by Lisa Prysock
“He will return, Aunt Millie,” she managed, trying to offer some words of comfort.
“Where are you?” Aunt Millie asked as she looked about, suddenly snapping out of deep thought as the Sitting Room came into focus. She held a pen and paper out in front of her as she walked, but now she discovered her niece perched on a ladder. Not seeing her niece at first but hearing her voice had given her a bit of a startle. “What are you doing up there, Geneva?”
“Craymoore brought the ladder upstairs for me,” she replied calmly, keeping her eyes on the target balancing upon the drapes.
“Oh dear me! How did the cat get up there?” Millie inquired. Then softening her tone, “It’s the first time I’ve seen her make an appearance on the second floor. I thought she’d live on the third floor forever. She’s really a tiny little thing, isn’t she?”
“Yes… and very agile!” Geneva added, reaching for Peaches cautiously. “Have no fear, she didn’t damage the drapes. I have checked for claw marks in the fabric. “I believe Pendleton frightened her into climbing up here. Craymoore had to draw him away so I could rescue her.”
“Do be careful, dear!”
Geneva successfully recovered Peaches and then tucked her under one arm as she climbed down. “There! All is well again at Grace Hill Manor & Mission. I shall just duck upstairs to return her to the safety of the third floor and then I shall return.” She paused by Aunt Millie who patted Peaches lovingly before continuing on into the Drawing Room toward the hall and staircase.
When Geneva returned to the Sitting Room, Aunt Millie was seated at the tea table near the windows drawing on the paper she’d held before. She dipped the pen in an inkwell and scrawled something on the paper.
“What are you working on?” Jen looked curiously over her aunt’s shoulder at the drawing on the paper and then sat down at the tea table as Julia Farnsworth brought a tea tray in.
“This is going to be the layout of our kitchen garden this year. It’s planting season,” Aunt Millie replied. “Thank you, Julia. You may leave the tray here on the table. We’ll pour.”
“Yes ma’am,” Julia nodded as she placed the tray on the table and left them to their plans.
“I rotate the vegetables each year. We had radishes near the house last year, but this year I think we’ll move them to the other end of the garden. I’ll try planting the melons closer to the house instead.”
Geneva had a precious few days left alone with her aunt before the students would return from New York. She continued to wait anxiously for a reply to her first letter to her parents, but none had arrived yet. She took daily walks in the shrub garden and spent time writing in her journal. She explored the plantation grounds extensively, allowing Bird-dog to saddle Royal Anna for a few morning rides.
She also enjoyed a polite chat with the butler, Maxwell Craymoore, as he polished the silver one afternoon. In the evenings, she played the piano and worked away at stitching a sampler. On two of the days, she spent time in the early afternoons choosing readers and text books, writing out lesson plans, arranging her desk, and organizing a classroom on the third floor. Aunt Millie managed to answer questions, situate Geneva into a classroom, and assist in creating a ledger with the names, ages, and grade levels of each student.
Her favorite event was attending a church service in the chapel where she heard Reverend Granby speak for the first time. He preached on the topic of loving people who were difficult to love and forgiveness. She thought of Bryn nearly the entire time. Then her mind wandered to Ridge, though she wished she could banish him from her thoughts entirely as if they’d never met. The sermon did give her pause for thought, but her heart wasn’t ready to deal with what the Lord was speaking through the minister, though she liked Reverend Granby a great deal.
Finally, a full fortnight had passed since her arrival. On Sunday evening, students who lived with their families in Kentucky returned first. Monday afternoon arrived and with it, the rest of the students and Miss Emma Tilson returning from New York; a steady stream of giggling girls, hat boxes, new packages, and trunks bursting at the seams. Craymoore and his assistants, Jimmy Selby and Jack Hale, began hauling luggage and trunks upstairs. In the excitement of greeting a foyer full of squealing young ladies, Geneva found herself alone when the heavy knocker sounded at the front doors. Wondering how the moment had occurred, she was even more astounded to find herself holding the double doors wide open to none other than Ridge Morgan. He tipped his hat toward her and bowed slightly.
“Oh, it’s you…” Forgetting the return of Belle-Raine included the return of Ridge Morgan, the tone of her voice spoke volumes of disappointment. The jubilant expression she’d worn only moments before disappeared immediately.
Ridge ignored her less than warm welcome. “Good afternoon, Miss Rosemont! Forgive my abiding joy upon seeing you again!”
She smirked and stepped back out of his way as his sarcasm only irritated her further. He stepped inside with his charming smile and handsomely, rugged features as the last of the students drifted up the staircase toward the student quarters on the third floor. He placed his hat on the table near the door.
“No warm greeting from your divine lips? As I survey the boxes here in the foyer, I would venture to guess Craymoore has his hands full with the trunks. They’ll eventually get around to showing you how to convey southern charm and hospitality, though I suspect you’re hiding it for my benefit. You might let Millie know the despicable scalliwog varmint has arrived for supper.”
He grinned so broadly Geneva wanted to slap him. “Divine lips from which you shall never taste!” she spewed at him. Fuming, she spun around on her heels so fast the full hooped skirts of her peach and pink calico day dress swung wide and far. Her cheeks burned a shade of red as she marched upstairs. She left Ridge standing at the foot of the staircase staring up after her, a twinkle in his eye. He seemed amused by her spunk, yet another reason she felt annoyed with him.
She made a dash for the Rose Room, intent on wasting the least amount of time possible on that varmint! She had to find Polly at once and instruct her to have a light supper tray sent up to her room. Then she must think of an excuse to give Aunt Millie about her absence from the meal.
“Ye had best not miss the first supper with all of yer new students at home, Miss Geneva! Yer aunt will be fit to be tied!” Polly scolded as she tightened her corset. “Now, can ye breathe?”
“Barely, but ydw!” Jen responded. She could see Polly wasn’t going to permit her to have supper on a tray in her private quarters. Well, it was only one meal after all. Surely with all of the students chattering away she wouldn’t be required to exchange very many words with Ridge Morgan. Besides, she had to admit she had enjoyed interacting with the students who had returned Sunday evening. The household would be a flurry of excitement now that all of the students had returned.
“Step into this lovely frock an’ ye will be appropriately dressed for supper,” Polly commanded as she held out a blue and white gown.
Geneva complied and soon enough Polly had buttoned every tiny button and straightened the skirt over her crinolines. The result was nearly perfection. Layers of blue and white ruffles fell to the floor beneath a fitted, blue bodice with white, puffed sleeves. Once her dark hair was done, she would look nothing short of a Welsh princess.
Upon entering the Dining Room, she found place cards indicating where each person would sit. Aunt Millie had placed her directly across from Ridge Morgan. Ridge would sit to Millie’s right, Geneva to her left. Miss Tilson was to be seated at the other end of the table to better manage the students. Beside Ridge, Belle-Raine and then the other students took up the rest of the seating arrangements.
She had managed to discover the orphaned students at the Mission were Janie, Patricia, Gertie, Joy, and Lindy. Belle-Raine, Dorothea, and Dixie Lee were from plantations in close proximity to Louisville. Charlotte and Lena were from families who owned successful horse farms in Lexington. Charlotte and Lindy had blond ha
ir. Dorothea was the only red head in the bunch. The rest had various shades of brown hair. She was still having trouble remembering their names, but it had only been a few hours.
Craymoore, with Jimmy Selby and Jack Hale assisting, brought in platters and dishes for the buffet from the kitchen. Delia, with Laura and Betsy helping, had prepared a welcome feast of chicken and dumplings, roasted carrots, salad greens, a relish tray, and strawberry shortcake. Pitchers of sweet tea were added to the table as students took their places.
“Ridge, will you do us the honor of a prayer?” Aunt Millie said as she swept into the Dining Room punctually, escorted by Ridge. The last few students entering the room scrambled for their places. Ridge began the prayer after helping Aunt Millie’s into her chair and took his place beside Belle-Raine.
“It’s very nice to meet you, Miss Rosemont,” Ridge’s daughter remarked after the prayer.
“Diolch,” Geneva replied as someone passed her the relish tray. “Did you enjoy your stay in New York?”
“I did,” Belle-Raine answered. “Diolch… is Welsh, am I correct? Does it mean thank you?”
“It is Welsh,” she nodded. “Ydw, it means thank you. I do sometimes forget I am in America now.”
“It’s so very nice to have you with us,” Miss Tilson commented from her seat as she poured sweet tea for some of the students. “I think you’ll find we have mostly mild winters here and very hot, humid summers.”
“Yes,” Aunt Millie put in. “We had hardly any winter at all this year. Most years we are blessed with mild winters. Our pansies survived the winter from last fall. I’ll be happy when I see our roses bloom. It still seems a bit drab, but at least the lawn turned green before your arrival from England. Our early spring rains have given us favor for our gardening endeavors.”
“We’re all very excited you brought a cat with you, but we cannot get her to come out of Polly’s room,” Gertie piped up from the middle of the table.
“Yes, we are very happy about the cat…” Dixie Lee added, glancing at Gertie.
“Well, she hasn’t really made peace with Pendleton, yet. Has she Aunt Millie?” Geneva asked as she peppered the chicken and dumplings in the bowl before her.
“Sadly, not yet…” Millie confirmed. Turning to her right she asked, “How are the dumplings, Ridge? I know how you love chicken and dumplings.”
“Excellent!” Ridge replied. “And strawberry short cake, too! As Miss Rosemont would say, diolch!”
Geneva looked at him briefly but chose to ignore his attempt to be friendly. Thankfully, Charlotte added a comment, sparing her the necessity of a reply. “Lena and I did our shopping in Lexington. Do tell us about the Easter Cotillion, Mrs. Bradford! May we attend?”
“Yes, do tell!” Dorothea inserted.
“Do! Do tell us!” Lindy breathed dreamily.
The conversation continued on for a time about the cotillion and then turned to a brief discussion of the visit to New York. When the meal was nearly finished, a most exasperating incident occurred. From somewhere amid the middle of the table, Peaches pounced onto the table and knocked over the remains of one of the pitchers of sweet tea. How the cat happened to jump up onto the table was a mystery, but it appeared as though she had been in one of the laps of a student. Pendleton, who had been reclining in wait for scraps beneath Aunt Millie’s feet, had moved from his spot to sniff out the cat and commenced a round of barking under the table. This had drawn Peaches out of her hiding place. There wasn’t a single moment however to fetch out the story of how Peaches had arrived in the formal Dining Room.
There hadn’t been much tea in the pitcher, so the spill wasn’t as disastrous as it might have been. Nonetheless, frightened by the sound of the glass pitcher crashing down on the tablecloth, the dog barking, and the screams erupting from the students, Peaches landed next upon the strawberry shortcake in direct view of Ridge, Aunt Millie, Belle-Raine, and Geneva.
Geneva and Ridge rose to their feet almost simultaneously. Geneva covered her mouth in shock and glanced at her aunt, but she could only try to think how she might rescue Peaches from the predicament. It all happened so fast she hadn’t any time to react. Craymoore tried to circle around behind Ridge to remove the cat from the table, but it was a futile maneuver. The cat decided to make a dash away from the table by leaping over Dorothea’s shoulder. Dorothea, who had been seated beside Geneva, shrieked. Her shriek seemed to propel the cat farther away. Some of the girls giggled and a few stood up at their chairs; whether to preserve their garments, prepare to dive in after the cat, or better observe the event remained unquestioned.
Jack Hale dove behind Geneva in order to catch or contain the cat. Either would have been applauded, but instead he landed on the floor narrowly missing the opportunity. The cat sailed through the air, landing just out of reach and headed for the Grand Hall. More shrieks rose from the table causing Peaches to attempt to run faster. However, she could not escape the Dining Room as she seemed to run in one place with her little paws covered in remnants of strawberry sauce. Her paws were slippery on the polished wood floors.
Jimmy Selby, from a position near the buffet, was quick to leap over Jack and caught up to Peaches; though not quick enough to stop her progress. The dainty, lady cat succeeded in a narrow escape into the first floor Sitting Area and a run toward the Grand Hall. Jimmy, followed close behind by Craymoore, and then Jack when he had risen from his fall-- were all chasing the cat. Next, Pendleton, who had wriggled out from beneath the table followed at an alarming pace. Behind the dog, Geneva and Ridge left their seats and raced to catch up to them in response to Aunt Millie snapping open her fan. She looked as though she might have a fainting spell. Miss Tilson fetched the smelling salts to revive Aunt Millie while Lindy Ruth Rollins and Gertie Anne Nelson joined the long line of those chasing the cat. Dixie Lee Randall brought up the rear.
“Everyone else stay put!” Miss Tilson commanded. Groans erupted around the table as Emma waved the salts under Millie’s nose.
The cat entered the stretch down the Grand Hall with a long trail of those chasing her. Peaches slid to a brief stop in order to turn left into the Library, narrowly missing a crash into the door jam. She made a wide, full circle around the shelves of books along the walls and slipped outside of a set of French doors onto the covered part of the terrace-- just as Joseph Kemp stepped in through the doors to place a note on Aunt Millie’s desk in her first floor parlor. He saw the line of people and one dog rushing at him (but not Peaches who had slipped out when he opened the door), and wisely stepped out of the way into the Grand Hall. They left him there scratching his head in wonder.
At this point, the cat was heading directly back toward the Dining Room along the part of the covered terrace parallel to the Grand Hall. Julia saw Peaches running toward them from her location where she had just stepped inside the Dining Room from the kitchen to see what the commotion was about. She suspected a collision with the French doors and being a lover of cats, grinned broadly and opened the glass doors to spare the cat from a collision.
Miss Julia stepped out of the way as they all tumbled into the Dining Room after the cat. A combination of shrieks, cheers, and laughter rose from the girls at the table. Aunt Millie dabbed her handkerchief at the corners of her eyes as she surveyed the damages, having been revived by Miss Tilson. Miss Tilson stood near the head of the table trying to salvage the strawberry shortcake and calm the girls. She made a feeble attempt to restore order in the chaos, but couldn’t help but chuckle at the merriment.
The remaining kitchen staff entered the Dining Room to glimpse the chase until Dixie rounded the corner again. As she was the last person involved in the chase, the staff attempted to resume what order they could by setting about the task of cleaning up the tea and assisting Miss Tilson in saving the strawberry shortcake. The students couldn’t help but giggle as they observed the merry chase and waited eagerly to see or hear what might happen next. Aunt Millie fanned herself vigorously and an amused Miss Tilso
n sank down into the nearest chair.
Meanwhile, Peaches turned and slid into the Sitting Area again after making it through the French doors. Those behind followed her into the Grand Hall once again. Pendleton clearly enjoyed the chase, barking most of the way.
“Aros![17] Aros!” Geneva called out in Welsh, wishing Pendleton wouldn’t chase the tiny cat. Pendleton, though small, had a ferocious bark sounding as though he could eat Peaches for breakfast.
Peaches headed toward the staircase and scurried up the stairs. Geneva lifted her skirts and slid to a stop as she neared the foyer. She nearly toppled over trying to stop in order to turn right into the foyer to follow Peaches up the staircase. Ridge slid right into her on the slippery tiles of the Grand Hall. He caught her with one arm, preventing her fall. Though she tingled at his touch as he steadied her, there was no time to pause. They recovered almost immediately and ran through the foyer to the staircase. Jen prayed the cat would run all the way to her quarters on the third floor where Polly had the bamboo cage waiting. As much as Jen hated the idea of the little cage, it provided a small haven of safety and solace for Peaches.
