The Mandie Collection

by Lois Gladys Leppard

  Celia nodded as Miss Prudence shook the little bell she kept by her plate. “We will return thanks, young ladies,” she said loudly. She watched as the girls bowed their heads before she began the blessing.

  As soon as the meal was over and they were dismissed from the table, Mandie and Celia went to sit in the main parlor until time for their next class.

  Polly Cornwallis came through the door on the far end of the parlor and sat down there. Then Mandie and Celia were surprised to see April Snow enter the parlor and join Polly.

  “Well, when did they get to be friends?” Mandie whispered to Celia.

  “This is the first time I have ever seen them even speak to each other,” Celia remarked.

  Then, as they watched, the twins entered the parlor and went straight across the room and sat down with Polly and April.

  “My goodness, remember what April said about the twins being foreigners,” Mandie whispered.

  “She must have changed her opinion of them,” Mandie replied.

  Mandie and Celia watched as April, Polly, and the twins laughed and talked, but they were too far away to hear what was being said. Mary Lou came into the parlor and joined Mandie and Celia.

  “I just heard that April, Polly, and the twins are all going to the College of Charleston,” Mary Lou told them.

  “Really?” Mandie said in surprise. “I wonder how they all got to be friends all of a sudden.”

  “I don’t know, but I overheard them talking this morning between classes. I didn’t see y’all around so I figured y’all didn’t know about their decision to go to the College of Charleston,” Mary Lou said. “Miss Prudence told me y’all were both going to the College of Charleston.”

  “We went to the depot to see my grandmother off to Charleston, to the College of Charleston, in fact, to straighten out a mixup in Celia’s registration,” Mandie explained. “Miss Prudence told us that you will also be going to the College of Charleston.”

  “Yes, but as a day student. I’ll be living at home,” Mary Lou replied. “Y’all will have to come visit at my house and get to know my parents.”

  “Thank you, that would be nice. We don’t know anyone in Charleston, except the Pattons who are friends of my mother. Do you know their son, Tommy, and his sister, Josephine, who is younger?” Mandie asked.

  “Patton? No, I don’t believe I know anyone with that name,” Mary Lou replied.

  The clock in the hall chimed. Mandie quickly stood up and said, “I’ve got to rush up to my room and get by books for my next class. I’ll see you later, Mary Lou.”

  “Yes, I have to get my books, too,” Mary Lou replied.

  In their room, Mandie and Celia quickly looked at their things on the bureau. Nothing had been moved. And as they grabbed their books from a chair Mandie said, “No one has been in here to move things around because whoever is doing it must have been downstairs in the dining room when we were and didn’t have a chance to do it.”

  “I hope no one comes in here again while we’re out,” Celia said, following Mandie out the door.

  “They’d better not because sooner or later they’re going to be caught,” Mandie said. “And they’re going to be in trouble then.”

  Mandie and Celia anxiously awaited word from Mrs. Taft in Charleston, but no message came. Finally Mrs. Taft came home a week after she had left. She sent Ben over with a note to Miss Prudence, asking permission for Mandie and Celia to come to her house for supper.

  “Your grandmother has returned,” Miss Prudence told Mandie when she had summoned the girls to her office one afternoon. “And you’re to go to her house for supper. She didn’t ask, but if you would like to spend the night there tonight it would be permissible. But be sure you let me know. Now get your things. Ben is waiting.”

  “Thank you, Miss Prudence,” Mandie said.

  “Yes, ma’am,” Celia added.

  They hurried up to their room to get their cloaks and gloves. The weather had turned colder and it was also raining.

  “I do hope Grandmother has everything straightened out,” Mandie said as they stepped out onto the front porch and hurried down the steps where Ben was waiting in the buggy, which had attachable curtains for protection against the weather.

  “Does Grandmother seem to be in good spirits?” Mandie asked as she and Celia stepped into the buggy.

  “I don’t rightly knows, Missy,” Ben replied, picking up the reins. “I gits her at the de depot dis here mawnin’ and brings her home. Den don’t see huh all day till she say come git you.” He drove the buggy on out into the road.

  “She’s probably been sleeping all day after that train trip,” Mandie said.

  Mrs. Taft was waiting for them in the parlor where a fire blazed and crackled in the huge stone fireplace. The girls left their cloaks on the hall tree outside the parlor and went on into the room to stand by the fire.

  “It’s cold outside, Grandmother,” Mandie said.

  “Yes, it is,” Mrs. Taft said. “You girls sit down here on these stools by the fire until you get warmed up.”

  Ella, the maid, rolled the tea cart into the room and began pouring cups of hot coffee. “Heah, dis heah will warm you up,” she said to the girls. “And there’s sweet cakes heah, too.” She picked up a small plate on the cart, put a pastry on it, and handed it to Mrs. Taft, then gave some to Mandie and Celia.

  “Grandmother, Miss Prudence said we could spend the night if you want us to,” Mandie said between sips of the hot coffee.

  “Yes, the weather is bad outside. Ella, would you please ask Ben to run back over to the school and tell Miss Prudence the girls will be staying over. I don’t know why I didn’t think about that.”

  “Yes, ma’am, Miz Taft,” Ella said, quickly leaving the room.

  Mandie and Celia were silent, waiting to hear what Mrs. Taft had to say. After drinking half of her cup of coffee, Mrs. Taft finally spoke.

  “Celia, you are now registered at the College of Charleston,” Mrs. Taft said with a big smile as she looked at the girl.

  “Oh, thank you, Mrs. Taft!” Celia squealed, almost choking on the coffee.

  “Grandmother, I knew you would get things straightened out, and I thank you, also,” Mandie said, smiling at her.

  “It took some doing, but I accomplished the matter of getting Celia enrolled in the College of Charleston,” Mrs. Taft said. “It seems that they have students working in the office there and answering the telephone, and that is why it was impossible to get any information by telephone. And speaking of telephones, I will be talking to Miss Prudence tomorrow and discussing the installation of a telephone in the school, and I’ll also get one here in the house. Of course not many people have one here locally so it won’t be much good for calling here in town, but we certainly can call other places, like the College of Charleston. I will be able to talk with you, Amanda, and check on things without having to go all the way down to Charleston when you go to school down there.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Mandie replied, but she was thinking Mrs. Taft might be able to check on her too often. After all, she was going to college and she didn’t need her grandmother treating her like a child anymore.

  “And Celia, I imagine your mother will be getting a telephone just as soon as the lines out there are installed,” Mrs. Taft said.

  “Yes, ma’am, she said she would,” Celia replied.

  “Now we need to discuss a trip to New York to do some shopping,” Mrs. Taft told them. “You will both need clothes to begin school in the fall and we could spend the spring holidays in New York. What do y’all say?”

  “Well, yes, ma’am, if you think we need to go to New York to shop,” Mandie agreed.

  “I’ll have to ask my mother,” Celia said.

  “I spoke to your mother on the telephone while I was at the college and she agreed we need to go,” Mrs. Taft explained. “It will be a fast trip, but we can do it.”

  “Do you think my mother will want to go with us?” Mandie asked.
/>
  “I will talk to her before then,” Mrs. Taft promised.

  Then Mandie remembered about the other girls who were planning to attend the College of Charleston. “Grandmother, you won’t believe it but April Snow and Polly Cornwallis are also going to the College of Charleston.”

  “That’s too bad,” Mrs. Taft said. “I do hope they don’t get down there and stir up trouble.”

  “Oh, and the twins from Italy are also going,” Mandie added.

  “And Mary Lou Dunnigan, but she will be a day student because she lives in Charleston,” Celia added.

  “Well, well,” Mrs. Taft said. “So many out of Miss Prudence’s school. The college is much larger, of course, and you girls won’t be having to see those girls very much, I wouldn’t suppose, so maybe they will stay out of other people’s business.”

  Mandie quickly thought about the journey to Europe in the summer and she smiled big and asked, “Grandmother, when we go shopping in New York, will that be before the voyage to Europe, also?”

  Mrs. Taft quickly looked at her and then, with a big smile, she finally replied, “Yes, I suppose you have learned about our plans to go back to Europe. I wanted it to be a surprise for your graduation.”

  “I’m sorry, Grandmother, to ruin your surprise, but everyone is talking about it and I was the only one who didn’t know about it until some of the girls told me,” Mandie said.

  “I should have gone ahead and told you, too,” Mrs. Taft said. “I should have known it would get back to you somehow before graduation.”

  “But I need to know now, Grandmother, because I have to make plans, too,” Mandie said. “Otherwise, I would have been planning other things for the summer. Oh, Grandmother, I am so excited about going to Europe again. And this time taking all my friends. It’s going to be a wonderful summer.”

  “We will meet all the others at Lindall Guyer’s house in New York a few days before time to sail and we’ll do up the town.”

  “Mrs. Taft, I appreciate your asking me, too,” Celia said. “And I’m glad Aunt Rebecca and Mollie will be able to go with us. I just wonder what Mollie will do when she finds herself back in Ireland. Do you think she might not want to come back home with us?”

  “Your mother and your aunt and I have discussed that and we’ve decided the child will want to come back with us. And of course we can’t take her over there and leave her with no family. I believe your aunt Rebecca has pretty good control of her now.”

  “She was really wild when we found her, wasn’t she?” Mandie said.

  “And she still wants to chase leprechauns,” Celia said.

  “We will have to change her mind about believing in leprechauns,” Mrs. Taft said. She rose from her chair. “Now, you girls go up to your room and freshen up for supper and I will do likewise. I’ll be back down in about an hour. You will spend the night here because of the weather.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” the girls chorused.

  Mandie had her own room at her grandmother’s house and kept clothes and personal belongings there. And since they visited Mrs. Taft so much, Celia had also over a period of time brought some of her things and left them there. It solved the problem of having to bring clothes when they came to visit. In the room upstairs that Mandie called her own, the girls went through their clothes hanging in the wardrobe and decided to change into something a little warmer.

  “I’m so glad Grandmother got everything straightened out down at the college. I knew she would,” Mandie remarked as she quickly removed her dress and slipped into a heavy blue woolen one.

  “Yes, I knew she would, too,” Celia agreed as she changed into a green woolen dress. “I understand the weather is not so cold in the wintertime in Charleston. I suppose we’ll be shopping for something suitable for down there.”

  “I’m excited about going to school there now and also about the trip to Europe,” Mandie said, brushing her blond hair. “I am very thankful for all of this. I remember how poor we were when my father was living and I only had two or three dresses a year for school, and that’s because I was growing and outgrew them so fast.”

  “Yes, Mandie, I am very grateful for all the good things that are happening, too,” Celia agreed, coming to join her at the bureau.

  “It’s going to be a wonderful summer this year.”

  So many wonderful things were happening that Mandie hoped they would last and her plans would not get changed.

  CHAPTER TEN

  SPRING HOLIDAYS

  Time passed swiftly and Mandie and Celia kept finding their hair brushes and combs moved on their bureau but could not locate the source of the trouble.

  Mary Lou kept reporting that April Snow, Polly Cornwallis, and the twins remained close friends. And Mandie could not figure why.

  And finally spring break arrived, warm, gloriously beautiful with flowers blooming all over and birds chirping in clusters.

  On a Saturday morning Mandie woke up, sat up in bed, looked at Celia who had also risen, and said, “New York next week.”

  “Yes, New York shopping trip next week,” Celia repeated, swinging her feet to the floor.

  “Yes, and my mother and Uncle John, and your mother should have already gone up there this week,” Mandie said, standing up to stretch and going over to the open window where the curtain fluttered in the morning breeze.

  Celia came to join her and to look out at the new leaves sprouting from the trees. “I hope we don’t stay very long up there. I’d like to spend some time at home with my mother,” she said.

  “Yes, and so would I,” Mandie agreed. “With Grandmother to supervise everything, maybe she will hurry and get the shopping done. I have so many clothes already I don’t know what I need with any more anyway.”

  “I do, too. Mother is going through my things and will donate a lot of it to The Salvation Army,” Celia replied.

  “I’ll ask my mother to do the same, then,” Mandie said. “I’m anxious to get this New York trip over with and get home while we still have time on our spring break to get my graduation dress. I know Aunt Lou must have it hemmed by now.” She turned to look at her friend. “You know we never did find out what happened to the dress when we couldn’t find it in Aunt Lou’s sewing room.”

  “I imagine she knew where it was and will have it finished. Otherwise there would be a big fuss going on because she knows you have to have it for graduation.”

  Mandie turned to walk over to the wardrobe to pull down a dress. “And you know I’ve been lonesome all this time without Snowball here. I’m going to bring him back when we go home on our break. I’m sure Grandmother will agree to at least let him stay at her house until we graduate.” She started dressing.

  Celia also took down a dress. “Do you think she will allow you to take him to Europe with us on the boat?” Celia asked with a big grin.

  Mandie frowned for a moment as she paused in buttoning her waist. “I think she will. Remember he didn’t really cause much trouble on our other journey to Europe. In fact, he was the cause of our making friends with Lily Masterson and her little sister, Violet. And I wonder how they are. I’m not very good at letter writing.”

  “I imagine Lily realizes you are terribly busy getting an education, and she’ll probably be in touch later,” Celia said, fastening her long skirt band and shaking out the folds.

  “Celia, you just gave me an idea,” Mandie said, stopping halfway across the room. “I’m going to ask Grandmother if I can invite Lily and Violet to go to Europe with us.”

  “Oh, Mandie, that would be wonderful. I’d like to see them, too,” Celia replied.

  “We’d better hurry with breakfast because you know Grandmother is having Ben pick us up right after that to go to her house so we’ll be ready to leave for New York from there on Monday,” Mandie reminded her. “And I do have to pack some clothes.”

  “Yes, you are right. We need to hurry,” Celia agreed. “And I imagine a lot of the girls are leaving today for break.” She quickly brushed he
r long auburn hair. She turned to look at Mandie and asked, “Mandie, how in this world are we ever going to get everyone together for the trip to Europe when everyone lives in so many different places?”

  “I asked Grandmother about that but I suppose I forgot to tell you. She said it was up to everyone else to get to New York to Jonathan’s house. That’s where everyone will meet after we graduate in May,” Mandie explained.

  Celia blew out her breath and smiled as she said, “I’m sure glad Jonathan has such a huge house, with all the people who are going to Europe staying there.”

  “Let’s go,” Mandie said, going to open the door.

  Downstairs, when they got in line for breakfast, they didn’t see Polly, April Snow, or the twins. Mandie watched and then whispered to Celia as they arrived at their chairs, “They must have left yesterday, but I wonder if they left together.”

  “Maybe,” Celia whispered back.

  As soon as the meal was over, Mandie and Celia rushed back to their room and quickly packed everything they would need to go to New York and then to their homes for the rest of the spring break. They were just finished when Ben came to take them to Mrs. Taft’s house.

  Miss Prudence found them in the front hall. “Ben is here for you young ladies to go to Mrs. Taft’s,” she said. “I hope you have nice holidays.”

  “Thank you, Miss Prudence. This is one time when a telephone would have been convenient. Grandmother could have called and told us Ben was on his way,” Mandie said with a big smile at the lady.

  “Yes, yes, I know,” Miss Prudence said. “It seems the telephone company will never get the wires in place for our telephones, however . . .”

  Aunt Phoebe, the school housekeeper, came down the hall toward them.

  “Good-bye, Aunt Phoebe, see you in two weeks,” Mandie told her.

  “You young ladies act like young ladies now on de big trip to de big city. We don’t want dem Noo Yawkers saying we’se heathens down south heah now.” She smiled as she hugged Mandie and then Celia.