In Good Company

by Jen Turano

  The pesky notion of scheming ladies flickered once again through Millie’s thoughts, a notion she quickly shoved aside. “I know Abigail means well, but I can’t properly run after three children in garments that are better suited to being at my leisure than doing anything of a strenuous nature.”

  “Since you’re currently at your leisure, you’re dressed exactly as you should be dressed.”

  “But because your son is paying me to look after the children, I’m sure you’ll understand why I’m going to change back into the only skirt and blouse I have left just as soon as they come back from being laundered.”

  “If you’ll excuse me, I need to see about having another pot of coffee brewed.” With that, Dorothy rose from her chair and practically bolted for the house.

  Having no idea what to make of that, and knowing she wouldn’t be able to figure it out anyway, Millie picked up the copy of Emma she’d brought outside with her and flipped to the page she’d marked.

  She read all of three pages before the squeak of the French doors drew her attention, and she found none other than Caroline Dixon walking her way.

  “I was hoping to find you gone,” Caroline said as she came to a stop in front of the table.

  Setting aside the book, Millie rose to her feet, wincing when she noticed a bruise on Caroline’s head, one that just happened to be formed in a perfect circle, quite like a circle a tennis ball would make. “It certainly is nice to see you today, Miss Dixon, especially since I’ve wanted to apologize again for . . .” She waved to Caroline’s head, earning a sniff in response.

  “Apology not accepted, Miss Longfellow, but . . .” Caroline’s eyes narrowed as she looked Millie up and down. “What in the world are you wearing, and why are you out here on the terrace, sipping coffee and reading . . . Is that a Jane Austen book?”

  “It is. Emma, in fact. One of my favorites, if you—”

  “Where are your nanny clothes?” Caroline interrupted.

  “If you can believe this, most of them have mysteriously disappeared.”

  Caroline’s face began to darken. “Did Abigail Hart have something to do with the mysterious disappearance of your clothing?”

  “As to that, ah . . .”

  Drawing herself up, Caroline’s nostrils flared. “I told Everett yesterday I won’t stand for this nonsense. If you think, for one minute, that I’m simply going to stand by and watch as Mrs. Hart tries her hand once again at inappropriate matchmaking, well, you’re sadly mistaken. I am Miss Caroline Dixon, and as such . . .”

  “Caroline, what a pleasant surprise,” Dorothy said, strolling back out on the terrace and smiling brightly, although her smile didn’t seem to reach her eyes. “I thought you and Millie had already been introduced.”

  “We have been introduced.”

  “Then why were you telling Millie your name?”

  Caroline shot Millie a glare before she turned back to Dorothy. “It’s such a marvelous treat to find you and Mr. Mulberry here in Newport, especially since I’m quite certain Everett told me you’d be traveling to India after your stay in Paris.”

  “Our original plans did have us traveling to India, but . . . before I speak further, we should get comfortable.” Dorothy gestured Millie back into her chair, before gesturing to another chair and nodding at Caroline. “Have a seat, dear.”

  Looking as if she wanted to do anything but take a seat, Caroline finally slid into the chair, where she promptly set about the task of ignoring Millie.

  Dorothy poured a cup of coffee for Caroline, and then retook her seat as well. “Isn’t this just lovely? I do so enjoy a bit of feminine conversation over coffee.”

  “I don’t normally enjoy conversation with members of the staff,” Caroline said as she took a sip of her coffee, her little finger raised exactly so. “But returning to why you cut your trip short?”

  Dorothy’s lips pursed just a touch. “I kept having this unnerving feeling that Everett was in some type of horrible trouble. That feeling left me out of sorts, which is why Fletcher finally insisted we needed to return to the States, if only to allow me to ascertain that Everett was fine.”

  Caroline leaned forward. “You really could have simply sent Everett a telegram, Mrs. Mulberry. Especially since his troubles, all three of them—or four, if you count Miss Longfellow—will disappear as soon as he chooses a proper boarding school to send the children off to.”

  “Boarding school?” Dorothy let out an honest-to-goodness snort. “Goodness, and here I thought that was just a rumor, spoken out loud because the children don’t seem to care for you. But . . . hear me well, my dear—that idea is completely ridiculous. Those precious children will not be sent off to any boarding school. The mere idea is preposterous.”

  She took a sip of coffee, regarding Caroline over the rim of the cup. “Their father, Fred, was like a son to me, and it’s rapidly becoming clear I’ve been dreadfully negligent with this situation. Those children need a stable environment, stable adults in their little lives, and they need to know they have people surrounding them who truly want only what’s in their best interests.”

  Caroline drew herself up. “Forgive me for pointing this out, Mrs. Mulberry, but you’ve been gone for months. You were here for the funeral, but then you left, leaving me and Everett to deal with the horrid little beasts. You seem to be under the misimpression that Fred’s children are little angels, but I’m telling you now, they’re nothing of the sort. If you truly want to help your son escape his troubles, you’ll back me in the decision of sending them off to boarding school—a place, if you’ll recall, you sent Everett off to.”

  Dorothy drew herself up, much like Caroline had just done. “I’ve recently come to the conclusion I was wrong to send Everett away to be raised by other people in a boarding school. I’m not excusing my actions, but it was simply what parents did in my social circle. Since then I’ve come to the uncomfortable realization that bending to society’s ways prevented me from building a close relationship with my only child, so I am now completely against the idea of boarding schools. Why, I’ll take the children in before I’d see them sent off to one.”

  Instead of looking chagrined, Caroline looked happier than Millie had ever seen her before. “That’s a wonderful idea, Mrs. Mulberry, and will solve everyone’s problems, especially if you agree to take on Miss Longfellow since Everett seems reluctant to dismiss her.”

  For a second, Dorothy simply stared at Caroline, as if she’d never seen the lady before in her life. Luckily for Caroline, the sound of giggling distracted Dorothy, who turned her attention to where Elizabeth and Rose were stepping from the cliff walk and onto the lawn. Elizabeth immediately took hold of Rose’s hand, and together the two girls began skipping toward Seaview.

  Dorothy rose to her feet, shading her eyes with her hand. “It looks like the girls have beaten Everett, Fletcher, and Thaddeus home from their explore.”

  Caroline suddenly leaned across the table, her eyes narrowing on Millie. “Why in the world are Mr. Mulberry and Everett minding the children while you’re sitting here enjoying your coffee?”

  “The gentlemen wanted to spend time with the children on their own, and . . . nannies certainly are entitled to having a morning off now and again,” Dorothy said before Millie could respond. She waved to Elizabeth and Rose. “Girls, we’re over here.”

  Elizabeth and Rose stopped skipping, seemed to look in their direction, and then, instead of moving their way, charged off in the opposite direction and were quickly out of sight.

  “Do you think they didn’t hear me?” Dorothy asked as she retook her seat.

  “Oh, they heard you all right,” Caroline said. “Their blatant rudeness should give you a better idea as to what I’ve been made to suffer ever since those children stormed into my life.”

  Dorothy frowned. “They didn’t storm into your life, Caroline, they stormed into Everett’s. Quite honestly, I’m beginning to get the distinct impression they’re not the reason I still
continue to feel Everett’s in trouble.”

  “He’s not in any trouble,” Caroline argued.

  “That remains to be seen.” Dorothy looked back over the lawn and smiled. “Ah, there’re the gentlemen now. Oh look, Thaddeus is getting a ride on Everett’s shoulders.”

  “I see the boy hasn’t abandoned his ridiculous frocks,” Caroline said as the gentlemen drew closer.

  “The boy’s name is Thaddeus, dear,” Dorothy corrected.

  “Well, I hope someone will get dear Thaddeus out of those dresses soon.” Caroline nodded to Millie. “Since you’re the nanny—and one no one seems capable of dismissing—I think that daunting task is going to fall on you. Don’t take him shopping with you though. I was embarrassed quite enough yesterday, thank you very much, when all of my friends got to witness the oddness of that boy wearing a purple frock as he cheered you on from the stands. The mere idea that he wasn’t cheering for me, a lady he’s known for far longer than you, completely proves my point about the rudeness these children seem to embrace.”

  “Thaddeus isn’t odd,” Millie said. “He’s just a little boy, and little boys rarely do what adults expect of them, such as cheering for a particular person involved in a tennis match.”

  Caroline’s face began to darken, but then she was smiling—the reason behind that smiling becoming apparent a moment later when Everett strode into view, without Thaddeus or his father in tow.

  “Thaddeus spotted a rabbit,” Everett said, which explained much as he moved to his mother’s side, kissed her cheek, and then kissed the hand Caroline promptly held his way. “I wasn’t expecting to see you this morning.”

  Caroline withdrew her hand. “I can’t help but wonder why I went to the bother of writing out that schedule for you since it’s becoming clear you rarely refer to it. To refresh your memory, we’re supposed to go to the Ocean House today to enjoy music on the veranda.”

  “I assumed my schedule of events had been put on hold since I was under the impression you were put out with me.”

  “I am put out with you, but that’s no reason to miss the summer festivities.”

  Everett raked a hand through his hair and glanced around. “Where’s Nora?”

  Caroline shrugged. “I’ve sent her on.”

  “You sent her to Ocean House by herself?”

  “Of course not. And just so you know, we’re not going to Ocean House now, but I’ll get back to that in a moment. I sent Nora over to Birdie’s cottage because I thought it would do Nora good to have some time away from me so that she can contemplate her responsibilities to me, her employer.”

  Everett crossed his arms over his chest. “Nora doesn’t actually take any money from you, Caroline, so she’s not actually in your employ—more like she’s simply doing you a favor. And surely you didn’t send her on, as you so quaintly put it, because of the tennis match, did you?”

  “She was directly responsible for this,” Caroline said, pointing to her head. “So yes, that is why I sent her on. I found her lack of loyalty appalling, as did the rest of my friends, all of whom were only too anxious to discuss the tennis debacle with me last night.”

  “But who will step in as your companion now, Caroline?” Dorothy asked. “Your parents haven’t cut their trip around the world short, have they?”

  “My mother has yet to finish selecting her wardrobe for the fall season, and since the House of Worth has been booked solid with appointments, she’ll be there another month, at the very least, waiting for her designs to be finished. As for the companion business, there’s no need for anyone to fret. Mr. Dudley Codman has kindly provided me with a chaperone—that being his elderly aunt, who just happens to be moving into my cottage as we speak.”

  Everett pulled out a chair and lowered himself down beside Caroline. “How was it that Dudley came to be the one to provide you with a chaperone?”

  Caroline shrugged. “He escorted me last night to the Belmonts’ ball held at their cottage, By-The-Sea. The ball was a delightful affair, and allowed me to further my acquaintance with Mrs. August Belmont, a truly gracious lady if there ever was one. But, getting back to Dudley—when he realized I’d been placed in the unenviable position of not having a proper chaperone at the ready, he made arrangements for his elderly aunt, who has been staying at his cottage, to take up the position.”

  “Dudley escorted you to the ball last night?” Everett asked.

  “I certainly wasn’t going to miss it just because you and I quarreled.”

  Feeling increasingly uncomfortable and out of place, Millie plucked up her book and buried her nose behind it, pretending to read as the argument raged on.

  “Do you honestly believe that was appropriate—having another gentleman escort you to a ball of all things,” Everett demanded, “and without a proper chaperone, from the sounds of it?”

  “Do you honestly believe it was appropriate for you to side with your nanny instead of doing what I’d asked, which, if you’ve forgotten, was to dismiss her?” Caroline countered.

  “And do either of you believe this is an appropriate conversation to have at this particular moment?” Dorothy asked.

  Millie peeked over the book, finding Everett now looking uncomfortable—probably because of his mother’s reprimand. Caroline, however, looked livid . . . until she drew in a deep breath and nodded Dorothy’s way. “Forgive me, Mrs. Mulberry. I certainly didn’t mean to offend you.”

  Caroline looked back to Everett. “If you’re still willing to continue on with our plans for today, I must tell you that those plans have, indeed, changed, and we will not be going to the Ocean House, because”—her eyes began to sparkle—“we’ve been granted the supreme honor of being invited to one of Mr. Ward McAllister’s picnics at his farm. I was given the privilege of speaking with him at length last night at the ball, and he very kindly told me he’d enjoy having my company, as well as yours, today.”

  Everett considered Caroline for a long moment before he finally nodded. “I would be delighted to escort you to Mr. McAllister’s farm, my dear. Although I do hope we can put aside our differences so that we may actually enjoy the day.”

  Smiling somewhat sweetly, Caroline reached out and patted Everett’s arm. “That sounds lovely, Everett. And, before I forget, when guests inquired last night about where you were, I told them you were indisposed, so do try to think up a good reason to explain that indisposed condition so you won’t be taken aback if anyone happens to mention it.”

  Before Everett could respond to that, Caroline turned Millie’s way. “Now then, since Mr. McAllister is in Newport, and he’s a stickler for the proprieties, you really are going to have to find a way to get Thaddeus out of those frocks once and for all. Mr. McAllister will not see such attire as amusing, and I will not damage the bond I formed with the social arbiter of New York last night because no one can take the boy in hand.”

  “I’ll do my best,” Millie said.

  “See that you do.” Caroline nodded to Dorothy and then turned her attention back to Everett. “Shall we go? We certainly don’t want to be late. Mr. McAllister does not abide lateness at all. My buggy is out front, so there’s no need to call for yours.”

  Rising to his feet, Everett gave Dorothy a kiss on the cheek, sent Millie a nod, and with Caroline attached to his arm, walked off the terrace and soon disappeared from sight.

  Dorothy picked up her coffee cup again. “Do you think he knows what a mess he’s gotten himself into?”

  “A . . . mess?” Millie asked as she lowered her book.

  “He’s tied himself to a shrew, my dear. Why, it’s little wonder I’ve been having such dreams. God apparently realized I was not aware of the disturbing nature of Everett’s relationship with Caroline, so He sent me a very clear message as I slumbered.”

  “You think God sent you messages through your dreams?”

  “I do believe that’s exactly what He was doing, but . . . what to do about it now . . . ” She tilted her head and considered Millie
once again in a very concerning fashion.

  “Mrs. Mulberry . . . ” Millie began.

  “Dorothy, dear.”

  “Yes, well, I’d like to keep things formal at the moment since I need to be firm and tell you, exactly as I told Abigail, that I will not be a part of . . .” Millie’s voice trailed off when Mrs. O’Connor stepped out onto the terrace and began marching her way, holding what appeared to be a bunch of rags in her arms.

  Stopping directly in front of Millie, Mrs. O’Connor heaved a very dramatic sigh as she dumped the rags on the table. “I have no idea how this happened, but your shirt and skirt somehow got stuck in the wringer, and . . . the wringer ripped them to shreds.”

  Millie’s mouth dropped open before she set her sights on Dorothy. “Did you even request another pot of coffee, or did you simply draw poor Mrs. O’Connor into some type of dastardly plan that I’m sure no one, not even you, can truly explain.”

  Dorothy fluttered innocent lashes her way before she looked over Millie’s shoulder and smiled. “Would you look at that—impeccable timing, if I do say so myself.”

  Turning her head, Millie discovered the children and Fletcher walking across the terrace.

  “I just bid Everett and Caroline a fond farewell for the day,” Fletcher said as he came to a stop in front of Dorothy. He looked down and smiled at Thaddeus, who was holding his hand and looking rather grumpy. “Caroline, I hate to admit, annoyed Thaddeus no small amount by telling him—”

  “That I have to get out of my frocks,” Thaddeus interrupted as he let go of Fletcher’s hand and stomped his way over to Millie. “She said you were going to make me do that, even if I don’t want to.”

  “I’m not going to make you do anything, darling,” Millie said. “If you want to continue wearing those frocks your sister made for you, so be it.”

  “Elizabeth tried really hard to make me pants,” Thaddeus said. “But when she couldn’t figure out how to sew them up properly, she made me dresses, and I don’t want to hurt her feelings by not wearing them.”