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Chapter 4
The Traynor family seemed grateful for the muffins, and Mabel always found herself glad to meet new people in the area. She knew that what she spouted to Pippa was true, and in acting neighborly and welcoming she was giving the family a sense of peace and belonging. Moving to a new place could not be easy, or so Mabel assumed, and if she could lighten their load in any way, she would. And in this case, she was going to lighten their load considerably when they sent their two girls over tomorrow to play with Pippa. Both girls were around the same age as Pippa, so Mabel immediately invited them, forgetting, at the time, of her house full of Charles’s friends; she only recalled that bit of information after the time was set and the directions given, and it was too late to back out.
Mrs. Traynor had seemed a nice sort of woman, maybe three or four years older than Mabel was herself. She wondered if they could have been friends in another world. A world in which Mabel Sheffield was not a giant but instead had gotten married and had children of her own, instead of growing into a spinster as she raised her sister and cared for her grandmother. With the help of a small army, of course.
By the time Mabel reached home, her limp was more pronounced, and her leg was aching—a sure sign that either rain was on the way, or, and much more probable in this case, she was enduring the aftermath of overworking it—and she was ready to put her feet up and steal an hour’s respite before meeting with Mrs. Henderson to discuss the arrangements for the guests.
That dream was not to come to fruition, however, for upon entering the house, Mrs. Henderson swooped on Mabel immediately, dragging her into the housekeeper’s parlor downstairs with a most stricken look on her face.
“Mrs. Henderson, this is not the first time we have entertained guests on such short notice. Tell me what has you so vexed, and I am sure we can work together and come up with a solution,” Mabel said diplomatically.
Mrs. Henderson set down the tea her shaking fingers held and folded her hands in her lap. “Master Charles has not only arrived home with two guests in tow, but he informs me that three more are on their way.”
Mabel’s mouth dropped. “Five? Charles has invited five people here? Where on earth did he even meet five people?”
“Precisely,” Mrs. Henderson said as she lifted her teacup and took another sip, satisfaction on her face, seemingly content now that Mabel shared in her distress. “And we’ve got considerable work ahead of us readying the master’s suite with no notice. But to bring five guests home on top of it is beyond anything.”
Mabel lifted her tea and took a sip of the steadying liquid. Drawing in a fortifying breath, she set it back on the table between her and the housekeeper. “Well it will be improper for them to be on our side of the house, so we must—”
“That is just it, Miss Mabel.” Mrs. Henderson leaned in. “Two of them are female and bring with them a hired companion.”
Mabel stilled, speechless.
But Mrs. Henderson was not. The older woman droned on about the inconvenience, her complaints extending far past her worry over where to put the guests. After listening for nearly a quarter of an hour to the housekeeper over changing menus, altered plans, and increased workloads, Mabel rose, halting Mrs. Henderson’s speech with a slightly lifted hand.
“We’ll put the ladies in the rooms on either side of me. The companion can take the Rose Room, and move Giulia to the Blue Room. She won’t mind the broken wardrobe for a few days but take the drapes from my window to replace the missing ones in that room, because she will mind being woken by the sun, I am sure. Then Charles can take his room and his male guests can take the Princess Room and the Green Room. Deliver the menus to my chamber, and I will glance over them and make notations. We can still serve whatever Cook planned for this evening. Just ask her to find some sort of filler to stretch the meal.”
Mrs. Henderson nodded.
“But do not, on any account, take from what she has prepared for the servants’ dinner. Cook is resourceful, and I know she will find something.” Mabel lifted her hands, clasping them lightly before her. “The truth is, Charles gave us no notice, and I am sure our guests will understand for this one evening if we have to be a tad unconventional. Giulia is not dining at home anyway, and I can eat with Pippa if Cook is concerned over quantity.”
“Very good, Miss Mabel.”
Mabel turned to go and stopped when Mrs. Henderson spoke.
“Oh, but the Green Room is out! The chimney smokes in there, and it hasn’t yet been repaired.”
“Drat,” Mabel said under her breath, ignoring the glee in Mrs. Henderson’s eyes at finding a flaw in the plan.
“The Romeo Suite, then?” She frowned. “No, that is too close to the nursery.”
“There are no babies in the nursery. It would not be an inconvenience in that regard.”
“True.” Mabel nodded. There would be no babies to bother the guest. Only a feisty little seven-year-old. At least she no longer woke in the night to eat or cried all hours of the day. And the truth was that all of the other available rooms would put the guest next door to a lady, a blight that would not pass under Gram’s nose at all. Not even if it was her room that a young gentleman was placed beside.
“Princess and Romeo it is, then.”
“Very good. I will get started immediately.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Henderson,” Mabel said as she left the room.
She made it to the door and heard the raucous sound of men’s laughter combing through the corridor and invading her eardrums in all of its unwelcome entirety. She turned toward the stairs and hurried to the top, nearly colliding with Giulia as she came in the opposite direction, holding her valise with her bonnet slung over her arm.
“I apologize,” Mabel said after she righted her friend and took a step back. “I was not paying attention. Please do not tell me you are leaving on Charles’s account.” Mabel gave a very pointed look at Giulia’s valise.
“Uncle Robert is always begging me to stay. And with the ball just a few weeks away, I ought to be at Halstead helping with the preparations,” Giulia said sheepishly.
“So this has nothing to do with the hordes of people Charles has unsuspectingly cast upon us?”
