!” she exclaimed, hovering over Mandie's shoulder to read the article.

“The stowaway is Jonathan Lindall Guyer, the third. His father is one of the richest men in America!” Mandie could hardly get the words out. She was out of breath.

“And look there,” Celia pointed. “It says he is believed to have been kidnapped, and his father is offering a huge reward.”

“He's an only son and heir,” Mandie read on. “His mother died when he was two months old.”

Celia grabbed Mandie by the shoulder and turned her around. “Do you know what else this means?” she asked.

Mandie read her mind. “He speaks English!” she almost shouted. “What a conniving—Wait till I see him again. Will I have some things to say!”

Celia shook her head in disgust. “We ought to just turn him in and collect that reward.”

“What a good idea!” Mandie said. Carelessly folding the newspaper, she tucked it under her arm. “Come on, let's show him this paper right now. We can return it later.”

“Let's shed these cloaks first, Mandie. I'm terribly hot,” Celia said, slipping out of hers.

“Bring the candy,” Mandie reminded her. “We can leave it in our room.”

Hurrying back into their cabin, the girls hung up their cloaks and put the candy on the dressing table. Just then Mrs. Taft opened the connecting door. Something had obviously upset her.

“Amanda, what were you and Celia doing out on the deck with a basketful of food?” She looked very distraught.

Mandie blushed, and stammered, “You see . . . we, uh—Grandmother, it was a picnic basket—”

“A picnic basket!” she exclaimed. “Where on earth did you get a picnic basket? Surely you weren't planning to have a picnic on the deck!”

“Well, yes, and uh—The handle broke, and the food spilled everywhere,” Mandie explained.

“It won't happen again, Mrs. Taft,” Celia added, trying to help Mandie.

“It certainly will not happen again!” Mrs. Taft almost shouted.

Celia cringed. She had never seen Mrs. Taft so angry.

The woman folded her arms and shook her head. “Such disgraceful conduct for two young ladies. And especially from such good families!”

“I'm really sorry, Grandmother,” Mandie apologized.

“Where did you get the food?” she questioned further. “You ate your noon meal in the dining room. Do you mean to tell me you were going to eat again before dinner?”

The girls both looked down at the floor, afraid to tell Mrs. Taft the truth.

Snowball rubbed around Mandie's ankles and she picked him up. “I know we ate, but—”

Before she could explain, Mrs. Taft interrupted, “If I hear of any more such conduct unbecoming to young ladies, we will get the next ship home as soon as we reach London. If you cannot conduct yourselves in a proper manner, you will have to return to your school and learn some things about deportment.”

“Yes, ma'am. I'm terribly sorry,” Mandie replied meekly. She smoothed Snowball's fur and cuddled him close.

Not able to look into the woman's face, Celia spoke up, “Mrs. Taft, I—I owe you an apology, too. My mother did put me in your care, and I am truly sorry I have disappointed you.”

Mrs. Taft sighed deeply and turned to leave. “Both of you will stay here in your room until dinner. I will come for you when it's time.” She entered her cabin and closed the connecting door.

The girls both plopped down on the settee, and looked at each other wide-eyed.

“Whew! Was Grandmother upset! I'm sorry, Celia. I should have told her the whole thing was all my fault so she wouldn't blame you, too,” Mandie said.

“It wasn't all your fault!” Celia countered. “I've been right with you in everything. And I didn't have to be.”

“But I started it,” Mandie insisted. “And to think we've been fooled by that lying Jonathan Lindall Guyer, the third. I can't wait to get my hands on him.”

“Right,” Celia agreed. “He's going to be sorry.”

Mandie retrieved the newspaper from the dressing table. Spreading it on the floor, she sat down on the rug to look at it again. Celia joined her.

Mandie slapped her hand down on the newspaper photo and shook her head. “I can hardly stand to look at that boy's face,” she said.

“What are you going to do now?” Celia asked.

“I'm still going to confront him with this newspaper just as soon as I get the chance,” Mandie said with determination.

“Have you guessed how your grandmother found out about the food basket?” Celia asked.

Mandie gasped. “That strange woman must have told her,” she said. “You know, I didn't even think about how she'd found out. I was so shocked I couldn't think about it.”

“It must have been that woman all right,” Celia agreed. “I don't remember seeing anyone else around.”

Mandie pounded her fist on the floor. “I want to know who that woman is!”

Celia shrugged. “Well, I don't know how we're going to find out.”

“I wonder how she knew who my grandmother was,” Mandie pondered. “I think I'll just ask Grandmother if she knows her.”

Snowball walked across the newspaper and curled up by Celia. She smiled and petted the kitten. “Don't you think we ought to let things calm down and not bring up the subject again for a while?”

“I'd rather get it all straightened out once and for all,” Mandie said. “I'll just ask Grandmother as soon as I get a chance.”

The girls spent the rest of the afternoon doing nothing in particular, so they were glad when it was time to start getting dressed for dinner. Mandie chose one of her prettiest dresses—a blue silk, gathered at the waist, with a deep flounce around the hem. Since they were in no hurry, she took the time to pile her hair high on her head, leaving some long curls around her face.

Before the mirror, Celia put her hands on her hips. “You look simply gorgeous, Mandie!” she said with a hint of envy. “My naturally curly hair is naturally unmanageable in damp weather.” She tried to tie it up with a pink ribbon to match her dress, but it simply would not stay in place.

“Let me fix it for you,” Mandie offered. Picking up Celia's brush, she went to work on the thick auburn curls. By the time she had finished, she felt a professional hairdresser couldn't have done better.

Celia smiled at her reflection in the mirror. “Oh, Mandie, thank you!” she exclaimed. “I think perhaps I look gorgeous, too,” she giggled.

Mandie laughed, too. “With all these
gorgeous
clothes we got for this journey we shouldn't have any trouble looking gorgeous all the time!”

Just then the connecting door opened, and Mrs. Taft came into the room. “I see you girls are ready,” she said simply. It was difficult for Mandie to tell whether or not her grandmother was still angry. Mrs. Taft looked lovely herself, adorned in ruffles and lace from head to toe. “I believe the senator is waiting,” she told them. “Let's be on our way.”

When they met Senator Morton in the corridor, he smiled broadly and exclaimed, “My! Three beautiful women to escort in one night! What have I done to deserve this?” He winked at the girls, and Mandie guessed that he knew of the incident with the food basket and was trying to cheer them.

Seated at the captain's table again for dinner, Mandie began to feel uneasy about the direction in which the conversation was shifting.

After complimenting the girls on their appearance, Captain Montrose added, “I do hope the food on this ship is not too rich. I'd hate to see such beautiful ladies become plump.”

Celia squeezed Mandie's hand under the table. Did the captain know that Charles had been bringing food to their room? What caused him to make such a remark?

Mrs. Taft laughed heartily. She leaned over to Mandie and Celia. “You see, dears, I told the captain just this afternoon that I do believe I am gaining a little weight from all the good food on his ship.”

Everyone laughed, and Mandie felt relieved.

After dinner, Mrs. Taft suggested that she and the senator and the girls all go for a promenade on the deck to aid digestion and burn up some of the extra calories.

By then it was dark, and as they strolled around the deck, Senator Morton and Mandie's grandmother stopped by the railing to gaze at the stars and the calm ocean below.

Suddenly Mandie realized how very close they were to the lifeboat where Jonathan was hiding. She was afraid to speak, knowing how
easily a person's voice carried in the stillness of the night. Jonathan might think she and Celia had come to see him, and climb out of the boat.