by Mille West
“Mr. Heath, the seller will only agree for me to bring in prospective buyers, and you will probably pay more for the tract if two real estate companies are involved.”
“There is one common element to all of my successful real estate purchases. As long as all parties involved in a transaction stay reasonable, then everyone can win.”
“I admire your loyalty to Mr. Radcliffe, but I am acquainted with his partners, and I don’t want information about this property floating around his office. You have an excellent reputation in the real estate community for being fair with agents, and that is why I came to see you.”
“I would never do anything to hurt my cousin, so I suggest you speak to the seller of this property again and see if a reasonable solution can be found.”
“I thought you wouldn’t hesitate to look at this land since a large portion of it was formerly Sea Crest.”
“Ms. Burris, my family comes first.”
She heard Cooper rise from his chair and the two of them walk toward the doorway. When Ms. Burris reached the threshold, Mills observed that she was an attractive middle-aged woman.
Cooper smiled as soon as he saw Mills in the hallway and introduced her to the real estate agent. She firmly shook Mills’s hand and said, “Miss Taylor, I follow your articles in the Charleston Dispatch on the Heath Foundation. I compliment you on your success. Good morning.”
Mills entered his office and Cooper helped her with a chair. “The pearls look lovely on you.”
“I love wearing them. I apologize, but I overheard you talking with Ms. Burris. Wasn’t Sea Crest one of your family’s properties?”
“Yes, at one time we owned eight plantations; two of them had houses. The rest of the properties, including Sea Crest, were strictly for agriculture and had only slaves’ quarters and an overseer’s house. I would like to take a look at the property, but I’m not going to omit Jeff from any of my transactions.”
I admire his loyalty to Jeff.
“See if you like this,” Cooper said as he handed her a rough draft for the brochure. They spent the rest of the morning working on the content. When Cooper and Mills finished, they showed their preliminary work-up to Ian. He smiled as he reviewed their efforts, and said, “I think this explains our expanded services quite well, and I look forward to seeing the brochure. Good work, you two.”
That afternoon, Mills took the brochure copy and a number of photographs that illustrated Heath Brothers’ business to the printer. She and Mr. Collins discussed the layout of the brochure. “I’ll tell our graphics department what you are thinking of,” Mr. Collins said. “We’ll have samples for you to see, say Friday at two?”
The workweek was spent with a busy farm schedule. Mills was disappointed to see the amount of produce being discarded from storm damage, but Cooper accepted the losses with little comment and worked long hours in the fields, along with the other men.
On Friday, she planned to review the preliminary brochure for Heath Brothers, and Cooper told her that if she approved of it, to go ahead with the order. “I trust your opinion,” he said.
When she arrived at Collins Printing, Mr. Collins placed a brochure on the counter. “We’ve done several proofs to test the color. I’ve read through the text, and I didn’t see any mistakes. Please take a look.”
Mills carefully reviewed the example. “Please tell your team that they’ve done an excellent job.” She ordered the brochures on the spot.
The harvest continued, and by Sunday night, Mills was exhausted. Cooper prepared fresh vegetables for their dinner, but she was almost too tired to eat. She breathed deeply in an attempt to fight fatigue and said, “I’ll come by your office tomorrow afternoon with the brochures from Collins Printing.”
“Thank you. Henri Duchard with Perret International will be meeting with Ian and me in the morning, so that will be fine.”
Monday morning, Mills received a phone call from the printer, and Mr. Collins explained that his wife was ill. He asked Mills if she would come in before lunch to pick up the brochures.
Dressing quickly, she phoned Heath Brothers to let Cooper know that she would be picking up the brochures at eleven. He told her he was about to go into a meeting, but she could leave a copy if they missed one another.
Mills accepted the brochures from Mr. Collins and then drove to Heath Brothers to show them to Cooper and his uncle. She was given clearance to enter the building and when she climbed the steps to the second story, Cooper was seated behind his desk, speaking on the telephone.
As soon as he saw Mills, he waved her into his office. She handed him a brochure and he glanced at it while he completed his conversation. After he hung up the phone, he gave his full attention to Mills and the brochure. “This looks good. I wish I had more time to read it, but I have to go back into my uncle’s office in a minute—Mills, you’ve done an excellent job.”
He rose from his chair and escorted her to the back steps. “You look lovely today.”
She smiled with his kind words, but she had the sensation that she was being rushed out of the building. Just as she was about to take the stairs, Ian called her name.
“Wait just a minute. Cooper, you didn’t let me know that Mills was in the building. I was just telling Henri about the brochure you two did to explain our expansion to our clients. Mills, I’d like for you to meet Henri Duchard with Perret International.”
Ian took her by the hand and led her to meet the Frenchman. She glanced back at Cooper. He looks frustrated. Why?
“Henri, this is Mills Taylor, she and Cooper designed the brochure for our company. Mills is the director of the Heath Foundation that funds scholarships. Do you have a brochure with you?”
“Yes, sir, I just picked them up.”
The Frenchman walked to Mills’s side. “Enchanté, mademoiselle.”
Henri was attractive, with black curly hair and a deep tan; he was slightly shorter than Cooper. He took her hand in his and kissed it while looking admiringly into her eyes. “Je m’appelle Henri Duchard.”
“Henri has been working closely with Cooper for the last year, and we expect great success from our business arrangement.”
Henri had not taken his eyes off Mills, and she gently removed her hand from his to retrieve a brochure from her briefcase.
She handed one to Ian, and he examined it closely. “Mills, this is exceptional work.” He gave the brochure to Henri and as he studied it, he said, “Mademoiselle, this is outstanding.”
“Mills, we were just about to go to the East Bay Club for lunch. I would like for you to join us, and I won’t take no for an answer,” Ian said.
Mills looked at Cooper, and he smiled slightly and nodded in approval. As they exited the second floor, Mills heard Henri say to Cooper, “Elle est très jolie.”
They were seated in the cozy back room at the East Bay Club, and most of the luncheon conversation centered on the Newark terminal expansion, except when Mills asked, “Henri, are you a member of the Perret family?”
“No, mademoiselle. Like Heath Brothers, our shipping company has always been family owned. During World War II, the Nazi occupiers forced us to abandon operation, and with the Allied invasion o
f Normandy, our homeport, Le Havre, was virtually destroyed. My grandfather renamed our company to honor the architect, Auguste Perret, who rebuilt the city.”
As Henri finished his story, the maître d’ came to their table to tell Ian that he had a phone call.
Henri leaned toward Cooper and asked him a question she did not understand. “Cooper, est-elle votre amante?”
A darkened expression crossed Cooper’s face and he responded, “Henri, s’il vous plaît, votre question est trop personnelle.”
“Oh, pardon, pardon.”
Ian returned to the table with a concerned expression on his face. “Cooper, I’m afraid there’s been an accident at the construction site at Newark. The supervisor didn’t have details, but he said there are injuries involved. I’m going to make a phone call to the Newark office; why don’t you three meet me outside in a few minutes?”
Cooper helped Mills with her chair and then went to sign the bill. Henri stood and said, “Après vous, mademoiselle.”
He opened the front door for her, and they stood outside in the shade of a veranda to wait for Cooper and his uncle. Henri drew close to her and said, “I must tell you that I have spent many hours with Cooper negotiating our business arrangement, and some of those hours were spent in leisure. I must confess I was worried about him.”
“What do you mean, Mr. Duchard?”
“Henri—please call me Henri—I have never seen a man turn away the advances of more lovely women. I thought perhaps he was—well, you know—but now that I see you, his beautiful mistress, I completely understand his fidelity.”
Cooper came out of the door, and Henri stepped toward the car. “Cooper, what did Henri ask you about me while we were dining?”
“What’s the matter?”
“Henri thinks I’m your mistress. Don’t you think I should have been allowed to speak for myself? It’s not like we’re—”
“It’s not like we’re what, Mills—lovers?”
She had never seen Cooper become angry, but he stepped close to her and removed his Wayfarer sunglasses. Mills moved backward against the outside of the building, and Cooper put his arm against the brick wall behind her and spoke to her within a few inches of her face.
“During the time that I have spent with Mr. Duchard, I have learned that he likes pretty little play things, but that’s all they are—play things. He asked me if you were my lover, and I told him that his question was too personal. That’s none of his business, but I thought he would leave you alone. You see, I can’t bear the thought that he would consider you one of his play things.”
He was clearly frustrated, and she was stunned by his behavior. “I can’t help the way I feel about you,” Cooper said.
Mr. Heath came out the door, and Cooper spoke quietly to Mills, “Ma belle fille, j’ai très envie de ton amour.”
“I don’t know what you said . . . speak to me in English.”
Cooper turned away from her and walked toward Ian’s car. Mills raised her voice, “Daniel, stop, I want to know what you said.”
Cooper wheeled around and looked at her when she called him Daniel, but then kept walking. Ian had come outside and observed the interaction between Cooper and Mills. He took Mills by the hand. “It’s quite warm outside . . . please allow me to walk you to the car.”
Cooper told his uncle that he was going to stop by his tailor’s shop on King Street; he would join them shortly at the office. He opened the car door for Mills, and when she was seated, he closed it and walked away.
They arrived back at the Heath Brothers’ office, and Henri took Mills by the hand. “Mademoiselle, je suis très heureux de faire votre connaissance aujourd’hui.”
“I’m sorry, Henri, but I don’t understand.”
Ian interjected, “He said, ‘it was a pleasure to make your acquaintance today.’”
As Ian started toward the building, Henri drew close to Mills and quietly said, “Mademoiselle, I speak French when I want to, just like our friend, Cooper.”
That afternoon, she mailed the brochures to Heath Brothers’ clients from Alston Station. She couldn’t get Cooper’s actions off her mind. When she returned home, the phone was ringing and she dashed across the room to answer it. She hoped that it was Cooper, and she said hello with enthusiasm.
Cooper’s uncle responded, “Mills, this is Ian Heath. Cooper asked me to phone you. He said for you to go ahead and mail the brochures. I’m afraid that the accident at our Newark terminal was serious, and one of the construction workers lost his life. Another worker was injured. Cooper has flown to Newark to meet with their families. I’m not sure when he’ll be returning.”
“Thank you for calling. I’m sorry to hear about the two workers.”
“Yes, it’s tragic.” He paused before saying, “Mills—Cooper’s behavior this afternoon was out of character for him, but he has been under severe stress for almost a year now. Please forgive him.”
“He spoke to me in French as you were coming out of the East Bay Club. Did you understand what he said?”
“No, I’m afraid I was out of earshot. Mills, the work that you did on the brochure was excellent, and I know we’ll have a tremendous response. I appreciate your efforts.”
She thanked him for calling and hung up the phone. Feeling very sad, she began to read through the journals of Cooper’s ancestors.
Mills rang the doorbell at Piet van der Wolf’s home and Mr. Cook answered the door with a surprised look on his face. “Miss Taylor, how nice to see you. I’ll let Mr. van der Wolf know you’re here.”
He invited her into the foyer and within moments she was shown into the living room. Piet greeted her with, “This is a marvelous surprise. What brings you here this morning?”
“I’ve been so busy with my work that I haven’t been able to see any of my friends lately, and I wanted to see you.”
“I am indeed flattered. If you don’t have plans for this afternoon, why don’t you join me at the Ocean Forest Club? I have a reservation at one, and I’d love to have your company.”
“I’m not familiar with that club.”
“It’s in Summerville, which is a short distance from here. I think you’ll enjoy the experience.”
The drive to Summerville was about thirty minutes, and Mills sat comfortably in Piet’s limousine. A tree-lined drive led to the club, which was housed in a restored plantation home.
They were seated in a lovely room situated next to a courtyard with a large fountain; water cascaded from the top tier to the bottom, sounding like a waterfall.
Piet looked at her closely and said, “Is there something wrong?”
She replied in a subdued tone, “What do you do if you care deeply for a person that you should not be with?”
He looked at her with caring warmth and responded, “I don’t know if I’m the best person to give advice on relationships of the heart. I’ve been alone for years now, and my loneliness is mostly self-inflicted. I think you must look into your heart and decide what is right. You should base your decision on what you can live with, later in life, when your conscience talks to you every day and sometimes for hours on end. My
dear, only you can decide what is right.”
When they completed their meal, Piet said, “I’d like to show you something beautiful. Do you mind walking with me a short distance?”
“No, not at all.”
They walked past the fountain and down a shady path that led to a rose garden. In the center of the garden was an area designated for growing herbs. The area had a sundial in the center.
“The Churchills who operate the Ocean Forest Club grow many of their herbs and vegetables in this garden. It’s lovely, don’t you think?”
“Yes, sir, it resembles Cooper’s gardens.”
That afternoon when they returned to Charleston, Piet dropped her off near her car, which was parked on Society Street. The rumblings of thunder prompted Mills to say, “It sounds like we could have another storm.”
“With our humidity, it’s common to have a storm almost every day during the summer,” Piet replied.
She thanked him for the wonderful afternoon, and before she departed, he said, “I appreciate your confidence in me. I hold your friendship in the highest regard, and I would like to help you any time you need it.”
He smiled at her, and as the limousine pulled away, Mills noticed a sign in the window of a dance club named Rembrandt’s on Society. A Shag contest was scheduled for Saturday night. Mills had never learned the steps to the popular southern dance, but she hoped that Cooper would show her the Shag when he returned home.
Friday evening, Mills read through one of the journals of Cooper’s ancestors, Ellen Camp. She discovered that Ellen essentially ran the eight Camp plantations and was a talented artist. Inside the pages where she kept receipts for purchases were also drawings of family members and caricatures of prominent men of the Civil War period. Mills was greatly amused by a caricature of General Sherman, which showed him with horns growing out of his forehead.
