Once Charlotte had retrieved her supply carrier and vacuum cleaner from the front porch, she took her lunch bag into the kitchen and placed it on the counter. Then, she inspected the house from top to bottom, just to get an idea of what needed to be done.
Downstairs contained a huge double parlor. Across the wide entrance hall opposite the parlor were a small library and a grand dining room. The kitchen; a laundry room; and a small, more modern family room were located along the back of the ground floor. A half bath was tucked beneath the grand staircase, and at the top of the stairs was a central hall that opened to five bedroom suites, each suite containing its own private bath.
Though somewhat orderly, the house needed a thorough cleaning, and the more Charlotte explored, the more curious she grew about the Adams family. As a maid, she often saw things that others missed, and she learned things about the people she worked for from cleaning up after them.
Mimi was a die-hard garden enthusiast and a stickler for authenticity, Charlotte decided, as she straightened a stack of preservation and gardening magazines addressed to Mimi in the library. Also, a vast array of books on the same subjects filled the floor-to-ceiling bookshelves opposite an antique desk. And, of course, there were the well-manicured grounds, the various plants inside and outside of the house, and the greenhouse in the backyard.
Mimi’s husband, Gordon, was another matter, though. The designer suits in the master suite closet indicated that he liked nice clothes, and the expensive brand of men’s cologne on the dresser also suggested that he liked to be well groomed. But other than the suits and cologne, and several miniature car reproductions done in pewter and displayed in the family room, there was nothing else to indicate that he even lived there. No golf clubs, no hunting paraphernalia, nothing that gave her a clue as to his interest or his hobbies…if he had any. Was it possible that the man had no interest or hobbies outside of his car dealerships? Strange…strange indeed.
Usually Charlotte worked her way from the upstairs on down, but since the second floor was in pretty good shape, she decided that today she would strip the beds first, and she’d start cleaning on the ground floor while the sheets were washing.
After Charlotte put the sheets in to wash, she tackled the kitchen. Once she’d loaded the dirty dishes into the dishwasher and finished everything except the floor, she quickly dusted and straightened the rest of the downstairs rooms, saving the double parlor for last.
Before she began cleaning the parlor, she transferred the sheets from the washer to the dryer. In the corner of the laundry room she spotted a small stepladder that she decided would be just the right height for dusting the mirror in the parlor.
With the help of the ladder, Charlotte was able to give the gilt and lacquered mid-nineteenth-century mirror frame above the fireplace mantel a really good cleaning. After she wiped down the frame, she Windexed the mirror. Then she gave her attention to the Italian marble mantelpiece.
The mantelpiece was lined with an array of small framed photos that she assumed were of the Adams children. The different photos showed a progression of age, the earliest being baby pictures, the latest being graduation pictures, and each one was in desperate need of a good cleaning.
Because of the way the photos were arranged and as best as Charlotte could tell, Mimi and her husband had two children, a boy and a girl. Both were sun-bleached blondes, and in all of the pictures the girl was knockout beautiful and the boy was truly handsome. Going by the most recent-looking photos and judging from the decor in two of the bedrooms that she’d inspected earlier, she figured that both children were probably away at college.
Charlotte finished dusting the last photograph, and set it back on the mantelpiece. Then she dusted and straightened the rest of the room.
The most time-consuming chore was waxing the hardwood floors. Though doing so was hard on her knees and required application by hand, Charlotte still preferred using a paste wax to the liquid kind. She had waxed all of the downstairs rooms except for the double parlor, when the stiffness in her knees along with the shooting pains up her thighs dictated that it was time for a short break.
In the parlor, she picked up the stepladder, and with intentions of getting herself a nice tall glass of water first, then putting away the ladder and checking on the sheets in the dryer, she headed for the kitchen. She had just poured the water and was taking a long drink when she heard the back door open.
Mimi entered the kitchen first and was followed by another woman who looked to be a few years younger than Mimi. Though the other woman was almost as tall and slim as Mimi, she was the complete opposite in appearance with her long blond hair, fair skin, and turquoise-blue eyes.
“It’s hot as blue blazes out there,” Mimi complained, as she walked straight to the sink, scrubbed and rinsed her hands, then yanked off a paper towel from the towel rack. She dried her hands, and, as she delicately blotted her face, she motioned toward the woman who had come in with her. “Charlotte, this is my good friend, June Bryant. June lives three houses down on the other side of the street.”
Charlotte smiled at the other woman and placed her glass inside the dishwasher.
“Nice to meet you, Charlotte,” June said.
“Same here,” Charlotte responded, as she closed and locked the dishwasher door.
Mimi motioned at the stepladder propped against the cabinet. “I see you found the ladder.” She glanced around the kitchen. “And I see you’ve been really busy. The kitchen looks marvelous, especially the floor.”
“Thank you,” Charlotte said. “Except for the floor in the front parlor, I’ve finished most of the downstairs. After I wax the parlor I’ll be ready to start on the upstairs after lunch.”
Mimi glanced at her watch. “I’m impressed.” She tapped the crystal of her watch. “It’s only eleven-thirty. You work fast.”
There was something about the way Mimi had said “work fast” that bothered Charlotte. It was her tone of voice, she decided, almost as if she equated “work fast” with a sloppy job, and it was hard to tell if the woman was being snide or truly paying her a compliment.
Mimi smiled a tight little smile that could have meant anything. “Now, don’t let us interrupt you,” she said. “June is more like family than company, and mostly drops by to save me from having heatstroke since she knows that I’m usually working in the greenhouse.”
“Someone has to make you behave,” June teased her friend. “I swear,” June said to Charlotte, “the woman just doesn’t know when to quit. It must be close to a hundred degrees, and just look at how she’s dressed. If I didn’t come by once in a while and drag her out of that greenhouse, she’d make herself sick.”
“Shall I get you ladies something to drink before I get back to work?” Charlotte offered. “Maybe a nice glass of iced tea?”
Mimi shook her head. “Goodness no. You’ve got enough to do. But thanks for offering.” She motioned at the ladder. “Just leave that, and I’ll put it away for you.”
“That’s not necessary,” said Charlotte. “I need to get the sheets out of the dryer anyway, so I’ll put it away.”
As Charlotte took the sheets out of the dryer and folded them, she could hear the clink of ice being dropped into glasses, and then the scrape of chairs. The last thing that Charlotte wanted was to eavesdrop, but the house was quiet and sound carried.
“What am I going to do?” she heard June ask Mimi. “I thought that age would mellow him, but instead of better, he seems to be getting worse.”
“What’s Fred done this time?”
“Humph!” June grunted. “‘This time’ is certainly the right way to put it. But that’s my point. There always seems to be a ‘this time’ where Fred’s concerned. Ever since Johnny got into that trouble, Fred’s been determined to send him away to military school. He’s already enrolled him and made arrangements for him to leave next week. Bad enough Fred went back on his promise to buy Johnny a car, and who knows, if he hadn’t broken his promise, maybe
Johnny wouldn’t have made that little mistake—”
“Now, June, writing five bad checks to the tune of five thousand dollars and forging his father’s signature is not just a ‘little mistake,’ and you know it.”
In the laundry room Charlotte folded the last pillowcase, and though she really dreaded getting back down on her knees, she dreaded having to walk back through the kitchen where the two women were even more. She didn’t want to appear to be eavesdropping, but surely they had to realize that she could hear every word they were saying. But what if they didn’t? Maybe if she walked fast and didn’t look at them….
Charlotte picked up the stack of sheets and pillowcases, took a deep breath, and headed for the kitchen, just in time to hear June say, “But, Mimi, I’m sure Johnny didn’t realize—”
As she hurried past the women, she felt foolish for worrying in the first place. She might as well have been a piece of furniture, she decided, since neither of the women paid the least bit of attention to her.
“Aw, come on, now, June,” Mimi chided. “Who are you trying to kid? Remember, this is your old friend Mimi you’re talking to. Johnny is what now? Fifteen? Believe me, Johnny knew exactly what he was doing. Why, if that had been Justin or even Emma, Gordon would have reacted in the same way.”
Justin and Emma. In the entrance hall, Charlotte placed the stack of bed linens on a table near the staircase. Justin and Emma had to be the names of the Adams’s son and daughter, she decided.
“But, Mimi,” June argued, “if Gordon had promised them a car, he would never have gone back on his promise.”
“Well, duh.” Mimi laughed. “Gordon is in the car business.”
A brief moment of complete silence passed; then June burst into laughter. “That’s not what I meant, and you know it,” she told Mimi. “A promise is a promise.”
In the parlor, Charlotte grinned. She could still hear the women, but just barely, and her grin quickly turned into a frown as she lowered herself onto her knees. Wincing, she began rubbing the wax into the hardwood floor as she made a mental note that the next time she had to wax Mimi’s floors, she’d make sure she brought her knee pads.
“Yes, I know what you meant,” was Mimi’s reply. “But all I’m saying is that you’ve always had a blind spot when it comes to Johnny. And, after all, Fred has had experience with raising boys and maybe military school will be good for him.”
“Oh, yeah, he’s got experience alright. He’s always throwing up his other kids in my face. He’s forever comparing them to Johnny, and poor Johnny always comes out second best. But it’s not just the way he treats Johnny. It’s how he treats me, too. You just don’t know how lucky you are. Unlike that tightwad husband of mine, your Gordon has always been generous with Justin and Emma. And with you,” she added. “Why, do you realize that I have to account for every penny I spend. I have to show Fred receipts for everything.”
“Maybe it’s his age,” Mimi offered. “He’s what, sixty-five or so?”
“Sixty-four,” June grumbled.
“Then maybe it’s the money. Maybe his law firm isn’t doing as well as it used to.”
“That’s not it, not with the client load he’s had lately.”
Mimi cleared her throat. “Ah, I don’t know quite how to say this, but do you think it’s possible that he’s having an affair?”
“I don’t think so,” June answered.
There was a brief moment of silence as Charlotte finished the last few feet of the hardwood floor near the doorway to the hall.
“But I suppose anything’s possible,” June continued. “Hmm, maybe I should have listened to my mother when she warned me about marrying him. She said that he was too old for me and had too much baggage. She also told me that any man who would cheat on one wife would cheat on another one too. But, silly me, I thought love would conquer all.”
In the entrance hall, Charlotte put the lid on the wax and placed it and the cloth she’d used inside her supply carrier. She glanced in the direction of the kitchen. She’d intended on taking her lunch break after waxing the parlor. Normally, when she worked she preferred to eat her lunch outside when the weather was nice, but if it was hot, she always sat in the client’s kitchen and read a bit while she ate.
“Not silly,” Charlotte heard Mimi say. “And stop being so hard on yourself. Do what I do. Go get a massage, and then treat yourself to a facial and a new hair style.”
Since Charlotte had no desire to brave the heat, she decided to just keep working for the time being and hope that June didn’t stay too much longer. She picked up the stack of sheets and her supply carrier and trudged up the stairs.
“Try out that new place that just opened on Magazine,” she heard Mimi tell June. The women’s voices faded, and June’s reply was inaudible once Charlotte reached the second floor.
A few minutes later, Charlotte was smoothing down the comforter on the bed in the master bedroom when Mimi walked into the room. “I was beginning to think that June was never going to leave, poor thing. I hated to do it, but I finally had to tell her that I had plans for lunch.”
The only thing that Charlotte could think to say was, “She seems like a nice lady.”
“Oh, she is, and I love her dearly—we’ve been friends for almost ten years now—but June is one of those women who are never satisfied no matter what they have.” Mimi waved a dismissing hand. “But never mind all that. I’m sure you must be starving by now. I know I am. Why don’t you go ahead and take your lunch break? I need to get a quick shower, and then I have a luncheon date. But I’ll be back before it’s time for you to leave,” she added.
Charlotte smiled. “I’ll be in the kitchen if you need anything.”
It was almost three-thirty on the dot when Mimi returned from her luncheon date. Charlotte was loading her vacuum cleaner and supply carrier into the back of the van when Mimi drove past her, waved, then turned the corner leading to her driveway. If nothing else, her new employer was punctual, Charlotte thought, as she slammed the door to the van. It was a trait that Charlotte admired and adhered to herself.
By the time Charlotte finished putting her things away, Mimi was already waiting for her in the kitchen. “Would you like to inspect everything before I leave?” Charlotte asked.
Mimi shook her head. “Heavens, no. I’m sure everything is just fine. But I would like to ask if you’d mind staying late on Friday. A group I belong to—the HHS—is meeting here Friday afternoon.
“Is that the Horticulture Heritage Society?”
Mimi smiled. “You’ve heard of it?”
Charlotte nodded. “It’s a garden club that specializes in the propagation and preservation of heritage plants, isn’t it? At least that’s what the write-up in the Picayune said.”
“Well it’s good to know that someone actually read that article. And you’re right. That’s exactly what we do.”
“I always try to attend the annual spring and fall charity sales each year,” Charlotte said. “I’ve picked up some really nice plants in the past and always look forward to it.” Charlotte laughed. “But then I should have guessed that you would be involved.” She spread her hands out as if to encompass the house and grounds. “You have such beautiful landscaping and so many lovely plants inside and out.”
Mimi beamed. “Why, thank you. I don’t really like to brag about it, but I actually founded the HHS.” She momentarily averted her eyes as if embarrassed by the admission. Then, she glanced back at Charlotte. “Guess that’s what I just did, though, didn’t I? Brag about it, I mean.” She laughed and waved a dismissive hand. “Anyway, we’re having a meeting on Friday afternoon. It starts at two, so do you think you’ll be finished cleaning by then?”
“Shouldn’t be a problem,” Charlotte answered. “Today took a little longer because I waxed the floors, but I won’t be waxing every week.”
“Good. I really could use some help during the meeting. We’re electing officers, but we also have to decide on a charity to sponsor f
or our fall event.” She paused, her brow wrinkled, and then she said, “I have to confess that I’m a bit nervous about this particular meeting. For the first time in the almost ten years that I’ve been president, there’s actually someone running against me.” Her expression turned fierce. “I still can’t believe it. And after all the time and money I’ve spent.” She shook her head and sighed. “In any case, I’ve got a really bad feeling that I’m going to need all the help and support that I can get.”
Chapter 3
Fifteen women showed up for the HHS meeting at Mimi’s house on Friday afternoon. Charlotte knew there were fifteen because, at Mimi’s request, she’d been instructed to greet each one of them at the door and escort them to the front parlor.
With the arrival of each member, it quickly became obvious that the women had been there before and already knew their way to the parlor. Greeting Mimi’s guests at the front door was one thing, but personally escorting each one into the parlor was an unnecessary and pretentious gesture at best, simply a way, Charlotte realized, for Mimi to show off her new maid.
By the time she had escorted the last two women into the parlor, her face ached from maintaining a smile, and the decibel level in the parlor had risen sharply.
The noise reminded Charlotte of a swarm of bees, each trying to outbuzz the other. Buzzing bees was a fitting description, she decided, as she placed cups and saucers on the buffet in the dining room for the refreshment break. After all, the HHS was an organization for the propagation and preservation of heritage plants, and bees helped propagate plants, didn’t they?
Snickering at her private little joke, Charlotte checked the silver coffee urn, made a mental note that it could use a good cleaning and polishing, and then arranged the crystal wine glasses that she’d set out earlier on the buffet. Charlotte held up one of the delicate, paper-thin glasses to the light. The pattern of the crystal was one that she recognized as being very old and rare…and very expensive.
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