And it certainly did. Her stomach churned like the lake on a stormy day. Would they take her visit as the peace offering she hoped it would be?
She knelt in front of Levi and straightened his jacket. “Remember, use your best manners when you see your grandparents.”
“They don’t like me.”
“Yes they do, honey, but they aren’t used to being around little boys.”
Levi cocked his head. “But wasn’t Daddy a little boy once?”
“Yes, but he had a nanny who took care of him most of the time.” She stood and lifted the latch on the heavy iron gate. It creaked as she opened it far enough for the two of them to pass through. The ominous clang as it shut behind them made her shiver. Taking Levi’s hand, she started up the walk.
“But why didn’t Grandmother take care of Daddy?”
“She didn’t think it should be done like that.” Lilly squeezed his hand.
“Did I have a nanny when I lived here?”
“When you were little, you had a nurse your grandmother hired, but your daddy and I let her go. Your daddy and I never wanted you to be away from us. We wanted to take care of you all by ourselves.”
“Didn’t Daddy like his nanny?”
“Daddy loved his nanny a great deal. He said her name was Rosy. He used to call her Rosy Posey.” Lilly gave the brass knocker on the front door two solid whacks. “Now, remember your manners.”
The door opened, and Jerome, the Harts’ butler, motioned them inside. He took Lilly’s cape and draped it over his arm. “I’ll let the Harts know you are here, ma’am, and may I personally say you and Master Hart are greatly missed here.”
“Thank you, Jerome.” She smiled down at Levi. Lord, please help me say and do the right thing today for his sake.
Lilly took a deep breath and glanced around. Nothing had changed since she’d left. A garish painting of a fox hunt still hung in the foyer over the entry table. Beneath it lay the tiny silver tray for Jerome to collect calling cards from visitors. Of course, as family, she didn’t need to produce one.
Levi fidgeted beside her. Maybe she shouldn’t have brought him after all. The Harts had never doted on him the way most grandparents would, and while she understood that it wasn’t their way to show affection, he didn’t.
“Can I slide down the banister like I used to do when Grandmother and Grandfather weren’t home?” Levi hopped over the base of the staircase. “’Member, Mama? You used to hold on to me until I slid all the way down.”
“And then we’d go in the kitchen and Mrs. Kauffman would make us hot chocolate and give us cookies.” She smiled. At least he held some fond memories of living here.
“Can we go see her now?”
“No, honey. Today we’re here to visit your grandparents. Remember, use your very best manners.”
Jerome reentered and asked them to follow him. Lilly could have said she didn’t need to be shown the way, but she found comfort in the butler’s company. As she expected, he led them to the sunroom at the back of the mansion where her mother-in-law loved to sit in the mornings. She spotted Evangeline first, sitting on a cushioned rattan love seat. Around her, green plants, airy ferns, and ivy-filled baskets drank in the sun’s rays in front of the large windows.
Claude Hart rose from his chair beside her and nodded. “Lilly, have you come to tell me you are reconsidering our offer?”
“No, sir. I came because I wanted you to have the opportunity to see your grandson.” She swallowed hard, the words feeling stiff on her tongue. “I’m praying this will be a pleasant exchange for all of us. Ben would have wanted that.”
“Ben would have wanted a lot of things.” Evangeline sipped tea from her china cup.
Claude motioned to an empty chair. “Won’t you have a seat?”
“Thank you.” She sat down, and Levi stood beside her with his hand clutching her skirt. “Go tell your grandmother good morning.” After she pried his fingers loose, he walked across the room and stood before her.
“My, you’ve grown. Give your grandmother a kiss.” She pointed to her cheek and waited.
Levi bestowed the wet kiss with a loud smack, and Lilly stifled a giggle. If Lilly knew Evangeline, she was dying to wipe the slobber from her cheek. To her credit, the woman simply patted the love seat beside her.
“So, Levi, tell Grandmother what adventures you’ve been having at the lake. Do you have any friends?”
“I have lots and lots of friends. There are crickets and toads and spiders, and Mr. Nick helped me with Flower, my pet snake.”
Evangeline’s mouth formed a perfect O, then she scowled at Lilly. “You let him play with snakes?”
“It’s only a harmless garter snake.”
“Well, I would never—”
Lilly smiled. “I know, but he’s my son.”
“I ain’t got a cage yet, but Mr. Nick said maybe he’ll help me build one.”
Evangeline tsked. “You don’t have a cage, and who is Mr. Nick?”
Folding her hands in her lap, Lilly tried to relax. “Nick Perrin is the man who’s building the roller coaster. I cook for him and his men, and he’s been kind to Levi.”
“Levi’s grammar is atrocious, Lilly. You really must let us send him to—”
Lilly held up her hand. “We will leave this instant if you insist on discussing a boarding school.”
“We only want what’s best for him.” Claude’s deep voice, so perfect for the courtroom, jarred her. “He could have the best of everything—just like our Ben. Think about how Ben turned out. Don’t you want that for your son?”
“Ben hated being sent off to boarding school. He and I discussed it, and it was never our plan to send Levi away. If Ben were alive, he’d tell you himself. Besides, Levi would be devastated without me.”
“You can’t let a child’s emotions make these decisions.” Evangeline pinched Levi’s cheek. “No matter how sweet he is now, he will grow up to become a man, and what kind of man is determined by the opportunities presented to him.”
“What kind of man Levi becomes will be determined by me and by God. And already I can see God has blessed Levi with a generous and caring spirit like his father.” Lilly smiled at her son. “Levi, you haven’t greeted your grandfather.”
After scampering off the love seat, Levi walked slowly to the white-bearded man. Claude extended his hand. Levi took it and pumped it vigorously. “Hello, Grandfather. Lovely day, isn’t it?”
Lilly had to bite her lip to keep from laughing.
“Excuse me.” Jerome appeared at the door bearing a box. “I thought young master Levi might enjoy playing with some of his father’s blocks.”
Claude nodded. “Splendid idea.”
While Jerome set the box down near the window, Levi hurried to claim it. In seconds he’d begun to construct a tower.
“Lilly, about the other day.” Claude cleared his throat.
“Please, I know you don’t agree with me, but I have to do what I think Ben would want me to do to raise our son. I understand Levi is all you have left of Ben—but he’s all I have left too.” She dabbed the tear blurring her vision. “I have to raise Levi the way Ben and I planned.”
Claude leveled his gaze at her. “And would Ben want you working all hours of the day while your son played with snakes and strangers? Would he want you living off the charity of friends when your family is willing to provide for you?”
“Ben would want me to be happy.” The words came out soft and wistful.
“But he’d want you here, and never living off the charity of the Grahams.” Evangeline picked up her teacup. “Levi, what do you have in that cosmetics jar?”
“Levi, stop!” Lilly jumped to her feet, but she was too late. Levi gave a final twist to the metal lid on a small jar and dumped the contents into his newly created structure.
5
The ants immediately scattered to the corners and climbed the blocks.
Levi tried to corral the ants with his hands. “Sto
p, you naughty ants. This is your new house.”
“Ants?” Evangeline squealed, jumped up, and backed against the bookcase as if the ants would eat her alive. “Claude, do something! Get them out of my house.”
Lilly dropped to her knees beside Levi and grabbed the empty jar. “Let’s put the ants back in your can. I don’t think they’ll like living at your grandparents’ house.”
Levi frowned at his grandmother and picked up an ant-covered block. “Neither do I.”
Finally, Lilly and Levi collected the majority of the ants, and Lilly told her son it was time to say goodbye. Evangeline kissed the top of his head and asked him not to bring any more creatures with him to his grandmother’s.
Claude followed her to the door. “Lilly, it’s clear Levi has far too much freedom—playing with ants, toads, snakes, and who knows what else.” At over six feet, Claude loomed over her. “Ben would not have allowed you to be so permissive, and since he is not here, we must act in his stead. How will Levi ever take on the Hart fortune if he isn’t taught refinement? Given your upbringing, I don’t think you understand all Levi may be called on to do. And you are certainly ill-equipped to teach him.”
Lilly opened the door and told Levi to go to the bottom of the stairs and wait for her. “Levi will be fine. He’s a little boy, and he’s only acting accordingly. There’s plenty of time for him to learn to be as stuffy as you. However, I do appreciate your concern, and I know you love him in your own way. But I beg you to understand—he’s my son, and I will raise him the way I see fit.”
Claude pinned her with his penetrating gaze. “We do understand what you want, but that is clearly not what is best for him. Therefore, we will press forward in our efforts to gain custody of Levi because it’s in the child’s best interest—unless, of course, you relent in allowing us to send him to the boarding school.”
“Would that be in Levi’s best interest or yours?” She scalded her father-in-law with a final glare and marched down the stairs. With her heart thundering in her chest, she grabbed Levi’s hand and hurried toward the gate. Why had she ever thought she could reach the two of them?
Now things were worse than ever.
If Lilly and Levi didn’t hurry, the roller coaster crew would have no hot coffee for lunch. The ham sandwiches they’d handle fine, but not having coffee would make them gripe for sure. As soon as the streetcar arrived at Lake Manawa, Lilly hurried her son off, and the two of them made their way toward the Midway.
“Look, Mama.” Levi pointed to the fence housing the Manawa zoo. Although there were no elephants or tigers, the zoo had enough species that the children loved it. “Can we go see the alligator?”
“Not today, sweetheart. We don’t have time.” She pulled him along.
“But, Mama, you never have time.”
“I know, but right now, we really have to hurry.”
“Please—”
“Levi, hush now. You don’t want to miss seeing Mr. Nick, do you?” She shouldn’t use the man as a reward, but sometimes a mother had to do whatever it took.
“Can I show him my picture?”
“Yes, and you can even show him your new crayons.”
As soon as they reached the lunch counter, Lilly snagged her apron from the hook. She’d hoped there would be time to return to the cabin to change out of her good dress, but she didn’t dare. After stoking the fire, she put the coffeepot over the cookstove’s firebox and helped Levi set the silverware in their places on the table. When he’d finished, she dismissed him to go check on Mr. Wiggles and Flower with a warning to stay within sight of the lunch counter.
Since the men didn’t have breakfast on Wednesdays at the lunch counter, she knew they’d be extra hungry. She cut thick slices of ham and laid it on the crusty bread. Soon she had the serving tray filled, along with two bowls each of preserved peaches and coleslaw.
After mixing the freshly ground coffee with two eggs and some water in a bowl like her mother always did, she poured the egg/coffee mixture into the boiling water in the enameled coffeepot. She took a deep breath. In two to three minutes it would be done. She’d made it.
She gasped. Dessert! How had she forgotten? Of course the men had come to expect something sweet with their meals. She glanced around the room. No leftover cookies or cakes. No pies or pastries. These men ate everything.
Her gaze fell to the milk can that had been delivered in her absence, and she got an idea. She could cook some pudding. She wouldn’t be able to chill it in the icebox, but they could enjoy it warm all the same.
Before she forgot the coffee, she removed the pot from the heat and poured a cup of cold water in it to settle the grounds. She set it on the back corner to keep it warm.
The back door to the kitchen opened. Lilly didn’t look up from measuring milk into a pot. “Levi, go wash before lunch.”
A man cleared his throat.
She turned. “Mr. Thorton, I’m sorry. I didn’t know it was you.” She smiled at the young woman beside him. Her strawberry-blonde hair seemed to have a mind of its own, and her bright pink dress didn’t match the peach-colored hat on her head in the least. A smattering of freckles across her nose and cheeks brought a whimsical quality to the girl Lilly guessed to be in her late teens. Lilly nodded and swished the spoon around the bowl. “Hello.”
“Mrs. Hart, this is my niece Eugenia. My sister’s daughter. She’s going to be your new assistant. Eugenia, Mrs. Hart.”
Lilly dropped her long-handled spoon in the milk, then fished it back out with another spoon. “An assistant?”
“I know this lunch counter is going to be too much for you to handle alone once the season starts, and as I told you, I plan to add two to three more workers by then.”
“That’s mighty thoughtful of you, Mr. Thorton, but it’s still early May, and I’m doing fine by myself.”
“Yes, you certainly are, but Eugenia’s mother and I were talking, and we both thought she might need some extra instruction.”
Lilly glanced at the girl, who stood staring wide-eyed around the kitchen. “Let me guess, she doesn’t cook a lick.”
Mr. Thorton seemed to take an interest in his pocket watch. “If anyone can teach her, I’m sure you can.”
“But, Mr. Thorton—”
“I have to meet an old friend. You two can work out the details of Eugenia’s duties.” He kissed his niece’s cheek. “Eugenia, you listen to Mrs. Hart and do exactly what she says.”
“I will, Uncle Clyde.” She wiggled her fingers at him as he departed.
Lilly took a deep breath and looked at Eugenia’s hopeful face. She smiled again. It would be nice to have some company. “Have you ever worked in a kitchen, Eugenia?”
The girl shook her head. “I’m not sure I’ve even been in one, ma’am, except when I snuck cookies, but I’ve been reading up on cooking. I’ve learned a lot.”
Reading had its place in the world. Folks could learn a lot from books, but Lilly doubted cooking was one of them. “The men will be in soon, but I want to get this pudding done. Since you’ve been reading, have you learned how to separate eggs?”
A smile blossomed across Eugenia’s face. “Of course. I can do that.”
“Good. We’ll need twelve eggs separated. The eggs are over there.” Lilly pointed to the Hoosier cabinet with a crate on top of the porcelain counter. Then, humming to herself, she returned to stirring her scalding milk. Yes, this could work out fine.
“I’m done, Miss Lilly,” Eugenia said.
“Already?” Lilly poured the sugar into the pan and turned. On the surface of the cabinet, Eugenia had certainly separated eggs—five brown ones on the right, seven white ones on the left.
Lilly shook her head. Now she didn’t have one child to raise, she had two.
The bell jingled above the door, announcing the arrival of the roller coaster crew. Did she dare use Eugenia to serve? Maybe she could do something simple. “Eugenia, why don’t you pour coffee for the men while I bring out their food? The
pot is on the stove.”
The girl bounced away, the silly peach flowers on her hat bobbing as she walked. Lilly grabbed the tray of sandwiches, removed the towel from the top, and carried it through the doorway. The men grinned when she approached.
“I’m as hungry as a horse, Mrs. Hart.” The worker she’d learned was Percy Leonard wrapped his fingers around a thick sandwich. He was the youngest but also had the biggest appetite. Tall and thin, Percy made her wonder where the young man put all the food he consumed. “Those doughnuts you left us were delicious, but they didn’t stick to my ribs long enough.”
“We’re lucky she did that.” Nick Perrin took his own sandwich from the tray. “My agreement was there’d be no breakfast on Wednesdays. Mrs. Hart deserves a morning off.”
“But we can’t make it without breakfast,” the worker with the broadest girth whined.
“Frank, I don’t think you need to worry about fainting dead away.”
Eugenia approached with the coffeepot in hand. Thank the Lord she had the good sense to use a towel over the handle to protect her hand.
She reached for Sean McGready’s coffee cup and smiled. “Maybe I can make you all breakfast on Wednesdays.”
Lilly offered the tray of sandwiches to Mr. McGready. He selected one and set it on his plate. “I don’t think you’re ready for that yet, Eugenia,” Lilly said.
The girl jerked when Lilly spoke and spilled coffee on Mr. McGready’s sandwich. Eugenia grabbed for it, and the top slice of bread fell onto the floor. She quickly scooped it up and started to replace it on the sandwich.
“Stop!” Lilly ordered as she picked up Mr. McGready’s plate. “Let me go get you some fresh bread on this. Then I’ll be back to fill your cups. Eugenia, come with me.”
“Does this mean I can’t make the men breakfast?” Eugenia’s lower lip protruded.
Lilly rolled her eyes and shook her head in disbelief. This was going to be a long, long summer.
Sweet, rich, and creamy, the pudding slid over Nick’s tongue. Mrs. Hart could cook better than any woman he’d ever met. They were blessed to have her cooking for them, but he worried they were overworking her. At least it seemed she had some help now.
Lorna Seilstad - [Lake Manawa Summers 03] Page 4