The Mandie Collection (76 page)

“Sounds like it might be a kidnapping,” Senator Morton spoke up.

“Oh dear,” Mrs. Taft sighed, “Jonathan was in our care, and now it looks as though he has disappeared.”

“Could you girls show us the way to the house where the man took y'all last night?” Senator Morton asked.

Mandie and Celia looked at each other and shook their heads. “We seemed to be going around in circles when the man took us there, and then when we tried to find the way back, we just went up one street and down another without any sense of direction until we spotted the Tower.”

“We'd better get the police to hear what you girls have told us,” Senator Morton said, going toward the door. “There is a policeman stationed in the lobby now. I'll get him.”

Mrs. Taft looked at the girls with concern. “Why did you believe such a story and agree to go off with a complete stranger?” she asked.

Tears filled Mandie's blue eyes. “Grandmother, I was worried sick, afraid that you had had an awful accident,” she said. “I just wasn't thinking clearly. It was all such a shock to be suddenly told such a thing. I'm sorry.”

Mrs. Taft reached out to pat Mandie's tangled blonde hair. “Amanda, you've done wrong going off like that with a stranger, but I can't bring myself to punish you for it. I might have done the same thing under the same circumstances. However, let me emphasize this right now—
never
go off anywhere with a stranger for
any
reason whatever. And never believe what a stranger tells you.”

“I'm sorry, Grandmother, but we thought the man was really a policeman, and we thought we could trust a policeman,” Mandie explained, wiping her tears, “I've really learned a lesson this time. I'll always be careful from now on to get identification from strangers, even policemen.”

When Senator Morton returned with the French policeman, he introduced him as Monsieur La Motte. The officer thoroughly questioned the girls, but there was not much information to go on. It would be an almost impossible task to find Jonathan or to locate the house to which the girls had been taken.

“And regarding the strange woman you girls describe, who was also on your ship, I'd say she was from the United States.” The policeman spoke excellent English without much of an accent. “I don't believe that line takes on passengers between the U.S. and England.”

“It's true we didn't make any other stops,” Senator Morton affirmed.

Monsieur La Motte nodded. “I'd like you girls to contact me immediately if you ever see that woman again,” he said. “Tell us exactly where you saw her and which way she was headed. Maybe if we work fast enough, we can catch her.”

“Do you think she's a criminal?” Mandie asked.

“Taking you girls like she did makes her a criminal,” he said, “but the only way we can question her is to find her and take her into custody.”

“She tried to be so friendly with us,” Celia remarked. “And on the ship she was the exact opposite.”

“That's right,” Mandie added. “She didn't hurt us. She just wanted us to stay there for some reason.”

“Young ladies, it's hard to know what she had in mind,” the policeman told them. “We are just glad you were able to escape before something terrible happened.”

Mrs. Taft spoke up. “I should have gone to the captain of the ship and found out who the woman was,” she said. “But I thought she was just some harmless busybody.”

“What about Jonathan, Monsieur La Motte?” Mandie asked, finally getting up the nerve to say the man's name. She wasn't sure how to pronounce it.

The policeman smiled at Mandie. “We will alert the entire force across Paris and the surrounding communities,” he assured her, “but I can say now that it will probably be impossible to locate him.”

“Then perhaps I'd better telegraph his father,” Senator Morton suggested.

“Yes, l think you should,” the policeman agreed.

“His father has his own network of security men, and they can get busy on the search as well,” Senator Morton said. “He is so wealthy that he keeps detectives on his payroll. One thing I don't understand about Lindall Guyer, though, is the fact that he has never given his son any protection when there are so many cases of children of wealthy businessmen being kidnapped.”

“Monsieur La Motte, please try real hard to find Jonathan,” Celia begged. “I think he's a good boy. It's just that his father doesn't love him.”

Mandie gasped. “Celia, you can't say that because you don't know for sure. We know his father neglects him, but we don't know that he doesn't love him.”

“Well, if I loved someone I'd want to protect him,” Celia reasoned.

The policeman spoke again. “I understand what you young ladies are saying. We will do everything we can to find him. Now I must go and begin the search.”

When Monsieur La Motte left, Mrs. Taft and the senator rose from their seats, and Mrs. Taft told the girls, “You girls get a bath now, and I'll have some food brought in for you. Then y'all need to take a long nap.”

Mandie protested, “Grandmother, couldn't we help look for Jonathan?” she begged. “He may be in terrible danger!”

“This may be a dangerous situation,” Mrs. Taft replied. “Therefore, I am forbidding you girls to get mixed up in it in any way. Is that understood?”

“Yes, ma'am,” the girls replied meekly in unison.

“You know, Mrs. Taft, that policeman didn't even ask us for a description of the carriage that took Jonathan away,” Celia remarked.

“Well, aren't all carriages more or less alike, dear?” Mrs. Taft replied, smiling. “I don't see how one could differentiate between them.”

Mandie suddenly remembered something. “Grandmother, the carriage that picked up Jonathan
was
different. Well, not the carriage . . . but the horses. They had unusually big feet—or hoofs.”

“They were Clydesdale horses, Mandie, bred in Scotland,” Celia told her. “We have some on our farm in Virginia.”

“Well, whatever they were, the carriage that picked up Jonathan had that kind of horses pulling it.” Mandie sounded very certain.

Senator Morton had been listening and now he remarked, “Yes, that is unusual for Clydesdales to be hitched to a carriage,” he said, “especially here in Paris. I'll pass that information on to Monsieur La Motte if I can catch him before he leaves the hotel.”

The senator quickly left, and Mrs. Taft ushered the girls into the room to get baths while she went to order food.

Snowball curled up on the bed contentedly, while the girls bathed and put on clean clothes.

Mandie's thoughts raced as she brushed out her long blonde hair. “I do hope the policemen can find that woman,” she said. “She may cause us trouble again if someone doesn't stop her. And I would imagine that she's mixed up in abducting Jonathan.”

“Well, thank the Almighty that we were able to get away,” Celia remarked as she pulled on fresh stockings.

“We're going to have to see what we can do to help rescue Jonathan,” Mandie mused.

“Mandie, your grandmother has forbidden us to get mixed up in anything, remember?” Celia replied.

“I didn't say we'd get mixed up in anything,” Mandie protested. “There must be some way we can help find him, though.”

CHAPTER EIGHT

SPIES IN THE PALACE

Mandie and Celia had a late breakfast with Mrs. Taft and Senator Morton in the hotel dining room, and Mrs. Taft told them about some people in Paris who had become close friends during her frequent trips there.

“Lorraine Lafayette has two daughters about your ages, and the girls would like for you to visit them so they can show you their city,” Mrs. Taft said between sips of coffee.

Mandie buttered a roll. “It would be interesting to meet some French girls,” she said. “When could we go, Grandmother?”

“Well, I told Lorraine that if she would pick you girls up this morning the Senator and I could go to another friend's home for a luncheon she is giving,” Mrs. Taft said. “There won't be any young people at the luncheon, you see.”

“Oh, yes, Mrs. Taft, I'd like that,” Celia agreed.

“What about Jonathan?” Mandie asked. “What if there's some word from the police? Shouldn't we stay close to the hotel today?”

Senator Morton spoke up. “I have already taken care of that,” he said. “I have left word at the hotel desk where the police can find us in case there is any news.”

“Then I'll go,” Mandie said.

“I will, too,” Celia added.

“Then it's all settled,” Senator Morton said. “We'll be back before it's time for you to return.”

The adults had finished their breakfast while the girls dallied over theirs.

Mrs. Taft folded her napkin. “Can I trust you girls to wait here for Mrs. Lafayette so the senator and I can leave?” she asked.

“Of course, Grandmother,” Mandie agreed.

“Mrs. Lafayette will come to the front desk to ask for y'all, so you need to be ready and waiting in the lobby–” She looked at her watch pinned on her jacket. “–in about thirty or forty minutes.”

“That'll give us time to finish getting ready,” Mandie assured her. She bent to set a saucer under the table for Snowball, who was tied to the table leg with his leash. “Here, Snowball, eat this bacon before we leave.”

The kitten meowed and eagerly bit into the meat.

Mrs. Taft and the senator rose to leave the room. “I hope y'all have a nice time, dears,” Mrs. Taft said. “We'll be back late this afternoon before y'all return.”

As soon as the adults left, the girls hastily finished their breakfast. “I need to hurry and take Snowball outside for some air before we go off with those people,” Mandie said. “Come to think of it, I forgot to ask Grandmother if I could take him with me today.”

“You take him everywhere, Mandie, and now that you have the leash, I don't think anyone would object,” Celia said. She finished the last bite of her eggs.

“I'll just ask Mrs. Lafayette when she gets here,” Mandie decided. The girls finished and hurried through the lobby to the front door.

Mandie pushed the big door open and gasped. “Celia! Look! There's the carriage with the Clydesdale horses!” She pointed to a vehicle parked just past the doorway.

“That's it all right,” Celia said.

“Let's see who's in it,” Mandie said as she and Celia hurried into the street. But just as they reached it, the carriage suddenly lurched off down the road.

Passengers were alighting from a public carriage in front of the hotel, and Mandie stepped up to the driver. “Can you take us to follow that carriage?” she called, pointing to the vehicle down the road.

“Oui
, mademoiselle,” the man agreed. “Yes, get in.”

The girls quickly got inside and hung out the open window, trying to see ahead as their driver raced after the other vehicle. Snowball clung to Mandie's dress to keep from being thrown around.

“Mandie, do you have any money?” Celia asked as they bounced along. Mandie held up her drawstring bag and smiled. “I have lots of money this time.”

“I have some, too. I just hope we have enough to pay this driver. It' so hard to figure out the difference between dollars and francs,” Celia said.

“They've turned off onto another road,” Mandie said as Celia watched over her shoulder. “I don't believe we've been down this road before.”

“We're getting out into the country, Mandie!” Celia exclaimed. “There's no telling how far they're going.”

The lush green countryside unfolded along the way. Country chateaux could be seen occasionally between the more modest farms with their summer crops.

“Our driver is keeping up with the other one all right,” Mandie remarked as they sped along. “I hope the other driver doesn't realize we're following him.”

“There are lots of carriages going up and down this road,” Celia observed. “I don't think he will notice us.”

After a long time the other carriage slowed and turned through a gate in the wall surrounding a huge structure. The girls' driver stopped his vehicle nearby and came back and opened the door for the girls. “Here we are, mademoiselle,” the man said to Mandie. “Is this where you wanted to go?”

“Yes, thanks. Now how much do we owe you?” Mandie asked as she and Celia got down from the carriage and looked around.

“Now let me see,” the driver said, watching as Mandie drew a wad of French bills out of her bag. “How much do you have there, mademoiselle?” he asked.

“I don't rightly know, sir,” Mandie said, flipping through the francs.

The man silently watched and then reached out his hand. “You have enough,” he said.

“You mean you want all of this money?” Mandie asked, surprised.

“Oui, mademoiselle.” The man smiled as he took the bills
.

Celia spoke up. “Mandie, how are we going to get back to town?”

“Oh, I never even thought of that,” Mandie said. She turned to the driver. “How much would you charge to wait for us?”

“But you do not have any more money, mademoiselle,” the man said.

“I have,” Celia said, pulling bills out of her bag. “Is this enough?”

“That would be enough to wait, mademoiselle, but then you would not have enough to go back to town,” the driver explained.

“Oh, goodness,” Mandie moaned. She turned to the man and said, “Never mind then. We'll find some other way back. Where are we, anyhow?”

“This is the Palace Versailles,” the man said, indicating the huge structure behind the walls. “It was built by Louis XIV to get away from the noise of Paris. Marie Antoinette lived here when she was Queen of France.”

“Marie Antoinette!” the girls exclaimed. They had studied about her in their history classes back home in school.