The Mandie Collection (68 page)

Mandie still hesitated. She remembered that her friend Joe had found an elevator at the White House when they were visiting Washington, D.C., but the elevator hadn't been working, so she had never been on one before.

Mrs. Taft waited for them inside the cage. “Come on, dears,” she repeated.

Senator Morton urged, “Get in, young ladies, and we'll be on our way up to the fourth floor where our rooms are.”

“Amanda!” Mrs. Taft was rapidly growing impatient.

Finally, Mandie and Celia slowly stepped inside next to her. When Jonathan and Senator Morton joined them, the door suddenly shut, and the girls held hands as the cage quickly ascended. Mandie's stomach felt funny, and she looked at Celia fearfully. Under her breath she declared that she would take the stairs up and down while they stayed at this hotel.

After a few seconds, Mandie noticed a man in uniform, who was evidently operating the contraption.

Snowball didn't seem to like the lift either. He tried to sink his claws into Mandie's shoulder as she held tightly to him with one hand. The elevator stopped with a sudden jerk and the door opened. When Mandie saw the hallway outside, she and Celia quickly rushed out. No one had to urge them this time.

“Whew!” the girls exclaimed.

Mandie bent her knees and lightly stomped her feet, trying to get the rubbery feeling out of her legs.

As Mrs. Taft and Senator Morton led the way down the corridor, Jonathan looked at the girls and laughed. “Evidently you girls have never been in a lift before,” he said.

Mandie told him about the elevator she and Joe had found at the White House. “But I have never seen the inside of such a contraption before,” she said.

“Well, I've been on one,” Celia told them, “but until today I've always refused to ride one again because it makes my stomach turn over.”

“Mine, too,” Mandie agreed. “Next time I'll take the stairs.”

“You'll get used to it,” Jonathan assured them.

Seeing Mrs. Taft beckoning to them from down the hallway, they rushed to catch up with her. She had stopped in front of an ornate door that was standing open. Senator Morton waited behind her.

“Come, girls,” she told them. “This is our suite. Jonathan, you will share the one across the hall with Senator Morton.”

Mandie and Celia stopped and waited for Mandie's grandmother to go inside. “Shall we breakfast at seven, Senator?” Mrs. Taft asked.

“Fine,” Senator Morton agreed, opening the door to his suite.

Mandie silently groaned at the mention of being dressed for breakfast at seven the next morning. It was probably already past midnight.

After they all said good night, the girls closed the door to the suite and began looking around the huge room with brocade-covered mahogany furniture and plush carpets. A chandelier with electric lights gave a warm glow to the room.

“This is our parlor,” Mrs. Taft explained. “Now I thought you girls should have the larger bedroom because you have twice as much luggage, so this is your room.” She pushed open a door nearby to show an enormous bedroom with a canopied bed. “And my room is over there through the other door. Your bags are all here, so I suggest you girls quickly put on your nightclothes and get into bed. Seven o'clock will come around rather soon.”

“Yes, ma'am,” Mandie replied, looking around the spacious room. She spotted a box full of sand near the closed fireplace. “Look, they even gave us a box for Snowball.”

“We requested it, dear,” Mrs. Taft explained, turning to go to her room.

Mandie noticed a huge vase full of colorful flowers standing on a nearby table. “Aren't those beautiful?” she exclaimed. Then she saw something hanging on a ribbon from one of the blossoms. “There's a card here.” She turned it over and read aloud, “ ‘Amanda Shaw, welcome to England.' ” She looked at her grandmother. “My goodness, whoever put these flowers in here?” she asked.

Mrs. Taft hurried to inspect the card. “I have no idea, dear. There isn't even a signature on the card.”

“All these crazy mysterious things keep happening!” Mandie exclaimed.

“Maybe the hotel put them here,” Celia suggested.

“Perhaps they did,” Mrs. Taft agreed. “Sometimes the better hotels put flowers in the suites. Anyway, let's all go to bed now. We can find out about the flowers in the morning.”

Mrs. Taft turned to leave, but Mandie stopped her. “Is there a bathroom in this hotel?” she asked.

Her grandmother laughed. “I'm sorry, dear. l keep forgetting you are not familiar with such things. Try that door over there by the bureau.”

Mandie quickly went to open it, and Celia followed, with Snowball right on their heels.

Mandie's eyes grew wide as she surveyed the inside of the bathroom. “My goodness, it's big enough to put the bed in there,” she cried.

“It is as big as our room back at the school, isn't it?” Celia agreed.

“All right.” Mrs. Taft laughed. “Good night now, dears. If you need me for anything I'll be right across the parlor in the other room.”

Mandie untied her bonnet and took it off. Then she rushed to hug her grandmother. “Goodnight, Grandmother, and thank you for bringing me on this trip,” she said.

Mrs. Taft kissed the top of Mandie's blonde head. “I should thank you for coming with me,” she replied. “It's going to be an experience that I will treasure the rest of my days. When you are grown up, I'll remember your first journey to Europe. Now let's get some sleep, and I'll see y'all in the morning. Goodnight, Celia.” Mrs. Taft lovingly reached to embrace Celia with her other arm.

Celia thanked Mrs. Taft for bringing her with them, and after another round of good nights, the girls went into their bedroom. Quickly taking off their travel-worn garments, they slipped into fresh cool nightgowns.

They were both so sleepy they could hardly hold their eyes open, but they were determined to discuss the mystery surrounding the message and the flowers. Poor Snowball was so exhausted, he curled up at his mistress's feet. Still the girls had plenty of room on the big bed. Mandie felt sure he wouldn't move all night.

After several minutes, Celia brought up the subject of the strangers who had sat on the settee with them.

“I'd just like to know who they are,” Mandie commented. “Maybe we could become friends with them. They said they were British. It would be nice to have friends in another country to write to, wouldn't it?”

“Yes, it would,” Celia agreed. “But you know, Mandie, I believe there is some kind of mystery about those girls.”

“That's funny. I was thinking the same thing,” Mandie replied. “It might just be our imagination, but I think we ought to investigate.”

“I agree,” Celia replied sleepily, and the girls drifted off into dreamland.

CHAPTER TWO

UNSIGNED WARNING

Mrs. Taft was right. Seven o'clock the next morning did come around pretty fast. Mandie and Celia were awakened by someone in their room opening the heavy draperies. Bright sunshine flooded the room. The girls sat up in bed in puzzlement, looking around.

“Oh, we're in London!” they said together.

“Yes, misses.” A woman in uniform adjusted the last drapery and pointed to a tray she had set on the table nearby. “Your breakfast, misses. Is there anything else you would like?”

“No, thank you,” Mandie replied. As she swung her feet off the side of the bed, Snowball tumbled off.

Mandie walked over to look at the tray full of steaming food. “Did you bring enough for my grandmother, too?” she asked the maid.

“I took Mrs. Taft her own tray before I came in here, miss,” the woman explained. “Now, my name is Victoria. I will be your maid while you stay here.”

“Victoria,” Mandie repeated. “I suppose you were named for your Queen Victoria.”

“Yes, miss,” the stout woman answered.

“We read about her death in our newspapers back home in January,” Celia remarked.

“Aye,” Victoria replied. “But her son, Edward VII, is making a good king. Now if you wish nothing else at the moment, I will attend to the rest of your party across the hall. Good-day, misses.” She quickly left the room.

“The rest of our party,” Mandie mumbled as she stretched and yawned. “I suppose she's talking about Jonathan and Senator Morton.”

Celia, still in her nightgown, sat down at the table and began filling a plate from the covered dishes of food.

“Come on, Mandie,” she urged. “Let's hurry and eat. Time's a-wasting.”

Mandie quickly joined her. “You're right. We don't want to waste a single minute in Europe. And I do hope Grandmother is up and getting ready for the day.”

The girls heard a knock on the parlor door, and they listened as Mrs. Taft greeted Senator Morton.

“Good morning, Senator Morton.”

“Good morning,” came the senator's voice. “I believe I'm a little ahead of our planned schedule for this morning. But I've just received a reply to my message to Jonathan's father.”

“That was fast,” Mrs. Taft replied as the girls continued to listen.

“Yes, it was,” Senator Morton said. “I hate to tell you this, but his father asks if we would immediately take Jonathan to his aunt and uncle in Paris. I know we had planned some time here in London first . . .”

“Oh.” Mrs. Taft sounded a little disappointed.

By now the girls were watching from the parlor doorway. “We won't be seeing London!” Mandie whispered in a disappointed tone.

The senator continued. “Perhaps we could go on to Paris today, leave Jonathan there, then return to pick up our plans here.”

“Of course,” Mrs. Taft agreed. “I'll just check on the girls and hurry them up.” As she started toward the girls' bedroom, Mandie and Celia scurried back to their breakfast.

Senator Morton called after her. “Shall we leave in—say, an hour?” he asked. “Will that give you time enough to prepare?”

“Plenty,” Mrs. Taft agreed. “We'll only take whatever is necessary because we'll be coming back here.”

Mandie leaned across the breakfast table and whispered to Celia, “That means Jonathan won't be able to travel with us around Europe.”

“Maybe his aunt and uncle will give him permission to go with us,” Celia whispered back.

“Girls,” Mrs. Taft said from the bedroom doorway. “Please hurry and eat and get dressed. We have to go on to Paris today.”

“Yes, ma'am,” they replied.

“Pack only what you'll need for Paris,” Mrs. Taft told them. “This hotel is to be our home base while we travel around. We'll be coming back here between visits to other places.”

By the time the girls were ready, Senator Morton had engaged a private carriage to take them to the boat that would cross the English Channel to France.

As they rode along the streets of London, the girls exclaimed over all the sights, and Jonathan explained about some of them.

Mandie shook her head. “The streets look so old and narrow,” she noted. “And there are so many people everywhere you look.”

“London is a huge city,” Jonathan explained. “Sort of like New York, only I believe New York is larger.”

“Look at all the people with carts on the streets,” Celia said. “They're selling things, aren't they?”

“Right,” Jonathan agreed. “You can buy all kinds of things from those sidewalk vendors. They even sell hot food. Some of it's pretty good.”

“Oh, Jonathan, you know so much about things. . . .” Mandie said, looking into the black eyes of the boy opposite her in the carriage. “I wish you could stay with us while we explore Europe.”

Celia reached across and petted Snowball in Mandie's lap. “Do you think your aunt and uncle might let you travel with us?” she asked.

Jonathan smiled and said, “I'm sure going to find out.”

“Did you ever keep a journal like we're doing when you traveled around different countries?” Mandie asked.

“No, that's girl stuff,” Jonathan said. “Boys don't do things like that.”

Mandie bristled. “Well, I'll have you know it was a man—Senator Morton—who suggested that Celia and l keep a journal of all our travels,” she replied. “In fact, he's the one who gave us our notebooks just this morning.”

Celia picked up the notebook in her lap. “I think it will be educational to write down as much as we can,” she said.

“I'm just not the type to keep a journal,” Jonathan told them. “You girls go ahead and write all you want, but not me. I'll even hold your kitten so you can start writing right now.” He took Snowball from Mandie's lap.

“Thanks, Jonathan,” Mandie said. She smoothly extracted a pencil from her drawstring bag.

Celia opened her book and took out her pencil, also. But the girls soon found that they couldn't look at the sights and write at the same time.

Mandie sighed in exasperation. “I have all these loose papers in my notebook, and they're all sliding out, so I think I'll just wait until we come to a stopping place somewhere to write.” She closed the notebook and put her pencil back in her bag.

Jonathan smiled. “We're almost to the dock, anyway,” he informed the girls.

They soon came to a stop, and the carriage driver helped them out. Senator Morton hurried to get the necessary tickets. A lot of people milled about them as they stood waiting for the senator to return. An old woman carrying a clothes basket walked by and bumped Mandie, causing Mandie to drop her journal. The wind caught the loose papers, scattering them everywhere. Mandie and her friends raced to gather them. The old woman didn't look back or speak but continued on her way through the crowd.

Mandie retrieved her notebook and began haphazardly stuffing the loose papers between the other sheets. “She could have at least said she was sorry,” Mandie mumbled.