New Horizons

by Lois Gladys Leppard

  “But you’ll never meet the right people living in such a place. I’m surprised that your mother agreed to it,” Mrs. Taft replied. “There are lots of eligible young men in this town, in the Citadel and the College of Charleston. Most of the girls in the college are from families high on the social register, but you will never be accepted by them living in a boardinghouse with working-class people.”

  “Ah, but Grandmother, you are forgetting one thing,” Mandie quickly told her. “I don’t belong to that class of people, and I don’t want to belong to that class, either.” Mrs. Taft’s eyebrows rose, but Mandie continued. “My father was one-half Cherokee, which makes me one-fourth Cherokee, and I am very proud of it. I don’t need to be accepted by such high-class people. I only want to be left to do my schoolwork so I can graduate and come home.”

  Mrs. Taft’s face registered concern. “Please do some deep thinking about this, dear,” she told Mandie. “And if you do change your mind and want to move back into the dormitory, rest assured your room there is ready. I have made arrangements to hold it. They will not be renting it to anyone else for at least the remainder of this year.”

  “You kept our room?” Mandie asked in surprise.

  “Yes, it’s still yours and Celia’s if you decide to move back in,” Mrs. Taft replied. “I did discuss that with your mother, and she agreed it would be the best thing to do.” She opened her pocketbook and said, “Now, here is some mail for you that your mother gave me. Evidently Joe does not know how to address a letter to you here, nor does this other person, Adrian someone, with an Irish stamp on it.” She handed Mandie four letters.

  Mandie took the mail, quickly glanced at the return addresses, and put them in her notebook. “Where are you staying, Grandmother?” she asked. “Would you like to stay with us in the boardinghouse? Mrs. Thomason probably has a room empty. She said it’s not full yet.”

  “Stay in the boardinghouse?” Mrs. Taft asked with a frown. “Why, I have a room at the hotel.”

  “Then would you like to come with us and meet Mrs. Thomason? You can go back to the hotel afterward,” Mandie suggested.

  “Yes, I suppose I should meet this woman you girls are renting a room from so I can make a report to your mother,” Mrs. Taft said, rising from her chair.

  “Celia and Mary Lou are waiting for me in the reception room,” Mandie said, leading the way. She wondered what Celia and Mary Lou would have to say about this later.

  “Celia,” Mandie said as she and her grandmother walked into the reception room, “Grandmother is going to the boardinghouse with us to meet Mrs. Thomason. Mary Lou, I don’t remember if you have met her, but this is my grandmother, Mrs. Taft.”

  “How do you do, Mrs. Taft?” Mary Lou greeted her as they all went out the front door and walked toward the carriage parking where Mr. Ryland was waiting.

  “Just fine, Mary Lou, thank you,” Mrs. Taft replied.

  When they arrived at the boardinghouse, Mandie watched and listened as her grandmother and Mrs. Thomason became acquainted. Mrs. Taft seemed to approve of Mrs. Thomason.

  Then Mandie and Celia showed Mrs. Taft their room. Since she didn’t make any comments, Mandie figured her grandmother must approve of the room.

  “Would you please come around the corner to my house and meet my mother, Mrs. Taft?” Mary Lou asked.

  “Yes, I suppose I could,” Mrs. Taft agreed.

  Mr. Ryland, who was still waiting out front with the carriage, drove them around the block.

  Mrs. Dunnigan welcomed Mrs. Taft and insisted she join them for the noonday meal, which was ready and waiting. Mrs. Taft agreed and sat down with them at the dining room table.

  Mandie again watched her grandmother and was relieved when she seemed to immediately become friendly with Mrs. Dunnigan.

  “It is so wonderful to have two other girls around, Mrs. Taft,” Mrs. Dunnigan said. “I greatly enjoy the visits of Amanda and Celia. My husband works long hours a lot.”

  “I believe Mr. Dunnigan is a public record keeper, is he not?” Mrs. Taft asked.

  “Yes, ma’am, he is,” Mrs. Dunnigan replied.

  Mandie looked at her grandmother and wondered how she knew this about Mr. Dunnigan. Mrs. Taft had never met the Dunnigans, as far as she knew.

  “I came down here to check on the girls for both of their mothers,” Mrs. Taft told her. “I’ll be happy to report that the girls have found such friends as you all.”

  “Thank you, Mrs. Taft,” Mrs. Dunnigan replied. “We are grateful for the girls’ friendship.”

  “We would be glad to hear of anything, shall we say, out of the way, concerning the girls,” Mrs. Taft said. “Since it’s impossible for any of us to know things like you would here, there may be times when one of us needs to make a visit down here.”

  Mandie noticed Mrs. Dunnigan stiffen, and she said only, “Yes, Mrs. Taft.” Evidently Mary Lou’s mother did not wish to be a tale-toter. Mandie was happy about that; her grandmother could not always get everything the way she wanted it.

  Mrs. Taft invited the Dunnigans and Mrs. Thomason to dine with her and the girls that night at the hotel. Mandie felt everything was working out nicely. Her grandmother had not been adamant about her moving back into the college dormitory, and she had been very friendly with Mrs. Thomason and the Dunnigans.

  Finally it was time to retire for the night. Mrs. Taft stayed at the hotel, and Mandie and Celia went to their room at the boardinghouse.

  Breathing a sigh of relief as she closed the door to their room, Mandie fell into one of the big chairs. “I can’t believe Grandmother came all this way to check up on me. But I’m glad that she seems to like Mrs. Thomason and Mrs. Dunnigan.” Mandie reached for her notebook and took out the mail her grandmother had delivered. “At last, I can see what Joe Woodard felt it took three letters to tell me.” She laughed. “And Adrian has written again.”

  “Robert writes to me at the college,” Celia said, sitting in the other chair, “but I’ll have to let him know we are living in the boardinghouse now.”

  Mandie nodded her head in agreement, then quickly opened Joe’s letters, scanned them, and told Celia, “Joe wrote practically the same thing in all three letters. He says he has been doubling up his classes again this year. And since he couldn’t remember my address at the dormitory, he felt he should just write to my house and assumed my mother would be sure to get it to me.”

  “Well, with all that schoolwork, I can’t believe he has time to write to you—three times at that!” Celia smiled. “Evidently he doesn’t want you to forget him.” She laughed. “And that you are supposed to marry him when you both finish school.”

  “Now, Celia, you know that is only his side of the story,” Mandie quickly reminded her. “I may never marry.”

  “When you do, I’ll remind you of what you’ve just said,” Celia said.

  Mandie opened her fourth letter and quickly read it. “Adrian has written practically the same thing he wrote before,” Mandie said. “That shows we don’t really know much about each other. He has nothing new to say.” She put the letter back in the envelope and took all four of them over to her bureau drawer.

  After settling herself back in the chair, Mandie faced Celia and said, “It seems that Grandmother is not going to try to cause me any trouble about moving into this boardinghouse.”

  “Why would she?” Celia asked. “Your mother approved, so what could your grandmother do except accept it?”

  “That is true,” Mandie remarked. “She is going directly to my mother’s house from here. And I suppose she’ll be there for Thanksgiving, too, which is only two weeks away.”

  “I know. I’m actually looking forward to it,” Celia said. “Aunt Rebecca has already written that she will travel down here to escort me home. Are you traveling alone when you go home?”

  “Oh goodness, I had not even thought about that. Of course, it will have to be Grandmother. She won’t trust me alone on a trip that far away.”

  But M
andie was in for a big surprise. The week before Thanksgiving she received another letter from Joe. He was coming to Charleston to take Mandie home for the holidays.

  Mandie discussed his letter with Celia. “It seems that he has been doubling up classes so he could have time to come after me,” she said with a frown. She wasn’t sure she wanted Joe to be so possessive as to show up at her college to escort her home.

  *

  On the day that Joe arrived at Mandie’s college, Mandie was surprised to find that she looked at him proudly. Joe seemed to have settled down and become much more mature just since she had seen him in the summertime. He was wearing very stylish clothes, but he was still the same old Joe, with his big grin and twinkling brown eyes.

  Mandie had had Mr. Ryland drive her and Celia to the train station to meet the train when he came in. She noticed lots of other students from her college and the boys’ colleges either greeting arrivals or boarding the train themselves. Mandie again noticed many interested glances cast her way.

  After finding Joe and picking up his luggage, the three traveled back to the hotel, where Mandie and Celia waited in the lobby while Joe checked in for the night. Afterward the three went into the dining room for supper.

  “I would love to see your college,” Joe told them, “but, Mandie, your mother asked me to bring you right back, so we’ll have to get the train tomorrow. I can see your college when I bring you back after the holidays.”

  “You are coming back with me after Thanksgiving?” Mandie asked in surprise.

  “Of course,” Joe replied with a grin. “Who else is free enough to do this time-consuming chore?”

  “Oh, Joe, Uncle John could have come down, or even my grandmother,” Mandie replied.

  Joe shook his head and said, “No, your mother didn’t want your uncle John to leave her that long. And I didn’t think you’d be too anxious for your dear old grandmother to travel that far again. After all, she was just here a few weeks ago, I understand. And she is not as young as she used to be.” He stifled a laugh.

  “I could go home by myself,” Mandie said.

  “Oh no, your mother would not allow that, I’m sure,” Joe said. There was a brief moment of silence, and then Joe sighed deeply and said, “So you are thinking up excuses to keep me from coming down here to see what you’ve been up to?”

  “Of course not!” Mandie countered. “I just feel like you’ll go to a lot of trouble just to get me home and then back to my college.” Then she added, “But I thank you.”

  “I thank you, because by doing this, I was able to talk my parents into spending Thanksgiving at your house,” Joe replied, watching her closely.

  Mandie’s blue eyes widened as she said, “You are? I’m so glad. I thought y’all were staying home for the holidays.”

  “No, I changed everyone’s minds,” Joe said, and turning to Celia, he added, “And I’m pretty sure you are going to find your holiday plans changed, too.”

  “My holiday plans?” Celia asked, confused. “Aunt Rebecca is coming after me tomorrow.”

  “I know, but do you know where she is taking you?” Joe questioned.

  “Not home?” Celia asked, looking at him and then at Mandie. “Are we going to Mandie’s house instead?”

  “That’s right,” Joe said with a wide grin. “It was a lastminute change, so your mother will be taking Mollie on to Mandie’s house while your Aunt Rebecca comes after you.”

  Celia looked at Mandie and said, “How wonderful!”

  “Yes, the Shaw house will be full. Even the New York Yankees will be coming down—Jonathan and his father,” Joe explained.

  Mandie frowned and asked, “Why wasn’t I told about all this, Joe Woodard? Are you making this up?”

  “Why would I make this up?” Joe asked. “I said it was a lastminute decision by everyone, since your mother can’t travel right now,” Joe explained. “And of course Uncle Ned will be there at some time.”

  “I hope so. I haven’t seen him since I began school down here,” Mandie said.

  Uncle Ned was Mandie’s father’s old Cherokee friend. Uncle Ned had promised Jim Shaw to watch over Mandie after he had died.

  “There’s one other one you haven’t mentioned,” Joe teased her.

  “Another friend that I haven’t mentioned?” Mandie asked, puzzled by his question.

  “Yes, the troublemaker.” Joe was teasing her.

  Mandie laughed and said, “Snowball! Yes, he’ll be there for sure. And I’ve missed him, too.”

  “That is one spoiled cat,” Joe said, shaking his head. “I’m surprised you don’t have him living down here with you.”

  Mandie smiled and said, “You know that’s impossible. However, I do have a painting of him hung up in our room.”

  “A painting of Snowball?” Joe asked, amused.

  “We met an artist who was painting a picture of her own cat, but it looked identical to Snowball, so Mandie’s grandmother got her to paint another one for Mandie,” Celia explained.

  “It does look like Snowball, but I can’t show you because boys are not allowed past the parlor in the boardinghouse,” Mandie said.

  “Well, I’m glad the holidays are turning out this way,” Celia said. “We’ll get to see everyone, and I sure feel like some friends after all this time in this friendless college.” Then she frowned as she looked at Joe and asked, “My aunt Rebecca will be coming in on the early train tomorrow morning. Does that mean we will be getting on the train with you and Mandie to go to Franklin instead of getting on the train to Virginia?”

  “That’s right,” Joe replied. “You girls need to get your carriage driver to bring your trunks tomorrow to be put on the proper train.”

  “Of course,” Mandie replied, and turning to Celia she said, “I’m so glad everyone is coming to my house. It will be great for everyone to catch up on things.”

  Later, when Joe went back to his hotel room for the night, Mandie and Celia went to their room to talk about the forthcoming holidays.

  “I’m so glad to get a break from this school,” Mandie said as she sat down in one of the big chairs.

  “Yes, a break is good for everyone, but did you know that girl, Grace Wilson, is staying here for the holidays?” Celia asked.

  Mandie sat up straighter. “You mean she is staying here at the college during the holidays? Why?”

  “It seems she has no home to go to, or else she doesn’t have the money to travel,” Celia explained.

  “Does she not have any family?” Mandie asked.

  “No one seems to know, but everyone thinks she is too poor. She is here on a scholarship, remember?” Celia reminded her.

  “That’s too bad,” Mandie said. “What will she do all during the holidays here alone?”

  “She won’t be alone. I understand there are two or three other girls who will be staying here because of various reasons. But you know she doesn’t seem to make friends with anyone and is always by herself,” Celia explained.

  “I wonder why,” Mandie said thoughtfully. “She probably has some kind of problem that she’s keeping private.”

  “That’s what I was thinking, too,” Celia agreed. “But what could it be?”

  “Since we don’t live in the dormitory, I don’t know much about any of the girls anymore,” Mandie commented.

  “Maybe she’s friends with one of the girls who is staying here for Thanksgiving,” Celia said.

  “It’s too late now to do anything about it since we are leaving in the morning, but when we come back I intend to do a little investigative work and find out a few things about her. Maybe we could help her, whatever it is.”

  “I’ve heard that she is involved in a group that makes clothes for poor children,” Celia told her. “Maybe we could find out something through them.”

  “A group that make clothes for poor children? Not a group from this college, surely. The girls here are too high and mighty for that,” Mandie said.

  “No, I believe it meet
s somewhere in town,” Celia said.

  Mandie looked at Celia, laughed, and said, “Celia, you are getting to be a real busybody. How do you find out all these things?”

  “Listening,” Celia said, grinning. “Since we’re not in all the same classes tgether, I hear a lot of talk that you don’t. My music class is especially where I hear a lot of things. The girls in there seem to be friendlier than in other classes.”

  “And they also seem to know everyone’s business, right?” Mandie added with a laugh.

  “I suppose you could say that.” Celia smiled. Then she stood up, stretched, and said, “I think we should be getting into bed. We have to get up awfully early tomorrow.”

  “You’re right.” Mandie also rose and started toward the wardrobe, but then she stopped and said, “You know, Celia, I haven’t heard that noise at night since we first heard it. Have you?”

  Celia frowned and said, “I listen every night, but I haven’t heard a thing. I wonder what it was?”

  “Maybe it was those people arriving here in the middle of the night,” Mandie said, going to open the wardrobe and take down her nightclothes. “It seems to be the only explanation.”

  “I’m not sure, but I do hope we don’t ever hear it again,” Celia replied.

  After they got into bed, Mandie lay awake thinking of Joe. It was really nice of him to come after her and to arrange for everyone to be at her house for the holidays. But he still had the idea that she was going to marry him when she finished school, and she was not sure about that.

  Adrian was very interesting, and he also seemed to be very interested in her… .

  She began to grow sleepy and finally thought to herself, Oh, phooey to both of them. She was going home tomorrow.

  chapter 8

  The Thanksgiving holidays turned out to be a glorious time with family and friends. Everyone was glad to be spending it together.

  Mollie, the little Irish orphan whom they brought back from their visit to Ireland a while ago, didn’t take time to get a breath between questions. She just followed Mandie around and asked her questions about Ireland and leprechauns. “Mandie, when will we go back to Ireland so I can catch a leprechaun?”