The Mandie Collection (51 page)

“Mandie, I know you and Celia must both be really excited,” he said, sitting on a stool near them. His sister Josephine stood by silently, watching and listening.

Tommy turned to Joe. “I'm sorry you don't get to go,” he said. “Maybe you could spend a few days with us here, and we could show you the beach.”

Joe frowned. “No, I'll be going back on the train with Mr. and Mrs. Shaw, thank you,” he said coldly.

Tommy seemed puzzled at Joe's unfriendliness. “Then maybe you could come visit some other time when the Shaws come,” he offered.

Tizzy brought in a fancy tea cart, and Mrs. Patton began serving tea and tiny iced cookies to her guests.

Mandie felt the awkwardness between the two boys. She had first met Tommy Patton at a tea at her school. Then they had discovered that their parents were old friends, and the Shaws spent a vacation with the Pattons the year before, in 1900.

Mandie knew Joe was jealous of Tommy, but she didn't understand it. Tommy wasn't any better looking than Joe. He was just a lot taller, more polite, and wore nicer clothes.

Joe was her lifelong friend from back in Charley Gap, where she had lived with her father until he died. Tall and thin, with intelligent brown eyes, he was overly protective of her. Although she was only thirteen and he wouldn't be fifteen until November, he took it for granted that Mandie would marry him when they grew up. Mandie felt she was too young to be tied down with a promise of anything so far in the future.

Without enthusiasm Joe thanked Tommy for his invitation to visit again.

Mandie looked up to see Josephine, Tommy's sister, staring down at her through her wire-rimmed eyeglasses. Skinny and almost as tall as her brother, Josephine had long brown hair. She brushed it behind her ears and dropped onto a chair near the settee where the young people were sitting. “Where is that new baby brother of yours I heard about, Mandie?” she asked.

“At home,” Mandie replied. “The trip all the way from Franklin, North Carolina is too long for a little baby.”

“What about your friend Hilda who lives with your grandmother?” Josephine persisted. “Didn't you want her along?”

Mandie struggled to control her impatience. “Grandmother left her with her next-door neighbor until we get back from Europe,” she explained.
“And before you inquire about everyone else, I'll run over the list. Celia's mother had business to attend to and could not make the trip from Richmond. Joe's parents, Dr. and Mrs. Woodard, couldn't come because the doctor had calls to make. I think that covers everyone, don't you?”

Josephine didn't answer for a moment, then leaned forward and glanced toward the adults across the room. “Is that senator sweet on your grandmother?” she asked.

Mandie could feel her face turning red from anger, but before she could answer, Tommy lashed out at his sister.

“Josephine! Please remember your manners,” he said firmly.

Celia held her hand over her smile, and Joe turned his head, obviously trying to hide his grin.

Josephine sighed loudly, jumped up, and hurried out of the room with a limp—left over from an old foot injury.

Mandie tried to break the tension. “Tommy, could we show Celia and Joe the widow's walk?”

“I was just going to suggest that,” Tommy answered.

“Oh yes!” Celia cried, smoothing her long auburn curls. “Mandie told me about it after her last visit.”

Tommy turned to Joe. “Want to go?”

“Sure. Why not?” Joe stood up.

Tommy led the way to the third floor, and there he opened the door to a small room. Inside, a narrow spiral staircase led to the roof.

Celia looked up the steps. “Scary!” she exclaimed.

“Just don't look down from up there,” Mandie cautioned.

Tommy stood to one side. “You girls go first, and Joe and I will be right behind you in case you slip or anything,” he said.

With the boys following, the girls cautiously made their way up the narrow steps, never daring to look down. They stopped at a small landing at the top, and Tommy reached past them to take a key from a nail on the wall. With this he opened a small door in front of them. As the door swung open, Celia gasped.

Mandie grabbed her friend's hand. “I know it's frightening,” Mandie told her. “It looks like there's nothing but sky out there.”

“Come on,” Tommy urged.

They all stepped through the doorway onto a narrow walkway that ran around the edge of the roof.

Mandie gripped Celia's hand tightly. “Remember I told you that back in the old days the wives would have come up here to watch for their husbands' ships to come in?”

Celia nodded, but her fear showed plainly on her face. “That must have been hard not knowing when . . . or if . . . their husbands would come home,” she said.

Tommy pointed out to the harbor. “Look over that way,” he said. “See all the ships?”

Between the Pattons' house and the harbor were dozens of beautiful homes, and palm trees lined the avenues. But gazing out beyond at the harbor, the young people talked excitedly about the many ships crowding around the docks.

“Is the ship y'all are sailing on down there?” Joe asked.

Mandie turned to Tommy. “We're going on the
Queen Victoria
,” she said. “Do you see it?”

“I don't see a Union Jack flying on any ship down there,” Tommy replied, “but then I believe I heard my father say it wouldn't dock here until late tonight.”

“Union Jack?” Celia looked puzzled.

“It's a British ship, so it'll have the British flag on it,” Tommy explained.

“Of course.” Celia nodded. “Dumb of me. I knew that, but you know this will be the first time in my life I've ever actually traveled on a ship.”

Tommy smiled broadly. “Not dumb, just inexperienced, right, Joe?”

Joe shrugged. “I fall into that inexperienced category,” he said. “I've never even been near a ship before. It must be great to be rich enough to travel all over the world.”

Before anyone could answer, there was a sudden rustle behind them. They all whirled around to find Tommy's sister standing there.

“Celia,” Josephine said, walking toward them, “did Tommy tell you about Melissa Patton? She was killed up here, you know.”

Celia gasped and Mandie shot Josephine an angry look.

Tommy scowled at his sister. “Josephine, don't start that again,” he scolded.

“But that's part of the history of this house,” Josephine said, leaning over the railing. “Melissa Patton fell or was pushed over right here, and she splattered all over the flower garden below.”

“Ugh!” Celia shuddered.

Tommy lifted his hand as though he were going to strike his sister, but she was too quick for him. She ducked through the doorway and disappeared down the stairwell.

Mandie turned to Celia. “She likes to tell people that the ghost of Melissa Patton walks around up here when there's a full moon, too,” Mandie said with a laugh. “Josephine lives in a dream world, Celia. You can't believe much of anything she says.”

Joe frowned at Tommy. “Is that really so? Was it one of your ancestors who was killed up here?”

“It's an old, old tale,” Tommy explained. “The rumor is that she either committed suicide by jumping off the roof here or else she was pushed. Anyhow, no one ever knew whether it was just a ghost story or whether it really happened.”

Mandie changed the subject. “Tommy, let's go down and look at the flowers in your yard,” she suggested.

Tommy agreed and the young people followed as he led them downstairs and out through the beautiful flower gardens. Then he gave them a tour of the mansion. By that time dinner was ready in the huge, elegant dining room.

At the incredibly long table—Mandie thought a hundred people could be seated there—Mrs. Patton seated Mandie next to Tommy, with Joe across from them between Uncle Ned and Celia. Mandie could tell by the look on Joe's face that he was jealous. He obviously didn't like Mrs. Patton's arrangement, assuring that her son had Mandie's attention.

Everyone was grouped around one end of the huge table so that they could converse easily during dinner. Of course the forthcoming journey to Europe was the main topic of conversation as they began their meal.

“Amanda,” Elizabeth caught her daughter's attention. “You need to get to bed early tonight so you'll be fresh tomorrow,” she said, touching her napkin to her lips.

“Yes, Mother,” Mandie replied. “But I know I won't sleep a wink all night.”

Mrs. Taft leaned forward and looked down the table at her granddaughter. “Even if you can't, you will be able to take a nap anytime you want after we sail tomorrow,” she said.

Mandie set down her fork. “I'm so excited I can hardly eat.”

Uncle John laughed. “I'm sure you'll eat if you get hungry enough.”

Celia, who had been practically gobbling down her food, looked up. “I don't understand why Mandie can't eat. All this excitement makes me so hungry I could just about eat everything. I hope they have lots of good food on the ship.”

“You can be sure they will,” Mrs. Taft told her. “We'll all probably gain ten pounds, don't you think, Senator?”

“I certainly hope not.” Senator Morton laughed.

Mandie could hardly keep from laughing herself. Senator Morton was so thin he could stand to gain ten pounds. “I just wish all of you could go with us,” she said, looking around the table.

Tommy set down his water glass. “We're all going on board, you know.”

Celia's eyes grew wide. “You are?”

“Yes, to wish you all a
bon voyage
,” Tommy explained. “That's the custom when someone is going on such a long journey. It's like a party.”

Mandie frowned. “What if the ship starts sailing before you all get off?”

“The captain always warns everyone,” Tommy assured her.

At last Joe broke his long silence. “It would be funny if everyone got stuck on the ship and had to go to Europe, wouldn't it?”

Tommy shrugged. “Not really.”

Mandie shuddered at the thought. She didn't want Uncle Ned and her mother and Uncle John on board to “watch over her.” She didn't need their supervision. Grandmother would look after her and Celia. Yet she secretly hoped her grandmother would be preoccupied with Senator Morton so that she and Celia could do things on their own.

That night when they went to bed, Mandie and Celia were given separate rooms. But since there was a door between their rooms, Celia soon came to climb into Mandie's bed, and they talked into the wee hours of the morning with Snowball sound asleep at their feet. Neither
of the girls was sleepy, but they did doze a little before the Pattons' maid woke them for an early breakfast.

The girls jumped out of bed and danced about the room. A startled Snowball sat up in the middle of the covers and stared at them.

“It's today! It's today! We're leaving today!” Mandie exclaimed, running to the open window. “And the sun is shining. This is going to be the best day of my life.” She stopped suddenly and added, “Almost.”

The girls settled down and sat on the bed.

“Right.” Celia nodded. “I know the best day was when you found your real mother.”

“You're right,” Mandie agreed. “That was the most wonderful day I've ever experienced.”

“Mandie, do you think we'll get just a little homesick, being gone so long from home?” Celia wondered.

Mandie instantly perked up. “Oh no, Celia.” She laughed. “We won't get homesick. We'll be too busy sightseeing. Besides, we stay away from home longer than two months when we're at school in Asheville.”

“That's true. But I'm glad we'll at least have your grandmother with us,” Celia replied. “You know we're going to be in the middle of no one but foreigners.”

“That's just the fun of it!” Mandie reminded her. She jumped up and reached for the dress she had worn the night before. “Let's get ready and hurry downstairs to eat. I can't wait to get going.”

Celia looked puzzled as Mandie pulled the dress over her head. “Are you wearing that again?” she asked.

Mandie nodded. “Remember Mother said we weren't to unpack anything from our bags except what we wear to board the ship,” she reminded her friend. “I'm certainly not wearing my traveling suit to breakfast. Besides, all our trunks are already down at the dock, waiting to be loaded onto the ship.”

“That's right, I forgot.” Celia gave in, slipping into her own dress from the previous night. “We'll have to come back up here and change into our traveling suits just before we leave.”

Helping each other to dress quickly and fix their hair, they hurried downstairs to find everyone else already in the breakfast room. The girls seated themselves at the only two remaining places—next to Josephine. Mandie rolled her eyes and Celia nodded. Two maids came
and began serving them a delicious-smelling breakfast of sausage, eggs, and grits.

Everyone talked excitedly about the journey except Joe, who sat between Tommy and Uncle Ned across the table from the girls. Mandie tried to get his attention, but he stared down at his plate with a glum expression and picked at his food.

“We must hurry, Amanda,” Elizabeth prompted her daughter. “The ship docked late last night, and we can go aboard within the next hour.”

Mandie took a quick sip of her coffee. “What time does it sail, Mother?” she asked excitedly.

“Probably around noontime.” Elizabeth sounded uncertain. She looked to John Shaw for confirmation.

“That's right,” Uncle John agreed. “It's scheduled to leave at noon. We'll go aboard with you all and stay until the visitors have to leave.”

Uncle Ned leaned across the table and patted Mandie's hand. “Papoose, me not go ship. Papoose and me have powwow. Then say goodbye.”